WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING? Plus Fantastic Fashion And Costumes In "Lessons In Chemistry," "The Other Black Girl" and "Fellow Travelers!"
First up is "Lessons in Chemistry." As usual with an AppleTV production, it's sumptuously overproduced, which in most instances means a bloated, great-looking show without much of a pulse. It the case of "Lessons in Chemistry," it likely helps that the show is based on a beloved novel in which Elizabeth, a brainiac scientist, finds her gifts ignored by the sexist scientific community in the 1960s, then pivots to become, of all things, a home cooking TV star - and all without sacrificing her nerdcore attributes.
Was Brie Larson born to play this role? Yes, yes, and yes again, since her laser-focused intensity as an actress is a perfect fit for Elizabeth. She finds the humanity, and also the humor, in this batty, teeth-gritting wonk. The character meets her match, of course, in Calvin, a fellow egghead scientist played Lewis Pullman, and sparks fly in just the first episode. Is this show reinventing the wheel? Not at all, but the performances are uniformly fine, the swingin' 60s production design is wonderful eye-candy and the story moves along at a bubbly clip.
The costume designer is Mirren Gordon-Crozier, who manages the astonishing feat of making Elizabeth's outfits period-specific, fashionable, yet appropriate for the workplace - and also believably straight-laced given Elizabeth's character. In other words, Gordon-Crozier creates a fashion tour de force without ever once yanking you out of the story. Some stunt!
Meanwhile, if you're in the mood for slow-burn silliness, "The Other Black Girl" may be just what you need. This low-budget series has wobbly pacing, actors who range from excellent to where'd-they-dig-you-up? and a storyline whose hot-button issues are exploited with all the subtlety of a large, porcelain sink dropped on your noggin. But this doesn't get in the way of what is mostly a very giggly and suspenseful good time.
In this arena, Sinclair Daniel (above right), plays Nella, the only Black employee at a storied publishing house. But everything changes with the arrival of Hazel, played by Ashleigh Murray (above left), a new Black assistant - or the other black girl in question - who may be trying to destroy Nella's career and usurp her place as the trusted "Black voice" of the whiter-than-white company. Or is she trying to help her? The show flies off the rails on many occasions, but Hazel and Nella are played with compelling, straight-faced perfection by a pair of actresses who even look the part: Nella is gorgeously curvy and soft, Hazel a whippet-slim figure ready to slay.
The costume designer is Kairo Courts, who delivers looks that combine eye-popping fashion with satirical bite, especially with Hazel. Every outfit she wears flaunts her Black heritage - a pointed thumb in the eye to the white establishment - and they're all impossibly, almost ridiculously, chic, sometimes hilariously so, yet they never once cross the line into camp. It's a high-wire act many costumers would fail to pull off, but not Court. Like Hazel, she slays.
Finally, "Fellow Travelers" is the latest Prestige TV entry. "Prestige," because its sexy, tragic, agreeably sudsy 1950s romance is blended with "Important Historical Events." That might sound like a bore, but the conflicted romance is so well-written and performed that all of the show's political subplots - or the preaching-to-the converted schoolings about McCarthyism, religion and the AIDs epidemic - aren't as conspicuous, and yes, cliched, as they might have been. For the most part, this is an absorbing melodrama.
I've never warmed to Matt Bomer, a cold, machine-tooled actor whose performances seem encased in velum, but this very quality makes him perfect to play Hawk, the shrewd political operative who cloaks his life as a gay man. When he smiles, you feel the calculation, and when he makes love to his secret paramour, he's still calculating. At first. Tim, the paramour in question, is played by Jonathan Bailey, and kids, he's brilliant. No, really. As Tim, he's all pained, needy nerve-endings, reaching out in vain for love, for justice, for everything he can never have in a repressive society. You can feel the ache. I haven't seen Bailey before - he's been in "Bridgerton," "Broadchurch" and a slew of West End productions - but don't be surprised when he's nominated for an Emmy.
The costumes are by Joseph La Corte, and, like many of the show's main characters, they're armored to hide secrets. This is especially the case with Bomer's Hawk, who's impeccably - too impeccably - clothed in men's fashion of the era, as if every item were carefully scrutinized by his character beforehand. In this case, La Corte must be one of the few designers whose costumes actually lend tension to the proceedings. Hot trick, Joe!
So there we have it - three shows and three terrific costumes designers. What shows are you watching lately, and who's costumes do you most covet?
I've never warmed to Matt Bomer, a cold, machine-tooled actor whose performances seem encased in velum, but this very quality makes him perfect to play Hawk, the shrewd political operative who cloaks his life as a gay man. When he smiles, you feel the calculation, and when he makes love to his secret paramour, he's still calculating. At first. Tim, the paramour in question, is played by Jonathan Bailey, and kids, he's brilliant. No, really. As Tim, he's all pained, needy nerve-endings, reaching out in vain for love, for justice, for everything he can never have in a repressive society. You can feel the ache. I haven't seen Bailey before - he's been in "Bridgerton," "Broadchurch" and a slew of West End productions - but don't be surprised when he's nominated for an Emmy.
The costumes are by Joseph La Corte, and, like many of the show's main characters, they're armored to hide secrets. This is especially the case with Bomer's Hawk, who's impeccably - too impeccably - clothed in men's fashion of the era, as if every item were carefully scrutinized by his character beforehand. In this case, La Corte must be one of the few designers whose costumes actually lend tension to the proceedings. Hot trick, Joe!
So there we have it - three shows and three terrific costumes designers. What shows are you watching lately, and who's costumes do you most covet?
Photo Credit: Wilford Harwood/Hulu, AppleTV, Paramount/Showtime
Comments
Post a Comment