How To Get Away With Garbarge


My reverence for Viola Davis had me faithfully watching her “Getting Away with Murder” all fall. I cheered when it emerged as a breakout hit in the ratings: finally, Davis, a great actress, would have the fame she deserved. But as I watched each week’s episode a voice grew within me: is it just me, or is this show pretty awful? It wasn’t just me: my friend, the journalist Kevin Sessums, thought it was flimsy from the first. He said, “The only ones getting away with murder are the writers.” I now agree. The show’s coked-out editing, nighttime blurriness, the dark intensity that feels more like “True Blood” (without the camp) — all of these have worn me down. And does Davis have to be crying or shrieking in every scene? She couldn’t have one light moment? “How To Get Away with Murder” is the fall’s biggest new TV hit: also it’s biggest disappointment.

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