IR TV Review: THE LOWDOWN - EPISODE 4 (“Short On Cowboys”) [FX]
The fourth episode of "The Lowdown" entitled "Short On Cowboys" uses a unique prelude and coda to really anchor the story but it blends perfectly with the acting between Jeanne Tripplehorn and Ethan Hawke in its latter half to really create a brilliant episode. Tripplehorn's character has been to the side for the first couple episodes and it is interesting since she holds some cards but not others. It was just a matter of time hopefully before they let her really sink her teeth in...which could have easily not happened. Tim Blake Nelson's passed on character acts his character's letters on the plains with a beauty of sarcasm and subtlety which served him as well in "The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs". There is a sadness and yet a lightness in the words he spouts and how he breaks the wall. The writing in these points are fantastic because they have a certain cadence that is both similar and different to the beautiful path that Ethan Hawke's Lee and Tripplehorn's Betty Jo take at the end of the episode.
There is a beautiful flow, danger and edge to their scenes while still keeping a comedic and flirty edge showing how effective Tripplehorn still is, even though she doesn't do as many roles now. Her character in "Basic Instinct" is still one of the more tragic characters in that film and is sometimes forgotten because of Sharon Stone's Catherine Trammel but Tripplehorn had the harder job. The same is true here but Hawke knows, with the scenes, especially in the house, to just stay still and let Tripplehorn move through him and around him. It is a beautiful dance.
The beginning of the episode which carries on from Episode 3 sets it up just to show where Lee's head is at but the writing, even though it is also exposition, feels organic and as the episode ends with a coda that really wraps it up, this episode of "The Lowdown" offers its most lyrical take yet without having to resort to more eccentric points. It is just great acting with tone and an edge. It also shows the thin line that the characters are flipping through in terms of what they want and where they end up. A single character also finds a truth in that despite of what might be expected of him or what we expect. "The Lowdown" has a cool path depending on how they handle the landing. But that said "Short On Cowboys" simply on its down is pretty brilliant. A
By Tim Wassberg]
