‘The Leftovers’ Recap: What Kind of Despair Drives Self-Inflicted Pain?

ARTSBEAT
By Michael M. Brynbaum

Ann Dowd as Patti Levin on “The Leftovers.”Credit Paul Schiraldi/HBO

BROADCASTING---Season 1, Episode 4 Question: Religious themes and literary ambitions aside, is “The Leftovers” actually just an exercise in high-brow horror? Freaky, disembodied heads of baby dolls; plastic cadavers strewn across a highway; an infant Jesus sprinkled with gasoline and set adrift on a makeshift Viking funeral barge. I did not enjoy watching those a whole lot, but on the other hand I appreciated the effort. Days later, the visuals were still hard to shake — they had an uncanny, ineffable twistedness, and some were just plain bizarre in the best kind of way, like something out of “Blade Runner,” or Cronenberg. “The Leftovers,” for all of its narrative flaws, is quickly developing a unique and memorable aesthetic, even by premium television standards. Tune in to be weirded out. [link]