How to get away with Murder
Let me just start off with saying, this is probably the bestseries that I have started so far in 2015. How to get away with Murder, created by Peter Nowalk, is likely one of the most unique take I’ve seen so far on an US detective drama programme. Firstly, it starts off with a group of overly ambitious law students and their unorthodox criminal defence professor become involved in a twisted murder of their own that changes the course of their lives. Whilst this primary plot takes over the series the narrative flashes back to before this murder, in each episode there is a new case where the group of student learn skills which will to their luck, get them away with murder. Viola Davis is an amazing actor and this lead role as Annalise Keating really does give her justice. Annalise is a portrayed as the typical strong and independent lady who has a group of young aspiring law student leaping at her feet hoping for a glimpse of approval. However, what makes this programme’s character development as amazing as I see it, is how Annalise’s weakness is the downfall for all of the characters involved. She herself, goes against the law in order to protect a person who she loves (or loved?) which results in her students getting into a sticky situation and half of them losing their mind. The programme is truly an emotional rollercoaster, Nowalks has gripped his audience right until the very end. I have to admit I watched every single one of these episodes throughout two days, which was the result of jaw dropping cliff-hanger left at the end of each episode.
Great dramas must have great mise-en-scene and this completely backs that up, the murder weapon tied to the big murder, which played out throughout the series, is continually shown on screen as a victory trophy that students could earn to get themselves out of an exam but by the end we learn that it’s actually an object that none of them could bare to look at. Moving on to visual effect, the flash backs whole a great deal of effectiveness in forcing the audience to pay attention to the smallest of detail in order to get a hint of what happened and who was murdered. Not only that, the majority of the ‘murder scenes’ are at night, meaning that the audience can simply watch and link the scene together. The cinematography is amazing, throughout it really feels like we are in the room with these characters and we are part of their problems. Throughout the series it gets to the point where you want to grab the characters and reassure them, sometimes even hug them! The cinematography doesn’t disconnect the audience, this is incredibly important if you want your audience to engage with the character. To conclude, How to get away with Murder, has evidently earned it’s spot in my 2015’s top US dramas and I recommend everyone to give it a try.
