My husband and I stayed up late to watch
Certain Prey last night (missing SNL, I might add). What can I say? I don't think my expectations were especially large but I ended up a tad disappointed. All in all it was a grade B made for tv movie which I enjoyed watching, lying on my couch. I am a huge Mark Harmon fan (an NCIS devotee) and I thought he was terrific. I disagree with a review I read saying he was basically Gibbs in another setting. As Marcus Davenport, Harmon was much lighter than his Gibbs Grumpy Gus persona - and the girl in me loved seeing him smile so frequently. He was handsome and charming; his dance with Clara had me grinning from ear to ear. His vocal cadence was spot on - a perfect light Minnesotan accent. Again, nothing like Gibbs. But on another purely superficial basis, his designer duds didn't have the drama I was looking for. The palette was drab and the black overcoat just eclipsed any chance for style appreciation. The color palette for the film was a bit bland too - so much white! Carmel's office and the police station - just way too sterile and clinical looking. While we had some nice looks at Davenports home town, the cinematography was flat; there was nothing lush that swept you away. I thought Carmel as played by Lola Glaudini was wooden and caricaturish, lacking any depth. Even if evil Carmel lacks true depth, that depiction has to be less one note, more layered. On the other hand, Tatiana Maslany as Clara really shone. How many actresses can deliver a hit woman with warmth and humanity? I actually liked her and would probably watch more Preys on USA just because of Maslany's Clara, Harmon's Davenport and the chemistry between the two.
We'll weigh in with the book vs movie discussion later today.
