Here I am again, after nearly 3 hours of two more episodes of Nicolas Winding Refn’s Too Old To Die Young. Episode 2 followed Jesus’, the killer of our so-so protagonist Martin Jones’ cop buddy, family affairs and saw the head of the cartel dying at dinner table, leaving Don Ricardo’s son Miguel in charge. The mysterious Yaritza declared herself as the High Priestess of Death after wreaking some havoc and saving a poor woman from being sold off and raped again.
Mysterious Women and Violent Men
Episode 3, titled “The Hermit” jumps back to Los Angeles and we’re introduced to John Hawkes’ character Viggo. Hawkes seems like the perfect actor for a NWR film, or well TV show in this case. There is a sense of so much happening behind his sad, lonely eyes even without any dialogue. At the beginning of the episode we finally meet Jena Malone who plays the mysterious Diana, who is Viggo’s employer and a New Age healer. Diana is a strange woman; spiritual, yet inherently drawn to capitalism, demanding an offering from the people she counsels and heals through the acts of merciless violence. Tasked by Diana, Viggo kills a man, stuffs him the trunk of his car and is then forced to abandon the car.
Cue Miles Teller. He really is great here, really working his creepy vibe. There is just something about his face, the slight off-symmetry of it that really works and takes the characters to another level. Teller looks grownup, like he’s grown out of his acting baby fat; he’s often played the players, the arrogant young men next to the more seasoned, wise men in the narrative. Here he’s allowed to be the centre of the plot and while this might not be his best work, partly due to NWR’s overpowering style and sparse script, it’s nonetheless a great performance from Teller.
Anyway, Teller’s Martin Jones has apparently made homicide detective now, possibly with some help from his new employer Damian. Martin is called to the crime scene of the dead guy in the trunk. We of course know the killer was Viggo, but Martin doesn’t. The corpse is Zack Thomas, a pedophile and the cops make jokes about how the murder is a victimless crime in Thomas’ case. I wonder what the same cops would think about Martin’s high school girlfriend.
The episode follows Martin investigating the murder, including visiting one of Thomas’ victims. In a standout scene, Martin’s boss tells him to roll the dice on the investigation if he can’t move forward with it, that’s how the job is sometimes done. “We force order onto life so we believe our choices matter.” Textbook Refn here really, but it hits a nerve. His work often features order within chaos, but chaos always wins.
No Remorse
The episode peaks when we witness Martin kill a woman in her home (tasked by Damian), followed by him observing her children, peacefully asleep. He later meets with Viggo, whom he has been following and confesses to not feeling anything, not guilt, not remorse over his crime. He knows Viggo killed Zack Thomas and he approves, the guy clearly had it coming.
Episode 4, “The Tower”, is more explosive in every way. It begins with Martin literally crawling on the floor like a dog, followed by a scene with a shocking injection of violence. It’s easy to see why this episode, along with episode 5, were picked for the premiere in Cannes. In this episode we follow Martin and Viggo on their killing sprees tasked this time by Diana and her mystical healing crystals. Diana describes Martin as “a new breed of destruction”, like a backwards prophet, sent to Earth to insinuate violence and plant the seeds of chaos. Episode 4 has very little plot, but seems to be made out of moments that somehow still fit perfectly together and serve the bigger picture. We also get that hyped up Hideo Kojima cameo. It was… meh.
Entertain Us, Violate Us
“The Hermit”and “The Tower” are a drastic change from episodes 1 and 2 which are painfully slow and long. The series is now accelerating in pace and action and let’s face it, that’s what we’re here for. We’re here for the blood-soaked spectacle of ultraviolence. In the words of Kurt Cobain; Here we are now, entertain us. And entertain us NWR does. We’re here to be shocked, to be violated emotionally and that’s where the controversial director shines. He’s the twisted ringmaster and we’re his elephants, too compliant to stop watching, always exactly where he wants us while he cackles in the background for having fooled us yet again. It’s good to remember, NWR might be the biggest troll of them all, constantly contradicting himself and undermining his own art.
“The Tower” really sees Martin form his own moral code and explores his character more in-depth after he finds a soulmate of sorts from Viggo. He’s the ugly duckling of the police force; forced to sit through a morning gathering while the all-male force chants “FASCISM”. Talk about a crappy job, but what’s important here is that Martin doesn’t belong. He’s both on the inside and the outside, not really finding his own place or having any control over his own destiny. So far, NWR hasn’t looked kindly upon the American police force in the Trump era. Corrupted, rowdy and incompetent, these guys aren’t LA’s finest. It’ll be interesting to see where things go from here.
Hawkes and Teller are dynamite together throughout the two episodes, two magnetic presences commanding the screen. The pacing has picked up and more is happening, the whole series is finally starting to come together. We’re left to wonder what justice really means and who should be serving it. At the beginning of “The Tower”, after a PTSD meeting which ends in murder, Viggo muses that “The more perfect society becomes, the more psychotic we became. We evolved through brutality.” Maybe violence is in our blood, maybe we are animals looking for the next kill, to satisfy the hunger and the primordial need for blood and battle. Just like we tune in to this, the news and any action film ever made, we want to watch this, we choose to. We choose to live through these emotions, substituting the act of violence with the passive act of watching, consuming.
In NWR’s world, violence is not only necessary, but an expression of our repressed nature, an emotion in an emotionless world. Violence is the action against the world that has become too tame, too oppressed under its own self-censorship. All episodes are filled with unnatural moments of stillness, like the characters are just living mannequins, showcasing the worst humanity has to offer. The silences that frequent the episode are deafening.
The Hermit and The Tower: Too Ambitious or Bullseye?
While there’s still a lingering feeling that Too Old To Die Young has so much more to give, episode 4 promises better times are coming our way. More intriguing, still intriguing, “The Hermit” and “The Tower” are both more accessible and more surreal. The spectacle of violence, the blood and gore allow us an easy in to the heart of the show, but NWR’s refusal to give us details will still alienate the more casual viewers.
Heading into episode 5 and 6, halfway through the 13-hour movie, I’m hoping to see Jesus and Yaritza back. We haven’t heard from them since episode 2, but something tells me these two are going to overpower Viggo and Martin. I’m especially intrigued by Yaritza, the self-declared High Priestess of Death. Too Old To Die Young is a slow and frustrating watch and I’m hoping it’s all worth it in the end. It’s beautifully crafted and as always, NWR gets some great performances from his actors, even with minimal dialogue.
What do you think of the series so far? Can Martin be redeemed? Where is Jesus and Yaritza? Let us know in the comments!
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