Review #971: Horace and Pete (2016)

Title: Horace and Pete
Year: 2016
Director: Louis C.K
Country: US
Language: English

When is the last time a Web series left you in awe due to its character driven writing? Horace and Pete is a heartfelt episodic venture by Comedian Louis C.K, who decided to release the series on the web as a Saturday morning surprise.  Created, written, directed and starring Louis, each of the 10 episodes cost $3 USD a piece to download from his website, but boy was that money well spent. 

Horace (Louis C.K) is a 50-something year old operator of a 100-year-old dive bar in Brooklyn. His partner (Steve Buscemi) is a schizophrenic man who has gone off his meds due to insurance reasons. Horace’s grown daughter, Alice (Aidy Bryant), resents him. His sister, Sylvia (Edie Falco), comes with a lawyer to contest the ownership of the foundering bar.

Horace and Pete changed how I view television (even though it's not quite television to begin with). Louis C.K's drama plays out like a great Steinbeck novel; each part of this tragic symphony slowly building up towards a raging climax. It’s shot as if through a whiskey glass and staged like theater, albeit without a live audience. The pace is deliberate, the shots are long, and the soundtrack is ever so mournful. 

The show feels like it could be set in yesteryear, yet contains dialogue that indicates that the characters are operating in the present time period. Much of the character's problems (such as Buscemi losing his insurance) are very relevant and urgent. Overall it's a probing, engaging, enthralling and tear-jerking series that will leave audiences stunned. 

Rumours persist that Louis C.K is in deep debt because of this series and I hope this is not true. It is far to good to not leave its creator with plenty of cash. If you aren't convinced that Louis C.K is one of the greatest television writers of all time, I urge you to watch this show and see for yourself.