The Corner is a ruthless, thoughtful examination of life on the streets of West Baltimore amidst heartbreaking poverty and the relentless call of drug addiction. A six part miniseries, based on the novel of the same name, which is in turn based on true stories and real people, watching The Corner was a labour of love. That might sound like a foot in, foot out endorsement – and while I try to preach that good TV should be effortless, trudging through the painfully meticulous depictions of abject poverty in the “City of Firsts” took dedication, but was totally worth it.
After many years of deliberate and enthusiastic television watching, I’d like to think I’ve gotten to know Baltimore pretty well. Starting with David Simon’s Homicide: Life on the Street, and followed years later by The Wire (also by former Baltimore crime reporter David Simon, and also an uncharacteristically brilliant police procedural) I’ve been able to examine the multitude of problems facing “The Greatest City in America” – and by extension, many of the U.S.’s other major cities. What The Wire managed to advance beyond Homicide’s mandate, was the examination of many different social factors as they contribute to, and are affected by, the criminal element – organized or not.
When The Wire had finally run its course, I was wondering where I could go to find shows of the same calibre. I had already watched Chris Haddock’s Intelligence, so that was out, and after doing a little digging, I found out that David Simon and creative collaborator Ed Burns (no, not that Ed Burns) had created another miniseries under the direction of former Baltimore hoodlum Charles S. Dutton called The Corner. It’s a portrait of a year on the mean streets of Baltimore
For those Wire-watching suckers for punishment out there who couldn’t get enough of Bubbles’ subplots, The Corner is right up your alley; concentrating entirely on the bottom rung of the Baltimore’s cycle of crime and misdeeds. Much like The Wire, the cast is large, but the central characters are a father, mother and son plodding their way through the year, trying to find their way out of their respective situations. Gary (T.K. Carter), the father, was once a successful engineer, playing the stock market and supporting his entire family. An addiction to heroin has robbed him of everything, his marriage, his home, and his dignity. Still an ideas man, he stays in his parents’ basement and copes with the daily grind of scraping together enough money for that day’s fix. Fran (Khandi Alexander), the mother, has had a long relationship with cocaine, and after one too many setbacks she tries to walk the lonely road to recovery and the even lonelier road of sobriety. DeAndre (Sean Nelson), the son, is a drug dealer who displays much of the heart and ingenuity of his father, and is swaying back and forth between finding a way out of the gangster life and falling into the same pit of addiction his parents succumbed to. Great performances all around, but T.K. Carter’s as Gary is particularly moving. I also liked Clarke Peters (Lester from The Wire) as the afflicted Fat Curt.
After so many different visions of Baltimore by the same man, I can only imagine that the final season of The Wire might have finally closed the book on the stories of Baltimore. So where to go from here? Well, there’s definitely Generation Kill: Simon and Burns’ examination of the Iraq war. It’s not Baltimore, but Simon’s gift for delving to the heart of complex issues is travels well.
The Verdict:
i think that its a very sad story and like deandre had to take heroins after he had a son which was quite sad init and i rate fiend for staying clean x x p.s Deandre and dickie + peaches are looking kinda hot
It’s a sad story, for sure. Sadder that it’s a true story. It’s that kind of backdrop that makes Baltimore a perfect setting for shows like The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street.