Midnight Mass Miniseries Review
MIDNIGHT MASS (L to R) HAMISH LINKLATER as FATHER PAUL in episode 103 of MIDNIGHT MASS Cr. COURTESY OF NETFLIX © 2021
I hadn’t even heard of Midnight Mass until it came across my YouTube feed from RedLetterMedia in the form of this review:
When they said it was great, I stopped and started watching Midnight Mass. The miniseries is monologue-heavy, which is discussed numerous times in RedLetterMedia’s video, mostly as making fun of people who hated the number of monologues. I will say I felt both the amount and length of the monologues was a little bit too much, especially in the first half. But then again, I have the attention span of a goldfish with ADHD.
Still, the first half of the miniseries is decent. Then, in the second half, shit gets…
Good. Real good.
Without payoffs, the monologues would be just philosophical bullshit. That’s probably what people thought they were in the first half if they turned off the show. But in Midnight Mass, they payoff with huge interest. I felt the best scene in the show was the one where Riley Finn (played by Zach Gilford) and Erin Greene (played by Kate Siegel) were in the boat together. At this point in the miniseries, you know what is coming, Riley has another monologue and then…it comes and it definitely delivers.
All of the performances in this miniseries were great. I felt the best was from Hamish Linklater, who plays Father Paul. He portrays his character and arc fantastically with understated emotion when its called for and compelling stated emotion when necessary. Even Henry Thomas of E.T. fame, who plays Ed Flynn in the photo below, was great.
And who would have thought that Kristen Lehman who plays his wife, Annie Flynn on the left, is the same actress who played Miriam Bancroft in the first season of Altered Carbon?
The miniseries does have a couple minor problems beyond the potential excessiveness of the monologues to some viewers. The first is the old-age makeup on a couple of the characters. It seems obvious at times, but the reason behind that is revealed by the midway point. Also, the reason for the cats dying at the beginning is never fully explained. It’s clear who or what did it, but not why. The ultimate villain is never fully explained either. That can be taken as a good or a bad thing and, I take it as a good thing, and man, does that thing look fucking awesome. Its entrance into the church is the second-best scene in the miniseries.
Grade: A-
