Tom Hanks could turn any name in the phone book into a character worth watching, and Morgan Freeman reading from the same book would be completely enthralling. But Rectify’s Aden Young could just stare at a stack of Yellowpages, and I’d be happy to just watch him do so. Saying little, his big, sad doe eyes were the reflecting pools from which show creator Ray McKinnon drew deeply when exploring themes of redemption, family, and spirituality, all without having to make big statements, or condescending to people of faith.
The Sundance Channel carved out a strange little niche for itself in 2013, taking potboiler premises (in this case: wrongfully imprisoned death row inmate released after 19 years in a hole), and delivering some of the most visually arresting and thought-provoking stuff on TV. I won’t blame anybody for being turned off by the show’s glacial pacing, especially when the pilot gives the impression of a more traditional type of series. But Rectify was part of an encouraging movement in TV, where plot wasn’t the only thing that mattered anymore: you don’t need to have the dizzying scope of Game of Thrones, or try to set a landspeed record for storytelling like Scandal. Your show can just be, and if it’s asking the right questions, that can be more than enough.
