Hi, my dear friends!
Once long time ago I read the phrase: "Read the books of Stephen King and you will become really scared." To be honest, I had a rather long break in reading this author's book and now I decided to catch up. From a huge list, I randomly chose the book "End of Watch". As it turned out later, it was the third part of the trilogy. However, it is written in such a way that the fact that I did not read the two previous parts did not affect either the perception or understanding of the plot.
I don't know how it works for you, but after I've read a book, I often want to watch a movie based on it, and vice versa. And so, after reading, I began to look for a movie. And I found the series "Mr. Mercedes". Three whole seasons! Wow, I thought, how they managed to stretch this plot for us for three whole seasons! Well, ok, let's see!
When I started watching the series, I immediately suspected that something had gone wrong. I didn't recognize the plot except for the first five minutes! And then finally I read the description (I usually don’t do this, I don’t like spoilers) and realized that I had only read the third part of the trilogy.
Now, as usual, I will give below the description of the plot from Wikipedia (I don't think I can do it better) and then I will share my thoughts and impressions of the series.
Mr. Mercedes is an American crime drama television series based on the Bill Hodges novel trilogy by Stephen King, which consists of Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers, and End of Watch. The series premiered on Audience on August 9, 2017. It was developed by David E. Kelley and stars Brendan Gleeson and Harry Treadaway. In November 2018, it was announced that Audience had renewed the series for a ten-episode third season, which premiered on September 10, 2019. In May 2020, the show was discontinued, with no indication of whether the show had been officially canceled or that it would return for a fourth season. Its existing three seasons were later picked up in September 2020 by streaming service Peacock.
Retired detective Bill Hodges is still haunted by the unsolved case of "Mr. Mercedes", who claimed 16 lives when he drove a stolen Mercedes through a line of job-seekers at a local job fair. Meanwhile, brilliant young psychopath Brady Hartsfield emerges to focus his attention on Hodges. What begins as an online cat-and-mouse game soon has deadly real-life consequences as an increasingly desperate Hartsfield becomes bent on leaving his mark on the world.
The book, and after it the series, dealt with a number of topical social and psychological problems. This is not just the story of one maniac and the ex-policeman who opposes him. As always in the works of Stephen King, this shows a complex path of personality transformation, internal changes that can be both positive and exceed the most terrible nightmare in their enormity.
The beginning is rather dark and depressing. The protagonist, a retired policeman frankly becomes an inveterate drunkard. It made a much more frightening impression on me than if a couple of dozen monsters jumped out of the basement. Perhaps there is a very significant personal moment for me. Firstly, I myself worked at the police academy for a long time and, secondly, my age also makes me think about retirement in the next ten years. And it is this inevitable transition from an active social position to a situation where society no longer expects anything from you and looks at you as a completed project that scares the hell out of me more than any monsters.
Our world is changing so rapidly that, having fallen out of active social life, a person begins to rapidly lag behind reality, losing touch with it. This is an important psychological and social problem and it is well shown in the series. And here it is very important not to give up but try to regroup, direct the available forces and resources in a different direction. But it must be admitted that not everyone will succeed ... There is a lot to argue here, but the fact remains: society as a whole is not ready to support the social adaptation of older people, and social services often fail to cope.
Where do monsters come from? I'm not talking about nightmare monsters, I'm talking about monsters in human form. What happens behind closed doors of apartments and houses? What will be the trigger that will break the sick psyche, launching a terrible destructive process? Why do some people find themselves able to resist the provocative influence, while others turn into monsters? Not the first century, scientists have been trying to figure it out. From Lombroso's theories to modern profilers, experts are looking for ways to recognize the monster in a person.
How protected are our children and ourselves if we have no idea what others are like? This is not a walk among the dinosaurs, when their intentions to devour you are honest and transparent, this is a real nightmare! The unknown is much more frightening than bared fangs.
Now it is so fashionable to talk about the injuries inflicted by parents on the psyche of children, but no one could explain why some sometimes remained people after going through real hell, while others went crazy without getting a new toy.
Another issue that comes up in both the book and the series is the issue of suicide. This is indeed a problem in today's world. There are a number of aspects that lead to such a situation. First, it is the rapid growth of depressive disorders. But, unfortunately, depression is often not taken seriously by others and is not considered as a disease. Secondly, and let's be honest here, we have become much less attentive to each other. How many people spend time buried in gadgets and do not even look at others.
And of course, the question of the possibility of using modern technologies to influence the thoughts and moods of a large number of people is raised here. This is no longer a fantasy, this is a new reality. If earlier false prophets persuaded hundreds of people to commit suicide, now these possibilities are practically unlimited! And no matter how much we talk about parental control, information hygiene and other methods of counteraction, all this ultimately turns out to be ineffective. Especially vulnerable in such a situation are adolescents and people with any life problems.
Well, I should probably say something in conclusion... Firstly, while I was working on this review, I found some more interesting information about the series, you can find it below. And the second, do I recommend the series for viewing? I don't know. Everything depends on your mood. If you are having a difficult period, choose a good comedy instead. I repeat here again, the monsters of the psyche are much more terrible than the physical monsters. But if you are mentally ready to plunge into Stephen King's vision of the world, then be sure to check it out.
Facts about the show
Anton Yelchin should’ve played Brady but his death spoiled the creators’ game;
One of the main female roles should’ve been played by Ann-Margret but the illness of one of her relatives made her leave the project;
Because of the problems with the cast the beginning of the shooting delayed for two years – from 2015 to 2017;
One hundred thirty six actors took part in twenty episodes of «Mr. Mercedes»;
The silent scene was performed by Stephen King – the script-writer and the producer of the show;
The development of the adaptation belongs to the script-writer David E. Kelly;
In the first episodes in Brady’s car we can hear a song which played in another adaptation of King’s novel «Pet Sematary»;
For many of us, it is not a secret that some screen versions of a cult writer’s works are accompanied by mysticism. So, for example, one of the main roles in Mr. Mercedes was to be played by an American actor of Russian origin Anton Yelchin, but unfortunately he died in an accident.
