New show 'Bloodline' combines family drama and noir mystery

“Bloodline” (2015), the newest addition to the growing pantheon of Netflix original shows, was released on March 20, with all thirteen episodes of the first season now available for streaming online. The show, created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and Daniel Zelman, is both a moody portrait of dysfunctional family life and a slow-burn mystery thriller.

At first glimpse, “Bloodline” is a simple family drama that unfolds around a specific gathering. Sally Rayburn (played by Sissy Spacek) and her husband Robert (Sam Shepard) are the owners of a hotel in the Florida Keys. The first episode focuses on the forty-fifth anniversary celebration of the Rayburns’ business.Their four adult children attend the celebration, and exquisitely plotted tension ensues. In the pilot, no exposition is explicitly revealed to the audience through dialogue alone. The viewer must pick up on physical cues and whispered conversations to discern what is wrong with this family and to realize how its rotting core will eventually lead to its destruction.

The Rayburn family is shaken by the return of eldest son Danny (Ben Mendelsohn), a rakish ne’er-do-well who has never been able to hold a steady job.Danny’s wiry frame and boyish smile don’t hide his graying hairs and wrinkles; he is a boy who never grew up, and it is taking a visible toll on both him and his family. John (Kyle Chandler), the second-oldest son, is a sheriff and is generally considered to be the family protector. John seems to be the voice of reason among the Rayburns, but this persona is steadily shaken throughout the premiere episode due to the show's darkening undertones.

Meanwhile, Kevin (Norbert Leo Butz) is the youngest son and a hothead who clashes with Danny regularly. Butz plays Kevin with believable everyman charm, but the character has a furious intensity beneath his easygoing demeanor. Meg (Linda Cardellini) is the only daughter. Of the four children, she is the most underdeveloped in the first episode; her motives and place in the story have yet to be seen.

The conflicts between siblings seems intimately real, yet the show is not just a family drama. "Bloodline" is fundamentally about secrets: ones kept within the family as well as ones kept from the audience. By the end of the first episode, the viewer knows that there is something very wrong with the Rayburn clan and that this dissonance will culminate in a terrible act. This is shown in a series of flash-forward scenes spliced between the regular drama of the episode. These future scenes, accompanied by unsettling voiceovers by John Rayburn, heighten the suspense and urgency of the story. Without the thriller aspect, “Bloodline” would be an interesting, albeit slow, exposé of a very dysfunctional family. The show is well done, to be sure; it is excellently plotted and acted. But the mystery of the first season is what makes it engaging and intriguing. Familial drama alone would not sustain it.

“Bloodline” makes good use of its location; the intense greenery of the Keys and the story’s beach locale can evoke warm feelings or fear depending on the scene. The positive emotions of a happy family game of beach volleyball are intensified by the sunny shore, but the mystery of criminal acts is also deepened by heavy rain and the swampy landscape. It’s an effective storytelling device that elevates the series overall.

“Bloodline” may not be exciting in the traditional sense -- both its pacing and plot move slowly. However, the show's noir thriller undercurrents and phenomenal acting make it worth a watch, if not a binge-watch. Engaged viewers must take their time to uncover what is really happening with the Rayburn family.