Golden Threads of Family: A 'This Is Us' Review
‘This Is Us’ revolves around the lives of the Pearson family particularly the triplets Kevin, Kate and Randall, and their parents Jack and Rebecca. Expanding over several timelines, the series depicts a vivid picture of the family’s experience of a lifetime, achievements, and failures. The present is interplayed with past events by use of the narrative’s flashbacks that highlight the account on family, love, sacrifice, and personal development. From pregnancy and adoption to blending race and identity, the show embraces what it means to be human, and this brings in a loyal following of viewers touching emotionally.
The major premise of ‘This Is Us’ revolves around family, love, identification, and reformation. The tone goes continuously between the serious and actually funny, which is the good illustration of how life can be bright and dark at the same time. It hovers on such complicated subjects like adoption, race, obesity, and mental health, and always stays genuine and optimistic. I am sure viewers can think over what family is – by blood ties or through experiences that help the characters to open their hearts. Every episode brings out an aspect of human emotion and helps viewers develop compassion, For the cast of ‘This Is Us,’ there no better word than excellent, especially Sterling K. Brown as Randall. He has done a good job when depicting abilities, shyness and confusion of youth for belonging to a wrong generation. Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore are also superb in portraying Jack and Rebecca as two loving but not perfect parents. This TV drama starring Chrissy Metz and Justin Hartley show authenticity in people’s pains and sufferings onscreen convincingly. The characters are complex and understandable, where viewers witness different arcs of development, and all the actors add valuable components.
Every director has a vision, but Ken Olin, Chris Koch, Glenn Ficarra revive ‘This Is Us’ focusing on its soul. They can manage two or more narratives and time frames with appropriate flow and continuity of the plot. The direction also maintains the spirit of the joy and pain within the Pearson family as well as the overarching societal themes that the show portrays a personal and a global story at the same time.
The role of the music in ‘This Is Us’ is as crucial as the role of any other element of the show. The recording is also good to provide the background mood of each scene, if it is reflective or celebrative. It enriches the narrative enabling the viewers to hear and see how the series is applauding the emotional moments in the deepest way possible.
Cinematography of ‘This Is Us’ is purposeful and expressive, making the focus on the mood of the series episodes. Time and mood periods are reflected in color palettes and lighting; they are secondary visual storytelling layers. This reaches from the basic and simple life and closely focuses on the greatness of this world as well, which turns this series into a visual and emotional pleasure to watch for an audience. From the cozy and friendly house of the family to the crowded pavements of Pittsburgh, all the discussed shootings seem rather realistic. It is this level of detail which helps to root the series in the time periods being depicted so that the audience can fully escape into the respective timelines.
As has been already mentioned ‘This Is Us’ is mostly focused on characters’ drama, therefore the usage of special effects though quite not intrusive, is simple perfect. A lot about the series’ production can be credited for its flashbackflash forward effects and transition as much as it can be criticised for its excessive use of special effects where they fail to let the plot speak for itself. The work of the editors consists in the effective handling of time shifts: the narrative is smoothly shifted to another time frame enhancing the story without leaving the reader confused. This magnificence makes fans understand the characters’ process completely and fundamentally. Despite the rather complicated structure of the show telling the story, ‘This Is Us’ moves along smoothly, teasing the audience with hardly noticeable twists at one moment and shocking them with some tender or dramatic scenes at the other moment. It covers everything from emotional solos to banter with a certain preference for deep quips that viewers will surely take to heart up until the end of the episode.
One of the popular TV dramas today, ‘This Is Us’ is lauded for its tearjerker scenes but its time-hopping storytelling may often confuse the not-so-routine viewers who are into such storytelling form all because of ‘This Is Us’. At times the series relies on melodrama which is not to everyone’s liking, but in general all episodes of the series are worth watching and have a good message. However, these elements do not eliminate the show’s successes and instead bring out the richness of the narratives.
‘This Is Us’ is an extraordinary show that is creative in portraying the various and rich layers of the concept of family. It is profound, making people laugh, cry, and even think seriously. Sticking to the real-world topics for the show’s episodes such as adoption, love, transformation, it remains a warm-hearted and meaningful show. This is not just great writing and great acting but a searing look at something fundamental to the human experience making TV drama an increasingly significant medium.
