reviewer: Charity Bishop

       

In this John Grisham-esque thriller, FX landed a stellar cast that included Glenn Close to depict one of the most fantastic legal dramas to come along in many years. Damages is an incredibly complex part-mystery, part litigation serial in which no one is quite what they seem...

The elevator door dings ominously and when the doors open, a young woman spattered with blood and only half dressed stumbles into the street. People hasten to get out of her way as she runs around a corner, right into the arms of local law enforcement. She is Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) and as she sits in the interrogation room at the police station awaiting the arrival of her lawyer, we are given a flashback to six months earlier when she was asked to interview for a position at the prestigious law firm of Patty Hewes (Glenn Close). Known for her intolerance for incompetence and demands of loyalty from her subordinates, Hewes tackles high profile litigation cases that any first year law student would kill to assist with. The one problem is that the interview is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, when Ellen has maid of honor duty at her sister's wedding. Believing she as lost all chances of working with her idol, Ellen is shocked when Patty turns up at the wedding wanting to meet the girl "stupid enough" to turn down an interview with her firm.

Intrigued by Ellen's dedication to her family over her potential career, Patty gives her the job, much to the surprise of her associate Tom (Tate Donovan). Their latest case is a litigation against Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson), a billion-dollar businessman who liquidated his stocks before they tanked, leaving four thousands of his employees without financial security. Patty wants to force him to pay a fine he cannot afford, despite the best attempts of his lawyer (Zeljko Ivanek) to talk her into a settlement. Little does Ellen know that soon her involvement will reveal the dangerous and underhanded tactics of both sides in a battle that quickly becomes deadly.

If there is one thing it's difficult to do on primetime, it's set up an engaging legal drama. The only successes in the history of television have been The Practice, whose seven year run is hardly something to sneeze at, and the gritty Law & Order, which has been on the air eighteen years and counting. Damages is an attempt to cash in on the popularity of complex plot-driven dramas, while at the same time managing to contain likable and equally dangerous characters. It's just as brilliant as a best selling novel and twice as engaging, since it keeps us guessing throughout as to what will happen, what everyone's true motives are, and whether or not we can actually trust Patty Hewes. By the end of the first episode, the audience knows she is a force to be reckoned with, but at the conclusion of the series, she has taken us on a trail of deep emotions, guilt, and ruthlessness that leaves us dazed. Glenn Close is brilliant -- I can see why this role won her several awards. 

Unfortunately, tight writing and unexpected twists and turns cannot save Damages from being less than family fare. I don't mind language now and again if it serves a purpose and is not overused, but this show contains an unnecessary abundance of it. There are about a dozen abuses of Jesus' name in every single episode, along with an equal number of GD's, and twice as many uses of the word s**t -- surprising, even for a commercial cable station. I cannot tell you how distracting it is from the plot. It's hard to enjoy something when your ears are burning. I wish I could say the rest of the content was mild, but it's not true. Violence involves a fatal hit and run (the man is left bleeding on the pavement) and an instance of suicide that leaves the wall and observer spattered in blood. Flashbacks reveal a brutal murder (we see the body drenched in blood in the bathtub numerous times, as well as the initial blow that knocked them to the ground) and an assault that ends in death. There is a struggle before someone is impaled on a butcher knife. In the first episode, a woman finds that her dog has been killed as a warning for her to remain silent about what she has seen. More troubling are four sex scenes. The first is mostly kissing and heavy breathing between Ellen and her boyfriend; the other three are clothed but contain graphic movement and seem like they will never end. There's also a same-sex kiss in which a man comes on to someone else who is not similarly minded.

It really is a shame that I cannot highly recommend Damages, because in all respects it's one of the finest legal dramas I have ever seen. It flashes back and forth between events as they unfold and a future murder investigation, and has a complete turn-around in the finale that leaves your mouth hanging open. But the foul language and occasionally graphic bedroom scenes leave a bad taste in your mouth.