Kids this is not your parent’s Perry Mason. Photo courtesy of Collider.com
HBO’s Perry Mason is a whole new chapter in the fictitious lawyer’s life creating a new timeline that takes the beloved character back to his days of being a shady detective circa 1930’s Los Angeles just trying to get by one day at a time. Between a painful divorce, trauma from his time served during the Great War, a wee bit of a drinking problem, and employment issues thanks to the Great Depression, Perry’s life is nothing more than a sinking ship that was minutes away from going under until his long time mentor/employer Elias Birchard (played by John Lithgow) hands him the case of a lifetime. The kidnapping and horrific murder of a local baby named Charlie Dodson captures the nation’s attention who then instantly blames the parents, while the corrupt LAPD unfairly takes turns arresting and charging said child’s parents with murder and kidnapping, based on flimsy evidence and prodding from the D.A Maynard Barnes. One day it’s Mathew Dodson, Charlie’s father, the next it’s Emily Dodson, Charlie’s Mother, until Matthew’s father, Herman Baggerly, a wealthy businessman and devout disciple at the local Radiant Assembly Of God church decides to hire a private attorney to represent Matthew and Emily and reaches out to Elias Birchard to exonerate Baggerly’s son and the family’s name. Elias, or E.B, hires Perry to start building a trail of evidence that proves Charlie’s parents are innocent, but unfortunately for E.B and Perry, they have no idea what kind of rabbit hole this case will take them down.
The incomparable John Lithgow as Elias Birchard or “E.B.” photo courtesy of Esquire.com
As the wheels of justice slowly and biasedly turn and E.B and Perry build their case, mounting evidence from the D.A’s office points to Emily Dodson as a co-conspirator and accessory to the kidnapping and murder of Charlie, citing an extramarital affair she had with a man tied to the crime. Anyone involved in the crime, along with a handful of crooked cops, mysteriously winds up dead, leaving very little evidence, or at least admissible evidence available to free Emily, leaving E.B and Associates distressed at failing an innocent woman who, while awaiting trial, was being bullied and beaten in jail by other inmates and the occasional group of guards in an effort to coax a confession out of her. When Perry finds a strong, solid lead in the case and the D.A gets wind of it, Barnes tries to blackmail E.B into dropping the case or risk having his dirty financial secrets aired publically. With no way of helping Emily, himself, or his deeply in-debt law firm, E.B backs out of everything entirely leaving the law firm and the case in the hands of his stalwart assistant Della Street (Juliet Rylance) the backbone of the firm, and Perry who is, well, Perry.
Juliet Rylance as the formable Della Street. Photo courtesy of Gogglr
Through the stress and strain of no mentor and no boss, losing his house thanks to back taxes and an overly ambitious female pilot named Lupe Gibbs (whom he technically was sleeping with but shit got weird and well) and no actual lawyer to handle the case, Mason snaps, going into a liquor-soaked tirade about how everything was rigged and stacked against them, with an intrigued Della listening to and writing down his every word. That evening, thanks to Della, Perry Mason went from P.I to a lawyer in training and with a little help from a friend (sometimes what is right and what is legal are two different things) he takes the bar early, passes it, and begins unraveling the D.A’s case from a different, legal angle that involves the Radiant Assembly of God and their ties to the Dodson’s, including Baggerly. Now we see the tables turn as evidence of a conspiracy to ransom Charlie for enough money to bail the Radiant Assembly out of debt from greedy accountants and poor asset management, which in turn proves the D.A’s case against Emily is nothing more than salacious character assassination. The jury’s decision, however, isn’t that neat and tidy, and the ensuing plot twists are great, solid segues into the next season.
As a whole, the series is really good. Not perfect, it definitely has some housekeeping to do with those plotholes (you’ll know them when you see them) and the bumps in the timeline, but overall, it’s a fantastic start to something that could be really big. The overall tone is completely different from either TV series, with less camp and more raw grit, but the evolution of the characters, the plot twists, and the balance of noir, hope, revenge, justice is superb all while watching the emotional/moral rebirth of a damaged individual was just enthralling, not to mention the diversity of both old and new characters was/is extremely refreshing. It was beautifully shot with a lot of care and depth poured into every scene, with an equally emotional and carefully crafted soundtrack that really ties everything together quite well.
The bottom line is, what few things in the series we can complain about pale in comparison to its overall positives and is well worth your time and attention.
You know you want to. Now streaming on HBO Max. Photo courtesy of IMDb
The official trailer can be seen here
The IMDb can be seen right about here, or there
The official HBO Perry Mason website is absolutely here though