Category: drama

The Cost of Lies Proves Steep in Craig Mazin’s HBO/SKY Miniseries Chernobyl

Every now and then I become obsessed with a show that sends me on a quest for knowledge and into a rabbit hole of information. Craig Mazin’s new five part HBO + SKY co-production Chernobyl has done just that. For many, the Chernobyl disaster is a hazy memory we have from our childhoods— relegated to grainy VHS tapes we watched in elementary school or a few paragraphs in our history and science books. But as it turns out, what we learned only scratched the surface…

“There was nothing sane about Chernobyl.” 

Part dramatization, part investigation, part history lesson, and part cautionary tale, the first two episodes of Chernobyl narratively demonstrate this won’t just be a story about the events that unfolded in the early morning hours of April 26th, 1986 but rather a story about heroes and villains. About humanity. Though Mazin provides facts akin to those we may have heard before, he wastes no time knocking us back in our seats and into the web of deception spun by the Soviet Union to reveal some of the best— and worst people that emerged from the tragedy. This Chernobyl is a story of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union— of negligence, of a system that would rather let its people believe they were safe rather than admit wrongdoing, and a people willing to risk their lives for their love of the Soviet Union. In Mazin’s Chernobyl, truth is a crime and to admit the Soviet Union had a weakness? perhaps the biggest offense. After all, the World was watching. 

“Our faith in Soviet socialism will always be rewarded.” 

As Chernobyl opens, we find ourselves two years after the incident occurred in the home of our protagonist, scientist Valery Legasov (biographically portrayed by Jared Harris). In this moment, he’s listening to a recording of himself. “What is the cost of lies?” he asks, before speaking of Chernobyl deputy chief Anatoly Dyatlov (biographically portrayed by Paul Ritter) and his guilt in the events that took place. While he admits Dyatlov deserves nothing short of death, Legasov insinuates there is a far more guiltier party not paying a price— the Soviet Union itself. “Well, I’ve given you everything I know. They’ll deny it, of course. They always do. I know you’ll try your best,” Legasov concludes, recording his closing statement to a mystery recipient before stopping the tape. He gently holds a handkerchief over his mouth before placing it down to reveal it’s stained with spots of blood. Newspaper in hand, he then wraps what turns out to be a series of recordings, hiding them inside a waste bin before retreating outside as a man in a car looks on. He places the recordings inside a loose brick in the wall of his building before returning inside. For Legasov, the cost of lies is overwhelming. This is a man burdened by what we can only assume is failure to fully expose the truth and it has finally caught up with him.

Jessie Buckley Chernobyl
Jessie Buckley as Lyudmilla Ignatenko in Chernobyl

Flashback to Pripyat, Ukraine exactly two years (and one minute earlier) before our miniseries open. We meet a young woman named Lyudmilla (portrayed biographically by Jessie Buckley) who is up early and “ill.” As she leaves the bathroom and heads into her living room, we see an explosion occurring in the distance. Moments after, the house shakes, startling her. Her husband awakens and together, they watch Chernobyl burn a mile away from their home before he receives orders (as a fireman) to head to the scene under the guise it’s just the roof burning. We then meet the group of men in the control room that night as the blast goes off— some an amalgamation suitable for Mazin’s story and others, including Dyatlov, real. We see Dyatlov being told the core has exploded and witness his refusal to believe it (ignorance? arrogance?). He will send men to their deaths to assess the damages—  he will send men directly to the core. We meet the Plant Director Viktor Bryukhanov and Chief Engineer Nikolai Formin (portrayed biographically by Con O’Neill and Adrian Rawlins), two men in positions of power who clearly do not have anyone’s interests at heart but their own.  They will also send men to the core. They will refuse to believe the truth. They will refuse to recommend Pripyat be evacuated. We will be introduced to Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministries and head of the Bureau for Fuel and Energy, Boris Scherbina (portrayed biographically by Stellan Skarsgård) who will recruit Legasov to General Secretary Gorbachev’s committee to manage the accident. He will make sure in this committee, Legasov knows his place.

“You’re on this committee to answer direct questions about the function of an RBMK reactor if they should happen to arise. Nothing else. Certainly not policy. Do you understand?”  

It doesn’t take long for the miniseries to begin to answer Legasov’s initial question as we see firsthand the devastation that emerges in the moments and hours following the early morning explosion. Make no mistake, while impeccably directed by Johan Renck, shocking is the contrast between what we see at Chernobyl through the eyes of those on the ground, and what the citizens of Pripyat are unaware of— discoloration of skin, coughing, bleeding, vomiting, radiation poisoning— death. An unknowing population watches on bewildered yet enchanted by the beauty of a glowing blue light emanating from the opening of the reactor 4 core, ignorant they are being exposed to high amounts of radiation surpassing the readings on military grade dosimeters (the instrument used to monitor levels of radiation). Chernobyl is difficult to watch because it actually happened. Though some characters are fictionalized (Ulyana Maximovna, a nuclear physicist portrayed by Emily Watson), these people— or a composite of them to serve the narrative, actually existed. 

With a beyond eerie score by Hildur Guðnadóttirset against the bleak backdrop of a nuclear disaster and the seemingly endless clicking of the dosimeter (which never fails to increase my anxiety and pulse), Mazin’s words acted out through an amazing cast makes for compelling television as does each episode breakdown he provides on the companion Chernobyl Podcast. I recommend watching first, then listening to Mazin along with NPR’s Peter Sagal as they discuss characters and the inspiration behind the scenes. Mazin has taken a piece of horrific history and dramatized it with care, illuminating the Soviet Union’s role in what could have easily been the end of the European continent while educating us that it all could have been avoidable. Definitely tune in. This will rightfully be an awards contender.

While the first two episodes have aired and are available on HBO GO and HBO NOW, Chernobyl airs now Monday nights through June 3rd @ 9pm on HBO and in the UK on Sky. Its companion podcast is available at the conclusion of each episode.

ChernobylStellan Skarsgård as Boris Scherbina and Jared Harris as Valery Legasov  in Chernobyl 

In the event Chernobyl the miniseries isn’t enough for you, take a deep dive and learn more with some of the following:

  • Babushka’s of Chernobyl (Amazon Prime) – 2015 documentary that follows a group of strong women who after the Chernobyl disaster, decided to rebel against orders and return to the exclusion zone where they have resided ever since.
  • Chernobyl Heart (YouTube) – originally airing back in 2004 on HBO and winner Best Documentary Short Subject award at The 76th Academy Award, Chernobyl Heart is a shocking and heartbreaking glimpse into the lives of the children Chernobyl impacted and continues to today.
  • Voices from Chernobyl – while Mazin assured me via Twitter he will be releasing a full bibliography of the material he used to once the miniseries concludes, he has mentioned multiple times in Tweets and the companion Chernobyl podcast that Voices from Chernobyl was a great source of information.

 

J.K. Simmons and Counterpart – the actor that deserves your praise and the show you should be watching

You may know him as Juno’s loving father in the Diablo Cody dramedy by the same name, the abusive yet respected professor in Whiplash (for which he received an Oscar), the voice of the yellow M&M, or even the Farmers Insurance guy. But no matter how you recognize him, one thing is true – J.K. Simmons has serious range and is a force to be reckoned with. Last December, Simmons again put his acting skills to the test starring in Counterpart, STARZ sci-fi  thriller straight from the mind of writer Justin Marks (Jungle Book). I’m here to say that both the actor and the show deserve your attention – even if they were overlooked for Emmy nominations (though it did get a nom and win for Main Title Design).

It’s no secret that it’s often challenging for a project to be greenlit unless it’s based on original intellectual property or has strong packaging. Whether a book, comic, article, format, or concept that has already been proven to show success, it’s easier for studios and networks to take a chance on something that already resonates with the cultural zeitgeist. However, Counterpart is unlike any other show on television or OTT platform that I can find or immediately think of (and if there are, then tell me). If we want to see more original shows from the minds of really creative people, then we need to start and keep watching. That’s not to say series like Westworld, Game of Thrones, Homeland or the record number of revived sitcoms on broadcast TV don’t have merit, it’s simply to point out that there’s room for both. And thankfully, because of Amazon, Netflix, HULU and in this case, STARZ (owned by Lionsgate), we’re able to see Counterpart and other series come to life.

Counterpart2Olivia Williams and J.K. Simmons in Counterpart 

Howard Silk (Simmons) is a seemingly nice guy. Employed as a member of the Interface team in the Office of Interchange in Berlin for 29 years and well-liked by his colleagues, he does the same menial tasks and performs the same routine daily, almost with robotic precision – no questions asked. But six weeks ago, his life changed when his wife, Emily (Olivia Williams) was involved in a hit-and-run. Concussed and in a coma, she clings to life on machines and a breathing tube with Howard visiting her daily after work, placing a single flower in a vase at the nurses station before heading into her hospital room to read to her. And on the day we are introduced to this character, Howard Silk breaks routine not once, but twice – alerting a co-worker to a stain on his tie (which breaks protocol) and deciding to go after what he thinks he’s deserving of for the first time in his life – a promotion. Soon, because of the actions of someone whose existence he’s unaware of, he’ll find himself trapped in between two worlds and become one of the very few people to meet their counterpart, a person who looks exactly like him – Howard Prime. Moving forward to cut down on confusion and also, because the writers room had to differentiate between the two Howard’s, i’ll refer to them as Alpha (our OG Howard) and Prime (our Other Side Howard).

During the Cold War, Eastern scientists had been experimenting when an accident occurred, unintentionally opening up a passage directly beneath where the Office of Interchange stands. “When you go through this door, you come out the Other Side – you’re in another world identical to ours,” OI Director of Strategy, Peter Qualye (Harry Lloyd) explains to Howard Alpha. Surprise, Howard – you’re working for a company that trades information, gathers intelligence and “keeps a lid” on the fact that 30 years ago, the world split in two. But, you also never asked what it is that you do here sooo *shoulder shrug emoji* You and your counterpart share genetics, you share a childhood, but you’re going to find out you’re entirely different people and as the audience, we get to watch it magically unfold.

On the Other Side, Howard Prime is higher in rank than our Howard Alpha, working in Section 2 – gathering a network of spies on the Alpha side. He’s come through what is known as The Crossing where upon entering a room handcuffed, head and face covered, he alerts a small team including Howard Alpha and OI Director of Strategy, Peter Qualye (Harry Lloyd) and OI Director of Intelligence, Aldrich (Ulrich Thomsen) that a contract assassin has been coming over from his side to kill (Baldwin, played by Sara Serraiocco). There has been a lot of in-fighting in leadership on the Other Side and it seems a faction has emerged, wanting to take over for reasons that aren’t clear as the pilot unfolds. Baldwin has already killed a lot of good men on his side and it seems the fight is spilling over. “I don’t know what this is, but it’s not random,” Prime discloses. The next hit on Baldwin’s list? Emily, currently in a coma who poses no danger to anyone. Howard Prime’s goal? Come to the Alpha side, pretend to be Howard Alpha, and take Baldwin out himself using his counterpart’s identity.

“The difference between you and me could be a single moment – one little thing gone wrong.” – Howard Prime

Howard and HowardHoward Prime and Howard Alpha – J.K. Simmons pulls double duty in Counterpart

Yes, folks. We get J.K. Simmons in not one, but two very different roles acting against not only others, but himself in a feat that’s nothing short of spectacular to watch. While Simmons’ Howard Alpha is meek, mild, and lacks ambition, his Prime is bold, has confidence in spades, has a takes no prisoner’s attitude and could care less about formalities or breaking the rules. As you keep watching the series, you begin to notice subtle changes in BOTH Alpha and Prime in even more of an impressive blend of acting and character development.

Underneath the politics, secrecy, mystery, deceit, and espionage that unravels over ten hour long episodes is a show that subliminally asks its audience to question “what if life were different?” by examining both characters in the Alpha and Prime worlds. Love, loss, and yearning all go into building the fiber of who these characters truly are. For Howard Alpha and also Peter Qualye, we see lives they thought they had in direct opposition to a life each never got to have both through themselves, and reflected in others.

When you can create a world that simply doesn’t exist, yet lead a viewer to believe in it, that’s a sign of a well-crafted show. For me, the Counterpart pilot and subsequent episodes manage to do just that. Yes, there are times where Counterpart isn’t action packed but it’s during those moments where we build to a new reveal – a deeper mystery uncovered. Stick with it. Apart from Simmons, Williams, and Flloyd, we get two kick-ass females in Sara Serraiocco’s Baldwin (she learned English for this role!) and Nazanin Boniadi as Peter Qualye’s wife, Clare who plays a more significant role as the series progresses.

While the show is available on STARZ and also via the STARZ app, If you don’t get the network, Counterpart is available on Amazon Prime to members. Season 2 is slated to premiere in January but if you’re fortunate enough to be attending Austin Film Festival later this October, you’ll get a sneak peak of the Season 2 premiere from Marks himself.