The Staircase (2022), Part Two
OK. We’re back for the next two installments of The Staircase, not to mention more Colin Firth because he’s apparently our accidental guest of honor this month. Hope he doesn’t mind. Anyway, those who might have missed Part One can find it here. Now, let’s get going.
Episode Four, “Common Sense,” takes place almost exclusively in the courtroom and I think it’s the strongest episode of the series so far. Firth in particular seems to have relaxed into his role, and as long as he jettisons the fake drawl he’s fine as Michael Peterson.
The episode still relies on flashbacks, but for the most part they exist to make a case. We see yet another possible scenario for Kathleen’s death, which is presented mostly without commentary, and which means Toni Colette gets yet another death scene. We see Michael lie about sustaining wounds in Vietnam. And we see a below-the-belt tactic by David, who stacks binders full of blunt force trauma victims in front of forensic scientist Dr. Deborah Radisch (Susan Pourfar), who’s certain Kathleen was murdered, and asks her to evaluate them. On the spot. It’s gaslighting, plain and simple.
It’s a painful episode but a truthful one.
Episode Five, “The Beating Heart,” shows Michael in prison, which obviously isn’t a spoiler. He’s in solitary confinement and certain inmates have it in for him because of it. He’s got an unlikely friend in his documentary editor, Sophie (Juliette Binoche), who sends him chatty letters and a gorgeous volume of Proust.
This is where the episode lost me slightly, because there was a lot of license going on here. Most of the episode is the film crew deciding how they’re going to present Michael’s story to the world and debating whether or not Sophie is too biased due to her relationship with Michael. A lot of it feels like filler, but on the plus side, by the end of the episode the French word for “cartiledge” will be firmly on the brain.
Apparently this aspect of the episode ruffled the feathers of the real Sophie Brunet because the timing of her relationship with Michael Peterson was adjusted for dramatic and artistic purposes. This sort of thing is so common in biopics and historical dramas, though, that it’s interesting Brunet would take such offense. It can be annoying, but it’s also Hollywood.
Having started watching the famed 2017 documentary series, I have to say that I almost prefer HBO’s docudrama. Something strikes me as disingenous about the real Michael Peterson. He’s a little too smooth and polished, like a guy who narrates audio books for a a living. The Campos series, while it’s slightly fictionalized, is somehow more truthful in that it doesn’t ask the viewer to believe anything one way or the other but decide for themselves. I’m curious to see how the last two episodes wind things up.
The Staircase can be seen on HBO Max. Rated TV-MA.
My grade (Episodes 4-5): B
Principal cast: Colin Firth, Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Michael Stuhlbarg, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Dane DeHaan, Rosemarie DeWitt, Trini Alvarado
Created by Antonio Campos and Maggie Cohn