‘Homecoming’ is a great thriller and proves Esmail is king of thrillers
By Drew Henderson// A&E Editor
From the creator of the hit USA show “Mr. Robot,” Sam Esmail brings his talents of tension and paranoia to Amazon Prime with the release of his new show “Homecoming.” In the television series, we follow Heidi Berman in the past and present as mysterious circumstances unfold at the Homecoming Transitional Support Center. The Homecoming Transitional Support Center is a facility run by the mysterious Geist Group that assists veterans as they readjust to normal life.
Heidi Berman was a part of the Homecoming Center in the past but now has no recollection of ever working there. With the appearance of a desk-jockey from the department of defense, she ventures to figure out what happened and what caused her to forget. With only 10, 30-minute episodes in the series, each episode hooks the audience into watching the next as they try to figure out what happened to Heidi during her time in the Homecoming Facility.
Everything about “Homecoming” oozes Hitchcock influence, from the score to the way scenes are shot. Even the storyline in general influences Hitchcock, as this 5-hour thriller slowly but surely reveals the true purpose of the Homecoming Center. Esmail brings his signature style from “Mr. Robot” with the inclusion of oddly framed close-ups and tracking shots that influence fear. The audience is always expecting some big event to happen out of the corner of their eye. It also deals with some real-world issues as these soldiers treated at the facility suffer from PTSD. It discusses how they want to rehabilitate those in a way that the soldiers can thrive in the outside world.
In a first-time television role, Julia Roberts feels like a strange choice for such a niche genre but feels natural as the role of Heidi. Roberts plays two different Heidi(s), her past-self and her present-self. Her past-self is more kind and naive regarding the experiments performed at the Homecoming Center, while her current character is colder and just trying to figure out why she cannot remember her past.
Joining the short cast is Bobby Cannavale as her overseeing boss Colin, Stephen James as Walter, Heidi’s patient, and Shea Wingham as Thomas Carrasco, an employee of the department of defense. Seeing Cannavale and Esmail team up after his amazing time as Irving on “Mr. Robot” is terrific. Every conversation Heidi has with Colin feels off, and he brings a paranoid feel whenever he is on the screen.
Overall, I loved “Homecoming” from start to finish. It was a tense thriller that hooked me from the start with its central mystery. And if the last scene in the season finale holds any truth, the journey is just beginning for Heidi and the mysterious Homecoming facility.
“Homecoming,” tells the mystery of Heidi Berman and her time at the Homecoming Facility for returning soldiers. Photo by Universal Studios