Noir thriller series Quarry stands the test of time

The best thing about period dramas, whether set in the 18th Century or the 20th, or even in the years BC, is that they don’t date. So they’re generally as enjoyable now as they would have been when they were released. HBO thriller Quarry, now streaming on Showmax and released in 2015, is set in 1972, and proves this point.

Murder on the Mississippi

Quarry opens with what we will later learn is a flash forward, a twilight scene of murder on the banks of the great Mississippi. The narrative then takes a linear form until the final episode, which reveals all the missing pieces of the story, in flashbacks.

The account proceeds with Lloyd McKinnon “Mac” Conway (Logan Marshall-Green) and his buddy Arthur Solomon (Jamie Hector) arriving back from Vietnam. Arthur’s wife, Ruth (Nikki Amuka-Bird), is at the airport to meet them, but so is a crowd of angry protesters. Turns out, while on their tour of duty, Mac and Arthur were tried for war crimes after a massacre in a village. They were found not guilty but public opinion is something else.

Heck, even Mac’s wife, Joni (Jodi Balfour), and his stepmother, fling it in his face. We expect it from his stepmom, who is the kind of person who keeps the plastic on her lounge furniture, and as for Joni , well, she takes some strain, so her lashing out with the most painful weapon she can is understandable in the heat of the moment.

Untimely death and an unfair debt

Despite having served their country, Mac and Arthur find the job offers are not exactly pouring in, on account of their trial. One night, a man known only as The Broker (Peter Mullan) pays a visit to Mac’s house and offers him $30 000 to be a contract killer. As a soldier who has already killed, and for far less money, you would think this sounds tempting. But Mac declines – and not politely, either.

Later, he discovers that The Broker approached Arthur as well, who accepted the deal. On the night of Arthur’s first job, Mac agrees to be his lookout. Things go pear-shaped and Arthur winds up dead. The Broker tells Mac he is responsible for Arthur’s payment, which has disappeared. This seems a little unfair but they have the guns, and Mac starts working off the debt.

Things just go from bad to worse for Mac, what with his first job being somewhat close to home, which leads to some extremely uncomfortable repercussions down the line, and he quickly learns The Broker doesn’t deal in coincidences. Plus, the one-legged survivor of Arthur’s botched debut is out for revenge and his target is Joni.

Henchmen, hitmen and cops

There are a lot of other things going on at the same time, like Moses The Henchman (Mustafa Shakir), tasked with finding Arthur’s money, wooing Ruth; Buddy (Damon Herriman), another of The Broker’s crew, dealing with his private pain and his relationship with his mother, Naomi (Ann Dowd – Aunt Lydia from The Handmaid’s Tale); and the police investigation into the death of one Cliff (Daniel Hall, but really, his part is minuscule), which could be linked to Mac, if the correct two and two can be added up.

Like Breaking Bad meets True Detective

Quarry is a complex series but it holds all its elements together, at a steady pace. It’s deep and dark and thoughtful, balancing the violence with human emotions. The Guardian said it has “the moral ambiguity of Breaking Bad with the squalor of True Detective”, and the critics mostly agree that the tarnished 70s cinematography is a success.

Of Buddy – and this echoes my opinion – IndieWire says: “We first experience his frustrations as jubilant outbursts unbefitting of typical hired professionals, and indeed he does not fit in with the world around him. Yet as we dig deeper into his personal life, Buddy becomes a bonafide discovery — someone who we’d watch every week if he was given enough screen time.” (Do not be put off by the review’s headline; it’s a thoughtful, balanced piece that accurately reflects the series, and it’s a credit to Herriman that he has portrayed a hitman as a sympathetic character. Also, this was 2015, when streaming and bingeing were not what they are now, hence the “watch every week” comment.)

Although Quarry lasted only one season, the revelations in the final episode explain the background and the opening flash forward, and it finishes at a point where you can walk away satisfied. With questions, yes. But ones you can live with.