OZARK

When S began to tell Sky and me about Ozark, I interrupted and asked him my usual question if it was on Prime. When he said it was on Netflix, I half-heartedly continued to listen to him as he went on about it being a great show. I was happy with Prime and the content it offers and despite having been asked to subscribe to Netflix and Hotstar on numerous occasions, refused to do so. I take ages to order in a restaurant if the menu exceeds 5 pages and there have been times when I’ve left home, having already picked the dish off the online menu to save the embarrassment of being asked if I was byhearting the dishes on the menu. You can imagine my consternation when Shugu and Archie gifted me a yearlong subscription for Netflix.

Now, I have numerous movies and series “watch-listed” on all three OTT platforms (yes! I have a Hotstar subscription too now) based on recommendations given by my like-minded friends and I must admit I am enjoying the wide array of choices I now have. I have worked out a system where I alternate between the three so as to devote equal time to all.

Ozark is a Netflix original series and has currently aired 3 seasons.  The 4^th shall be the final season. It is listed under the genres of Crime TV Dramas, TV Thrillers and TV Dramas. It is described as ‘ominous’ and ‘dark’. It is rated 18+ due to its mature content. The series stars Jason Bateman (Arrested Development, Horrible Bosses) and Laura Linney (Primal Fear). The show is created by Bill Dubuque (The Accountant, The Judge).

PLOT: Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman), besides being a financial planner, is also money laundering for a Mexican drug cartel. When his partner is caught embezzling money from the drug mafia, Marty talks his way out from having his eyes gouged and body disposed off in a vat by offering to launder millions for the cartel in Ozark, Missouri. He is offered 3 months’ time to launder 8 million dollars by Del (Esai Morales), the No.1 lieutenant for the cartel. Marty relocates to the Lake of the Ozarks with his family who reluctantly join him - wife, Wendy (Laura Linney) and children, Charlotte and Jason. Life isn’t perfect for Marty on the personal front either. He learns his wife’s secret but is stuck with her in the Ozarks to keep their family safe. 

Season 1 revolves around Marty’s attempts to launder 8 million in three months. His family’s life is at stake as he’s running out of time. Things look bleak with the locals not trusting Marty and his “fancy” financial schemes. To make things worse, the FBI comes sniffing around suspecting Marty to have ties with the mafia. The local lowlifes, the Langmore family has their eye on the bundles of cash hoarded by Marty and will go to any lengths to steal it. Marty has also stepped on the toes of the local heroin dealers, the Snell family who only know one way to deal with opposition.

Will Marty be able to launder the 8 million and save his own and his family’s life from the Mexical drug cartel, the Langmores, the Snells and the FBI?

Review: Would I recommend this show? Yes, most definitely. I have completed Season 1 and reviews claim Season 3 to be the best so far. 

S had cautioned that the start may feel a bit slow. While I found it gripping from start to finish, I need to put this out there as G too had a similar response to this show as S. Do keep in mind that the show is also listed as a Drama series.

I was initially a bit apprehensive when I saw Jason Bateman featured in a crime/thriller/dark series as one generally associates him with comic roles. Bateman usually figures as a sassy individual, often indulging in self-deprecating humour. Bateman has played to his strengths and continues to retain a bit of his usual cheeky self, talking his way out of sticky situations. In the words of Wendy, when during one of their fights she says “What? No dry, witty comeback now?”

Linney is at her usual best. Straight faced and calm. You never know what Wendy is thinking, not one to mince words, not apologetic for any of her actions and has no qualms on breaking the law if it means she can keep her family safe.

The children are portrayed by Sofia Hublitz (Charlotte Byrde) and Skylar Gaertner (Jonah Byrde) , the former a typical moody,  “my life is ruined forever but I can get some good shots here for my Insta” teenager and the latter a self-professed oddball who is caught pulling out the insides from dead animals and wields guns larger than him. Julia Garner as Ruth Langmore, with her southern drawl and violent temper has been winning Emmys. Mrs. Snell, oh well, let me not let out any spoilers now.

The setting and the background score add to the dark theme of the show.

Be prepared for a roller coaster ride. Just when things begin to work in favour of Marty, something goes drastically wrong and then it gets sorted out but not in the way you hoped it would and then something goes wrong again. 

Some scenes may at times, seem just too convenient or clichéd but we shall let that pass.

The show has an inclusive set of characters.

Trivia: Around Episode 3, I noticed that the symbols in the letter O that appears in the opening credits change with each episode. These symbols represent scenes from that episode.

Ozark has been compared to Breaking Bad – “Its like Breaking Bad but more money laundering and less drugs” (source: Internet)

Verdict: I loved it and shall be watching the entire series. Do not watch it expecting it to be a quick-paced thriller series. 

Marty and I share similar ringtones. While he has a cricket chirping, I have the cicada buzzing.

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