Quick Take: Luck, "Pilot"
"I'm tapped. Tapioca." - Jerry
Review: Luck, "Pilot"
(S0101) To say that Luck has a great cast would be an understatement. Even if you ignore the Oscar-worthy talent of Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, and Dennis Farina, there are still a host of fantastic actors rounding out the cast.
Even though I have only spent a day or two at the track, this show paints a clear picture of why people fall in love with horse racing. Aside from the gorgeous animals, there's a host of sounds and smells that only come together at the track and much like he did with Deadwood, David Milch does a brilliant job putting the viewer in the middle of everything.
Some of my favorite moments are the scene with Walter (Nolte) communing with the horse, Ace's (Hoffman) mood swings and, of course, the most powerful image in the entire episode -- a horse breaking his leg.
The only drawback with Luck is that the world of horse racing is very detail-oriented. Trying to decipher how exactly the “pick six” works while being introduced to so many new characters can be a daunting task. Add in Milch's penchant for extremely flowery dialogue and trying to digest everything on the screen can be a chore.
In the end, however, everything comes together to make perfect sense. The jockeys, the trainers, the owners, and the gamblers all have their own interesting lives and watching how they all weave in and out of one another is a lesson in great storytelling. I'm glad new episodes of Luck premiere on Sundays, because after watching only the one episode, I'm tempted to lose a few days and a few dollars at the track.
