![]() But whatever a shark does in his element is just being a shark: They kill and they eat. A shark is often mistakenly understood to mean there’s evil intent. Rian and I talked about this idea of Cliff being an apex predator. That was the fun part - finding the complexity within. He feels emotionally betrayed and disregarded. It belies an emotional center that Cliff didn’t necessarily display in the pilot. He’s seen as nothing less than a dog, an obedient servant to the needs and whims of Sterling Sr. It’s not until he’s out on the road and expresses over and over again, “I should be there with you, helping you to run the business,” that we realize he’s got hurt feelings. Cliff, with more than 25 years as an employee for Sterling Frost and his family, has become somewhat complacent - and maybe even immune - to the disregard. holds for him until he’s deep into this hunt for Charlie. Were you trying to layer in Cliff’s dislike of the Frosts in the earlier episodes?Ĭliff is not aware of the level of disrespect Sterling Sr. But it isn’t until the finale episode that viewers understand the full weight of your sarcasm. In the first episode, you ask Sterling Frost Jr., “Should we call your father?”, reminding Sterling who’s really in charge at the casino. Bratt calls it one of the best jobs he’s ever had. Unlike a significant number of people who cross Charlie’s path, Cliff ends the season alive, but the man she describes as “the fucking worst” isn’t unscathed: He’s taken into custody by the FBI for a number of murders, seemingly abandoned by the Hasp family to whom he switched allegiance while betraying the Frosts, and injured by the penis-shaped bachelorette-party novelty toy with which Charlie punches him in the eye. Bratt then unveils other facets of the character’s personality - a fondness for reciting Blues Traveler lyrics a desire for power and wealth of his own - as he tries to frame Charlie for his own murder of Frost Sr. In finale “The Hook,” though, Cliff gets his own spotlight with a story sketching out the resentment he built up after tracking Charlie for more than a year his line delivery of “The things that I have eaten … I did not sign up for this” is a clinic in aggrievement. As for his forays into villainy including Traffic, 24: Live Another Day, and now, Peacock’s Poker Face, he hones those skills into a chameleonic menace as sharp as his cheekbones.Īs Cliff, an efficient casino enforcer and murderer who’s served the powerful Frost family for years, Bratt is initially blank-faced and straight-backed, an unseen threat trailing Natasha Lyonne’s bullshit-detecting Charlie Cale around the country at the behest of vengeful casino owner Sterling Frost Sr. Cheers, Wilko.With his lupine physicality and gift for navigating smirking humor alongside straight-and-narrow morality, Benjamin Bratt has spent 40-plus years playing characters on the right side of the law - not only in more than 90 episodes of Law and Order, but also in Demolition Man, Miss Congeniality, and Shot Caller. And his influence? Well, that’s never going to be leaving us. We know it’s only a matter of time before he leaves us, but we can at least be happy that he’s going to be leaving us with this. Nostalgic, but never sad or dejected, ‘Going Back Home’ turns out to be a fun, invigorating testimonial. Perhaps it would have been nice to get some newly written material, but it matters not when these veterans have delivered a fine record such as this. The arrangements are top notch too, the pair backed by an impressive group including a couple of members of The Blockheads, as well as Mick Talbot on organ. ![]() While Daltrey’s vocals are powerful and spot on, it’s Johnson who steals the show as he genuinely gets stuck into each riff like it’s the last he’ll ever play, a man giving it his all while he’s still on this planet to dish it out. ![]() After ‘Everybody’s Carrying A Gun’ proves impossible not to move to, the raucous ‘All Through The City’ rounds things off with a resonant blast of energy. The tough swagger of ‘Sneaking Suspicion’ couples staccato riffing with the tremendous sound of Daltrey at full throat, while it’s hard not to marvel at that guitar sound on ‘Keep It Out Of Sight’, something only Wilko Johnson could be responsible for. This is apparent from the superb licks he deals out on ‘Keep On Loving You’ and the addictive Feelgood vibes of a brilliantly arranged ‘Some Kind Of Hero’. Johnson’s a man who isn’t going out with a whimper. But despite the circumstances, this album doesn’t deal with sentimentality, it’s a celebration of being alive that’s only concerned with living for the moment. ![]()
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