The Lowdown Is Still The Best Neo-Noir You’re Not Watching
Ethan Hawke is in fine form as our favorite “truthstorian” in the eminently watchable second season of The Lowdown.
Since the Coen Brothers split up to do their own solo projects, Hollywood has been trying its utmost to fill in the gap that they left. We’ve occasionally seen sparks of Coen-esque brilliance in a handful of indie features, but TV has proven to be where the spirit of the Coen Brothers’ style lives. Noah Hawley’s Fargo series is the obvious first choice, though the FX anthology show was a case of diminishing returns. However, also on FX, Reservation Dogs creator Sterlin Harjo was quietly building the case that he was the heir apparent to the Coens. And now, with the terrific second season of The Lowdown, he has confirmed that no one is doing Coens-style absurdity quite like him.
The shaggy charms of The Lowdown are on full display in Season 2, which sees Ethan Hawke’s self-described “truthstorian” Lee Raybon unearthing another shady conspiracy that goes all the way to the top of the state penitentiary system, as one missing prisoner reveals a dangerous level of corruption in a nearby town.
Season 1 was already a Pynchonian delight, as Lee Raybon’s deadbeat ways pushed up against the sinister, and increasingly treacherous, conspiracy surrounding the death of Tim Blake Nelson’s brother, Governor Donald Washburn (Kyle MacLachlan). But while Season 1 was a tangled and timely web that involved neo-Nazis, murder, and Osage Nation land rights, Season 2 takes a decidedly more classic noir approach — namely in the femme fatale who darkens Lee’s doorstep and brings this case to his desk. Betty Gilpin’s no-nonsense public defender Ginger finds herself slotting into this role, though not of her own volition. In typical The Lowdown style, she finds herself accidentally fulfilling the femme fatale role after she becomes the object of Lee’s sloppy, dogged attention.
Lee meets Ginger at a journalism awards show where he accepts the Best Citizen Journalist award in honor of his “puff piece” on Dale Washburg, and delivers a speech decrying the “sellouts” of media and the ills of capitalism. Despite herself, Ginger confesses to Lee that two men are following her; a feigned kiss and quick escape later, and Lee becomes obsessed. Encountering Ginger again, Lee learns that she’s been digging into a former client of hers, who she fears went missing in state prison. And with that, Lee is on the case, throwing himself into another story of corruption and sinister cover-ups. But it gets him in the crosshairs of the powerful elite of a nearby town, and his family is put in danger once again. What makes things worse is that his estranged father Lee Raybon Sr. (Tommy Lee Jones) wanders into town, seeking to repair their relationship and meet his granddaughter, Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong).
Betty Gilpin is a scene-stealer as the season’s unexpected femme fatale.
While Season 2 is not quite as twisty as the first season, nor as urgently timely, The Lowdown’s sophomore outing retains the hangout vibes and sun-drenched noir thrills. And it seems that Harjo and co. have amped up the comedy of the season, with a career-best Hawke displaying even more slapstick skills than before, and a new cast that seems delighted to match the show’s absurdist tone. Tommy Lee Jones brings his reliably earthy gravitas to the role of Lee’s estranged father, but delivers all his lines with a twinkle in his eye. Meanwhile, Betty Gilpin is the season’s MVP as the perpetually exasperated object of Lee’s affections, who still manages to hold her cards close to her chest. And later in the season, a few more surprise appearances by beloved “That Guy” or “That Girl” character actors serve to ramp up the show’s absurdist stylings.
Despite an acclaimed first season, The Lowdown feels like one of the more under-the-radar shows on TV; a shame, since it’s one of the best offbeat noir shows of this decade. Kooky, funny, and eminently watchable, The Lowdown is high-key your next must-watch show.
