Nomadland (2020) - Beauty 'til it hurts in Zhao's poetic Americana

♥♥♥♥♥

 

A photograph of Frances McDormand in character as Fern in a deck chair drying her underwear on the plains before the mountains make up this truly delightful poster for Chloé Zhao's Nomadland

 

Fern has become a van-dwelling, "houseless" modern nomad in the wake of her husband's demise and her abandonment of the Nevadan town that they lived in. On her nomadic trails through the US she goes through travails and finds new communities.

 

Nomadland is written, co-produced, directed and edited by great Chinese-born American filmmaker Chloé Zhao (Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)), adapting the non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century (2017) by Jessica Bruder.

It is an assured and sensitive, insightful portrayal of a way of life that is foreign to most of us, which raises questions about our own choice of life as it pertains to our homes, economy, loans and debts.

Frances McDormand (Something's Gotta Give (2003)) adds another marvelous character to her luminous career and is perfect as Fern, a woman who is both tough and a survivor but also a sensitive and struggling person on her own most of the time. McDormand also co-produced the film. David Strathairn (Fracture (2007)) is the only other recognized actor in the film, which is otherwise full of mostly modern nomads playing modern nomads, several of them very moving and warm encounters. Charlene Swankie's portrayal of Swankie is especially moving.

The moving human stories that the film is rife with, which mostly rests on things that define characters, which have already taken place, are balanced against the long periods of alone-time that is life for Fern, as well as tremendous amounts of nature, as she and the other nomads have a stronger connection with nature than most regular urban-dwellers today do. This introspective appreciation of the land and the nature that makes up America is fantastic and makes up some of the best parts of Nomadland. Poetry is incorporated naturally in the narrative, and one can easily argue that this film is poetic in itself.

Joshua James Richards' (The Rider (2017)) elegant, unostentatious photography is commendable. There's inherent critique of the housing market and the 'race for the dollar' way of life, but also appreciation of the never stagnant and ever restless America, which the nomads are a part of. There's great amounts of beauty to see and encounter in Nomadland, which makes it a sorely dear experience to be had, especially on a big screen.

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 5 mil. $

Box office: 21.4 mil. $ and counting

= Big hit (returned 4.28 times its cost)

[Nomadland premiered 11 September (3 different film festivals) and runs 108 minutes. Shooting took place in South Dakota, Nevada, California, Arizona and Nebraska in the latter part of 2018 with Zhao, McDormand and crew members reportedly living out of vans during the course of the production. The film's release was ruined considerably by the China Virus pandemic. The film opened #7 to a 503k $ first weekend in North America, where it peaked the following weekend at #6 and grossed 2.1 mil. $ (9.8 % of the total gross). North America was only the film's 5th biggest market. Its 3 biggest were Japan with 3.6 mil. $ (16.8 %), Australia with 3.5 mil. $ (16.4 %) and the UK with 2.6 mil. $ (12.1 %). The film has one market left to open in: Germany on 1 July. It was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning 3: For Best Picture, Director and Actress. It lost Adapted Screenplay to Christopher Hampton for The Father, Cinematography to Erik Messerschmidt for Mank and Editing to Sound of Metal. It also won 4/7 BAFTA nominations, an AFI award, 4/5 Independent Spirit award nominations, 2/4 Golden Globe nominations, 2 National Board of Review awards, 3 awards at the Venice Film Festival and countless other honors. Due to China-critical comments she made in 2013, Zhao's sensational Oscar win was censored from the citizens of China, where the film's release was also canceled. Zhao returns with Eternals (2021). McDormand returns in The French Dispatch (2021). Nomadland is certified fresh at 94 % with a 8.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Nomadland?

Talk to Her/Hable con Ella (2002) - Almodóvar's beautiful coma love drama

♥♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Spanish Movie of the Year 

 

Two beautiful women in contrasting hues of red and blue make up this poster for Pedro Almodóvar's Talk to Her

Two men forge a friendship over their common predicament of having their loved ones be in a coma.

 

Talk to Her is written and directed by Spanish master filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Folle... Folle... Fólleme Tim! (1978)), whose 15th feature it is.

It is one of Almodóvar's very finest, delving into themes of loneliness, desperation, abuse, pride and loss, while also dealing with phobias and bullfighting. It is a film of beautiful and unusual content with lovely performances, which is eminently beautifully filmed by cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe (Goya's Ghosts (2006)), wonderfully scripted by Almodóvar, and heightened by a piercingly beautiful score by Alberto Iglesias (Volver (2006)).

 

Related posts:

Pedro Almodóvar: 2019 in films - according to Film Excess  

Pain and Glory/Dolor y Gloria (2019) - Almodóvar's 8½ 
The Skin I Live In/La Piel que Habito (2011) or, Almodóvar's Extreme Make-Over
Broken Embraces/Los Abrazos Rotos (2009) or, Mysteries in Love and Life

2002 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 
Live Flesh/Carne Trémula (1997) or, A Spanish Fix
Labyrinth of Passion/Laberinto de Pasiones (1982) - Sexual mix-ups in screwball Madrileña style 

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: Unknown

Box office: 64.7 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a huge hit

[Talk to Her was released 15 March (Spain) and runs 112 minutes. Shooting took place from July - October 2001 in Spain, including Madrid. The film opened #37 to a 104k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #22 and in 255 theaters, grossing 9.2 mil. $ (14.2 % of the total gross). North America was the film's 3rd biggest market. The 2 biggest were Spain with  The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were Spain with 10.2 mil. $ (15.8 %) and France with 9.5 mil. $ (14.7 %). If made on a realistic, lavish 10 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a huge hit. It was nominated for 2 Oscars; Best Director, lost to Roman Polanski for The Pianist, and Best Original Screenplay, which it won. Spain mysteriously nominated Mondays in the Sun for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar that year over Talk to Her. The film also won a Golden Globe, 2 BAFTAs, a César award, was nominated for a David di Donatello award, won 5/7 European Film award nominations, 1/7 Goya award nominations and 2 National Board of Review awards, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Almodóvar returned with Bad Education/La Mala Educación (2004). Javier Cámara (Age of Monster/El Tiempo de los Monstruos (2015)) returned in Looking for Chencho (2002, short) and theatrically in Torremolinos 73 (2003); Darío Grandinetti (The Good Boy/Segundo Asalto (2005)) in Final Minute (2000-02) and theatrically in Ilusión de Movimiento (2003); Leonor Watling (Todas Hieren (1998)) in Desire/Deseo (2002); and Rosario Flores (Entreacte (1989)) in Hypnotized and Hysterical (Hairstylist Wanted)/Filles Perdues, Cheveux Gras (2002). Talk to Her is certified fresh at 91 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Talk to Her?

Manchester by the Sea (2016) - Heavy stuff in Lonergan's Big Drama

♥♥♥♥

 

+ Best Massachusetts Movie of the Year 

 

Two star actors in an emotional moment by a waterfront surrounded by seagulls make up this poster for Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea

A janitor with a terrible tragedy behind him is tasked with taking care of his late brother's teenage son.

 

Manchester by the Sea is written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan (You Can Count on Me (2000)).

It is a potent, heavy drama about unbearable loss, guilt and the life around a situation like this, (which always moves on perfectly disregarding those personal facts.)

If audiences are out of sync with the story, the film's funereal score will let us know, where we are. And the Massachusetts locale adds an evocative setting to the almost epic drama, which centers around a protagonist, who seems to go in a circle around his past as well as major emotional outbreaks. - SPOILER Instead he explodes in unmotivated violence in bars from time to time, (as a true Irish Catholic?) Casey Affleck (Drowning Mona (2000)) inhabits the character, and yet there is still something about the actor's cool expression that rubs me the wrong way. Young Lucas Hedges (Honey Boy (2019)) as Patrick, the teenage son, is really good, and Michelle Williams (Deception (2008)) is masterly in a supporting part. Gretchen Mol (Celebrity (1998)) is also fine as the overly nervous, alienated mother to the boy.

Manchester by the Sea is a worthwhile, heavily loaded drama with an open ending, a dose of implicit humor and the trace of hope.

 

Related post:

 

2016 in films - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 9 mil. $

Box office: 78.9 mil. $

= Mega-hit (returned 8.76 times its cost)

[Manchester by the Sea premiered 23 January (Sundance Film Festival) and runs 137 minutes. Lonergan has said of his motivation for writing and making the film;
"Some people can't get over something major that's happened to them at all; why can’t they have a movie too?" Matt Damon was initially supposed to star. Shooting took place in Massachusetts from February - May 2015. Amazon bought the US distribution right to the film for 10 mil. $ at Sundance. The film opened #21 to a 256k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #6 and in 1,213 theaters (different weeks), grossing 47.6 mil. $ (60.3 % of the total gross). The 2nd and 3rd biggest markets were the UK with 4.5 mil. $ (5.7 %) and France with 3.2 mil. $ (4.1 %). The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning for Best Original Screenplay and Actor (Affleck). It lost Best Picture to Moonlight, Supporting Actor (Hedges) to Mahershala Ali in Moonlight, Supporting Actress (Williams) to Viola Davis in Fences and Director to Damien Chazelle for La La Land. It also won 1/5 Golden Globe nominations, 2/6 BAFTAs nominations, an AFI award, was nominated for a César award and a David di Donatello award, won 1/5 Independent Spirit award nominations, 4 National Board of Review awards, and countless other honors. Lonergan has not announced another feature since. Affleck returned in The Finest Hours (2016); Williams in Certain Women (2016); and Hedges in Pigeonhearts (2017, short) and theatrically in Lady Bird (2017). Manchester by the Sea is certified fresh at 96 % with an 8.82/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Manchester by the Sea?

Six Feet Under - season 5 (2005) - The groundbreaking drama ends perfectly

♥♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Title of the Year

+ Best American Title of the Year + Best Drama of the Year + Best Los Angeles Title of the Year + Best Returning TV-series of the Year

Claire Fisher's beautiful green hearse speeds towards the horizon on this great poster for the 5th season of Alan Ball's Six Feet Under

The world's arguably best TV-series at its time, - and perhaps one of the best of all time, - creator Alan Ball's (Virtuoso (2015, TV movie)) Six Feet Under ends dignified in its fifth season by not making it an easy passing for characters and audiences alike: Season 5 is as hard and depressing as any in the formidable funeral business family drama's run.

The following season recount contains SPOILERS:

Nate's (Peter Krause (Beastly (2011))) new wife Brenda (Rachel Griffiths (Muriel's Wedding (1994))) is dealing with her losing their coming child. His mother Ruth's (Frances Conroy (Stone (2010))) new husband George (James Cromwell (ER (2001, TV-series))) is in shock therapy to rid him of his delusions and depression. Meanwhile Ruth herself is attacked by depression; and when George is finally ready to leave the psychiatric hospital, neither Ruth nor his daughter Maggie are much interested in dealing with him, (or his surprise new wife.)
Nate's brother and business partner David (Michael C. Hall (The Trouble with Bliss (2011))) and his steady boyfriend Keith (Matthew St. Patrick (Alien Raiders (2008))) arrange a double adoption; and Brenda's troubled brother Billy (Jeremy Sisto (Don's Plum (2001))) attempts rape on Nate and David's young artist sister Claire (Lauren Ambrose (About Sunny (2011))). She later decides to start working in an office, doubts her own artistic side and finds a new boyfriend in her new environment. 
Ruth goes camping with the flirting Hiram; and Nate has sex with Maggie and passes out, especially unnerving since he has previously been operated for a brain tumor.
As David and Keith are kept busy trying to manage and parent their adopted two big boys, Nate wakes up after a new operation, determined on a new direction in his life that involves leaving Brenda, - just before he dies.
Grief following his surprising death overshadows everything, and he gets buried in nature. Brenda later gives birth to their first child. Claire rages out on drugs and goes through a serious accident as a result, and David, who is also coping with the aftereffects of a destructive kidnapping and violent attack recently, is nearly losing his mind.
Claire decides to move to New York without a safety net; David and Keith take over the funeral business and Fisher home, as Ruth moves in with her sister Sarah in Topanga Canyon.
The death-centered show ends with all the major characters dying; not suddenly but in each their time, (with wobbly aging makeup applied), naturally.

The ending of Six Feet Under must be the most cathartic period of television ever made. It will have any fan balling his or her eyes out.
The characters and relationships in the show are truly still as pathetic, crude, narcissistic and egotistical as the ones we are likely to encounter in real life, including ourselves. They are human, wonderful, and often do and say the wrong things. Six Feet Under is a formidable dramatic chronicle of life in the 2000s.

Best episodes:

5: Eat a Peach - Written by Rick Cleveland (Mad Men (2008, TV-series)), Tim Williams; directed by Daniel Minahan (Ray Donovan (2013, TV-series))
Developments for all characters; Claire tries to see herself in a new environment, a dull office.

9. Ecotone - Written by Nancy Oliver (Windfall (2006, TV-series)); directed by Minahan
David and Keith has their work cut out for them as sudden parents to two adopted boys, as Nate wakes up after surgery with new insight.

10. All Alone - Written by Kate Robin (The Affair (2014, TV-series)); directed by Adam Davidson (Bosch (2006-07))
Grief following Nate's death. Joanna Cassidy (The District (2001-02)) is outstanding as Brenda's mother. Music by The Dixie Chicks, Nirvana and Eric Clapton.

12. Everyone's Waiting - Written and directed by Ball
The intensely moving goodbye to the characters and show

Related posts:

Alan Ball: 2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I] 

Six Feet Under - season 4 (2004) - Transgressive bite and lots of drama characterize great S4
2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Six Feet Under - season 3 (2003) - The Fishers endure to meet a new profound loss in spectacular drama
American Beauty (1999) or, Escape by Death  

Watch a trailer for the season here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - TV-series
= Uncertain
[Six Feet Under - season 5 was originally broadcast from 6 June - 21 August at HBO and runs 12 x 55 minute episodes, totaling approximately 660 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles. The season averaged 2.5 mil. viewers in the US, more than a million down from the previous season; the show's lowest average rating. Besides the ratings the show has enjoyed a solid afterlife on home video and now streaming platforms, generating more - regrettably unpublicized - revenue. The season was nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys, winning one, and 4 Creative Emmys, winning one. The show sits at #89 on IMDb's user-generated Top 250 for TV, between Dark (2017-) and South Park (1997-). Ball returned with something different with Towelhead (2007), which he adapted, produced and directed. Krause returned in Civic Duty (2006); Hall in a video game, a short and a TV documentary before hitting theaters in Gamer (2009); Conroy in The Aviator (2004) and Broken Flowers (2005), and Ambrose in Diggers (2006). Six Feet Under - season 5 has the show's highest average rating; it is certified fresh at 97 % with an 8.9/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Six Feet Under season 5?

Six Feet Under - season 4 (2004) - Transgressive bite and lots of drama characterize great S4

♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Continuing TV-series of the Year

The Fishers caught in a mid-air moment of lightness on this poster for the fourth season of Alan Ball's Six Feet Under

The following review of creator Alan Ball's (True Blood (2008-14)) seminal drama series, which revolves around the funeral home-running Fisher family in Los Angeles, contains SPOILERS.

The season's first death, (every episode opens with a death, - usually a person that will subsequently pass through the funeral home in the course of the episode), is an LSD-trip, which ends in a fatal free-fall; an appropriate anti-drug message from a show with lead characters that don't shy away from drug experiences themselves. 
The season kicks off right where season 3 ended: Nathaniel's (Peter Krause (Cybill (1995-97))) wife Lisa has been found dead after going missing, and Nate and his brother David (Michael C. Hall (The Trouble with Bliss (2011))) drive north to claim her remains. Nate overhears Lisa's family's requests and instead buries his late wife in nature, as she had wished it. He experiences problems working in the funeral home subsequently and takes a temporary leave to readjust himself while working as a dog-walker.
Long-time employee and now also a partner in the business, embalmer and restorative artist Rico (Freddy Rodríguez (Bull (2016-19))) starts a demanding relationship on the sly with a stripper, which his wife Vanessa (Justina Machado (The Call (2013))) discovers: She consequently trashes the woman's car and throws Rico out of their home in a bout of fury.
Nate and David's mother Ruth's (Frances Conroy (Angela (1995))) new husband (following the sudden death of their father and her husband through decades, Nathaniel, at the first season's outset) aloof George (James Cromwell (Babe (1995))) gets turd sent in the mail, which plants a doubt about him. Strange employee Arthur (Rainn Wilson (Uncanny (2015))) gets wrongfully fired as a result, before George comes clean about its being his alienated son Kyle, who is sending the unenviable mail.
David's long-time boyfriend Keith (Matthew St. Patrick (Alien Raiders (2008))) goes on a tour as security for young pop-star Celeste, whom he has sex with - and gets fired by. 
David goes through the worst day of his life (episode 5: That's My Dog): A sickening episode in which a psychopathic hitchhiker tortures and threatens David for hours through LA.
Nate and David's younger sister, live-at-home art student Claire (Lauren Ambrose (Swimming (2000))) experiments with her sexuality with power-dyke co-ed Edie (Mena Suvari (American Beauty (1999))) and gets to put up an art show. Ill-equipped to handle the pressure and attention, on the big night she is pompous and coked out. She later enjoys her first orgasm, given to her by Peter Facinelli (The Lather Effect (2006))).
Nate reconnects with past girlfriend and long-time affair Brenda (Rachel Griffiths (Hacksaw Ridge (2016))), who is taking classes to become a therapist.
The season wraps up with intense drama on several fronts: Though Nate has just started connecting a bit with difficult George, he and Ruth's paths stray, as she gets into tantra following a liberating Mexico trip with her wild spirit friend Bettina (Kathy Bates (Valentine's Day (2010))), and he moves into his bomb-shelter in their basement, increasingly paranoid, needing attention from his daughter Maggie (Tina Holmes (Buoy (2012))). David suffers greatly in the aftermath of his attack; he sees the attacker in prison, but this does not change his wounds. - Meanwhile he and Keith plow on in planning to start a rainbow family with surrogacy and adoption.
At an ash-ceremony in Lisa's native Idaho, Nate is attacked by her family for his disposal of her body, but he also learns through a photograph in a book the awful truth behind her mysterious lapse: Her sister's husband was behind her death on a run-away trip as part of a longer affair between the two. As this is revealed, the man, Hoyt, takes his life in front of his family.

Season 4 is packed, at times volatile, and transgressive. It holds each character's dramatic journey authentic and believable, with powerhouse performances across the board, and remains a must-see.

Best episodes:

Episode 5: That's My Dog - Written by Scott Buck (Rome (2007, TV-series)); directed by Alan Poul (The Newsroom (2012-14))
David's life is shaken to its core, as he only just escapes a devastating encounter with random violence and cruelty, taken prisoner by a psychopath hitchhiker one day.

Episode 6: Terror Starts at Home - Written by Kate Robin (One Mississippi (2016-17)); directed by Miguel Arteta (Youth in Revolt (2009))
An incredibly strong and jam-packed episode: Ruth and George's deteriorating relationship worsens; David is falling apart, and Brenda feels claustrophobia in her increasingly serious relationship with her neighbor Joe (Justin Theroux (Bumblebee (2018))).

Related posts:

Alan Ball: 2004 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess 
Six Feet Under - season 3 (2003) - The Fishers endure to meet a new profound loss in spectacular drama
American Beauty (1999) or, Escape by Death 

Watch a promo for season 4 here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - TV-series
= Uncertain
[Six Feet Under - season 4 was originally broadcast from 13 June - 12 September at HBO and runs 12 x 55 minute episodes, totaling approximately 660 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles. The season averaged 3.7 mil. viewers in the US, a million down from the previous season; probably instrumental in its being decided that the 5th season would be the show's last. Besides the ratings the show has enjoyed a solid afterlife on home video and now streaming platforms, generating more - regrettably unpublicized - revenue. The season was nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys and 3 Creative Emmys. The show sits at #89 on IMDb's user-generated Top 250 for TV, between Dark (2017-) and South Park (1997-). The show returned on 5 June 2005 with the concluding season 5. Ball returned with something different with Towelhead (2007), which he adapted, produced and directed. Krause returned in Civic Duty (2006); Hall in Bereft (2004); Conroy in Catwoman (2004), and Ambrose in Admissions (2004). Six Feet Under - season 4 has been given a 4.4/5 rating by audiences at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Six Feet Under - season 4?

Six Feet Under - season 3 (2003) - The Fishers endure to meet a new profound loss in spectacular drama

♥♥♥♥♥♥

+ Best Continuing TV-series of the Year + Best Drama of the Year + Best Los Angeles Title of the Year

The Fishers and their closest others are gathered in a curiously profound vacuum with many-colored roses surrounding their darkness on this terrific poster for the third season of Alan Ball's Six Feet Under

The third season of creator Alan Ball's (Oh, Grow Up (1999, TV-series)) drama series, which centers on the Los Angeles-centered Fisher family, who run their funeral home business as best they can in the wake of the sudden death of their husband and father and head of the business, Nathaniel, continues as a powerful and intense life's drama.
The following recount includes several SPOILERS:

As the season kicks off we make a leap forward in time: Despite uncertainty-sparking déjà-vus, Nate Fisher's (Peter Krause (Civic Duty (2006))) brain tumor removal operation goes well, and in the period around it his mercurial lover Brenda (Rachel Griffiths (Cosi (1996))) has left him, and he has instead married his old Seattle flame Lisa (a brilliantly acted portrayal of a nervously disturbed woman by Lili Taylor (Pecker (1998))) and together they have created a little gemstone in a baby girl named Maya.
The season introduces a string of new characters: Nathaniel's widow Ruth Fisher's (Frances Conroy (Queen (1993, miniseries))) rebellious friend Bettina (Kathy Bates (The Waterboy (1998))), the funeral home's new intern Arthur (Rainn Wilson (Dominion (2006)) plays the strange bird with humor and sincerity), whom their solid restoration expert Rico (excellent Freddy Rodríguez (Ugly Betty (2007-10))) dubs "very home-schooled", and whom Ruth has a weird crush on for a while. - That is before she happens upon the charismatic, six-times-married George (James Cromwell (Marshall (2017))) at a weak moment following a funeral, whom she later marries, rather impulsively. Her independent art student daughter Claire Fisher (Lauren Ambrose (The Return of Jezebel James (2008, TV-series))) enjoys her new life at the LAC Arts school, where she strikes up a relationship with co-student Russell, (Ben Foster (The Program (2015)) is terrific as the ambiguously masculine deceiver), who screws his male teacher, lies about it and gets the boot.
Brenda is eventually reintroduced to Nate's life, as her new celibate life dictates her taking rounds and excusing her past mistakes. She begins dating her neighbor (Justin Theroux (On the Basis of Sex (2018))), before Nate turns up on her doorstep, busted up and in disintegration: His and Lisa's marriage has slowly deteriorated, and despite a recent reunification at Claire's art school event, Lisa goes missing and stays missing for 3 torturously good episodes (episodes #11-#13, the season's last), - until she is found dead.
In the meantime, Rico's wife Vanessa (Justina Machado (Bones (2010, TV-series))) has become a depressed pill-addict; and the Nate's brother, working bee David (Michael C. Hall (Gamer (2009))) has broken up his long relationship with cop boyfriend Keith (Matthew St. Patrick (Ice Cream in the Cupboard (2019))), - and gotten happily back together with him again.

The performances are all terrific, and the dramatic weight episode for episode is impressive, - somehow without marring the show's realism and authenticity. TV-series only very rarely reach the heights that Six Feet Under steadily navigates.

Best episodes:

11. Death Works Overtime - Written by Rick Cleveland (Inhumans (2017, miniseries)), Nancy Oliver (Lars and the Real Girl (2007)); directed by Daniel Attias (The Americans (2014-18))
Nate files a missing person's report for Lisa, and her disappearance takes its toll on him.

12. Twilight - Written by Craig Wright (Greenleaf (2016-19)), Oliver; directed by Kathy Bates (Have Mercy (2006))
Nate continues to be miserable in a state of unknowing; and Brenda helps Claire have an abortion.

13. I'm Sorry, I'm Lost - Written by Jill Soloway (I Love Dick (2016-17)), Oliver; directed by Alan Ball (True Blood (2008, TV-series))
Nate snaps and unravels in the stress of Lisa's disappearance, when finally definitive news arrive.

Related posts:

The 2000s in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]  

2003 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]

Watch a promo for season 3 here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: None - TV-series
= Uncertain
[Six Feet Under - season 3 was originally broadcasted from 2 March - 1 June 2003 at HBO and runs 13 x 55 minute episodes, totaling approximately 715 minutes. Shooting took place in California, including Los Angeles. The season averaged 4.7 mil. viewers in the US, where the season marked the show's decline, as its 5.6 mil. peak with season 2 thereafter diminished to 2.5 mil. by the last, 5th season. Besides the ratings the show has enjoyed a solid afterlife on home video and now streaming platforms, generating more revenue. The season was nominated for 9 Emmys and 5 Creative Emmys, winning one; it was also nominated for 3 Golden Globes. The show returned in on 13 June 2004 with season 4. Ball returned with something different with Towelhead (2007), which he adapted, produced and directed. Krause returned in We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004); Hall in Paycheck (2003) and Bereft (2004); Conroy in Die, Mommy, Die! (2003), and Ambrose in Admissions (2004). Six Feet Under - season 3 is the show's 3rd-highest rated; it is fresh at 92 % it has a 6.75/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Six Feet Under - season 3?