NETFLIX REVIEW – OZARK (2020) – SEASON 3

Created by: Bill Dubuque & Mark Williams

Producers: Jason Bateman, Chris Mundy, Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams

Director(s): Jason Bateman, Alik Sakharov, Ben Semanoff, Amanda Marsalis, Cherien Dabis

Writers: Chris Mundy, Paul Kolsby, Ning Zhou, Martin Zimmerman, Miki Johnson, John Shiban, Laura Deeley

Cast: Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Sofia Hublitz, Skylar Gaertner, Julia Garner, Lisa Emery, Janet McTeer, Charlie Tahan, Tom Pelphrey, Joseph Bedford Lloyd, Joseph Sikora, Felix Solis, Jessica Frances Dukes etc.

Original Network: Netflix

**CONTAINS SEASON 1 & 2 SPOILERS**

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So, the third season of the Netflix crime drama, Ozark, confirms its status as one of my must-watch TV programmes. It joins the likes of Game of Thrones, Penny Dreadful, It’s Always Sunning in Philadelphia, Breaking Bad, Doctor Who, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Inside No. 9 and many more, which became essential viewing. If you haven’t seen the show, Jason Bateman plays an accountant who has to go on the run with his family to Ozark, Missouri, while working for a murderous Mexican drug cartel. Accompanying him are his wife, Wendy, portrayed by Laura Linney and their two teenage children, Jonah and Charlotte. The structure of the season one and two is to essentially place the American “nuclear family” at the heart of a noir thriller and watch them use their wits to survive. What is even more apparent though is that the ingenuity of the writing means we are rooting for the bad guys. Of course, there is always a bigger fish or predator, but slowly and surely the Byrdes are climbing a slippery ladder up the crime food chain.

Season 3 begins not long after season 2 ended. The explosive and brutal Mexican drug wars, involving the Navarro Cartel and bitter rivals, provides a violent back drop for the drama. It heightens the tension and danger for Marty and Wendy, who are now running a casino literally on the Ozark lakes. With the Cartel wars raging, the Byrdes also have major problems closer to home. They are attending marriage therapy, the FBI are about to audit their casino, Navarro himself is breathing down their necks about the flailing money-laundering operation, Janet McTeer’s devious lawyer, Helen Pierce, wants more control, and Frank Cosgrove Junior, from the Kansas City mob, is being a spoilt arsehole. His character and Julia Garner’s foul-mouthed Ruth Langmore face off many times during the season. In addition, Wendy’s erratic wanderer of a brother, Ben (Tom Pelphrey) is thrown into the heady mix, while always lurking is devilish Darlene Snell (Lisa Emery). The stakes are high, and the players are set for one almightily gripping game of life and death.

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All the ingredients of what I loved in the first two seasons of Ozark are still present in the latest season. This is good old-fashioned crime and noir drama, with ultra-violence and shocking plot twists, presented via a stylish set of production values. The cinematography alone is just so stylish with natural lighting, shadows and silhouettes used to cloak the characters. Furthermore, many of the narrative twists and turns could be deemed as over-the-top, but the scriptwriting and lead performances are of such high quality you cannot fail to be drawn into this shady world of drug dealers, gangsters, assassins and liars. Indeed, pretty much every character is a liar and there are very few innocent or righteous characters in Ozark. Even the kids are in on the lies and have some of their own too.

Of the new characters introduced, FBI Agent Maya Miller (Jessica Frances Dukes) is a welcome addition to the machinations. Yet, her attempts to follow the rules leads her directly into dark water, as Marty attempts to manipulate her to his own ends. Not as innocent is Wendy’s brother, Ben. While he is lively and a bit of a maverick, he still has a good heart though. However, he has a secret which will come to the fore later in the season. This allows Wendy to face one of the most difficult life choices she ever has to make. In such scenes the acting from Tom Pelphrey and Laura Linney is incredibly powerful. Some may say that these episodes trivilize mental illness, but Ozark is not attempting to explore major issues. Instead, it uses them to serve the darker plot developments and continued tragedy within this savage world. Afterall, this is a show which literally had a character suffer a Caesarean section with a hunting knife.

Overall, season 3 of Ozark is a brutal and exciting wade through a swamp of vicious and calculating set of characters. There is also much dark humour, especially in the industrial language and biting delivery of the amazing Julia Garner. Even Jason Bateman as Marty Byrde, a cool and calm individual, continues to prove he will stop at nothing to keep him and his family alive. I think also that Marty enjoys the games and the gambles. He wants to win at all costs as demonstrated in flashbacks to his childhood experiences with a particular arcade game. Likewise, Wendy, whose character really came to the fore in season 2, is just as ruthless. To both of them death has become part of their everyday lives. As Bateman and Linney continue to give incredible performances, I’m hooked on where Ozark is leading us. Given season 4 promises old and new rivals to threaten the Byrde family, I bet it’s going to get darker and even more shocking.

Mark: 9.5 out of 11

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