This week’s picks include DTF St Louis, a bittersweet tale of male friendship with a murder in the middle starring Jason Bateman and David Harbour, plus a bloody action thriller with Priyanka Chopra, and the return of The Artful Dodger.
DTF St Louis ★★★★½ (HBO Max) Don’t be misled by the suggestive title. HBO Max’s new limited series is a quietly thoughtful and bittersweet viewing experience. Galvanised by a suspicious death, this story of male best friends – where one of the men is secretly having an affair with the other’s wife – can play as a drily black comedy or a suburban noir. But even as it moves to these genre contours, the central performances and the writing keep unearthing new strands of humanity, whether flawed or bewildering.
Jason Bateman (left) and David Harbour in DTF St. Louis. Found dead in compromising circumstances, Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour) is a burly sign language interpreter who worked alongside his pal, local television weatherman Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman). The two St Louis cops from different departments partnered on the case, Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday) and Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins), soon have a file filled with questions where the obvious answers keep being dispelled. The plot quickly makes clear that Clark was having an affair with Floyd’s wife, Carol Love-Smernitch (Linda Cardellini). The why is a different matter.
Linda Cardellini in DTF St. Louis. DTF St Louis, named for the hook-up app Clark int
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