So after all the chatter I finally got around to watching the first few episodes of Beneath The Lies and they're not good. At all.
My first and biggest problem is with the writing. The narrative drags (what little of it there is), the dialogue is banal beyond belief, the episodes lack any sort of cohesive structure (insipid scenes stacked on top of each other with jokes for cold opens and endings that aren't any better) and even after watching these characters for upwards of an hour I don't care about or even like any of them.
Which leads me to my next issue --- the "actors". Most of whom are pseudo celebrities scrabbling after their next career move. I understand that show business world over thrives on the looks of beautiful people but one thing has to be remembered; most of them are actually extremely talented. Most of the people that appear in Beneath the Lies, however, are NOT.
Granted the performances have generally gone from laughably bad to somewhat bearable as the episodes have progressed but is that really something to aspire to: below average? I would hope not.
A few people have actually managed to surprise me with the competence of their performances though; namely Gaetano Kagwa (I honestly thought he was going to fall flat on his face with this one), at times Flavia Tumusiime (who I've always just seen as marginally talented and averagely attractive --- except in extreme close up, she does not look good in ECU, why didn't the DP see this and do something about it?) as well Hellen Lukoma, who in one scene shows flair in hilariously playing the drunk and desperate mistress. Her performance up to that point though? Horrid. Ok, maybe that's an exaggeration. I guess you can sort of tell what she's aiming for but unfortunately 90% of the time she falls terribly short. Something that can be said of almost everyone on screen, some of whom clearly look as if their lost and should be directed towards the nearest exit.
Sadly, the same thing can be said for most of the post production team. The coloring is inconsistent from episode to episode, the sound mixing is ALSO inconsistent within a single episode (sometimes scene), music is used poorly and as for the actual cutting; it tends to give no context for time, movement or location which makes the telling of what story there is jumbled, confusing and ultimately boring. And oh yeah, the cold opens could have been done away with altogether. They don't service the story and I doubt they were written as such in the original scripts.
Now, from personal experience I know how hard a job like directing is but I have to call 'em how I see 'em; the directing also left a lot to be desired. As much as the director, Joseph Kitsha, managed to coax well enough performances out of the actors, I felt that other aspects of his directing were lacking. Much of the scene blocking was awkward especially in context of not only the space but the purpose of the scene and the relationships of the players involved. I can say the same for the way the majority of the episodes were photographed (shot). Cameras are placed in awkward places serving no purpose but to record lines being recited and in fact often times inhibit comprehension of and engagement with the story. The cinematography is perfectly serviceable, sure, but nothing really beyond that. As a story telling tool I feel it was completely under utilized. Watching each scene felt like watching a series of squandered opportunities. A couple of interesting shots did catch my eye but again, they were just interesting, they served no real purpose and hence didn't elevate the show in any real way.
I could go on (costume, make up et al) but I won't. And so to sum everything up (this thing is getting long and I have things to do) I think the show is a creative failure in almost every way. I wish I could find something nice to say about it but if put on the spot I would be forced to say something unconvincing like, "Well, they used good cameras." Or, "At least the cast looks good...for the most part...well except for (insert name) and (insert another) and (you get the point)..." and so I won't even try. Instead I'll just say this, "Guys, better luck next time."