Mare’s shadow looms over new drama

ONE wonders how this series might have been received had it been made – as originally intended – in 2017.

But instead, this eight-part adaptation of Philipp Meyer’s 2009 novel American Rust arrives in the wake of both The Outsider and Mare of Easttown and feels a little too laconic and leisurely in comparison.

Like those two magnificent series, this is the story of a flawed, small town law enforcer who finds himself compromised by his latest case.

But where those shows had a crackling tension, unexpected turns and provided a showcase for fabulous performances from the likes of Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, Kate Winslet and Jean Smart, Rust seems to drag. Here, the potentially exciting combination of Jeff Daniels (The Newsroom, Godless) and Maura Tierney (The Affair, ER) are let down by the opening episode’s fractured narrative and sometimes plodding pacing.

Daniels, in a somewhat uncharacteristically uncharismatic role, is Del Harris, the police chief of Buell, Pennsylvania. A sometimes irascible lawman, he doesn’t like being told what to do by anyone and is a man who believes in equal justice for all ‘‘even if we’re chasing the same woman’’.

He’s sweet on seamstress Grace (Tierney), who has never quite got rid of her former husband and whose talented teenage son

Billy (Alex Neustaedter) mysteriously turned down the chance of sporting glory in order to stay in a town with few prospects.

So when Grace’s house is the subject of a foreclosure sale, Del turns a blind eye to local intimidation of potential buyers. ‘‘Showing a deer rifle is one of the social intricacies in this part of the state,’’ he tells an exasperated auctioneer.

Del though, is no redneck. He has no time for good ol’ boy behaviour. So when one of his longterm officers complains that he’s been passed over for promotion in favour of ‘‘that new Chinese guy’’, Del lets rip. ‘‘That ‘Chinese guy’ goes to work on time, doesn’t get drunk and wave his gun around. That ‘Chinese guy’ doesn’t park his cruiser and sleep through his shift. And that ‘Chinese guy’ is Korean.’’

However, when Billy gets into an altercation with a former football rival that results in the other man’s death, Del finds his twin loyalties to Grace and upholding the law at odds.

As we’re reminded during the inevitable court date, Butte is a place where its inhabitants seek solace from their hard-scrabble lives in alcohol, cocktails of pills and cigarettes that taste like ‘‘caffeine-injected Listerine’’. Unemployment is at 12 per cent and personal income is 25 per cent less than places like Philadelphia.

But while showrunner Dan Futterman (Foxcatcher, In Treatment) produces some evocative and memorable dialogue, Rust’s gloomy palette and atmospheric acoustic soundtrack just never really compels or strikes a chord in the same way Mare did. Likewise, while Daniels and

Tierney certainly spark off one another, this lacks Mare’s rich world of supporting characters.

Given the stream-of-consciousness nature of the novel, it’s almost surprising to see this land without an extensive narration. It’s probably a welcome relief, given its overuse in televisual storytelling today, but combined with the nonlinear narrative, it perhaps means Rust lacks a clear, distinctive voice.

It’s by no means a disaster, just a little disappointing given the talent involved.

American Rust is now available to stream on Neon and debuts tonight, Sunday, at 8.30pm on SoHo.