The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2

Tags

2010's, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Cherry Jones, Elisabeth Moss, John Carroll Lynch, Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer, Marisa Tomei, Max Minghella, O.T. Fagbenle, Samira Wiley, Sydney Sweeney, The Handmaid's Tale, The Handmaid’s Tale Season 2, Yvonne Strahovski

Expanding on from Margaret Atwood’s novel and opening up the universe created in Season 1, the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale provides immensely disturbing viewing for us. It’s gruelling but so hard to tear your eyes away from it. Caution, spoilers may well follow.

We pick up where Season 1 left off, with a pregnant Offred( Elisabeth Moss)being placed in a van and heading for an uncertain future. As it opens, she along with the other Handmaid’s who refused to stone one of their own, are taken to Fenway Park. They believe they will be hanged, but it’s a cruel act of manipulation by the powers that be. Thrown into gruelling torture by Aunt Lydia(Ann Dowd), it looks as if it’s more cruelty for all of them. More defiant than ever, Offred takes on the regime with attitude and stays it out in the hope that help will appear. Eventually, Offred is spared as Aunt Lydia discovers she is with child and exempt from punishment. With help from Nick( Max Minghella) , who is the father of her child, and the resistance, she manages to escape from her captivity. Shedding her Handmaid’s life and proclaiming herself as June, she has to contend with knowing that in order to properly escape she may have to leave the daughter she had taken from her.

June may attempt escape to the border, but it’s short lived and she is forced back into becoming the Handmaid Offred. Nick tries to help her but is sidelined by being “gifted” a wife named Eden(Sydney Sweeney). She’s a pious girl and seemingly a true believer for what Gilead stands for, but also sets up events in a tragic way. There Serena Joy(Yvonne Strahovski) is starting to scoff ever so slightly at the regime herself, but is very unpredictable in her attitudes towards Offred/June. Commander Fred( Joseph Fiennes) is his usual hypocritical self and putting on his show of self-righteousness for all to see. Meanwhile, Emily( Alexis Bledel), formerly Ofglen is in The Colonies for her disobedience. Here she must work day and night among contaminating waste with death always a shadow over her shoulder. She is joined by disturbed Janine(Madeline Brewer), who doesn’t quite understand the situation at hand after everything that’s been done to her. We also catch up with June’s husband Luke(O.T. Fagbenle) and best friend Moira(Samira Wiley), who escaped to Canada and are grappling with their own demons and survivor’s guilt. June may be broken along the way, but her desire to fight comes back gradually as she is once more asked to contend with surviving the regime and. Things take many turns as she approaches her due date.

The first season covered the novel, so with this sophomore effort, the producers and writers are going beyond the source material in different ways. And they pay off very well, though I’m sure many where unsure of whether it would pan out successfully. Certain parts from the novel that were absent from the debut season are present, but Season 2 is largely its own beast that takes the story in different directions. Thematically, Season 2 delves into guilt and the price of rebellion. June must contend with her actions having consequences on others and the devastation that fighting for what is just can bring. Duality features heavily, most prominently with June/Offred and the constant struggle of the two. It’s like a constant battle of which side will win out as the regime digs its claws into her and forces her to make a choice. Once more, the visuals are strongly composed and extremely evocative. Particularly striking are the oranges and burnt golds of The Colonies; a barren landscape almost in a permanent dusk where those who oppose Gilead are enslaved and made to work among toxic waste. It’s so cinematic and disturbing. Plus the ever-increasing close-ups provide the uncomfortable ferocity and horror of Gilead and how much of a toll it takes on the characters. Flashbacks detail the rise of Gilead and expand on the characters as they reflect on life before the takeover. June’s voice over may be limited a bit more this season, but whenever it’s there, it sure as hell does the job at capturing her inner feelings.

Just like the debut season, this second season is chock full of shocking moments. There are plenty that truly stick with you for their brutality, disturbing nature and power. The mock execution scene where the Handmaid’s are rounded up like cattle, have their mouths covered with muzzles and have nooses placed around their necks in what they believe to be their last moments is a stark and traumatising opening. Set to the sound of Kate Bush’s ‘This Woman’s Work’, it’s hard not to hold your breath. A ceremony where the Guardians of Gilead are awarded with wives who are a lot younger and basically children is chilling and totally horrifying.  One of the biggest moments of sadness and emotion is June being reunited with her daughter briefly, before she is ripped from her arms once more. It’s a gut punch to the system. And in another shocking moment, never have the repeated words “We’ve been sent good weather” been so devastating and alarmingly creepy. If anything, Season 2 ups the ante on violence and suffering. Many have criticised the increase in violence but I think The Handmaid’s Tale isn’t doing it for exploitation value, but for a cutting and harsh impact on the viewer. It’s an undoubtedly tough series to endure but it’s ultimately worth it.

Yet for all the hurt and anguish heaped upon us, hope is mixed in there in doses. The last shot hints at searing determination and immense changes to come for the characters and story. And boy did I dig it, though it will definitely divide many. My only little gripes are that some of the latter stages feel a tad rushed in the scheme of things and some things don’t go anywhere. But this is a tiny flaw in what is otherwise an arresting and disturbing series.

Elisabeth Moss is once more on powerful form; bringing out the sadness, rebellion, grief, guilt and survivor of June/Offred. The character is very much in two halves here and the strong Moss plays both of them wonderfully and with skill. There’s the fighter side of June that scoffs and will do anything to escape and then there’s Offred, the subservient vessel. Again Moss and her eyes are marvels at telegraphing varying emotions almost simultaneously. Yvonne Strahovski also continues to excellently convey the complex Serena Joy, who is by turns despicable bitch and perturbed woman realising her role in her own unhappiness. It’s a balancing act that she walks exquisitely. A slithering nastiness covers Joseph Fiennes and his interpretation of Commander Fred, who is not above abusing his power for his own benefit and spouts lies at every turn. He really becomes very vile and hateful this season and Fiennes is very adept at playing to that. Ann Dowd is once again a big standout, essaying the part of Aunt Lydia. While still brutal and very vicious, the chinks of humanity begin to come through and you see that she does have a care for the Handmaid’s, even if her treatment of them is abhorrent. Dowd is just so endlessly watchable in the role. Max Minghella is quietly conflicted as Nick, who must contend with his love for June and staying alive in the heat of the regime.

Alexis Bledel is seen a lot more than last season and capitalises on it with a stunning performance. Those blue eyes of hers are deployed in forms of rage, resistance and tragedy as we see the impact Gilead has had on her mind. She’s still a fighter at the end of the day and Bledel plays to that strength spectacularly. Madeline Brewer also returns as the haunted Janine; her wild eyes and strange mannerisms are all in order and successful. One of the season’s best weapons is the appearance of the youthful Sydney Sweeney. She plays the seemingly pious and brainwashed wife of Nick, whose naivety and sincerity is worrying but sets in motion different and irrevocable things. Sweeney is fascinating to watch as she registers that there is more to Eden than meets the eye. Although their capacities are reduced this season, both O.T. Fagbenle and Samira Wiley give great account of survivors guilt and the process of change. I just wished I saw a bit more of them. In cameo parts, Marisa Tomei as a punished Wife, John Carroll Lynch as a man persecuted for his sexuality and Cherry Jones as June’s fighting mother make their impacts felt. I must say the entire cast where at the top of their game here.

A searing, brutal and memorable series, the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale is alarmingly addictive even when it’s unsettling the hell out of you. You just want to know what happens next in the twisted world it so strikingly presents to us.

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American Horror Story: Freak Show

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2010's, American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Freak Show, Angela Bassett, Denis O'Hare, Emma Roberts, Evan Peters, Finn Wittrock, Frances Conroy, Jessica Lange, John Carroll Lynch, Kathy Bates, Michael Chiklis, Sarah Paulson, Wes Bentley

This fourth season of the hit horror anthology entitled Freak Show boasts even more weird content than before. Even though there were flaws in the previous installment Coven, I think Freak Show emerges as the weakest season so far, putting it well below the supreme greatness of Murder House and Asylum. Though that may be the case, the cast, style and blend of strange and extremely unusual horror makes it at least have some currency and effectiveness, albeit in something of a tired capacity. Be warned, there will be spoilers in my review.

The setting is Jupiter, Florida 1952. Elsa Mars(Jessica Lange) is a glamorous German expat who is running a struggling freak show and has delusional ideas set on stardom. The floundering freak show’s fortunes have dwindled due to the increase in popularity of television and immense stigma aimed towards the performers in the show. She comes across a rare find: conjoined twins named Bette and Dot(Sarah Paulson), who were found looked away in their sheltered house with their mother brutally murdered. Although they share a body, they are two distinct personalities; Bette is dreamy and romantic, whereas Dot is stern and unsmiling. Yet they are very conflicting and occasionally their personalities overlap, clearly shown when it is later revealed that the sweet Bette was the one who murdered their horrible mother for locking them away. Elsa sees the girls as saviors for her show and takes them under her wing and in time they prove a prize-winning draw. But this comes at a price as Elsa grows increasingly jealous of the attention lavished upon them. The other members of the sinking freak show are Jimmy Darling(Evan Peters), who has hands that are webbed giving him the nickname ‘Lobster Boy’, his loyal mother and bearded lady Ethel(Kathy Bates) and later Jimmy’s strongman father Dell(Michael Chiklis) and his hermaphrodite wife with three breasts Desiree(Angela Bassett). Ethel keeps the fact that she is dying and that Dell is Jimmy’s father to herself because of history. Yet as the show begins to take off, horror and deception soon invades in various forms. A menacing clown known as Twisty(John Carroll Lynch) , clad in a horrific mask, begins to terrorise and kill people in the surrounding areas.  He later finds a helper in the form of spoiled man-child Dandy Mott(Finn Wittrock), who is bored with his rich life and obsessed with the freak show, in particular Bette and Dot. But after being turned away by the show and when Twisty is taken away by a Halloween spirit adding to his collection,  Dandy soon evolves into something more sadistic than ever, much to the worry of his subservient mother Gloria(Frances Conroy). After a police officer insults Jimmy and the other members of the troupe, out of anger Jimmy kills him and has to cover up the murder. Two money hungry con artists, Stanley(Denis O’Hare) and fake fortune-teller Maggie Esmeralda(Emma Roberts) infiltrate the camp, but while Stanley is willing to murder one of the freaks to get his dirty hands on a profit, the observant Maggie gets cold feet despite her skewed moral compass as her conscience catches up with her. So who will survive as carnage creeps in and evil rears its head once again, predominately in the form of the psychotic Dandy?

As I have already mentioned, Freak Show is for my money the weakest season so far. So I think it’s best to get my thoughts on the stuff that didn’t work out the way first because there is still some good parts to it and it isn’t a complete failure. I sometimes found some of the characters this time where not written with the usual verve that the show is known. And the fact that important characters seem to appear and then disappear, either by being killed off or god knows what else is a bit jarring. I just felt that Freak Show didn’t have the grip that past entries have so successfully evoked. The pacing could have been kicked up a notch or two, as certain episodes did drag before finding a bit of a groove. Then again, I know every season of a show can’t be amazing, but I expected a bit more from American Horror Story.

Moving on to the positives of this season, of which there are a number of. The visual palette popped with bright colours of the carnival, that acted as irony to the disturbing events brewing beneath the surface.  The addressing of themes of prejudice provides a modern resonance, because while steps have been taken in the world to eradicate discrimination, it is still there. Freak Show portrays the circus troupe as human beings who have done nothing wrong but look different to others. Through this, we feel a sense of kinship towards them in their struggle for acceptance in a cruel world. I loved the two-part episode set on Halloween that features Edward Mordrake(played splendidly by Wes Bentley), a man with another head that speaks to him who collects a freak every Halloween. There is such an eerie feeling when he’s on screen and though his brief appearance we get glimpses into both Elsa’s and Twisty’s past and unearth tragedy in both. Freak Show also ups the ante on bloodshed this time, with many scenes of murder emerging as extremely disquieting and very disturbing to watch. And not forgetting an excellent score that combines with the unusual nature of the show and sends a doom-laden pulse through each frame. While I’m discussing music, I have to speak of the musical numbers that are sprinkled throughout. Modern songs placed in an older setting can often be jarring, but here it is quite enjoyable. The title sequence follows with a stop motion evocation of the carnival, complete with nightmarish clowns, carousels and strange figures. Once more, the title sequence is a tone setter with the customary unusual tics that have become the show’s trademark.

And despite the negatives that somewhat spoil the potential that this season had, the talented cast makes up for some of these errors with good work, often rising above the limited material they’re given to work with. The amazing Jessica Lange signs off from the show in style portraying the manipulative Elsa, who’ll do just about anything to keep her star in the ascendance. Lange just brings a whole wealth of emotions and drama to the character that I think her presence will be missed in future seasons of American Horror Story. Sarah Paulson turns in captivating work as the Siamese twins Bette and Dot. The way she displays the opposite personalities of both and then sometimes wraps them together is quite marvellous to view. Evan Peters exudes a sense of pathos and dignity as Jimmy, whose beliefs that the troupe should be treated equally is to be admired but whose actions regarding this sometimes end badly as he challenges the norm. Kathy Bates exhibits her usual high calibre mark to the role as the strangely accented Ethel, dealing with the fact she is dying and staying loyal to those around her. Angela Bassett has a sassy ability that she incorporates into Desiree, while Michael Chiklis as strongman Dell, who is fearing that a secret will get out, imbued the part with strength and emotion. Both of the roles played by Bassett and Chiklis I felt were underwritten, but they both sidestepped this flaw and made the parts better.

Joining the cast and making a huge impact is Finn Wittrock in the evil role of Dandy. Essaying the part with bratty antics, a stunted, petulant manner, sinister smiles and arrogance, Wittrock makes Dandy a really frightening monster as his boredom with his rich life begins to manifest itself as murderous and heinous crimes. This season may be weaker, but one can’t fault the work of Wittrock here. John Carroll Lynch makes a mark despite his brief appearance as Twisty the clown. By turns immensely creepy and then when his back story is revealed quite sad, his presence can’t be forgotten. Frances Conroy has all the right nervous ticks and worry as Dandy’s mother Gloria. A delightfully slimy performance from Denis O’Hare as a remorseless con man is a highlight of the weirdness this show can conjure up, and Emma Roberts is convincing as his accomplice who has a change of heart after getting to know the troupe and feeling sympathy for them.

So while pushing the envelope once more with disturbing content and featuring a great cast once more, Freak Show lacks the killer punch of past seasons. Hopefully the next season can bring back some magic.

Things We Lost in the Fire

Tags

2000's, Alison Lohman, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Drama, Halle Berry, John Carroll Lynch, Susanne Bier, Things We Lost in the Fire

Film Title

Things We Lost in the Fire

Director

Susanne Bier

Starring

• Halle Berry as Audrey Burke
• Benicio Del Toro as Jerry Sunborne
• David Duchovny as Brian Burke
• John Carroll Lynch as Howard
• Alison Lohman as Kelly

Susanne Bier’s first foray into American film is an intimate study of grief and addiction. Bolstered by two restrained and very powerful performances by Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro, Things We Lost in the Fire is a hopeful film showing the connection between two wounded characters as they attempt to stay afloat in a sea of grief.

Audrey Burke is a mother mourning the death of her husband Brian, who was killed whilst trying to defend a woman from her abusive partner. She shuts down emotionally and forms a protective shell around herself to protect her young children, Harper and Dory  from her own grief. At Brian’s funeral, Jerry Sunborne, Brian’s friend who he attempted to help through his intense heroin addiction, turns up to pay his condolences. Audrey has never liked Jerry and believed Brian was wasting his time in his attempt to help his friend kick his habit. But after seeing how caring he is with her children, she asks him to move into her garage. Her invitation is not a romantic gesture, it is far from that. She just wants someone to be there as she tries to readjust to life after her shocking loss. Audrey and Jerry both have an impact on the other as they connect through grief, heartbreak and addiction. Examined in non-linear fashion, Susanne Bier crafts a moving movie about the need to connect , how powerful an emotion grief is and how we all deal differently we deal with it.

Refreshingly in Things We Lost in the Fire, Audrey and Jerry don’t fall in love as is the case with other movies. They connect after initial reluctance and see how much the other meant to the deceased Brian.  The intimate screenplay delves deeply into the emotions of grief and anger with moving results. There are occasional times in which the movie lapses into melodrama, but Susanne Bier manages to create a deeply human movie despite the contrivances. Her camerawork is a marvel to watch as it zeroes on the tiniest emotional nuances between Audrey and Jerry. Her use of close-ups of eyes may put some off, but I personally thought it added a personal and subtle impact to the emotions displayed through the eyes. What I admired the most about Susanne Bier’s direction is her scenes of silence in which body language provide us with a heart of the story. The evocative score, mostly composed of an acoustic guitar, is organic and gets to the heart of the subtle emotions on display.

Susanne Bier draws two emotionally subtle performances from Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro. Halle Berry plays Audrey with a subtle emotional core, we watch as she shuts down and keeps her emotions bottled up in order to survive her pain. She doesn’t come across as cold, but rather shielding herself from having to deal with what has happened. When she does let her emotions out, we see all of the anger and suffering she has endured since her husband’s death. It is a moving and convincing performance by Halle Berry. Benicio Del Toro is amazing as Jerry, the drug addicted friend of Brian who is actually a decent man caught in difficult circumstances and attempting to stop his habit. He is by turns caring, frightening but above all sympathetic as we see how Brian never gave up faith on his best friend. As the deceased Brian seen in flashback, David Duchovny is reliably warm-hearted as the good guy whose life ended tragically. In small but effective roles, John Carroll Lynch and Alison Lohman play an unhappy neighbour and a recovering addict.

Hopeful, filled with deep emotion and two stunning lead performances, Susanne Bier’s Things We Lost in the Fire is a drama of emotion and recovery that is moving and movingly observed.

Gothika

Tags

2000's, Charles S. Dutton, Gothika, Halle Berry, Horror, John Carroll Lynch, Mathieu Kassovitz, Penélope Cruz, Robert Downey Jr, Supernatural Thriller

Film Title

Gothika

Director

Mathieu Kassovitz

Starring

• Halle Berry as Dr. Miranda Grey
• Robert Downey, Jr. as Dr. Pete Graham
• Charles S. Dutton as Dr. Doug Grey
• Penélope Cruz as Chloe Sava
• John Carroll Lynch as Sheriff Ryan

Yes the plot may be preposterous and the final act may fly off the rails, but for the  first hour or so Gothika does keep you entertained and evokes some genuinely scary moments.  It is very much a film of two halves, but if you go into it without questioning logic and reason, you might just enjoy this horror/ supernatural thriller.

Miranda Grey is a gifted psychiatrist working at a mental hospital for women. Married to the director Doug and very rational when it comes to her work, Miranda’s life is ordinary enough. Until, one stormy night after her session with a patient named Chloe, Miranda is driving home when she has to take a detour after a closure of a number of roads. Whilst driving, she crashes her car after swerving from a young girl standing in the road. Upon exiting her car, she comes face to face with the girl who suddenly bursts into flames. The next thing Miranda knows she is back in the mental hospital, only this time she is one of the patients. She has been asleep for three days and to make matters worse, she is being accused of murdering her husband. Confused and deeply horrified, Miranda attempts to fathom the events that occurred that fateful night as those around her, including a good friend Dr. Pete Graham, begin to doubt Miranda’s story. The girl who she saw before she blacked out keeps appearing, is she real or just a figment of Miranda’s imagination? Delving deep into her mind, Miranda begins to slowly recover her memory and is pushed to the edge of her sanity as her world falls apart and the events around her become darker. Although full of schlock and a certain unevenness to its tone, Gothika at least succeeds in part due to its stylish direction from Mathieu Kassovitz.

For the good first hour or so, Mathieu Kassovitz keeps Gothika ticking over with frightening imagery, moody lighting and kinetic camera angles that capture Miranda’s life being turned upside down. If anything, the overall visual look and chilling sets keep Gothika rising above the by the numbers script.The atmosphere created is very spooky indeed as we are thrown into Miranda’s tailspin of emotions as she questions what really happened and how she ended up on the other side of the glass. The music provided is suitably eerie and frequently utilised to great effect. Unfortunately, the film as a whole does not feel even enough, as plot holes begin to appear during the last act. It does have its share of scary moments, but many of these feel repetitive and clichéd to say the least. The supernatural element is handled in an ok fashion in the beginning but soon descends into hokey elements. What does keep Gothika from being all bad is the performances. Halle Berry rises above the scripts flaws and excellently portrays Miranda as she is thrown into a nightmare and attempts a way out of the bizarre case. She evokes a sense of confusion and shock that does make you feel for her. Robert Downey Jr. is great as the psychiatrist who is forced to leave his personal feelings at the door when it comes to analysing what Miranda remembers and whether or not she is mentally unstable or indeed innocent of the crime of which she stands accused. In supporting roles, Charles S. Dutton and John Carroll Lynch are fine as the murdered man and his lifelong best friend and sheriff attached to the murder case. Penélope Cruz creates an interesting character in Chloe, injecting menace and a certain vulnerability, as we watch her and Miranda go from patient and psychiatrist relationship to trusting one another.

So all in all, Gothika is flawed and full of plot holes. But if you don’t question this you may enjoy the scary atmosphere, Kassovitz’s visual style and some good performances.