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The Enemy Is Not What We Believe— On Sofia Coppola and The Beguiled

I just published a review/essay on The Beguiled and Sofia Coppola’s body of work at the new website Unfinished Playlist.

Here’s a little excerpt:

…The Beguiled is a remake of a 1971 film of the same name, itself an adaptation of a novel, and that there was some controversy in Coppola’s decision to omit a black female character that was included in the 1971 feature. By the time the new Beguiled premiered in Cannes, it was facing a small wave of criticism stateside for being yet another overwhelmingly white work in Coppola’s alabaster oeuvre.

A question that did make me consider passing on the film, however, was why in 2017—amidst the increasingly vocal and violent antagonizing of non-white people in America—would Coppola choose to center a group of Confederate white women as pillars of strength and of virtue under fire? Was this not, at best, a regression from current female-led activism such as the Women’s March and the Mothers of the Movement or, at worst, a gross omission of the cruelty committed or instigated against black people by slave mistresses and other white women throughout Southern history?

Nevertheless, to the movies I went. Neither spoiled plot nor fear of severed limbs nor dubious politics would stay me from seeing Nicole Kidman, who has a very high-ranking place in my pantheon of actors, in her first collaboration with my problematic fave.  

Click here to check out the whole piece.

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How to Get Away with Murder — S3 Eps14 & 15

Well, friends, we have finally arrived—— at the two. hour. season finale of How to Get Away with Murder.

Let’s just talk about it...

They’re getting artsy with it tonight, I see… I’ll reserve judgment.

If they’d taken my Connor, this really might have been my last go ‘round.

Come through with this 60s girl-group glam look, Annalise! I’m just glad it’s not gonna be two hours of her looking busted like the last couple of episodes.

I’m just so... SO glad I didn’t hear the actual cracking sound.

Oh, Laurel, you dated Wes for, like, 8 days; don’t come for Connor like that.

For somebody who constantly looks like a startled field mouse, Bonnie sure likes to act like she’s running things.

Okay, Connor, that was cruel. I think everybody just needs to have a warm beverage and a lie down.

All this perjury!

Also, Laurel already—at the funeral—proved that she’s not great in public speaking situations. Why would they leave this up to her?

I’m pretty sure they’ve played every song off Too Bright on this show at this point. Which, by the way: it’s time get excited for the next Perfume Genius album.

CONNOR. GET. OUT OF THERE.

“Canada’s only a few hours away.” ~me, for the past year-and-a-half

Not noooooooooooow, Asher!

That whole scene, including Michaela and Laurel’s chat in the bathroom, just felt weird and incongruous. All of that could’ve waited.

Grow! the hell! up!

Annalise’s plan was smart. Harsh, sure, but smart. Now what are these idiot kids doing...?

Y’all really have ABYSMAL timing with the romantic declarations tonight.

That little eye roll when Frank fell to his knees... Viola Davis is the greatest.

Laurel has taken complete leave of her senses.

Whaaaaaaaaaaat the what?!

Viola Davis’s acting on just so unfailingly on point. That was a hell of an ending. I’m actually gonna miss this mess till next season.

—Koye Berry

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How to Get Away with Murder — S3 Ep13

When it comes to soap operas, I’m a big believer in “No Body, No Death” — that is to say that if you don’t actually see a character’s corpse after his/her death scene, that character will be returning to the show at some point.

For this to work, though, the inverse must also be true: If the body is shown, the character is dead. So basically, this week we’re hoping to discover whether or not this show betrayed our trust on a deep, fundamental, irreparable level.

Let’s go!

Oliver is really on Monster.com while his boss tries to duck a murder charge.

"What about that poor young man who was burned to a crisp? Where’s his justice?” Girl, where’s his body?!

I’d forgotten the kids didn’t know what happened to Annalise when she was pregnant. That was a hell of a scene.

I appreciate how casually that “Straight people are so boring” line was dropped.

“You’re just as bad as her.” — I feel like Bonnie might be the one character who’s actually worse than Annalise. Tough call.

Wow, maybe choose just one “I’m obviously lying” nervous tick and go with it, ma’am. You don’t have to run through them all.

See how quick Bonnie perked up at the phrase “kill her”?

I don’t like the way these jackals are circling my Connor right now.

Oh, Connor... I knew you had a heart.

I can’t believe we’re already at the season finale. But two hours, y’all? I’m already tired. (And excited.)

—Koye Berry

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Lipstick and Lemonade

I recently bought a tube of lipstick, which I’ve worn only once, in my bathroom just after a shower. Before removing it, I took two selfies in the mirror, posting them on social media about week after the fact to one response.

Technically, it’s not my first. There was the liquid lipstick I bought just before flying home for the holidays. I put it on, again alone, again in the bathroom mirror, just before my family piled into the car to head to a dinner party downtown, but the color was so much brighter, so much redder than I’d imagined. I scrubbed it off as best I could, not knowing just how stubborn liquid lipstick can be.

I don’t know why my mouth is a bigger deal than my skin or my eyes— my parents have seen their younger son in makeup. During this same visit, my father took me on a Sephora run, where I bought a bottle of rose gold nail polish I still have not used and a gel eyeliner that somehow remained on my waterline throughout that dinner party despite the difficulty of applying it. I am still a novice at performing femininity, but my performance is not unknown.

A month passes, I have been back in Baltimore for weeks, and my mother calls me to tell me her cancer has returned. It’s been, if I recall correctly, two years since the chemo and double mastectomy she underwent following her first diagnosis. She knew about it when I was home in December, but did not tell my brother or me so as not to spoil the holiday.

In the past three weeks, she has had ten days of radiation on a malignant tumor in her knee and one week of no treatment. I have woken up every morning with one arm wrapped around my waist and numb from my own weight. I mention her condition once on social media to one response.

This week was meant to begin, for her, with surgery on Monday to remove another tumor from her side and end, for me, with a dance party on Friday night. But she texted me three days ago to say the surgery has been postponed till Friday.

Last night on the phone, she told me about an old family photograph she recently received from her cousin. In it, she says, her eyes don’t look like her brother’s the way they typically do in her childhood pictures; for some reason, she can’t quite put her finger on it—maybe it’s the fullness of her brows—they look like mine. She says she’ll send me a copy.

Perhaps three hours later, Beyoncé begins her performance at the Grammys. She appears in an ensemble that invokes the mater dolorosa, the sorrowful mother who weeps for the world. In voiceover, she recites poetry from Warsan Shire, the words “You look nothing like your mother. You look everything like your mother. You desperately want to look like her” catching me like a snare. She sings one of my favorite songs from Lemonade, maybe for the first time live, certainly for the first time on television.

When the performance ends, shaking, or rather reeling, and overwhelmed, I look up one of the poems: 

“how to wear your mother’s lipstick” (excerpted)

you must wear it like she wears disappointment on her face

//

your mother is a woman and women like her cannot be contained.

//

you go to the bathroom to apply the lipstick,

somewhere no one can find you

your teeth look brittle against the deep red slickness

you smile like an infant, your mouth is a wound

you look nothing like your mother

you look everything like your mother.

//

you lick your lips, you taste like years of being alone.

I try to convey the weight, the alignment of all this on social media to no response. There is no one else around. There never is.

This weekend, I think, I might wear my lipstick to go dancing.

—Koye Berry

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How to Get Away with Murder — S3 Ep12

All right, I’m late but I’m here. My friends and I were out last night drowning our sorrows in a Busby Berkeley revival, so our merry band of murderers had to take the backseat till today. But really, can you blame me?

Anyway, though. Let’s talk about this mess...

Who in the Jane the Virgin hell is Cristophe? I knew this was gonna be some bull.

Come through in that church hat, Cicely!

Going off at this funeral is, I think, the most I’ve ever liked Laurel.

I feel like Annalise’s antagonistic cellmate got really suddenly demure this week.

Is mama having a stroke? Who is Clyde? Are there any characters on this show who have not committed and/or been accessory to a murder at this point?

Asher is annoying, but praise God for some kind of comic relief on this show.

I feel like Ophelia’s dementia is remarkably consistent— like, that her mind’s not just stuck in the past but that it’s staying in the exact same past event from day to day. Maybe that’s more typical than I thought?

On one hand, I feel like Connor’s had the most realistic reaction to all of this carnage, but on the other hand I could soon tire of his whole Wednesday Addams vibe.

“Beyoncé. Who the hell are you?” is how I’m going to be introducing myself to new people for the next few months.

These kids loooooooove messing up a crime scene.

Lol, damn. Now, that’s a mother: can’t even remember what year it is but will still find a way to shame you for being single and childless.

If at the end of this season it turns out that Wes isn’t dead and has a twin brother who died as part of some botched sting operation on Annalise, or some daytime soap operatic shenanigan like that… I mean, I’ll probably keep watching, but oh! the eyes I will roll.

—Koye Berry

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How to Get Away with Murder — S3 Ep11

When last we left our heroes, we were screaming for Wes to get out that damn car. Let’s see what happens next…

Oh, nope, still in the car.

How is Annalise keeping that wig so together in jail?

Michaela’s got a whole heap of nerve coming into Oliver’s house and telling him when to sit and where to look. As if he doesn’t have the upper hand here. Have them all arrested, Olly!

Annalise Is the New Black?

“How could we all be so stupid?” — Now isn’t that the question?

Golden Girls! And one of my favorite scenes. ♥

There needs to be a specific Emmy category for hair-related performances. Viola would have that on lock.

I really want Connor and Oliver to flee the country. Also, I am living vicariously through Connor and Oliver.

Cicely!! (Y’know... the next-week previews are regularly becoming my favorite moments.)

—Koye Berry

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A Natural History of Grief

Ahead of my seeing Julieta, the latest film by Pedro Almodóvar, a friend of mine asked me what it’s about, and I didn’t have an answer for her— partially because I wanted to go into the movie with as few expectations as possible and partially because Almodóvar films are almost never about what they’re about, right?

Plot twists, stories-within-stories, and final-act revelations are all staples of the Almdóvar universe, as are bold saturated colors and multi-generational family drama. Julieta is no exception. Presented mainly in a series of flashbacks, the film centers on its title character (played by Emma Suárez in the present-day scenes and by Adriana Ugarte in most of the flashbacks) as she recounts the events that led to the disappearance of and subsequent 12-year estrangement from her daughter Antía (played by Priscilla Delgado as a teenager and by Blanca Parés as young adult). But from there unfurls an ill-fated romance, a meditation on grief, and a reminder that not learning from your parents’ history can doom you to repeat it.

The story moves at a slower, more deliberate pace than the average Almodóvar and feels less soap operatic than, say, Volver, the last of his films to explore the ties that bind mothers and daughters. Julieta‘s twists and turns never seem intent on shocking or eliciting gasps from the audience; rather, the film builds steadily toward one final moment of exhalation.

This more sedate delivery also allows the viewer to linger longer in the natural world surrounding the characters. While the striking, vibrant home interiors typical of Almodóvar are absolutely present and accounted for, some of the shots I found most affecting were those of the land and sea— ashes scattered from a rocky seashore, folded into then borne away by the rushing waters; and a final image that, while I don’t want to spoil it, I must say brought tears to my eyes. Other than the aforementioned Volver and the windswept women tending to gravestones in its opening scene, I can’t immediately recall another Almodóvar movie that draws so much of its strength from the outdoors.

Fashion also plays a key, though more subtle, role in Julieta. The passage of time and the phases of Julieta’s life are delineated primarily by changing styles of clothing and hair. This culminates in a clever and memorable scene wherein Ugarte’s younger, more dynamic Julieta transitions into the older, grief-stricken Julieta of Suárez‘s portrayal right before the viewers’ eyes.

The film does lack the energy and exuberance of Almodóvar’s most famous pieces, and many reviewers have labeled this as “maturity.” That’s fair enough considering this is the director’s 20th movie. It also feels like a bit of positive reinforcement for this course correction from 2013′s I’m So Excited, which was certainly Almodóvar’s zaniest work since the ‘90s, but also a film that felt oddly tone deaf, sophomoric, and unfocused. As Julieta clocks in at a tight 99 minutes, even its most meandering moments never veer far off course.

So while Julieta may not have the dizzying, disorienting qualities associated with the Almodóvar name, it does balance the grandiose and the intimate with far more grace than I’d anticipated. My appreciation for the film grew immensely in the immediate hindsight of describing it to a friend after I left the theater. I also imagine Julieta might benefit from repeat viewings, which I feel is untrue of many Almodóvar films because much of their impact lies in their unpredictability. It might not be the most exemplary piece for the uninitiated, but established fans of the director will likely find Julieta to be a more-than-satisfying reunion with an enduring love.

—Koye Berry

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How to Get Away with Murder — S3 Ep10

Here we go again, girl...

Now that it’s no longer spoiler-y to discuss his death, can I just say that I never liked Wes? Not that I was hoping they’d kill him off, per se. But of all the passengers on our modern-day Mystery Machine (shoutout to CGWacko for making the Scooby Doo connection years ago), his was departure was—for me—probably the least distressing option.

Except maybe Laurel. I can’t even remember her name half the time.

Anyway. On with the show:

This episode is called “We’re Bad People,” which I have to believe was the working title for this whole show.

I don’t know why I thought dying would mean less screen time for Wes. Annalise’s husband still pops up from time to time.

I was gonna say Connor was keeping it a little too real with Michaela, but then that… prison toilet conversation happened. So, nevermind.

The primary function of this show at this point is to test the limits of what we will watch Viola Davis do.

But, DAMMIT, what an actress!

Asher’s angry face… Maybe we don’t do that again.

If one of my straight friends banged up my face like that, even if I were also in the wrong, I’d accuse him of a hate crime.

"No matter how high or how far we climb, they're gonna find a way to pull us back down." — I know the writers have been waiting to get that off their chests since November. We all have.

I wanna be like, “Boy, don’t get in that car!” but I suppose it truly doesn’t matter at this point.

Viola’s gonna be swinging for the fences next week (heh). I am ready.

—Koye Berry

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On Standing Still

In another, upgraded timeline, I would have a better job and a nicer apartment, and this drawing—"The weight of absence" by Erin Fostel—would be in my living room hanging above my piano.

If you should find yourself in Baltimore between now and February 4th, please take the time to visit Standing Still, a solo exhibition of charcoal and graphite pieces by Ms. Fostel. Trust me when I say that online images of these works don’t do them justice— you would be easily forgiven for thinking the above image was a photograph, but no. And standing before it, the intense level of detail and precision, not to mention the range of shading affected by one hand and one medium, is breathtaking. It’s reality with an extra shot of emotion, the familiar rendered remarkable. Don’t miss it.

—Koye Berry

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My Year in Songs

This isn’t meant to be some severe pronouncement of the year’s best music because who the hell am I? Neither is this meant to be a year-end playlist for a New Year’s Eve party (unless your party plans consist of some red wine and alone time— and if that’s the case then, by all means, go in). It’s not even a fully comprehensive list of all the songs I loved this year, mainly because I thought it’d get a little tiresome seeing “Beyoncé… Beyoncé… Beyoncé… Beyoncé…” straight down the page.

These are the songs that really walked with me throughout this very difficult year, and I’ve written a few words on what each of them means to me. They aren’t ranked after the first two, my favorite song of the year and the extremely close runner up, but listed in the order they were released. I hope you enjoy the read and the listens.

—Koye Berry

"Hold Up" – Beyoncé

I hadn’t originally intended to rank any of these songs at all, but I'd be lying if I said "Hold Up" wasn't my #1. Beyoncé put out a lot of songs I loved this year— basically, anything from Lemonade could be on this list, but special recognition must be given to "Love Drought," "Pray You Catch Me," "Forward," and of course "Sorry." And "Formation"?! I mean, the video alone… But nothing else I heard this year hit every corner of my psyche like "Hold Up" did. It's that rare dancefloor flooder that benefits from a close solo listen on good headphones (store bought is fine). The lyrics can bring up old love gone wrong, lingering insecurities, resentments you didn't even know you had; the beat will make you want to slow wind on the closest vertical structure. It's heartbreaking and funny at the same time. A melancholy bop in a year full of melancholy bops (see also: Rihanna's "Work" and Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky,” both of which I also loved for many of the same reasons) that still feels entirely singular. It's a song that soundtracked my darkest and sunniest moments of 2016 equally well. It will probably be years before I take it out of rotation.

"A Burning Hill" – Mitski

The only non-Beyoncé track that came close to knocking "Hold Up" off the top spot was "A Burning Hill" by Mitski. I don't really know how to give higher praise than that, so I could probably just stop writing here, but I'm not gonna. “A Burning Hill,” the closing track of the incredible album Puberty 2, is—to my ears—a perfect song: gorgeous melody, subtle but immersive production, impeccable instrumental and vocal delivery, and a lyric that says an awful lot in very few words. The simplest way I can summarize it is to say it’s a song about settling: for tenderness instead of great love, for a job instead of a career, for the life you have instead of the life you want. But the song remarkably communicates both the feeling of defeat and the sense of calm that could come from such a surrender. And that paradox is woven into every fiber of this song, from the direct yet image-driven choice of language (the forest fire metaphor is just… my God) to Mitski’s unembellished yet achingly sincere style of singing. The idea of finding peace in hopelessness seemed especially poignant, even aspirational, to me this year, and Mitski presented it flawlessly.

"Cookin" – TT the Artist & Dai Burger

I have to confess a few biases here: I've lived in Baltimore for about a decade, so TT the Artist has Hometown Hero status in my mind; the same goes for Schwarz, even if he’s gone to L.A.; Jeremiah Meece is responsible for about half of one of my favorite albums of the year (Mykki); and Dai Burger is one of the coolest performers I've ever had the privilege to meet and share weird nachos with at The Crown. Now, all that aside? This song slaps. TT and Dai alternate verses as Schwarz and Meece alternate beats, but the track never feels disjointed. Rather, the transition from the first verse's smooth, slow grind to the second's high-energy invitation to twerk is seamless, building anticipation just before the rhythm switches. While both rappers are in fine lyrical form on “Cookin,” TT sets the ball and Dai spikes it, riding the beat with what I think may be the best flow of her career thus far. Her verse is playful, funny, and sexy, and it leaves you wanting more, just like the rest of the song.

"Violent Men" – Anohni

Hopelessness is an uncomfortable listen, track after track. The language is blunt, if not hamfisted at times, and the music constantly tilts along a fine line between Pop and Noise. The subject matter is unrelentingly harsh: drone warfare, global warming, government surveillance— and that’s just tracks 1-3. It’s an album that’s meant to disquiet you, to make you examine your own complicity in larger global ills, and to have you question to what degree you’ve sacrificed your empathy and humanity to live comfortably in this world. “Violent Men,” the album’s center point, was Anohni’s most targeted wake up call for me. As someone attracted to men, I constantly wrestle with the extent to which I’ve allowed the dangerous, corrosive things our society equates with manhood to inform my sexual ideals. Or put another way: even though I’m not a violent person, doesn’t my willingness to reward men who could or would commit violent acts with my attention, my affection, or even my body contribute to the cycle of pain and damage I find so repulsive? Am I not another Spacely’s Sprocket in the same machine that rewards cagefighters with endorsement deals and primetime television exposure? that rewards murder-committing cops with legal absolution and million-dollar GoFundMe campaigns? that rewards brutal, menacing rhetoric with the presidency of the United States? “Violent Men” is two minutes and four lines long, and it managed to put me through all that (what kinda witchcraft…?). Its repeated incantation of “Never again” compels me to be better.

"High School Never Ends" – Mykki Blanco ft. Woodkid

Mykki, like Lemonade and Puberty 2, is an album full of highlights, so it's hard to choose just one stand-out track. But "High School Never Ends" just feels like such an achievement, both on its own and in the context of Mykki Blanco's body of work. While many of Blanco's earlier songs sound ramshackle or off the cuff, "High School Never Ends" feels entirely through-composed, stately, and magisterial. It’s done with such a masterful and balanced hand— there's an academic quality to the music, the string arrangement in particular, that never blunts the emotional impact of the lyrics. It's also a song that, for me, evokes a very clear image, as if I can see the not-yet-made film scene that "High School Never Ends" so perfectly accompanies. The song is powerful and yet still delicate; vulnerable yet mannered... sort of like a high schooler, I guess. And I think that's how a lot of us felt all throughout this year.

“Freedun” – M.I.A. ft. Zayn

I just now read a tweet from a friend wherein she and her husband imagined what 2016 was like in Bizarro World (think along the lines of a Prince/David Bowie duet album), and I believe M.I.A.’s “Freedun” was accidentally beamed to our reality from some similar alternate universe. Although the song isn’t really about anything—the chorus is a love song, the verses are… something else, I don’t know what—it’s above all transportive. The track has atmosphere and ambience for days; you can fairly feel the wind sweeping Zayn’s vocals over the hook, and the long outro seems to exist solely for the listener to get lost in. It’s music to daydream to, something I’m always grateful for regardless of the year.

"To the Fair Motormaids of Japan" – Tori Amos

Boys for Pele, which was granted a two-disc 20th anniversary re-release this year, is the ur-Tori Amos album. If you love Tori, chances are it's one of your favorite recordings of all time. If you hate Tori… hell, it might be the reason why. The album is Tori unfiltered, musically and lyrically. And "To the Fair Motormaids of Japan," a previously unreleased song from early in the album's sessions that achieved somewhat legendary status among fans over the years, is possibly the ur-Boys for Pele track. Its structure is loose: a seemingly unrelated piano intro followed by verse-chorus-bridge-modified chorus, and then it's done. Vocally, Tori mewls then croons, sweeps down from a heady soprano to a rich alto, and sings with a level of emotion such that the words sometimes catch in her throat. Those words, of course, make no sense— until they do. "The things that I would go through to turn you back around... The things that I’d turn into to turn you back to me again..." If you've lived it, then you get it; there's no other way to explain it. Doesn't get more Tori than that.

“Mellow Man” – Laura Mvula

Mellow man, don’t let this wide smile fool you, It ain’t coming from the inside. Every night, I listen out for an answer, Hoping this pain won’t last for long.

Trying to begin again. This time I’ll be ready— Ready for love, ready to love.

My thoughts of 2016 and hopes for 2017 exactly. Happy New Year! ♥

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Rectify (S4, Ep8) — All I’m Sayin’

How fitting for Rectify—a show that for four years has found a way to shock by not being shocking; to invert a tale of rape, murder, and death row confinement into one of the gentlest pieces of modern television—to end its run with its most hopeful episode ever. The show’s final message was split between Amantha’s recounting her satellite-dish epiphany to Jon and Mr. Pickle’s wise words to Daniel during their group counseling session: It’s not so much the ending that matters, be it happy or sad. What matters most is whether or not we have hope, right here in this moment, for what may come. And so Rectify left us with a sense of satisfaction, not from having all our questions answered, and not all of them were, but from the assurance that all of these characters will have lives to live for long after the curtain falls. Take the opening scene, one of the episode’s three daydream sequences, wherein Janet asks a question that I’ve long had: What was Daniel like before all of this? According to Janet, not all that different from the Daniel we’ve known over the past four years. But how to be sure her memory hasn’t been colored by the events of the intervening decade? It’s ultimately inconsequential because whatever 18-year-old Daniel was like, there’s no bringing him back. And in hindsight, what has this whole series been about if not the work of making peace with that?

After four years and a lot of effort, peace seems finally to have arrived for Daniel and his family. Even for Bobby Dean and his mother Judy, whose heart-to-heart with Janet—in Hanna’s room no less—is one of the most affecting moments Rectify has ever produced. While their situations are vastly different, both mothers are well acquainted with the loss of a child and with the way memories can inspire grief and comfort at the same time. But unlike Judy, Janet still has moments with her child to look forward to, new memories to create. And though Daniel’s total freedom is still not guaranteed, what Janet has now is hope.

D. A. Person makes a formal request to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to reopen Daniel’s case, and Jon travels to Nashville to let Daniel know. At this point, however, Daniel has just found himself abandoned by Chloe, who moved away with no goodbyes and left Daniel with a piece of art to remember her by and her voicemail to talk to. Understandably hurt, Daniel confesses his feelings of futility to his housemates. Is this all there is? But leave it to Mr. Pickle to point out that even asking that question means you know the answer is no. And while Daniel’s expectations (expectation: ”that trickster cousin of hope”) ended in hurt and disappointment, the fact that he was able to form an expectation, to imagine a happy ending with Chloe, after all he’s been through is a clear sign of his progress. A sign of life.

So when Jon arrives, Daniel accepts the news of the Person’s filing with the GBI cautiously but graciously. For the first time, Daniel doesn’t allow himself to feel unworthy of the help people offer him. He may not understand why so many people and events have conspired to keep him alive, but not understanding something doesn’t invalidate it. And in Daniel’s recollection of all the love that’s come his way, we’re given one last scene with Kerwin, one of the series’ most delightful characters. It was truly surprising to see him on screen; I’d assumed earlier in the episode, when Daniel told his therapist the story of Kerwin’s execution, that our last look at Kerwin would be strictly through oration. But it was lovely to see Johnny Ray Gill in the flesh once again playing the eternal optimist who made Daniel’s time in confinement slightly less solitary. .

Back in Paulie, the rest of the family—Tawney included—close up Paulie Tire with a little help from Melvin and, at Amantha’s request, from Billy. Bygones are officially bygones. And just when it seems everything’s been wrapped up nicely, the announcement is made that the investigation into Hanna’s death will in fact be reopened. In a cleverly presented last tour of the town, we see in montage every Paulie resident we’ve met along the way, the major players and the minor characters, as they react to the news as it comes through their TVs and radios. We see how the potential for a new outcome excites some and terrifies others. But by this point, we already know: it’s not the ending that matters.

Doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun getting there, though!

Because immediately after the announcement, Trey sells Chris all the way out, telling Sheriff Daggett that Chris is the one who raped Hanna and had motive for murdering her as well. Chris, for his part, tries to maintain his composure when his teenaged daughter walks in on his watching the D. A. Person’s press conference on the news, but the fear of losing everything is all over his face in bold print. Even Senator Foulkes in his bedridden state is clearly shaken. It’s a schadenfreude fest and a rare moment of catharsis from Rectify. And Sheriff Daggett… well, we can only hope he’ll take full glee in bringing these crooks to justice.

The episode winds down with two separate dinner tableaux. While the Holden/Talbots (plus Bobby) gather ‘round the table over takeout, Daniel and his housemates go out for the much-anticipated “meat and three” to celebrate Pickle’s new job. And may I just say, it struck me how attached I’d become to Daniel’s housemates in just one season. I’ll admit my trepidation when it was first revealed that the show’s protagonist would be spending the final season in a new locale with completely unknown characters, but by the end, his housemates were three of my favorites, and their last scene was one of the sweetest of the finale.

After both dinners were over, Rectify said its goodbyes over the phone. It was a smart and affecting choice, giving us a sense of closure with these characters and their relationships without having any of them “ride off into the sunset” in a way that would have been tonally off for this show. Rather, these characters agree to look toward the horizon together despite the distance that may separate them. First, Janet and Daniel chat about the events of the day and the potential of the future. And in what may have been Rectify’s most heartwarming scene, Teddy asks for the phone, and he and Daniel make amends. Fully. To the point where Teddy can, without prompting or hesitation, hand over the phone to Tawney and leave her to speak with Daniel privately. Victory is no longer the key concern of any of these characters, and thusly we see how much they’ve grown.

The episode ends as it began, with a daydream. This time it’s Daniels’ as he imagines a life with Chloe and her new child. Whether it will be a dream come true, whether Daniel will be a fully free man— we’re left not knowing. But doesn’t it feel good to hope?

—Koye Berry

[prettiestmess]

Rectify (S4, Ep7) — Happy Unburdening

"Happy Unburdening” opens with Daniel, finally in therapy, recounting in detail a brutal sexual assault he suffered in prison. It’s a harrowing scene, one of the most disquieting that Rectify has ever done, and it’s conveyed entirely through words— no jump cuts, no violent images, not a bit of gore on the screen. We’re only one episode away from the finale, and it’s moments like these that remind you how special this show has been in the current TV landscape.

Also, please, if there is any justice left in the world, give Aden Young an Emmy for that performance.

Between Jared’s convincing Janet to sell her old possessions online and Teddy’s trying to convince his dad that they no longer need to be each other’s keeper, it’s really becoming clear that the show is breaking up with us. But thankfully, unlike Chloe, Rectify has no intention of leaving without packing things up first.

Teddy is boxing up not only his marriage but also his career, deciding to forego the option of opening a new tire store after his parents sell their property. Then, he and Tawney, in what’s probably the first time we’ve ever seen them completely at ease with each other, come to a decision to pursue mediation rather than lawyering up for their divorce. In a way, both their stories felt tied off this week, making me wonder what will be left for them in the finale— particularly whether or not Tawney and Daniel will have another interaction before the curtain falls.

Janet is not so much packing as she is unloading. She’s cleaning out the attic for the first time in 35 years, giving things away to Goodwill, and somewhat reluctantly allowing Jared to sell what he can. Chloe, meanwhile, has to be convinced by Daniel to make actual preparations for her upcoming move away from Nashville and not simply leave everything behind.

On the other end of the spectrum lies Amantha, who seems to have a much harder time letting things go, memories, belongings, or otherwise (this is something she and I have in common). But things are coming to a close whether she likes it or not. For starters, her nascent relationship with Bobby...

Amantha and Bobby finally have it out over Bobby’s vicious attack on Daniel at Hannah’s gravesite. And just to make things as awkward as possible, the confrontation is mediated by Jon. Bobby is apologetic, as is his mother, who has given him a note to deliver to Janet, but Amantha is unforgiving. Neither is she happy to return home and find her mother and half-brother selling off the vestiges of her childhood. So, in contrast, she decides to unpack some lingering resentment she feels toward Janet and her newfound aura of peace. And again, I empathize with Amantha, petty though she may have been— it’s hard to watch the people around you heal when you’re still hurting, to see them climb higher while you’re struggling to even grab hold of the rope. It’s jealousy, simply. But I’m a Libra; jealousy is what I do.

The most important uncovering in this penultimate episode, though, is done by Sheriff Daggett and D.A. Person. Their interview with former sheriff Pickens finally reveals the full story of the day Daniel was interrogated for Hanna’s rape and murder. To no real surprise, Trey has been playing everyone from the start. But the real revelation here is that there was a backroom deal between Senator Foulkes and Chris’s father Roger (that Roger) to ensure that Chris’s hands stayed clean regardless of the outcome. They were the ones who determined that Daniel should be the one to take the fall, and thus he was detained and questioned for 10 hours until he eventually broke and confessed to a crime he didn’t commit.

It’s an infuriating story that bristles even harder in this the same year as the trail of Stanford rapist Brock Turner, a real-life situation in which older, more powerful men subjected an innocent party to humiliation and degradation rather than let a "promising” boy be penalized for his own crime. After all, allegations of sexual assault can be so damaging to a young man’s reputation, right?

But onwards to the finish...

The preview for the finale made me well up. Granted, I’d been misty eyed most of the day for various reasons; but regardless, I am sure that I’m not ready for whatever the last episode has in store. But I do know that it’s been a hell of journey to this point, and that I have loved spending the last four years with these characters. I feel fairly certain after this week’s episode that our last trip to Paulie will be a satisfying one.

—Koye Berry

[prettiestmess]

Rectify (S4, Ep6) — Physics

This episode starts up immediately after the last one, with Teddy waking up in his old house hungover. His guns & booze sack lunch is waiting for him by the front door, and he heads off to work where he starts the day with a little hair of the dog as pictured above. Of course this spectacularly backfires, but we’ll get to that in due time. 

Over in Nashville, we’re given what is quite possibly closure on Daniel and Ted Sr.’s relationship as the two of them “clear the air” about the day Ted threw Daniel out. Later, Daniel tries to get a bit of closure with his mother as well, asking that she leave him be so she can finally be free to live her own life and so he can carry his burdens for himself. Obviously this hurts her, and Lord knows Daniel can be blunt; but happily, they eventually talk things out with a bit more understanding in a one-on-one scene that feels tender and true to life. Their relationship has always been one of Rectify’s most admirable elements, in my opinion. It’s a very accurate representation of the often difficult task of bridging the parent/child communication gap when both parties are full-grown adults. How can the child be open with the person who’s lectured them all their lives? How can the parent watch their child live a version of life that no longer involves them? It’s heartbreaking to watch from the outside, however much we might take it for granted in our actual lives.

Ted Sr., meanwhile, decides to be rid of them both for the day, booking a 90-mile taxi ride to another city. Harsh.

In Paulie, Jon and Amantha finally reunite. Amantha learns that Jon has quit his job and no longer wants to be a lawyer even though he’s, as we well know, still pursuing the case for Daniel’s innocence. Amantha quickly puts together that Jon’s looking to file an IAC (which Avvo via Google tells me stands for “Ineffective Assistance of Counsel”) to have Daniel’s guilty verdict overturned. To do so, Jon will essentially have to throw his romantic history with Amantha on top of the grenade in addition to, y’know, actually proving that Daniel’s actually not guilty. But with Bobby’s recorded statement of the story he told Teddy last week, it actually seems like the pieces may actually fall into place. But is it what Daniel even wants?

Chloe, amidst her first fight with Daniel, brings up the very fair question of how much of Daniel’s persona is the result of the trauma he’s experienced and how much of it is an invention he created to withstand that trauma and simply won’t let go of now. It reminded me of the themes explored in the film Moonlight (which I wrote about here) and the idea of surrendering to oppression in order to survive it. Maybe Daniel actually feels some comfort in being closed off from the world around him. And if he’s not even ready to risk that comfort with a therapist, how will he take the news if Jon actually reopens Daniel’s door to Paulie?

In other events, Tawney loses Zeke, who passes away quietly in his sleep and was possibly the only person left in Tawney’s life who seemed lonelier than she. Tawney goes to his home to retrieve the plaque he’d wanted her to bring him, and there she meets the housekeeper Zeke had on retainer. The two women get on fine, and the housekeeper is sympathetic to Tawney’s sadness; but unlike Tawney, she understands that her employer was just her employer, leaving Tawney alone in yet another home.

Tawney’s husband, on the other hand, is well drunk on the job by this point. This, kids, is the problem with “hair of the dog”— it often just turns into “wasted again.” 

Teddy of course does not yet know that his father and stepmother have decided to set him up with a business of his own once they sell the property. But rather than wait for the sober light of day before doing anything stupid, Tipsy Teddy decides to take out his frustrations on the inflatable dancing man in front of the tire shop before leaving for the night. Teddy takes out one of those rifles (that have just been chilling in his truck out in the main parking lot all day, I guess) and takes aim. But as soon as the camera focused on the metal base of the inflatable man, we all knew what was coming, right? Thankfully, when the bullet ricochets, it only hits Teddy in the leg; I was genuinely afraid it was going to end up somewhere fatal.

But I have a feeling Rectify's grand finale—only two episodes left!—is going to be much more emotionally impactful than physically disturbing; it’s just not that kind of show. And that’s one of the primary reasons I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

—Koye Berry

[prettiestmess]

20 Years of Pele

1996 was a good year for bad girls. Lil’ Kim and Foxy Brown, two of rap music’s brashest stars, both stepped into the spotlight within the month of November, the same month that gave us the first LP from the Spice Girls. By that time, the world was already acquainted with Fiona Apple’s stellar debut Tidal, which dropped in July. Even the grande dame of wild women, Tina Turner, released her double platinum-selling ninth album Wildest Dreams that April. But leading the charge on January 22 was Tori Amos with her third full-length album, Boys for Pele.

Boys for Pele, which was re-released in a 2-disc special edition this November, is arguably the most intense work from an artist known for her intensity. With this sprawling, 18-track album, Amos purged her issues with her lovers, with her father, with religious leaders, and with label execs all at once. Or to put it in 2016 terms, this was her Lemonade.

A lot of Pele's power comes from production choices that are, just like Amos's piano playing, intricate and meticulous without sacrificing passion or creativity. A special chamber was built to house Amos and her piano keys separately from the body of the piano itself, allowing for details such as the hammers’ striking the strings and the rise and fall of the pedals to be captured without bleedthrough from the vocals. The first sound on the album is the starting up of a Leslie cabinet, the type of speaker typically used for church organs, which is discreetly employed throughout “Beauty Queen/Horses” to lend a disconcerting tremolo to the piano. Elsewhere, brass bands, bells, even bellowing cows weave their way around amplified harpsichords, contrapuntal vocal lines, and George Porter, Jr.’s serpentine style of bass playing. It’s a lot to take in, yet none of the songs sound crowded. And perhaps most remarkably, it was Amos’s first time as producer.

All of this puts the remastered version of the album (which I’ll hereon refer to as BFP20) under an exacting microscope, especially when “remastered” is so often just code for “a louder version you can play in your car.” Thankfully, this first disc of BFP20 mostly withstands the scrutiny. Unlike Tales of a Librarian or A Piano: The Collection, two previous releases from Amos that sought to recontextualize her earlier work with radically altered mixes of popular tracks, BFP20 generally leaves the source material intact. In fact, it’s hard to pinpoint any differences at all beyond some slight adjustments in dynamics. The first chime of the bells on “Blood Roses” feels a bit brighter and harsher, in the mix, for example. On many tracks the basslines feel warmer, more enveloping, and more pronounced. And the reverb surrounding the vocals is a bit more obvious throughout the album. Whether or not these changes enhance the material, serve as distractions, or simply go unnoticed will of course come down to personal preference and level of prior familiarity. But on the whole, BFP20‘s first disc is a perfectly fine presentation of the album for those who may have missed it on the first go ‘round or were only familiar with the later editions that replaced the original “Professional Widow” and “Talula” with dance remixes.

For most fans, however, disc two—21 tracks of b-sides, live recordings, remixes, and previously unreleased material—is likely to be the main draw of this collection. The sequencing of these tracks is brilliant, somehow making this hodgepodge of supplemental recordings feel almost as much like a unified piece of work as the main album. Transitions like "Sister Named Desire" into "Amazing Grace/Til the Chicken" feel absolutely organic. Even the addition of a bassline originally omitted from the b-side "Alamo," the most dramatic alteration of any track on either disc, makes the song feel more in context with the rest the disc. Personally, I never imagined either "Graveyard" or "Toodles Mr. Jim" would work so well independently of each other, but lo and behold... (I still think they're stronger together, though.)

Unfortunately, disc two is also where we find BFP20′s one glaring error: a fuzzy, buzzing noise that persists in the right channel throughout “Walk to Dublin (Sucker Reprise).” It’s a strange, negligent and, worst, unnecessary blemish on a track that didn't need to remastered in the first place, as it was first released in 2006 on A Piano: The Collection and not 20 years ago. And it’s a real shame because it's such a great song and its placement after "Hungarian Wedding Song" is inspired. I'd implore you to seek out the A Piano version if you don't already own it.

But if you've read this far, I’m guessing there's a solid chance you already own most of these songs. Even on the second disc, there are only 3 previously unreleased tracks. BFP20 isn't going to replace your original copy of the album or any singles you may have, but it will make a nice enhancement to your collection, gathering most everything in one place with beautiful packaging and thorough liner notes that include some background on the making of the album and a few new quotes from Amos herself. And it will sound better in your car.

What’s important is that BFP20 doesn't feel like a quick, cheap attempt to cash in on fan nostalgia, but rather a loving tribute to a key work of Tori Amos’s career and a lovely way to revisit an era when well-behaved women seldom made hits. As Amos sings on “Fire-Eater’s Wife,” what would this world be like without nasty girls? Thank heaven we’ll never have to know.

—Koye Berry

[prettiestmess]

Rectify (S4, Ep5) — Pineapples in Paris

Let me just get this out of the way: Jared's calling somebody else's behavior weird, at this point in the season, is RICH.

But anyway... This week’s episode was explosive, especially by Rectify standards. For starters, there was the quiet eruption of Janet and Ted Sr.’s relationship during their drive to visit Daniel in Nashville. Now that the real estate offer is official, Janet has begun to reevaluate her life and to resent Ted for not doing the same. And not only that, she has begun to project a similar resentment onto Ted’s complacency, believing that he simply chooses to hate her in silence. When he finally relents and tells her she’s right, it’s hard to be sure whether it’s heartfelt or just something he’s saying to shut her up. Regardless, by the end of the episode, it’s clear that Janet wants out.

More volcanic was the blow-up between Daniel and Manny following last week’s... indiscretion. Daniel's initial attempt to talk things through with Manny goes about as well as could be expected, so Daniel brings it up during the group counseling session. Which goes a lot better than I‘d expected, frankly, but still not great. Daniel has a loud and nearly violent outburst that, however much provoked by Manny’s smirking indifference, still feels like an overreaction and clearly points to something beneath the surface that Daniel’s trying to hide (we later discover that Manny had inadvertently triggered memories of the sexual assault Daniel suffered in prison). Thankfully, the situation is quickly diffused by Daniel’s other housemates, who are now not only Daniel’s friends but also his protectors. It’s an incredibly sweet moment—as is Janet’s first encounter with Pickle and Nate toward the episode’s end—and a welcome sea change for Daniel who is, for the first time in his adult life, no longer the odd man out.

But talk about sea change— Bobby shows up at the Holden/Talbot house, presumably looking for Amantha, and ends up having a heart-to-heart with Teddy. Well, more like a confessional. Bobby shares a story of his bonding with George after Hannah's murder and Daniel's arrest. Bobby was still a child at the time, but George revealed to him then that "Trey went back," presumably to the scene of the crime. And now Bobby, reflecting on that memory, admits his doubts of Daniel's guilt and asks that Teddy deliver an apology for the time Bobby attacked Daniel at Hannah's grave back in Season 1. And may I just say, I was genuinely surprised when Teddy passed that message on to Amantha and Jared.

What I didn't understand about Bobby’s revelation, though, is why now? Bobby's had plenty of time, even just within the timeframe of the series thus far, to ruminate on George's mysterious statement. And though Bobby may not have known about George's death until recently, he knew well enough that George hadn't been around in awhile. Perhaps it’s his relationship with Amantha that has him turning over the past with a fresh mind’s eye. Who’s to say? Regardless, it was an emotionally affecting scene that certainly heightened my anticipation for the coming episodes.

But this week’s emotional MVP, no contest, was Teddy. Finally taking charge and making a decision in the one area of his life where he still feels like he can, Teddy—in a moment heartbreakingly performed by Clayne Crawford—asks Tawney for a divorce. It’s a breakthrough for Teddy but devastating for Tawney. Just last week, she was ready to give her marriage another shot; but now, between Teddy's announcement and the news from work that her patient Zeke has slipped into unconsciousness, Tawney's had the rug totally pulled out from under her. If Teddy has been a portrait of helplessness and loss of control throughout this season, Tawney shows the frustration of having too many decisions in front of you and no desire to make any of them. But as she learned this week, indecision is a decision of its own, and it comes with consequences.

Sympathy for Teddy goes out the window, though, once he decides to go through Tawney's while she's not home. Yes, at the episode’s end, Teddy gets drunk and clumsily breaks into his former home to steal a couple of fishing poles and the classic "What Could Go Wrong?" combination of two hunting rifles and a box full of hard liquor.

Oh, Teddy...

Welp. Until next week!

[prettiestmess]

How to Get Away with Murder — S3 Ep9

Tonight’s the night. Who’s under the sheet? But there are only two options, right?

Well, let’s just take it one step at a time...

I don’t like guns, even on a screen, so this extended will he/won’t he with Frank is genuinely turning my stomach.

“You couldn’t handle it” is a great way to turn down a party invite when you’re in recovery. Gonna make a note of that.

Michaela got real drunk real quick. Or did I miss another jumpcut?

Mary J! ♥

Annalise swan dove off the wagon.

I could go the rest of my life without hearing the phrase “Let me be clear” again. Happily.

Between this and last night’s Rectify, I’ve seen a lot of things get smashed with trophies in the past 24 hours.

Michaela and her mama both have a lesson to learn about acting up in front of company.

I know this show has explained the weird, codependent thing Annalise and Bonnie have going on and that it’s on me for not understanding (or maybe just not remembering) what it stems from, but I truly don’t get it.

I LOVE that Moonlight got advertised during tonight’s episode. That movie deserves mainstream attention.

So, for the record, my apparently wrong prediction was that it was going to be a confrontation between Nate and Frank that led to the fire and that one of them was gonna be under the sheet. It’s looking like I was only 1 for 3. My hunches are never right.

WELP.

WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT. What?!

How are y’all gonna just.........

(Although I never liked him.)

Also: gross.

And, my bad, 0 for 3. I was all-the-way wrong.

Goodnight. We’ll pick this up in 2017.

—Koye Berry

[prettiestmess]

Rectify (S4, Ep4) — Go Ask Roger

This one goes out to my boy Jared…

I don’t really have a lot to say about Jared’s burgeoning ebay empire except that I’m mad he ran his mother’s blood pressure up over some Furbys. But at least now we know what he’s been up to. Make that money, kid.

Elsewhere, the Holden siblings are letting new relationships blossom. Amantha and Billy have their first outside date, an early-morning hunting trip, while Daniel and Chloe deepened their bond over stolen pistachio gelato. I finally began to soften on Chloe when she smashed that first walnut with her ex’s music award. And it was sweet the way she opened up about her own experience with grief to encourage Daniel to get the professional help he needs. But I do wonder whether or not she really realizes the depth of his fragility. I don’t think she means Daniel any harm, but you know what they say about that road paved with good intentions...

Similarly, Tawney’s efforts to appease Teddy during their separation are only pushing him closer to the edge. There’s potential for his family to make $650k if Janet agrees to sell the property Paulie Tire sits on and if the pharmaceutical chain, which is interested in two other sites in Paulie, decides to buy. But like seemingly everything else in Teddy’s life, it’s entirely out of his hands. And while his last scene in the episode finds him home alone watching a party going on outside his window, an apt metaphor for his growing disconnection from the world around him, but it’s an apologetic voicemail from Tawney that finally brings him to tears.

But it’s Jon’s story line that continues to bring the series back to its center. Still on his potentially futile hunt for the truth behind Hannah’s murder, Jon is determined to keep overturning the same old stones (I must admit I’d forgotten all about Chris) until he finds something new. And perhaps Trey’s dismissive comment near the end of the episode—“Go ask Roger”—will be just the clue he needs, although even Jon is dubious. But as Trey went on to say, “Something’s gotta be the truth.” Whether or not Jon will find that truth before Rectify comes to an end is anybody’s guess.

In the meantime, how do you solve a problem like Manny? My misgivings about Manny’s technique aside (pulling the sheet over you would be truly the least you could do, sir… and BE QUIET!), the tense overhead shot of Daniel was an arresting final image. It will be interesting to see how an in-recovery Daniel copes with his anger, seeing as his past interaction with Teddy didn’t set a great precedent. I guess the question now, in fact, is whether Daniel or Teddy is more likely to snap first?