Rory Kinnear is the reason to watch the fourth season of “Penny Dreadful.”
Freed from the Frankenstein makeup he wore in the first three seasons, he’s now able to play a character who isn’t mired in prosthetics. Here, he’s a pediatrician who’s pulled into a 1930s story about Los Angeles and its corrupt politics.
Written by John Logan, the newest pulp fiction thread was supposed to run more than a season. Then, Showtime canceled the anthology and freed Kinnear to do other, more high-profile productions, like “No Time to Die,” which is still waiting to be released. (In the latest James Bond film, he’s back as Bill Tanner, the MI6 chief of staff.)
In “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” he brings in a Third Reich vibe that suggests there was more going on in Los Angeles than anyone thought.
Like so many films recounting Los Angeles’ troubles (yup, even “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” went there), this one revels in expensive costumes and sets.
It starts simply enough – four bodies have been found in the Los Angeles river basin and two detectives (played by Daniel Zovatto and Nathan Lane) are sent to investigate. Before long, Logan introduces plenty of supernatural elements and a religious thread that lets Kerry Bishe and Amy Madigan shake the rafters.
By episode three, it’s clear this “Penny Dreadful” is headed in a dozen directions. It’s impossible to guess how it will wrap up in six and that could be what Logan was hoping for. No Dracula/Frankenstein’s monster characters dominate. But there’s enough religious mentions to offend just about everyone.
Natalie Dormer, as the creepy Magda, gets the biggest opportunity to chew the scenery. She shape shifts with the best of them but she’s not the actor Kinnear is. Though his part is hardly a starring one, it does bear watching.
Zovatta seems like the one who should be the star. Frequently, he disappears in his well-cut costumes while Lane walks away with their shared moments.
Bishe and Madigan get the attention they seek, but “City of Angels” is largely an interesting attempt at rethinking a franchise that was better left alone. This dime novel could have been left in the remainder bin.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.