One Dollar

As end-of-summer video junk food, you could do a lot worse. One Dollar's cast of scruffy characters is an interesting bunch, even when under lethal assault by their own writers. I wound up watching them for four hours, about three more than I planned, and each one was more enjoyable than the last.

The excellence of the acting and the admirable, one might almost say English naturalism of the production balance the sometimes improbable, even implausible action and the occasional sacrifice of sense to drama; it is true that in life, people do not act sensibly, but fictional characters should be held to a higher standard of consistency. Still, the writing gives the actors a lot to play with. ... A solid cop drama.

The central mystery is involving, but the sprawling tone is painfully stilted. [31 Aug 2018, p.53]

It's much less interested in solving the crime than it is in building a sense of place, which may frustrate plot-hungry viewers. However, if you're willing to sit back and think about race, gentrification, addiction, poverty and post-industrialization, One Dollar is rich.