“The Slap,” which premiered Feb. 12 on NBC, is a mini-series surrounding particularly emotional, affluent city folk in Brooklyn. The series touches on hot-button issues like income inequality, entitlement and parenting. If there’s anything this show is likely to do, it’s getting people talking—though not because it’s well-done, despite the abundance of talent involved.
The slap for which the show is named takes place at the sad 40th birthday barbecue for Hector, played by Peter Sarsgaard (“Blue Jasmine”), a miserable public servant who is shown canoodling covertly with his teenage babysitter, Connie, portrayed by Makenzie Leigh (“Gotham”) during his celebration. Hector has also just been passed over for an expected work promotion—all unbeknownst to his wife, Aisha, played by Thandie Newton (“Crash”).
The celebration reunites Hector’s extended Greek family, namely his self-assertive, succesful car-dealing cousin Harry, played by Zachary Quinto (“Star Trek: Into Darkness”) as well as Hector’s friends Rosie, (Melissa George, “Hunted”) and Gary, played by Thomas Sadoski (“Take Care”).
Hector and Aisha have an exceptionally bratty son, Hugo—which will undoubtedly ignite a conversation about parenting styles—who responds to striking out in a casual backyard baseball game by swinging his bat around threateningly. Upon this, Harry affronts his nephew, rears back and gives him a slap and the show its title.
Cue the lawsuit, and recriminations as the incident brings to light a cache of old family tensions and resentments. Cue the discussions about whether Harry acted too cruelly, or Hugo’s parents too delicately. Most of all, cue a cascade of contemplations on class, social mores and morality.
The show is based on an Australian TV series, in turn based on a Christos Tsiolkas novel of the same name, and is directed Lisa Cholodenko—whose accolades include “Olive Kitteridge” for HBO.
While Cholodenko does exceedingly well with her camera work, flitting among the characters in the crucial party scene, effectively chronicling the title event, “The Slap” is just not a hit. It’s superficial, overly-provocative for a broadcast network and entirely void of subtlety.
This lack of subtlety is noticeable from the beginning of the episode, with a ponderous voiceover that continually informs viewers what the series should be showing: “Hector considered what might happen if he allowed things to go any further with Connie.” Furthermore, the dialogue, pardon the pun, slaps viewers with its harsh discourse that just ultimately does not sound like a conversation between normal human beings. Particularly when Harry yells in a fit of rage “What’s happening to this country?” after learning about the impending lawsuit against him.
Each episode of “The Slap” will be shown from the perspective of a different character so Pioneers interested in getting the full picture can tune into this series Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.
