Long Bright River vividly portrays the dark side of Philadelphia. Single mother and police officer Mickey Fitzpatrick (Amanda Seyfried) faces numerous challenges. Motherhood is tough for her to manage alongside her work. Her son Thomas (Callum Vinson) seems to be gifted and very empathetic. What Mickey wants to keep secret from her son is quickly unraveled by him. Thomas finds solace with grandpa Gee (John Doman). Unfortunately, the relationship between Gee and Mickey is one where opposites attract. The past between the two holds secrets that remain unresolved. This creates a bond between them, but this bond can just as easily be temporarily broken.
In her work, Mickey is confronted with an important part of her past. She works in the neighborhood where she grew up, a place where surviving on drugs is a major condition. The advantage is that Mickey receives information that other police officers would never get. The disadvantage is that every death and every drama affects Mickey personally, if only because she usually knows the person in question. Mickey prefers to work alone in these harsh conditions, ensuring that her new partner Eddie (Dash Mihok) has a hard time. Eddie has certain reasons for joining the police force as a lateral entrant.
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Out of shame for her role in an incident, Mickey hasn't seen her previous colleague Truman (Nicholas Pinnock) for a while. The murder of various women and her own insecurity make Mickey seek support from him again. After a somewhat distant start, they team up to find the perpetrator. This search for the perpetrator feels like a battle because there seems to be resistance from within their own police force. The role of various colleagues raises questions. Truman and Mickey gradually find more affection for each other. However, it will become clear that the mutual trust is fragile and vulnerable.
Long Bright River exposes a painful part of the lower end of society in Philadelphia. A society solely focused on a hopeless search for the next fix. The fact that Mickey herself comes from a broken family where drugs play a significant role adds a family drama dimension to the series. This drama seamlessly fits into the crimes being committed, which Mickey now has to solve as a police officer. The dark story is perfectly supported by somber visuals. The cinematography, setting, and story sometimes feel like a documentary. The various plots in the story are clearly fictional. Most of the time, these plots help to strengthen the story, but sometimes they are just a bit too far-fetched. Despite this, Long Bright River is a gripping drama and absolutely worth watching. It is a series that constantly demands your attention as a viewer. A series that you will eagerly binge-watch. Thanks in part to the excellent acting and generally well-conceived storyline.
About the writer, Karzal
Mike (1995) has been a member of MySeries since 2016 and is mainly active on the English version of the site. Since 2018, he has been actively translating news articles, columns, reviews and basically everything that ends up on the Dutch site. The original articles, columns and reviews were actually written by others. During the week Mike can be found at IKEA, where he is a national systems specialist and occasionally also in the classroom to teach an English lesson. In addition, Mike logically enjoys watching series and has actually been spoon-fed this from an early age. The genre doesn't matter, there is a place for everything in the otherwise busy life.
