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glitteryvI'll begin by saying that my viewer relationship with Ryan Murphy is complicated at its best and nearly irreperably fractured at its worst.
Nip/Tuck's first two seasons were brilliant. It's one of the few shows I'd tune live (a thing that's become rarer as time goes on and things such as streaming have become more commonplace.) But then, that show took a random left in S3, and went in wackadoodle directions.
American Horror Story was, again, rather amazing in the first two seasons. To date, I think of "Asylum" (S2) as the best season. "Coven" (S3) was, despite all the wonderful actresses and witchery (because WITCHES!), the beginning of what I felt was the decline of AHS. I stopped watching it after "Roanoke" and couldn't (for many reasons) even watch the latest one that aired ("Cult"). [Supposedly, the next season will be a mix of "Murder House (S1)" and "Coven"--which I know I'll tune in for because WITCHES.]
I skipped Glee out due to a matter of timing. But, once again, as per what I've heard about it, the show also went off the rails.
FWIW, I was curious about American Crime Story, a yearly anthology focusing on a single crime. For those who might not know, I love true crime.
In this case, though, my enthusiam was tempered with worry. ESPECIALLY after I heard that the first season was "The People v. O.J. Simpson". Like, Murphy has always been iffy-to-totally-missing-the-point when it comes to issues of race. He's a white gay dude, yes. However, being part of one marginalized group doesn't automatically mean that he gets a free pass to tackle yet one more (potentially explosive) angle on themes such as racism, police misconduct/brutality, corruption, domestic abuse, etc. [Exhibit A: his sloppiness regarding the Voudoun religion, slavery, slavery reparations in "Coven". #Itoldyallhecouldbemessy]
BUT, to me (and I think a lot of other people), S1 of ASC was one of last year's best TV anywhere. It was riveting (though we all knew how it was going to end) and had superb acting from everyone in the cast. I could legit go on about how amaze it is (btw, if you haven't seen it, I think it's still available on Netflix--at least here in the US.)
So then, I turned to fandom, in hopes to see other people as excited about it as I was...only to find a vast silence.
Now we're 2 episodes into "The Assasination of Gianni Versace" and nothing has changed. Since I haven't seen anyone talking about it in fannish spaces, I decided to do a weekly post about the show, where we are in the timeline, and what is true and what's more questionable/outright not true. FTR, I lived in Miami Beach for 20 years (including the time period set around Versace's murder), hung out a lot in South Beach, and am queer.
The first thing you have to know about this show is that it is based on a book by Maureen Orth called Vulgar Favors. I haven't read it past a sample. For one thing, my TBR is rather epic. Chances are I'll get around it, but, really, I'm in no hurry.
Just like S1, "The Assasination of Gianni Versace" deals with themes of celebrity, obsession, LEOs' shamefully lethargic/disinterest response to crimes when they happen to people who aren't white and straight. It pulls back on race and racism, replacing instead with male queerness (with the focus on gay men.)
There are almost no POCs in this season. It is true that Cunanan's biracial (his father was Filipino), but that doesn't even get addressed (so far, at least). Darren Criss is also half-Filipino.
Also, aside from Donatella, the other female character is Det. Wieder played by Dasha Polanco. Det. Wieder has a handful of scenes, but she's great.
The Man Who Would Be Vogue (Episode 1)
The one mental adjustment viewers have to acquiesce from the get go is that this season, the story is told in a kind of non-linear way. In the first episode, we see the present (the day of the shooting) and the past (1990). What I mean by yielding to what's shown on the screen is that there aren't any visual indicators (aside from the dates flashing) as to when we are in the timeline.
Once you add Andrew Cunanan's habitual lying, there are scenes that, when you go back/think about them, you can't discern if Cunanan's telling us something that really happened or if it's all a fantasty.
The cinematography is A+ (lots of long shots so we can track everything in the space.) There's a cool juxtaposition between the opulence of Versace's world against Cunanan's way more modest life. I also dig the casting. Edgar Ramirez looks a lot like Gianni did at that point in his life. Ricky Martin's take on Antonio D'Amico (Gianni's longtime partner) is pretty solid too.
The episode's MVP is tied between Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace (fiercely loyal to her brother while trying to keep it together after his murder) and Darren Criss' chilling portrayal of Andrew Cunanan.
Based on what I've seen online, the majority of people who dislike Criss' acting as Cunanan are people who watched Glee at some point or another. Personally, I think he's doing a good job of showing Cunanan's mix of charm and disquieting personality. We see a lot more about how unappealing he can be in the next episode. However, this one gives us a nasty taste. #Iloveit
Interesting tidbits
- Yes, Casa Casuarina is really that close from the ocean. Some rich dude bought it a few years ago and it's now a luxury hotel and restaurant. The nightly rate begins at $1k and you can hold some events starting at $50k.
I admit I totes rubbernecked the day after the murder happened. I stopped by on my way home. One thing I'll never forget was seeing the blood on the steps. There were camera crews everywhere.
- 1997 was an odd year when it came to celebrity deaths. Among the people who died: Allen Gingsberg (April), Jeff Buckley (May), Robert Mitchum and James Stewart (early July), and Diana of Wales (August).
- All the Gianni makeup makes Edgar Ramirez look like he could be related to Enrico Colantoni (Flashpoint, Veronica Mars, Person of Interst). Colantoni played Gianni in a lifetime movie called House of Versace that had Gina Gershon as Donatella.
- Cunanan's background was pretty normal. He became a gay escort after dropping out of college. Even though the show has begun to focus on him (and will continue to do so because Cunanan's pre-Miami story is riveting), Cunanan will remain the one character we know about the least. He's the blank canvas that refuses any definition or label aside from that of a gay man.
- Even though it's shown on this episode, it's unlikely that Gianni and Andrew ever met, let alone hung out at the theater.
- Context for viewers who might've been confused about Donatella's introdution to the story, i.e. why she met with lawyers right after her brother's death: Gianni had arrived to Miami about a week before his death in order to make his company public. After he gets killed, Donatella renegued on the deal. Family is everything to the Versace.
- Donatella and Antonio were civic to each other while Gianni was alive. According to Antonio, she never liked him and got in many fights with her brother over him.
- ANOTHER THING that people have commented online about this episode is the scene in which the male detective interrogates Antonio. He sort of looks down at Antonio and, by extension, at Antonio and Gianni's relatioship even though it lasted 15 years. But then, he seems to realize that he's showing his revulsion and becomes SRS BIZNESS.
At first glance, there are several ways viewers can interpret that scene:
- The cop is homophobic so he treats Antonio with barely hidden contempt;
- The cop is not homophobic, but he's puzzled by non-monogamy;
- The cop is not homophobic. He's addressing Antonio the same way he would a surviving spouse. Probably based on the idea that "the person closest to the victim(s) is the killer or cooperating with the killer(s)".
It could also be that the episode director told him to go OTT. Regardless, it's a strange moment.
BTW, although it is true that, back in 1997, there was a huge LGTB+ community (mainly gay men) in South Beach. But there was always a resentment/distrust between the LGTB+ community and the police. (I'll talk a bit more about this in the next episode.)
** THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE/NEVER HAPPENED **
- Antonio never held Gianni's body at the steps. He was all the way in the back of the mansion. According to his own words, he did see Gianni's body from a balcony after hearing the shots.
- His friend (the tennis partner) did run after Cunanan, but stopped after someone driving by warned him that Cunanan had a gun.
MY FAVORITE SCENE:
The closing shot when Cunanan tries to mimic a woman's shock after hearing about the shooting on the TV...and Cunanan can't hide his joy while pretending to be horrified.
SO FAR IN THIS SEASON...
we've just started. At this point, I can say that I'm surprised with how much I remembered (compared to the OJ Simpson case in S1).
This episode gets an A.
Nip/Tuck's first two seasons were brilliant. It's one of the few shows I'd tune live (a thing that's become rarer as time goes on and things such as streaming have become more commonplace.) But then, that show took a random left in S3, and went in wackadoodle directions.
American Horror Story was, again, rather amazing in the first two seasons. To date, I think of "Asylum" (S2) as the best season. "Coven" (S3) was, despite all the wonderful actresses and witchery (because WITCHES!), the beginning of what I felt was the decline of AHS. I stopped watching it after "Roanoke" and couldn't (for many reasons) even watch the latest one that aired ("Cult"). [Supposedly, the next season will be a mix of "Murder House (S1)" and "Coven"--which I know I'll tune in for because WITCHES.]
I skipped Glee out due to a matter of timing. But, once again, as per what I've heard about it, the show also went off the rails.
FWIW, I was curious about American Crime Story, a yearly anthology focusing on a single crime. For those who might not know, I love true crime.
In this case, though, my enthusiam was tempered with worry. ESPECIALLY after I heard that the first season was "The People v. O.J. Simpson". Like, Murphy has always been iffy-to-totally-missing-the-point when it comes to issues of race. He's a white gay dude, yes. However, being part of one marginalized group doesn't automatically mean that he gets a free pass to tackle yet one more (potentially explosive) angle on themes such as racism, police misconduct/brutality, corruption, domestic abuse, etc. [Exhibit A: his sloppiness regarding the Voudoun religion, slavery, slavery reparations in "Coven". #Itoldyallhecouldbemessy]
BUT, to me (and I think a lot of other people), S1 of ASC was one of last year's best TV anywhere. It was riveting (though we all knew how it was going to end) and had superb acting from everyone in the cast. I could legit go on about how amaze it is (btw, if you haven't seen it, I think it's still available on Netflix--at least here in the US.)
So then, I turned to fandom, in hopes to see other people as excited about it as I was...only to find a vast silence.
Now we're 2 episodes into "The Assasination of Gianni Versace" and nothing has changed. Since I haven't seen anyone talking about it in fannish spaces, I decided to do a weekly post about the show, where we are in the timeline, and what is true and what's more questionable/outright not true. FTR, I lived in Miami Beach for 20 years (including the time period set around Versace's murder), hung out a lot in South Beach, and am queer.
The first thing you have to know about this show is that it is based on a book by Maureen Orth called Vulgar Favors. I haven't read it past a sample. For one thing, my TBR is rather epic. Chances are I'll get around it, but, really, I'm in no hurry.
Just like S1, "The Assasination of Gianni Versace" deals with themes of celebrity, obsession, LEOs' shamefully lethargic/disinterest response to crimes when they happen to people who aren't white and straight. It pulls back on race and racism, replacing instead with male queerness (with the focus on gay men.)
There are almost no POCs in this season. It is true that Cunanan's biracial (his father was Filipino), but that doesn't even get addressed (so far, at least). Darren Criss is also half-Filipino.
Also, aside from Donatella, the other female character is Det. Wieder played by Dasha Polanco. Det. Wieder has a handful of scenes, but she's great.
The Man Who Would Be Vogue (Episode 1)
The one mental adjustment viewers have to acquiesce from the get go is that this season, the story is told in a kind of non-linear way. In the first episode, we see the present (the day of the shooting) and the past (1990). What I mean by yielding to what's shown on the screen is that there aren't any visual indicators (aside from the dates flashing) as to when we are in the timeline.
Once you add Andrew Cunanan's habitual lying, there are scenes that, when you go back/think about them, you can't discern if Cunanan's telling us something that really happened or if it's all a fantasty.
The cinematography is A+ (lots of long shots so we can track everything in the space.) There's a cool juxtaposition between the opulence of Versace's world against Cunanan's way more modest life. I also dig the casting. Edgar Ramirez looks a lot like Gianni did at that point in his life. Ricky Martin's take on Antonio D'Amico (Gianni's longtime partner) is pretty solid too.
The episode's MVP is tied between Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace (fiercely loyal to her brother while trying to keep it together after his murder) and Darren Criss' chilling portrayal of Andrew Cunanan.
Based on what I've seen online, the majority of people who dislike Criss' acting as Cunanan are people who watched Glee at some point or another. Personally, I think he's doing a good job of showing Cunanan's mix of charm and disquieting personality. We see a lot more about how unappealing he can be in the next episode. However, this one gives us a nasty taste. #Iloveit
Interesting tidbits
- Yes, Casa Casuarina is really that close from the ocean. Some rich dude bought it a few years ago and it's now a luxury hotel and restaurant. The nightly rate begins at $1k and you can hold some events starting at $50k.
I admit I totes rubbernecked the day after the murder happened. I stopped by on my way home. One thing I'll never forget was seeing the blood on the steps. There were camera crews everywhere.
- 1997 was an odd year when it came to celebrity deaths. Among the people who died: Allen Gingsberg (April), Jeff Buckley (May), Robert Mitchum and James Stewart (early July), and Diana of Wales (August).
- All the Gianni makeup makes Edgar Ramirez look like he could be related to Enrico Colantoni (Flashpoint, Veronica Mars, Person of Interst). Colantoni played Gianni in a lifetime movie called House of Versace that had Gina Gershon as Donatella.
- Cunanan's background was pretty normal. He became a gay escort after dropping out of college. Even though the show has begun to focus on him (and will continue to do so because Cunanan's pre-Miami story is riveting), Cunanan will remain the one character we know about the least. He's the blank canvas that refuses any definition or label aside from that of a gay man.
- Even though it's shown on this episode, it's unlikely that Gianni and Andrew ever met, let alone hung out at the theater.
- Context for viewers who might've been confused about Donatella's introdution to the story, i.e. why she met with lawyers right after her brother's death: Gianni had arrived to Miami about a week before his death in order to make his company public. After he gets killed, Donatella renegued on the deal. Family is everything to the Versace.
- Donatella and Antonio were civic to each other while Gianni was alive. According to Antonio, she never liked him and got in many fights with her brother over him.
- ANOTHER THING that people have commented online about this episode is the scene in which the male detective interrogates Antonio. He sort of looks down at Antonio and, by extension, at Antonio and Gianni's relatioship even though it lasted 15 years. But then, he seems to realize that he's showing his revulsion and becomes SRS BIZNESS.
At first glance, there are several ways viewers can interpret that scene:
- The cop is homophobic so he treats Antonio with barely hidden contempt;
- The cop is not homophobic, but he's puzzled by non-monogamy;
- The cop is not homophobic. He's addressing Antonio the same way he would a surviving spouse. Probably based on the idea that "the person closest to the victim(s) is the killer or cooperating with the killer(s)".
It could also be that the episode director told him to go OTT. Regardless, it's a strange moment.
BTW, although it is true that, back in 1997, there was a huge LGTB+ community (mainly gay men) in South Beach. But there was always a resentment/distrust between the LGTB+ community and the police. (I'll talk a bit more about this in the next episode.)
** THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE/NEVER HAPPENED **
- Antonio never held Gianni's body at the steps. He was all the way in the back of the mansion. According to his own words, he did see Gianni's body from a balcony after hearing the shots.
- His friend (the tennis partner) did run after Cunanan, but stopped after someone driving by warned him that Cunanan had a gun.
MY FAVORITE SCENE:
The closing shot when Cunanan tries to mimic a woman's shock after hearing about the shooting on the TV...and Cunanan can't hide his joy while pretending to be horrified.
SO FAR IN THIS SEASON...
we've just started. At this point, I can say that I'm surprised with how much I remembered (compared to the OJ Simpson case in S1).
This episode gets an A.
