The Buzz: ‘The Outsider’ Is Out Of This World
2020 is the year for suspense, not just in political field, but in the media as well. HBO’s newest crime drama undertakes one of Stephen King’s most ambitious works yet, The Outsider. Borrowing from thematic elements from King’s prior works, The Outsider blurs the horrors of humanity with a hint of the supernatural. For the televised adaptation, HBO has done a marvelous job of not only recreating King’s infamous sense of slow horror, but of hooking an audience unfamiliar with King’s novel as well.
The novel is an addition to what King’s fans refer to as ‘The Holly Gibney’ series, named after a character of the same name for her appearances in the series. While she has not yet appeared in the pilot episode, Holly Gibney (Cynthia Erivo) plays a key role in revealing the truth of the case. Likewise, several characters in The Outsider are also featured in ‘The Bill Hodges Trilogy’, although The Outsider is not considered a part of that series. While it may serve as a welcome addition and Easter egg for King fans, prior knowledge of these novels nor The Outsider is needed to enjoy the HBO show.
In The Outsider, a small town is shaken up by the death of an eleven-year old boy. Brutally murdered, eyewitness reports and DNA testing all point to one man, Terry Maitland (Jason Bateman). Maitland is the stereotypical good man: a fair Little league coach, a devoted father and husband, and now, a good suspect for the police. In fact, he is the only suspect for the police. The officer behind Maitland’s arrest, Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) takes vindictive pleasure in having his subordinates arrest Maitland in front of his family and friends. Thanks to this one act, regardless of whether Maitland committed the crime, most everyone in town believes him to be guilty. What should be a simple case is complicated when video evidence as well as DNA proof place Maitland in an entirely different city during the time of the murder. One man cannot be in two places at once, and yet, Maitland has supposedly accomplished the impossible.
The pilot episode is titled “Fish In a Barrel”, a nod to the saying and the initial belief of how straightforward the case was meant to be. However, in true King fashion, not everything is as it seems. The Outsider incorporates stunning cinematography. It is steady-handed and juxtaposes close-up shots with long shots. A lot of dialogue is overheard during these types of shots in place of the standard shot-reverse-shot. For the opening, the first three minutes are more visual than auditory. The audience tracks a man walking his dog as the two uncover the mutilated corpse of Frankie Peterson (Duncan E. Clark). It’s truly a beautiful and slow ease into a complex case. For a murder mystery, there isn’t a lot of graphic imagery, just a brief visual of Peterson’s corpse and some discussion about how the body was murdered.
The transitions are smooth and unnoticeable. An hour-long drama, the show did an excellent job of keeping audiences riveted. A majority of this in due to the progression of events. Instead of presenting everything in chronological order, the timeline jumps between Maitland’s arrest at the baseball game and Anderson’s interviews with the various witnesses. By the midpoint of the episode comes Maitland’s saving grace and another hook for the audience: a video of Maitland at a teacher’s conference in a different city.
The pilot already includes two deaths, that of Frankie Peterson and of another side character, the firsts of many more deaths to come. For those who have read the novel, the pilot sets up near all the twists and turns. For those watching with brand new eyes and no expectations, the pilot feeds a growing curiosity to know what happened and who is responsible. There is a cliffhanger ending, with Maitland awaiting trial as his fellow inmates promise a not-so-warm welcome should he return.
Bateman both starred in and directed this project. This is not Bateman’s first attempt at balancing a role behind and in front of the cameras. If his success with Netflix’s The Ozark (Bill Dubuque 2017) means anything, then HBO should expect bright things ahead from Bateman.
There is a tremendous amount of intrigue and interest surrounding The Outsider, as there rightfully should be. As with most of Stephen King’s works, the novel was a largely enjoyed success. It stands to reason that the televised version would garner the same response. So far, everything seems to be leading up to a similar reception. The show hasn’t fully delved into the supernatural components of the plot, but the seeds have been planted.
Where King’s words held powerful impact in the novel, the series has its highpoints in the cinematography, the editing, and the acting. All the cast members do a phenomenal job portraying their characters. Bateman, similar to his dual role as director and character, acts as both an innocent man wronged by the police, and a guilty murderer, confident and fully conscious of his crimes. The side characters, be it Maitland’s protective wife, Marcy Maitland (Julianne Nicholson), or Frankie’s grieving family, help escalate the tension further.
The Outsiders is all about what is unsaid and what is unseen. It might appear otherwise given the contradicting evidence surrounding Maitland’s innocence, but the real threat has yet to be revealed. Not every Stephen King adaptation has been a hit – case in point, The Lawnmower Man (Brett Leonard 1992) – but HBO’s The Outsider has all the makings of a future fan favorite