TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG S1E1&2: A City Bathed In Blood & Neon

Ah, Nicolas Winding Refn, the auteur who works in violence and neon lights. Always peculiar, tiptoeing the line between self-aware and cluelessly bad, yet always keeping things intriguing. His films are at the very least equally gorgeous and sickening to look at, from the exquisite framing to blood-soaked bodies. Divisive, NWR is either the god-like saviour of cinema or one more egoistic male director more focused on style than substance, but more on this a bit later.

After The Neon Demon, which some love, some loathe, NWR returns with a 10-part series Too Old To Die Young, streaming now on Amazon Prime Video. It focuses on the underbelly of Los Angeles, the city of angels which is filled with blood, vengeance and the ugly side of humanity. It’s a series about everything; human nature, our very soul and essence of being while simultaneously being utter nonsense, just sounds and images attempting to capture our attention. Described as a 13-hour movie rather than a TV series, Too Old To Die Young is a challenge even for the die-hard fan.

Ugly Humans

The first episode, titled “The Devil,” introduces us to a couple of cops. Larry, a deliciously toxic and disgusting representation of masculinity, is struggling with his mistress and describing how her death would be the only way it will end; he can’t stop otherwise. To describe Larry as ‘a deliciously toxic’ is to say he is a very extreme example of a bad man, the worst in fact. Larry is almost a parody, so serious in his misogyny but the character is firmly rooted in reality, because we’ve definitely learned that toxic men in power are a thing in real life too. If you know what I mean.

Larry later pulls over a pretty girl and manipulates her, blackmails her, and all but physically abuses her. It’s a good thing he meets his maker soon after the encounter. Larry is gunned down by an unknown assailant while his partner Martin Jones (Miles Teller) watches helplessly and the killer gets away. This event kickstarts the show’s almost non-existent plot after Martin gets involved in the ugly side of Los Angeles filled with contract-killing, cartels, gangs and yakuza. So this is a comedy then, right?

Soon into the episode, we learn Martin is actually a pretty terrible guy himself. He fails to turn in Larry’s phone, which captured the killer, and his girlfriend is still in high school. He met her when she was only 16. In his rather plain apartment, a big American flag is the centre point, hanging on the wall as a constant reminder of nationalism.

Martin might in fact be the very thing wrong with America; too focused on himself and his own somewhat corrupt sense of justice to be able to see the fault in his own ways. Teller, always full of electric energy, tones it down here, leaning hard on his own creepiness and surprisingly, succeeds at bringing Martin to life. He’s without a doubt going to be compared to Ryan Gosling who starred in both Drive and Only God Forgives, but Teller effortlessly blends into NWR’s world of reprehensible, flawed human beings.

We learn that Martin, together with Larry, has been doing some extra work for a crook called Damien. Damien identifies the killer as Jesus, whose mother was killed by Martin and Larry. Now Martin must work for Damien. This is going to end badly, isn’t it?

The second episode, titled “The Lovers,” completely abandons Martin, who’s been sold as the main character, to focus on the man who killed Larry at the beginning of episode one. Jesus (Augusto Aguilera) is the nephew of Don Ricardo, the leader of a Mexican cartel. The episode focuses solely on this crime family and is almost exclusively in Spanish. It’s a treat to see a whole episode devoted to Jesus and his complicated family matters and dynamics.

While most of the episode is painstakingly slow and doesn’t seem to build towards anything, the last third of the episode is explosive and guaranteed violent NWR-style. It’s these glimpses of brutal ultraviolence that promise Too Old To Die Young might be good, even excellent, but so far these moments are few and far between. I don’t want to reveal too much of what happens here, but it’s a delight and exactly what we wanted from the series.

Apart from Jesus, the episode also focuses on Yaritza (Cristina Rodlo), part of Don Ricardo’s cartel family. She’s mostly silent throughout the episode but is very much involved in the final moments. After some bloodshed, she declares herself as the “High Priestess of Death” and I am all for this. I truly hope we return to her character and she ends up saving these men from destroying each other and themselves.

Style Over Substance, Again?

Both episodes are full of NWR’s signature style. Lines are spoken with the least amount of emotion possible and NWR takes his time with scenes, not allowing us the sweet release of cuts within encounters. Scenes seem to go on forever, sometimes unnecessarily so. The show seems to ask us to believe that this all leads somewhere, but it’s hard to say whether it ever will. NWR is an indulgent filmmaker; he’s basking in his own glory under the neon lights he so adores. And why shouldn’t he?

He still shoots Los Angeles gorgeously, showcasing the truly ugly and wrecked side of it. He’s the cinematic representation of gluttony, unable to stop himself gorging excessively on the deliciously sweet and sour taste of the underbelly of the city. Yet again he matches perfect images to abhorrent characters, committing atrocious acts, finding the beauty in violence, the grace in spectacle. Scenes are filled with heavy pauses; like there’s always a pause between action and consequence. And shouldn’t there be?

It doesn’t all work; it all feels a bit been-there-done-that. Too Old To Die Young is at times visually almost identical to The Neon Demon, with its hues of blue and slow-pans. NWR has always been accused of favouring style over substance, an accusation which rings a bit hollow in relation to his films. NWR explores the human condition and the ugly side of it with style and with purposely shallow characters.

However, Too Old To Die Young might be the first one to actually warrant this accusation if it doesn’t find its own identity soon. As beautiful and intriguing as “The Devil” and “The Lovers” are, they seem to lack their own distinct identity and style. Instead, they blend into NWR’s body of work so seamlessly that they disappear, risking the entire series might do the same. Hopefully further episodes fix this.

Conclusions: The Devil & The Lovers

“The Devil” and “The Lovers” serve as a fascinating double-bill, like two sides of one coin. Many storylines are set up, but it’s a slow start to a slow series. It remains to be seen whether the story and series grow into their own from here. I’m intrigued to see where Martin’s story goes and if there’s an eventual blow-up and confrontation between Jesus and Martin.

What am I expecting from the next episodes? More violence, more neon lights, and more ugly characters. We have yet to see John Hawkes and Jena Malone in action. Hawkes, especially, is one of the most criminally underrated actors so I’m interested to see what NWR can get out of him. The story seems to still be forming so it’s going to be intriguing to see where the series goes from here, after setting up Martin as a kind-of protagonist and Jesus having to navigate his way within the cartel, now run by Don Ricardo’s son.

Join me soon for the next two episodes of Too Old To Die Young. Meanwhile, let us know in the comments what you thought of the first two episodes. Where do you see the series going?