Written by Steven Allison
When I first heard about Amazon’s Homecoming, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Unlike most of her contemporaries, Julia Roberts has been conspicuously absent from television. Was her change of heart guided by a desire (or need) to remain relevant in the epoch of streaming? Or was it simply that this series was so tantalising she couldn’t refuse? When I discovered that the hugely talented Sam Esmail (of Mr. Robot fame) had helped craft this psychological thriller, I was left with no doubt; it was the latter.
Based on a podcast of the same name (by the show’s co-creators Eli Horowitz and Micah Bloomberg), Homecoming promised us an artfully-shot Prime original packed full of mystery, intrigue and suspense. And that’s exactly what it delivered.
This impressive, gripping series jumps skilfully between past and present. In the past, the story follows Heidi Bergman (Roberts), a psychologist at the Homecoming Transitional Support Centre in Florida. Set up under the guise of helping veterans to overcome Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and to readjust to civilian life, the facility isn’t all that it seems. From a distance, the cheerful, well-intentioned Heidi is manipulated by her hyperactive and duplicitous boss Colin Belfast (Bobby Cannavale). It becomes clear that, behind the smokescreen, a company known as The Geist Group has been contracted by the government to wipe negative memories from the soldiers’ minds before redeploying them.
In the present, now living with her mother, Heidi works as a waitress at a dockside restaurant called Fat Morgan’s. Years after leaving the centre (under ambiguous circumstances), she is confronted by a Department of Defence auditor about what happened during her time at Homecoming. However, she can’t remember anything other than the fact that she worked there. Following an obscure complaint, the tenacious Thomas Carrasco (Shea Whigham) won’t stop until he’s uncovered the truth – the truth that a muddled Heidi begins to pursue as Colin (posing as a stranger) seeks to distract her.
It would do Homecoming an injustice to say that it brings something fresh to the table. In a way, it does, but simply because it takes us back to the television days of yore. We just don’t see much of these days, and it’s really bloody refreshing. Esmail and his team offer a smorgasbord of considered, photographic setups, each more captivating and mouth-watering than the last. Shots are framed in such a way that they fully maximise anxiety, and the use of aspect ratios – to both distinguish between timelines and denote Heidi’s memory loss (and regain) – is sheer magnificence. The complex long-takes used in the series have been met with widespread criticism, which baffles me because they’re nothing short of brilliant.
But we don’t just have the cinematography to thank. Maggie Phillips’ mind-blowing score crawls through each scene with a disturbing air of paranoia that serves to establish real tension. On top of this, phone conversations are played out as participants would hear them, making voyeurs of us all. This permits the audience to forget that they’re lost in a modern setting, but rather enjoying a Hitchcock-esque 70’s thriller with inch-perfect measures of Stanley Kubrick and John Carpenter.
There’s some incredible casting here too. Roberts brings everything we love about her from the big screen, losing nothing in the process. We even get to see that renowned wide smile, teary eyes combo, familiar from the “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her” Notting Hill scene among many others. Stephan James is compelling as the cooperative, kind-natured veteran Walter Cruz. His subtle flirtations with Heidi have a completely natural yet reticent quality that shines through until the very last scene. Great acting by Roberts and James is complemented by that of Cannavale, who does twisted, threatening and twitchy achingly well; Whigham, whose character ‘s quiet determination takes me back to Colombo; Sissy Spacek, whose turn as Heidi’s mother Ellen symbolises a devotion to the quotidian demands of life that help ground the show; and Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Walter’s sharp-tongued, concerned mother Gloria.
Mistrust of authority reigns in this masterpiece, which gives it the immediacy we’re seeing in a lot of current shows. In this sense, Homecoming is primarily taut and profound in tone, but this is balanced by playful humour (albeit black in parts) and a warmth that avoids being saccharine. The lead up to the final episode was absolutely flawless, and I’m happy to say the same of the conclusion.
Still left with a sour taste in my mouth from the ending of the last series I binge-watched (House of Cards season 6), I was rooting for Homecoming to bring it home. Praise be – my hopes weren’t dashed. Esmail gives us one moreish conundrum here from door to door. As viewers watch Homecoming, they’re left puzzled throughout; not in the bad “Ugh, I can’t be bothered with this anymore – I’m off to re-watch Frasier” sort of way, but in the good “I’m so confused as to what’s going on and I wouldn’t have it any other way” sense. Given morsels of information that are just the right size to help us guess what on earth is going on, the show’s creators manage to keep our interest piqued. And without any spoilers, I can tell you that the series bows out with a nice little twist.
There was just one thing that I didn’t understand about Homecoming: the multiple references to shoes. Other than a scene where Colin’s laces are undone, which represents his circumstances unravelling, I just can’t work that one out. But that’s okay, like the heavy rain that features in several episodes, a little unsolved mystery never hurt anyone. Perhaps I’ll be treated to an explanation in season 2, which Amazon has confirmed. Yay.
