Standard Of Review: Amazon’s ‘Goliath’ Is Half Of A Very Good Show

Ever since I began writing this column for Above the Law, I have been waiting for a serialized television show to depict a single civil lawsuit over the course of a season. With Amazon’s new series Goliath, created by David E. Kelley and Jonathan Shapiro, my wish has finally been granted.

Ultimately, Goliath is a bit of a mixed bag. Star Billy Bob Thornton is excellent and the show is very entertaining, but virtually every scene involving the “goliath” law firm opposing Thornton is subpar. (This review contains very light spoilers up through the third episode, and it is safe to read this column if you have not yet watched the show.)

Thornton plays Billy McBride, an alcoholic, down-on-his luck former name partner at Cooperman McBride, a massive Los Angeles-based law firm. Billy lives in a motel, spends most of his time at a nearby dive bar, and frequently fights with his ex-wife Julie (Maria Bello) – who still works at Cooperman McBride – about their daughter. In the premiere episode, Billy is contacted by neophyte attorney Patty Solis-Papagian (Nina Arianda) about initiating a lawsuit on behalf of a former employee of weapons manufacturer Borns Tech who died in a boat explosions under mysterious circumstances. Borns Tech is represented by Cooperman McBride, and the firm’s other name partner, Donald Cooperman (William Hurt), is willing to take any step, legal or illegal, to prevent Billy from succeeding.

The scenes involving Thornton are by far the strongest aspect of the show, bringing to mind Paul Newman’s performance in The Verdict. Thornton’s easygoing nature makes him very believable as a drunk living in squalor, and his loquaciousness makes him convincing as a brilliant attorney. Thornton perfectly balances these aspects of Billy’s personality without being too showy or over-the-top. Thornton also has excellent, easy-going chemistry with virtually everyone else on the show, particularly Rachel (Ever Carradine), the sister of the deceased Borns Tech employee. Thornton’s performance is even more impressive considering that his last major television role – the menacing Lorne Malvo in the first season of Fargo – could not be a more different character.

Despite being a drama and dealing with dark subject matter, Goliath is not afraid to be occasionally funny. For example, there is a very humorous recurring gag about how no one can pronounce Patty’s last name. The third episode contains a montage in which Billy’s motley crew of employees fish for information from former Borns Tech engineers by pretending to be hiring for a fake company, but are forced to field increasingly ridiculous questions about the fake employer’s benefits. There are too many shows today that eschew all comedic relief (I am looking at you, Westworld), so it is refreshing that Goliath includes these lighter moments.

Goliath is less successful in its depiction of Cooperman McBride. Donald is more like a James Bond villain than a named partner in a law firm. His face is scarred, he needs to be in the dark at all times, he has secret cameras everywhere (including inside the courtroom and inside the offices of Cooperman McBride associates), he repeatedly uses a clicker that he always holds in his hand, and he has the power to bribe and murder seemingly at will. It is almost like Donald exists in a different show than Billy. As anyone who has seen Hurt’s great performances of the 1980s (such as in Broadcast News) can attest, Hurt is a very good actor, and I am sure he could have convincingly played menacing without these distracting characteristics.

Donald and Borns Tech are also involved in a shadowy conspiracy that is like a parody of a bad legal thriller. The general counsel of Borns Tech, Leonard Letts (Damon Gupton), wants to settle Billy’s lawsuit for a five- or six-figure sum before it even gets to discovery, but Leonard’s idea is rejected by Donald. Donald also files a claim for malicious prosecution against Billy, over Leonard’s objection. When Leonard complains to Wendell Corey (Dwight Yoakam), a Borns Tech bigwig, about Donald’s behavior, Wendell gives some vague answer about how Leonard does not understand the true nature of Borns Tech’s business, and implies that Leonard works for Donald, not the other way around. Ambiguous suggestions of a wider conspiracy that will not be revealed until a later episode are an annoying trope (again looking at you, Westworld), and it is frustrating to see Leonard rebuked at every turn when everything out of his mouth makes perfect sense.

The rest of Cooperman McBride is not much better. Most of the grunt work of defending the lawsuit is left to Lucy Kittridge (Olivia Thirlby), a second-year litigation associate to whom the partners dismissively refer as “The Mouse.” According to Donald, Lucy is the best writer at the firm, and the partners thus give her increasingly ridiculous assignments, such as writing a complaint and a motion to dismiss by the end of a single business day. Because Lucy has the same job as I do, I was hoping that Goliath would have an interesting take on life as a civil litigation associate, particularly in how to deal with a potentially unscrupulous client. Instead, the show seems content to just show her superhuman writing powers. Hopefully the rest of the season finds something more interesting to do with her.

Through the first three episodes, Julie is virtually a non-character. Despite being a high-powered partner at Cooperman McBride, Julie’s storyline so far revolves around arguments with Billy about their daughter and arguments with fellow partner Callie Senate (Molly Parker) about whether or nor Callie wants to have sex with Billy. Bello is a very good actress (particularly in A History of Violence, which also starred Hurt) and I wish she had more to do than to just be a walking Bechdel Test failure.

Goliath is a mixed bag with respect to realism. I liked certain touches such as understanding the difference between federal and state court or name-dropping real statutes such as the Death on the High Seas Act. I also appreciated that Billy’s initial complaint is drafted by taking an old complaint and changing the word “helicopter” to “water vessel.” But the litigator in me was annoyed at the speed at which the motion to dismiss the complaint filed by Billy is decided. The very next day, Cooperman McBride moved to dismiss Billy’s initial complaint “ex parte” (huh?). The judge then holds oral argument seemingly a day later, and dismisses the original complaint after only a few minutes of argument. Did the judge have a wide-open docket? Did Billy get to file a reply brief? The world will never know. Moreover, once again, a fictional lawyer works on a laptop instead of a two-screen desktop. Are the writers of Goliath and the writers of Suits involved in a tiny-computer conspiracy designed solely to drive me crazy? Because it is working.

Because Amazon released every Goliath episode at once, I plan to review the rest of the season over the next few weeks. And let’s really hope that during a later episode, Cooperman McBride invests in some bigger computers.

Earlier: New TV Show To Expose The Ethics Of Biglaw

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Harry Graff is a litigation associate at a firm, but he spends days wishing that he was writing about film, television, literature, and pop culture instead of writing briefs. If there is a law-related movie, television show, book, or any other form of media that you would like Harry Graff to discuss, he can be reached at [email protected]. Be sure to follow Harry Graff on Twitter at @harrygraff19.