While feature film productions have the time and money to dedicate a few working days to their big action set-pieces, the limited budgets and tight shooting schedules of TV shows usually result in generic, pared-back, decidedly uncinematic action sequences. From the computer-generated CDC explosion in The Walking Dead to the many indecipherable fight scenes in Lost, TV action scenes don’t usually draw audiences to the edge of their seats and keep them there. But there’s an exception to this rule currently airing on HBO. Unlike most TV action, the action scenes in Bill Hader and Alec Berg’s Barry are truly cinematic.
It can be difficult to recommend Barry to friends, despite how incredible the show is, because the offbeat elevator pitch – a hitman wants to become an actor – sounds too gimmicky to work. But Hader and co. have taken that gimmicky premise and turned it into a timely modern-day tragedy about a killer seeking redemption. The beauty of the show is the tricky tonal balance it strikes between its various genres. It’s a deadpan comedy, an intense drama, and a riveting action thriller all at once. Barry’s action sequences have their own tonal identity with a unique mix of visceral, minimalist thrills and dry, deadpan laughs.
Audiences have known that Hader is a gifted actor, both comedically and dramatically, for years. But the most surprising thing about Barry is that he might be an even more gifted writer-director. Hader’s talents as an actor – both his pitch-perfect comic timing and his non-verbal dramatic nuances – are on full display in Barry. But the show’s magnificent tonal balance is largely achieved from behind the camera. The action scenes in Barry are engaging, crystal clear, and completely unpredictable.
It makes sense that Hader got his start in the industry as an editor, because editing is one of Barry’s greatest strengths. A lot of action sequences (in both film and television) are let down in the editing. Action editors often throw in jarring cuts for the sake of it and the audience ends up getting lost. The genius of Barry’s editing is its restraint. The show’s action manages to feel cinematic without going too big. There are no disorienting rapid-fire cuts; the visual style is deliberately minimalistic. Barry grounds every genre set-piece like a shootout or a car chase in the series’ surreal, slightly heightened, but still very relatable reality.
The recently aired season 3 episode “710N” culminated in one of the show’s best action scenes to date. As Barry heads to what he thinks is a dinner party, his car is surrounded by assassins on dirt bikes. The thrilling set-piece that follows is the kind of chase scene that only Barry could pull off. Weaving in and out of traffic (and flying bullets) on the titular interstate is pure action-movie madness, but Hader’s agitated “Ahh, s***!” deliveries hilariously ground the chase in the real world. Long tracking shots of the bikes give the audience the effect of being on the back of one of them. In lieu of a musical score, the sound design uses the terrifying whoosh of cars speeding by.
Great action sequences alone aren’t enough to make an action-driven narrative engaging. They can’t just provide an exciting distraction in between mundane exposition scenes; the action has to be baked into the plotting and structure of the story. The dirt bike chase turns out to be a big, extravagant misdirection to hide the episode’s biggest twist. Barry thinks he’s out of the woods when the motocross killers are off his tail and he makes it to the dinner party – but then, seconds later, he’s poisoned. The bike chase set up that shocking cliffhanger beautifully.
The “Ronny/Lily” Episode Is A Perfect Example
Arguably the series’ strongest episode, season 2’s “ronny/lily,” is an action-packed standalone installment in which Barry’s attempts to avoid killing his mark cause all sorts of unforeseen consequences. While the guy is packing for a new life Barry has promised him, Barry notices that the house has a room full of martial arts trophies. Moments later, the inevitable happens: this martial arts master attacks Barry and a brutal fight ensues. This fight is captured in a glorious unbroken long take that deliberately misses a lot of the action, like it’s struggling to watch these two guys beating each other up.
When Ronny, the martial arts master, passes out, Barry’s troubles appear to be over. But, as it turns out, they’re just getting started. As he goes to leave, Ronny’s equally badass daughter Lily comes home. After finding her dad’s lifeless body, the girl disappears. Barry thinks she might have escaped, but the reality is much worse. Growling like a dog in an attack position, she’s ready to strike. Lily pelts Barry with everything from her flying feet to tins of food to a frying pan before jumping on his back and stabbing him a few times. From beginning to end, the “ronny/lily” episode is wildly entertaining, entirely unpredictable, and a perfect example of what makes Barry the best action show on the air.