Two percent of the world’s population has gone missing. It is an event that people call the “Sudden Departure”. This sounds like a setup for religious apocalyptical fiction like the “Left Behind” series. But where executive producer Damon Lindelof was once concerned with answering the big questions in “Lost”, he wisely focuses on his characters and what happens after such a earth-shattering event in HBO’s “The Leftovers”.
It is a difficult thing for a sci-fi/supernatural fan to put aside the big questions – the whys – and to ignore the contents of the mystery box that Lindelof’s friend JJ Abrams has popularized so much. But what “The Leftovers” provides is a solid drama with some eeriness blended in. If we found out that the Departure was due to aliens, to God, or to some sort of malevolent supervillain, it would take away from indulging in these characters’ pathos. The questions are best left unanswered.
This show has been called misery porn before, but those who have labelled it as such are really missing the point. There isn’t joy in seeing Kevin (Justin Theroux) possibly losing his mind or Nora (Carrie Coon) wrestling with suicide. It makes you think about what you would do in that situation, or in more tangible terms, how we all deal with loss. Sometimes you gain strength from the experience, sometimes you reach out to religion or to others for meaning and sometimes you just lose yourself. The writing explores these ideas both realistically and in some cases excessively, as some of the events ratchet the drama up to 11.
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The performances are solid all around, starting with lead actor Justin Theroux as an angsty sheriff setting the standard. His performance is reminiscent of Peter Krause’s Nate Fisher, in HBO’s other masterpiece of mourning “Six Feet Under”. You root for him, you rage with him and sometimes you just feel so bad for him. The main promotional image of Theroux trying to punch his way through a stark white wall is a great representation of what he brings to the show, and what the show represents thematically. Amy Brenneman, who plays his estranged wife Laurie, is tasked with delivering a performance where she is not allowed to speak as per the rules of the cult that her character joins. Her weathered face plays both cold and sympathetic.
Another standout in the ensemble is Carrie Coon, who spends many scenes alone, as we see her character trying to make sense of the fact that her whole family “departed”, leaving her behind. It is a heartrending yet powerful performance that she ended up getting an Critics Choice nomination for. The episode “Guest” is a standout in the season. Another standout which leaves much of the main cast behind is “Two Boats and a Helicopter”, featuring Christopher Eccleston as former reverend Matt who gambles everything to save his church. It is so great that this is an ensemble show that, like “Lost”, can abandon its lead character for an episode or two, and still tell some beautiful stories.
Finally, one cannot talk about “The Leftovers” without mentioning Max Richter’s score for it. In particular, the track “Departure” and its many variations that play throughout the season. It is amazing, with how often that theme plays, that every single time the opening notes of it start, it is at the perfect moment in the episode. You were doing fine holding back your tears and then “Departure” begins, and so do the waterworks.
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