RABBIT HOLE Review: Corporate Espionage, Safe By Comparison

??? WTF? !!!

Rabbit Hole
The first two episodes debut Sunday, March 26, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. and Canada, and on the following day, Monday, March 27, in the U.K., Australia, Latin America, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and France. The premiere date in South Korea will be announced at a later date. Subsequent episodes will debut weekly. I've seen the first four episodes of the eight-episode show.

At a certain moment in the first episode, things begin to go bonkers. From that point onward, what had been a calm, intriguing show about corporate espionage, with hints of paranoia on the part of its protagonist, becomes a gripping thriller that grows increasingly complex and layered.

The series was created by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, who also wrote and directed the first three episodes. They are Hollywood veterans, whose many credits are all over the genre map, but Focus (2015) is the one that first came to mind as the show develops. Rabbit Hole manifests a similar, and very clever series of twists and turns, but revolves around a more likable protagonist.

Keifer Sutherland stars as the possibly paranoid John Weir, which immediately invites comparisons to Sutherland's Jack Bauer on 24, but older, wiser, and much, much calmer. (Also: less prone to torture people.) Weir is the head of a corporate espionage firm, with a deep history in the field, so it's perhaps understandable when he reacts unkindly to a comely attorney, Hailey Winton (Meta Golding), with whom he has spent the night.

As the episodes progress, Hailey becomes integral to the plot, though to say how or why would rob the show of one of its main strengths; perhaps it's suffice to say that Meta Golding is resilient, strong, and surprising. She gives a terrific performance in a role that, on paper, might appear to be much less than it is.

Another strength is Charles Dance, another strong character whose identity is best withheld until everyone has an opportunity to see the first two episodes. Suffice to say: definitely worth waiting for.

As for Kiefer Sutherland, he succeeds in bringing a complex character, created by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra, to vivid life. Rather than an antihero, he's somewhat closer to a true-blue hero, but he's not quite there ... yet.

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