Daisy Jones and the Six
My take on the the show, from the book, that's (mostly) out on amazon.
You either like this kind of stuff, or you don’t - I do.
When I bought this novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid, I ripped through it in two days. I loved it in all its schmaltzy glory, and it didn’t require much energy - it’s pop culture, not a book about String Theory.
Notwithstanding critics, the only people who get pissy about fictional works of art about musicians are musicians and music nerds like me - and who gets pissier is up for debate.
Case in point, I just looked the show up on Wiki, and it said: “Daisy Jones & The Six is an American mockumentary streaming television miniseries…” My heart quickened as I immediately thought: “This is NOT just a mockumentary… it’s a hybrid with scripted fiction. EEJITS!”
Maybe that’s being picky.
Probably.
THE PROS
The Casting
Riley Keough is perfect as Daisy Jones. This truly is exquisite casting. And if you don’t know, she’s Elvis Presley’s granddaughter. So, yea. The time-jumping motif of the show works well with her - she plays 20-ish and 40-ish perfectly (she’s 33 irl).
Sam Claflin is fine as Billy Dunne. He looks like a younger Billy Crudup. The time-jumping doesn’t work quite as well with Sam. In the flashbacks, he seems a bit out of place as a 20-ish dude but looks good as the 40-ish middle-aged guy (he’s 36 irl).
Camila Rebeca Morrone Polak is good as Billy’s wife, Camila.
Tom Wright as the band’s producer Teddy Price is a clever casting choice. When I read the book, I didn’t picture the producer as a black man. But that’s mostly on me, and he, too, is fine. Arguably, while not without precedent, a black producer working in rock and roll in the 70s seems a bit out of place, but this is television NOT a documentary. Creative license is to be expected.
Suki Waterhouse as Karen Sirko is also a real gem in the show.
The rest of the casting is okay/good. This is really a show about women… and the women here shine.
At its core, Daisy Jones and the Six is a love triangle. It may sound reductive, but that’s what the show is to me.
It’s based in LA, in the 70s, and around rock and roll; that makes it unique. But the story’s core is around Daisy, Billy, and Camilla; in that regard, the casting is solid.
The Scenery/Authenticity
I’m an east coaster; to me, it’s good. The exterior shots in Los Angeles are great because the casting department appears to have located those parts of LA locked into the 70s, so it works. The Whiskey and The Troubadour are still there, which all works too.
The Writing
It’s been a couple of years since I read the book, and I can’t say how authentic or “true” the series is to the original text. But I’m not one who gets too knotted about a film/series/show, deviating from the original text. The fact is that they’re stories in different artistic mediums, told through a different creative lens, and require a different vocabulary - i.e., the casting of Teddy Price. To that end, so far, Daisy Jones and the Six is good.
I say this with respect, but you need to think of Daisy Jones and The Six as if Jackie Collins wrote a short story for Rolling Stone Magazine and seen through the lens of Aaron Spelling.
If you’re expecting Paddy Chayefsky, Aaron Sorkin, or Charlie Kaufman-like writing - you’re gonna be disappointed.
That said, the writing is solid. They nailed the documentary/scripted (NOT mockumentary) motif of the book and from what I have seen in episodes 1-6, the book did the majority of the lifting.
THE CONS
The Directing
One thing I can say about it is that it’s solid. It neither stands out in any particular way nor takes away from anything. But, the story doesn’t require too much visual complexity.
The show has the following directors:
James Ponsoldt - directed episodes 1-5.
Nzingha Stewart - directed episode 6, and then 8-10
Will Graham - directed episode 7.
This lends a visual consistency to the show and gives it a solid spine for the actors to stand up.
The Frequency
Amazon is doing that stupid bullshit and parsing out the episodes, so far it’s just episode 1-6. More streamers or buying into this archaic schedule that ABSOLUTELY NO ONE WANTS! A terrible decision - release everything at once.
THE CONCLUSION
Riley Keough shines… as you would expect. Not only because of her DNA but because she’s an outstanding actress.
If we’re being honest, this is a role Riley Keough was born to play and she’s the reason you should watch the show.
At the end of the day?