‘The Lowdown’: Ethan Hawke Is on the Case as a Reckless Journalist With Beaten up Chemistry In Sterlin Harjo’s Tulsa Noir

Alci Rengifo

Sterlin Harjo’s “The Lowdown” is centered around such an entertaining character that the plot almost seems written out of sheer necessity to give him a landscape. As played by Ethan Hawke, Lee Raybon feels so vivid because he happens to come from a very personal place in the showrunner’s imagination. Harjo, who made a mark on modern TV with his great “Reservation Dogs,” bases this character on citizen journalist Lee Roy Capman, who dug deep into the underbelly of Oklahoma history. Chapman, who died in 2015, was also a friend of Harjo’s. Hawke then embodies the role with absolute scruff and entertainingly reckless energy.

In classic noir fashion, the plot begins with a mysterious death. An Oklahoma writer named Dale Washberg (Tim Blake Nelson) appears to take his own life at his desk. Dale was part of one of the state’s richest families, so inevitably eyebrows should be raised. Enter Lee Raybon, a self-described “true-storian” who runs a bookstore, Hoot Owl Books. When Lee isn’t finding important and dangerous stories to pitch to the local newspapers, he deals with being the ex-husband of Samantha (Kaniehtiio Horn) and trying to be a decent father to their daughter Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). The death of Dale Washberg immediately sets off Lee’s investigative instincts. The Washberg family already hates him for a feature he wrote on the family’s dealings and connections to the Ku Klux Klan. A first major signal something is wrong is how Dale’s widow, Betty Jo (Jeanne Tripplehorn), is suddenly now very close to Donald (Kyle MacLachlan), Dale’s brother. Making the emerging case more explosive is Lee’s conviction that Donald is connected to local neo-Nazis.

Ethan Hawke tends to stay busy and “The Lowdown” is some of his best recent work. His performance is on par with his lovably fanatical John Brown in “The Good Lord Bird.” What makes Lee distinct and fun is that while he has all the typical characteristics of a noir hero, he’s also literate and truly witty. Characters actually critique each other’s taste in books (“Pinter with Harry Potter?!”) even while drinking hard and throwing punches. Hawke, himself, is a literary hound and is probably out to channel heroes like Charles Bukowski, Elmore Leonard and Hunter S. Thompson. There are also echoes of journalists like L.A.’s Ruben Salazar, who met controversial deaths while covering heated politics. 

Harjo and team give Lee a worthy thriller narrative that is about more than just catching bad guys. The plot touches on America’s racist past and its connection to contemporary fascism. Lee starts snooping around figures like Frank Martin (Tracy Letts), a rich businessman who appears to mostly be targeting Black-owned businesses for buy outs. Some cartoonish and violent skinheads also target the writer for a piece he wrote, angry at his depiction of their unsavory natures. The casting is superb with actors who make their characters a memorable constellation that swirls around Lee. Keith David brings his usual gruff to Marty, Donald’s private investigator who becomes an ally to Lee. They have a hilariously rough way of gaining each other’s trust when Marty finds Lee trapped in the trunk of a car, stuffed there by angry neo-Nazis. Scott Shepard is icy perfection as Allen Murphy, Martin’s right hand who is eager to break Lee. Many freelancers will surely love smaller side characters like Cyrus Arnold (Michael “Killer Mike” Render), who publishes a bombastic crime rag and is the only person willing to pay Lee something for his pitch on the Dale Washberg case. He’s also smart in giving the writer a gun for protection (though Lee has to buy his own bullets).

“The Lowdown” is visually arresting as a gritty portrait of Tulsa, Oklahoma where American history still runs very dark. The writing then polishes old tricks with elegant care, like Lee finding clues in a letter stuffed in vintage paperbacks. His relationship to Francis is written with wonderful layers as well. He’s a man who feels guilty for being such a poor father. Many of the most driven idealists are moved by factors that go beyond politics or even ideology. Something personal is at work and Lee feels like chasing down fascists and exposing the elite’s corruption may also help him atone for his sins. He can barely pay his own bookstore employee (Siena East) and gives a Native American that’s just out of prison (Cody Lightning) a shot at being security detail, despite being farcically unqualified. Lee is a flawed man and, in a sense, a real hero. His shortcomings help fuel his drive to target the powerful and those who would do evil. Harjo’s latest is an addictive tribute not just to the spirit of a late friend, but a celebration of the kind of radical defenders of truth we need now more than ever.

“The Lowdown” season one premieres Sept. 23 and airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on FX.