Under the lens takes a deep look at films by focusing in on one or two particular areas of the picture that helped to define it for better or for worse.
The Old Man is a 2022 spy thriller limited series that airs on FX and Hulu, created by Robert Levine and Jonathan E. Steinberg. It stars Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow. The limited series follows a former CIA officer, who’s living off the grid, who finds himself on the run from people who want to kill him, and finds himself on the path to uncovering the truth about a 30-year-old mission that was long thought forgotten.
UNDER THE LENS: Nature of Reality
Nature of Reality: The program keeps you guessing just as to what is real and what is fake, we know that Dan’s wife had dementia, and he is terrified of getting it himself, we see glimmers of memory loss in his everyday life. Forgetting to take something out of the microwave, and leaving the silencer on the barrel of a gun when he is trying to pass the weapon off as carried by a burglar.
We also see him calling his daughter who he has hidden away to live her life, he texts her and calls, but later we hear from the FBI that Dan’s daughter killed herself years before. Is she really dead? Or did Dan just fake her death to keep her safe? Lastly, Dan goes on a date with the woman he is renting a house from, on the way back they are stopped by police, and we see Dan brutally kill the two cops, before executing his date for witnessing it. The scene then flashes back to reveal he was only thinking about, however, the audience is left to ponder, did he really kill her and the other interactions later are just a delusion?
The show seeks to keep its viewer off balance, unsure of what is going on and just who the good and bad guys are, we hear about Dan Chase as a hero but then also a monster. At dinner, his date mentions that villains never see themselves as the bad guy in the story, and we are left to ponder if, in fact, Dan Chase is the hero or the monster in this story.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Jeff Bridges is in great shape and does well in the fight scenes while also being a man who is older
- The show’s score is unsettling and gives a sense of dread.
- Dan’s two dogs are as cute as they are vicious and they steal every scene they are in.
QUOTABLE QUOTE
Dan Chase: You send anymore after me, I send them back in bags, you send anyone after my kid I send them home in pieces
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Have you ever had something you thought you had left in the past come back? How did you handle it?
CONCLUSION
Overall The Old Man is a moody and slow-paced tale of espionage, government secrets, and the lengths a man will go to preserve his life and family. The premiere of The Old Man does not really do anything new with the genre of the “Old man on a mission” however a pair of strong performances by Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow ground its story, at the end of the day it’s not the tale of a super spy and his handler. It’s a narrative of a man who may or may not be losing his grip on reality, and how dangerous that can be for someone of his skill set and a treasure trove of secrets.
The Old Man is worth checking out if you enjoy dramas that are full of good performances, slow-burn storytelling, and vicious action. It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it’s not trying to, it’s simply telling a small story of a man the CIA forgot and the secrets he took with him.
