'Luck,' a long shot
that pays off big
First episode of the HBO racetrack drama is impossible to follow
By Tom Conroy
Jan 27, 2012
David Milch created HBO’s series “Deadwood,” a series whose dialogue was so filled with obscenity that most people didn’t notice its obscurity. The rigorously naturalistic speech often made it impossible for viewers to figure out exactly what the characters were talking about.
The first episode of Milch’s new HBO series “Luck,” which premieres this Sunday, Jan. 29, at 9 p.m., is heavy on atmosphere and just as befuddling as any episode of “Deadwood.” A large number of regular characters whose relationships are unclear discuss vaguely delineated issues, frequently using the impenetrable jargon of horseracing.
Fortunately, the second episode, which isn’t written by Milch, contains a generous helping of expository dialogue. The script even winks at this. After one character tells another how a “claiming race” works, he says, “But you knew that.”
Starting with that episode, we begin to figure out what is driving the characters and how they’re connected to one another. (Viewers still in need of a cheat sheet can check the character guide on hbo.com.) As the season progresses —all nine episodes were made available for review — the show becomes steadily more entertaining and engrossing. Viewers who work through the difficult start will be glad they did.
“Luck” focuses on a dozen or so characters, mostly male, whose lives revolve around the Santa Anita horse track, near Los Angeles. Chester “Ace” Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), a mobbed-up businessman, has just been released from a three-year prison sentence and is trying to set up a deal with his former associates that would bring casino-style gambling to the track.
Using his friend and driver, Gus (Dennis Farina), as a front, Ace has purchased a racehorse that is being stabled and trained by a star trainer named Turo Escalante (John Ortiz).
On the other end of the spectrum are four compulsive gamblers who are hoping that a big score at the track will enable them to buy their own racehorse. The Moe of these four stooges is the permanently aggrieved Marcus (Kevin Dunn). Their best handicapper is Jerry (Jason Gedrick), who blows all his track winnings playing poker.
Other characters include Rosie (Kerry Condon), an Irish exercise rider who wants to be a jockey; Joey (Richard King), a jockey’s agent fallen on hard times; and Walter (Nick Nolte), a trainer from Kentucky who owns a promising colt.
Though the varied characters frequently rub shoulders, the creators don’t waste too much energy trying to force connections among the various plotlines. The stories play off each other effectively.
The only serious false note in the plots is the races. Nearly every one has a dramatically significant finish. Luck doesn’t work that way.
The series regulars and the guest stars are generally excellent. Dustin Hoffman underplays Ace, but we believe that he, with a little help from Gus, could stand up to opponents on both sides of the law. Nick Nolte has aged into his always raspy voice and works it like a pro.
Thanks to those performances, “Luck” creates a convincing subculture populated with characters whose problems will be alien but also relatable to most of us. That may not seem to be such a huge accomplishment, but most series that try it fall short.
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