Amazon Prime Too Old To Die Young (Limited Series from Nicolas Winding Refn) (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

I'm a HUGE fan of Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn, but I've never seen this limited series. Judging by the trailer, it looks to be textbook Refn. Bizarre, and probably almost incomprehensible, not to mention kind of messed up... and extremely violent.

Even as relatively obscure as Refn is, I'm a little surprised there's no thread on this yet. Has anyone watched it? Or at least, tried to watch it?

 

[JohnRice]

Based on the trailer, the two Refn movies it reminds me of the most are...

The Neon Demon




and Only God Forgives.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I wasn't even aware this existed. Will I watch it, or at the very least try to watch it? Hell yeah!

- Walter.

 

[Josh Dial]

Even as relatively obscure as Refn is, I'm a little surprised there's no thread on this yet. Has anyone watched it? Or at least, tried to watch it?

I watched it back when it came out.

Loved it. But I'm also a massive Refn fan.

It's probably his slowest moving project, but also his most fleshed out. He takes a lot of time to tell his story, but he tells the full story if that makes sense.

The soundtrack from Cliff Martinez (one of my favourite composers working today) is tremendous. I bought a physical copy literally the minute it came out on Amazon.

 

[Josh Dial]

Here is one of my favourite scenes from Too Old to Die Young. No spoilers at all. I had a good laugh at this scene. It's a good example of Refn doing Lynch.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Watched episode one today and loved it. It has a very deliberate pace and Teller reminds me a lot of Gosling in Refn's Drive in terms of his prenaturally calm demeanor. Terrific electronic soundtrack and very much a David Lynch vibe in some sequences. Most notably regarding a certain someone's dad.

Some of the early sequences in episode one had a Nightcrawler aesthetic, at least in terms of the cinematogaphy of night time Los Angeles.

In this day and age of relatively short episodic television I was surprised at the runtime of 1:33. Anyway I am on board but it may be awhile until episode two. I tend to view a fair amount of new (to me) content with a viewing buddy and I am curious to see if he is onboard for this series or not. (It may be too eccentric for him, we'll see.)

After two seasons of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds it was interesting to see Babs Olusanmokun play a character who decidedly has NOT taken the Hippocratic Oath.

- Walter.

 

[Carl David]

I'm a HUGE fan of Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn, but I've never seen this limited series. Judging by the trailer, it looks to be textbook Refn. Bizarre, and probably almost incomprehensible, not to mention kind of messed up... and extremely violent.

Even as relatively obscure as Refn is, I'm a little surprised there's no thread on this yet. Has anyone watched it? Or at least, tried to watch it?

Have seen it.

Difficult to describe.

It's completely original as I have not seen anything else like it.

Found the mini series sadistic, depressing, erratic with a slow pacing. The humour is very twisted but it does deliver some laughs if you understand it.

A journey into a very dark world where hardly any of the characters have any redeeming traits.

The piece is photographed like a movie. Kind of floats between a TV show and a film.

The music is also unique and takes you into the world once you persevere with the show.

My verdict on it is ambivalence.

But if you like his work it's probably a definite watch.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I have a good friend with whom I view some programming. After watching episode one, I sort of figured this program would be of interest to them. We have watched the first two episodes and are both on board for this series. (Second viewing of episode one for me.) Even though the show has been out for awhile, I'll spoiler the discussion of episode two for those who have not experienced the show...

Spoiler

First, I was completely surprised that the entirety of episode two was spent with the drug cartel in Mexico. We see more of the dynamics of the family and associates of Don Ricardo. The episode paints a very brutal picture of the workings and sensibilities of the cartel. Life is very cheap.

The same aesthetics we saw at work in episode one were at work. The color schemes for episode two relied a lot on the color red and there is a surreal garishness that evokes the imagery of David Lynch.

The episode title is the (ironically titled?) The Lovers. The baptismal scene near the end insinuates a homosexual relationship between Jesus and Miguel, but there is (to me) some ambiguity.

While there is a lot of disturbing content in the episode, the night club sequence and its aftermath involving a rather unfortunate sex worker was fairly shocking, and hints at a possible origin story for Yaritza.

We are left with a potentially life or death situation for one of the supporting characters introduced in episode two and that feels like a storytelling style that will persist through the series. (In episode one, Martin receives some disturbing news that hints at larger troubles ahead for him.)

I'll probably be watching one or two episodes a week. I'm enjoying its darkness. One of those, "I'm glad this isn't happening to me." types of series.

- Walter.

 

[JohnRice]

I still haven’t started on this yet. I think I need to be in the proper state of mind to handle it. It did occur to me it strikes me a bit as a darker version of American Gods.

 

[Walter Kittel]

I watched one or two seasons of American Gods, but my memories of that series are kind of vague. I do recall it had a fairly striking visual aspect; perhaps a bit more visually dynamic in terms of its use of color vs. the series that is the subject of this thread. Having said that, color is of importance in episode two.

To Old To Die Young tends to move more deliberately and based on the first two episodes - yes, it is darker. One thing this series does well, at least to date, is to slowly build tension - drawing it out moment after moment. As I posted before, some of the night sequences in episode one recall Nightcrawler both in terms of cinematography and tension.

- Walter.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Here is one of my favourite scenes from Too Old to Die Young. No spoilers at all. I had a good laugh at this scene. It's a good example of Refn doing Lynch.

Still slowly working my way through this series and viewed episode five earlier today, which features "Mandy". This clip is fairly drenched in irony when one considers the sheer level of darkness and depravity that permeates this episode. It is a very dark series for the most part, although the previous episode (four) did contain some genuine moments of emotional resonance and one or two touching scenes.

This series isn't for everyone, but I am still loving it for its unpredictability.

- Walter.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Still slowly working my way through the series... Without getting too spoiler-y the last episode I viewed was a complete kick in the balls - metaphorically speaking. At this point, I have no idea where things are headed as I come down the home stretch. I can honestly say that there are a few moments from the last episodes viewed that I have never seen before in entertainment media. Probably need to get out more.

- Walter.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Finally finished the series earlier today. It certainly ended in a place that I could not have predicted after viewing the first episode of the series. My overall impression of the series is relatively consistent across the episodes. Once again it isn't for everyone, but worth a look for those who value unconventional content. I believe that fans of David Lynch would appreciate this series. However, it isn't for those squeamish about depictions of violence.

The performances were strong, and while the visual style was a bit repetitive it was engaging. I liked the chaotic and unpredictable nature of the series in specific scenes within episodes. Also worth mentioning was the synth / electronic score that really sets the mood for so much of the show.

- Walter.