September Movie Recap: Ad Astra, Downton Abbey, It Chapter Two

Another month has come and gone and again I have watched too many movies to dedicate myself to individual blog posts. What are you in the mood for? Aristocratic melodrama? Existential science fiction? Murderous clowns? I’ve got you covered.

Ad Astra: As soon as I left the theater, I texted a bunch of people that Brad Pitt should get an Oscar for crying. This is a good movie, but Pitt’s performance is what truly elevates it and serves as a reminder of why the man is a movie star. He plays an astronaut, Major Roy McBride, in the somewhat near future, a time when we have developed space technology sufficiently that we have colonised the Moon and Mars, and continue to search the solar system for signs of extraterrestrial life. When a series of power surges start to wreak havoc on humanity, Roy is tasked with tracking down his father, a man who disappeared on a mission to explore the outer bounds of the solar system, and who is now suspected of causing these new troubles.

This is an original screenplay by writer-director James Gray; I’ve been watching a lot of adaptations and sequels lately, so it was novel to see something based on completely fresh material. The story has its predictable moments, but there are many sequences laced with suspense and tension where you genuinely don’t know what to expect. The visual effects are absolutely stunning and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema thoroughly succeeds in capturing both the vastness and claustrophobia of being out in space. It also helps that the film is scored by Max Richter, a man who always knows how to deploy cinematic music to scintillating effect.

Towards the end, Ad Astra turns into a philosophical treatise on the purpose of humanity and what drives us forward everyday. Someone told me they thought this was an art movie disguised as a popcorn flick. I felt more like it was a popcorn flick trying to be an art movie. It’s slick and propulsive, meanders a bit towards the end, but overall, it is a fresh and thought-provoking tale. I love space movies, I love Brad Pitt, and this is a movie about Brad Pitt in space. Sold. He has to carry this film, since most of the time he’s just alone in space trying not to go crazy, and he is more than up to the task. And again, when his eye starts twitching as a tear rolls down? Just give the man a damn Oscar.

Downton Abbey: This movie is sublimely ridiculous and ridiculously sublime. It’s lip service to the fans of the TV show and delivers spectacularly. Every single character you love puts in an appearance and gets to behave exactly like they did for years on the show. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) is a completely nut job, Maggie Smith delivers numerous witheringly sarcastic one-liners as the Dowager Countess, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) bosses people around and continues her weirdly frosty relationship with her sister, Edith (Laura Carmichael), who gets to be a bit less of a sad sack this time around, presumably as a reward for the years of misery Edith endured on TV. And there's so much more, including numerous romantic interludes, a new family member, a thief, a shady soldier, a hot plumber, an irate French chef, and lest we forget, a Royal visit.

It’s an utterly unnecessary movie and perfect for our time. With the UK about to collapse due to Brexit, and the rest of the world not faring much better, what more do we all want than to transport ourselves to 1927 and follow the travails of a wealthy family? Who will polish the silver, will the staff get to serve the King and Queen, will Lord Grantham reconcile with Cousin Maud? This is the stuff that we wish was keeping us up at night. The ending of the movie reflects just how much trouble Julian Fellowes (the creator of the show and writer of this movie) had letting go, as characters kept getting to say one more thing or execute one last flourish. It’s a whole season’s worth of melodrama packed into two rollicking hours, and from start to finish, I was thoroughly ecstatic to be back at Downton.

It Chapter Two: Back in 2017, I really enjoyed the first chapter of this franchise. It was part horror, part 80's kids movie, and it managed to strike a perfect balance that hit the sweet spot. Unfortunately, Chapter Two loses some of that magic. The kids are grown up, and though they have turned into an impressive cast, including the likes of James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain, and Bill Hader, the story is much more focused on the horror, and it gets repetitive real fast. Also, this movie is THREE HOURS LONG. When I came home, I looked up how long the original novel was - 1138 pages, now it all makes sense. The majority of the film merely consists of each character going off to have their own encounter with Pennywise the clown (Bill Skarsgard, who is as fabulously weird and terrifying as ever) and face their fears, much like the students of Hogwarts trying to learn how to deal with a Boggart.

In the theater, on one side of me I had my friend Laura, who hates scary movies, and on the other side I had a young boy who had snuck in with his group of middle school friends in a showy display of bravado but was rapidly regretting that choice and often had to walk out of the theater for a deep breath given that he was getting too scared. And yet, by the end of the film, even these two people were sitting there quietly, no longer terrified by the jump scares and just desperately wishing for the movie to end. Ultimately, this movie had a great cast, but was far too precious about its plot, and I’m glad there won’t be a Chapter Three. There’s only so much clown torture a body can stand. 

Four Weddings and a Funeral: Romcom Escapism at Its Finest

If anyone is looking to compile a romantic comedy encyclopedia, you need look no further than the wondrous Four Weddings and Funeral limited series that recently aired ten glorious episodes on Hulu. Created by Mindy Kaling and Matt Warburton, with Tracey Wigfield serving as showrunner, the show is essentially a compendium of the greatest romcoms to grace our screens in the past few decades. As you make your way through the series, you'll discover that each episode feels like its own epic romantic tale, but taken all together, the ten episodes create a sum that exceeds its parts. It's a fizzy escapist joy from start to finish.

The show follows a group of four American friends who studied abroad in the UK and eventually ended up working in London after college. Ainsley (Rebecca Rittenhouse) is an interior designer who lives in a fabulous house and runs her own business, all paid for by her wealthy Texan parents (wait till you see who plays her mother!). Duffy (John Reynolds) is a Latin teacher at a private boys' school. Craig (Brandon Mychal Smith - who I always loved on You're the Worst) is a wealthy investment banker (kudos for casting a black guy in that predominantly white job), and Maya (Nathalie Emmanuel, aka Missandei from Game of Thrones, who is fated for much happier things in this show than a doomed romance with a eunuch) is a political speechwriter who was the only one who originally remained in the United States but then moves over to the UK when things implode rather spectacularly with her job.

I haven't even introduced Kash Khan (played by sure-to-be-the-next-big-thing Nikesh Patel) who is the Hugh Grant figure of this ensemble. He starts out as Ainsley's fiance but then becomes Maya's love interest, in a slow burn romance that takes all of ten episodes to resolve. I shall give away no more spoilers but there are so many twists and turns to this show and so many side romances with supporting characters who suddenly develop into fully fledged people you want to spend more time with. Everyone gets a warm and fuzzy happy ending they deserve, even despite the promised funeral that takes place in Episode 4. In fact, it was only on Episode 10 that I realized we still hadn't had the fourth wedding and that's when I truly appreciated the genius of this show. There were so many side plots and possibilities that there were multiple fakeouts for whose wedding would end up in the finale. It was brilliant.

Why do I love this show? First, I love romcoms. Apart from its namesake, the show also features subtle and not so subtle references to other beloved movies of the genre. There are bits of dialogue from Love Actually, music taken from Notting Hill, a cast member from My Best Friend's Wedding (no spoilers, but whee I was so happy to see this person!). If you love this genre, this series abounds with Easter eggs to keep you delighted. Second, this cast is wonderfully diverse. While the original movie was completely white, this series features a central romance between an African-American woman and a Pakistani-British man. The Pakistani part is particularly wonderful for someone like me who is always desperate to see brown people portrayed in mainstream pop culture. Kash comes from a traditional Muslim family and we see him at the mosque with his dad, chatting with his imam who sets him up on "dates" for an arranged marriage (with Fatima, played by Rakhee Thakrar, who is just the best), and hanging out with his friend Basheer (Guz Khan, who ought to have a spinoff of his own). His father (the lovable Harish Patel) is such a typical brown dad, overbearing and loving, and incapable of keeping his diabetes under control.

Third, this show's aesthetic is stunning. Production designer, Patrick Rolfe, who was the art director of the glorious Paddington 2, was tasked with making London look just as beautiful as he did on that film and he does not disappoint. Honestly, this show stoked my Anglophilia to fever pitch and is convincing me to start booking flights to London. Every set is beautiful, every wardrobe choice is perfect, everything is vibrant and colorful and gleeful. This is a fantasy world you fully want to inhabit. And the soundtrack is a wonderful complement to those visuals, featuring a smattering of new hits and old jams that all keep up with the breezy and playful tone of the series. At one point, an Urdu version of "Aint No Sunshine" plays on the soundtrack, a reference to Notting Hill, but also a reminder of the series' diversity that reflects what London is really like outside of the movies.

Four Weddings and a Funeral is idealistic and liberal and the plot is definitely not grounded in any sense of reality. It seems to have been getting dinged a lot by critics because of this. But who wants reality? I want this show - full of luscious drama but promises of romance and happiness for everyone. This is a show about a group of people who found love, but also made a family of friends, both British and American, who will stick with them for the rest of their lives. It's so naive and optimistic, and I unabashedly loved every second of it. 

Hustlers: How to Deal with the Next Financial Crisis

I was really excited to see Hustlers, a movie about a group of female strippers who set up an elaborate scheme to steal money from the rich perverts who frequent their clubs. However, after the day I had at work, where douchey finance bros did their best to derail my projects and belittle my team's efforts, I was even more excited to see their fictional counterparts on screen get their comeuppance. This is a fantastic film that you all should see, but I want to be clear upfront that I had extra special reasons to love it.

Based on the 2015 New York magazine article by Jessica Pressler, the movie tells a true story (though all the names are fictionalized, as well as some of the details - this is Hollywood after all) and it is juicy and phenomenal. Starting out in 2007, Constance Wu plays Destiny, a woman who is stripping to pay the bills and help out her debt-ridden grandmother. She is fascinated by Ramona (Jennifer Lopez, who is fit AF in this movie and delivers a riveting performance), a veteran stripper who knows all the moves and how to navigate the rich clientele of traders and Wall Street CEOs who come through the club's doors. Ramona takes a shine to the struggling Destiny and helps her out with the tricks of the trade. The two are a formidable duo and in 2007, they have a banner year. However, in 2008, Destiny leaves the club to start a family. When she returns in 2011, a single mom and desperate for cash when she can't get hired at any respectable outlet, she is shocked to discover how much things have changed after the financial crisis. No one's spending money, not even the Wall Street bros, and business is sparse. However, Ramona has been hatching some schemes with other women (played by Keke Palmer and Lili Reinhart) to stay afloat in this brave new world and Destiny signs up for the ride.

The scheme involves drugging men in bars, bringing them back to the club, and maxing out their credit cards while they pass out. It's a perfect crime - the men will be too ashamed to call the police to say "I lost thousands of dollars at a strip club!" and as far as Ramona is concerned, these men stole money from the rest of us and caused a global financial crisis, so they can stand to lose some money. This is a movie about women getting their own back from some truly sleazy human beings, so I am all for it. Of course, things go haywire and eventually collapse because these aren't strippers with a heart of gold. Yes, they are targeting assholes, but they get too greedy themselves, and there's plenty of in-fighting, betrayals, and twists and turns because they're still human beings engaged in criminal activity. Ultimately, capitalism and greed is the downfall of everyone involved.

Directed by Lorene Scafaria and featuring an incredible cast of women, this is an engaging and perfect movie about women who are trying to get some agency in pretty grim circumstances. Yes it's set in a strip club, but because it's directed by a woman, the nudity or skimpy getups are not the focus of the story. The strippers are all ages, sizes, and colors, and you genuinely get a sense of what the daily routine of their lives is like and the grubbiness of their jobs, without it being titillating in any way. There's some stunt casting with musicians Cardi B and Lizzo, who are used to excellent comic effect, but are wisely sidelined after the first half of the movie so that trained actresses can take over the more intense drama. And the soundtrack is simply impeccable, featuring thumping, energetic songs that perfectly match the frenetic pace of this film. A sequence set to Britney Spears' "Gimme More" is incredible: what a perfect tune (in general, and for this movie in particular).

Hustlers is a funny, dark, affecting movie. There were moments when I wanted to cry with rage at how these women were being treated and then moments when I wanted to stand up and cheer as they stuck it to the man. I will say that watching this movie in a packed theater is an added bonus because the audience laughed and cheered and booed at all the right moments. We were swept up in this story and were here for these women from the first frame to the last. Of course, this being New York, some enterprising audience member brought their baby to the screening. This kid really started squalling at the end, at which point the woman next to me turned to her friend and said, "Oh, the baby must be seeing all the boobs on screen and getting hungry." So there you have it. Hustlers: it has my hearty endorsement as well as a co-sign from a bebe.

Good Omens: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Apocalypse

For the past couple of months I have been reading a slew of Terry Pratchett novels from his Discworld series. However, what prompted this reading frenzy was my viewing of Good Omens, a TV show based on the novel of the same name, that Pratchett co-wrote with Neil Gaiman. I never got around to writing about this show when it first dropped on Amazon Prime and the BBC, but it is such a masterfully constructed piece of art, based on such an iconic piece of literature, that I would be remiss if I didn’t remind all of you to watch it posthaste if you haven’t done so already.

This is a show about Armageddon. And yes, I swear it’s a comedy. It centers around the angel Aziraphele (Michael Sheen) and the demon Crowley (David Tennant), who have been around since Adam and Eve and have built up an unlikely friendship over the millennia. Please take another look at that casting – Michael Sheen and David Tennant are a dream team, and honestly, I would be recommending this show even if it were complete garbage, just because the two of them are co-starring in it. Thankfully, the show is phenomenal. The premise is that the two have an alliance, where the angel does something good that gets cancelled out by the demon doing something bad, or vice versa, and over the centuries, they’ve realized they don’t really need to do much to keep senior management appeased. Humans are capable of generating enough horror and goodness by themselves that angelic and demonic intervention is superfluous. So instead, the two carry on through the ages in an easy equilibrium, until the day that Crowley is handed a basket with a squalling baby. This is the Antichrist, and Crowley has to effect a switch with the impending baby that the American ambassador’s wife is about to give birth to. In twelve years, that child will be able to summon his powers to launch Armageddon.

Crowley isn’t thrilled about this. He has gotten quite comfortable with life among the humans and doesn’t really want to see Earth get destroyed. So together, he and Aziraphele hatch a plan where they’ll jointly influence the child as he grows up, exposing him to just enough goodness and just enough evil that by the time the apocalypse is nigh, the child will be somewhat ambivalent and not achieve anything. Unfortunately, there is a very complicated series of mishaps, which means that the wrong child is placed into the wrong hands, and all the work of the next twelve years is completely useless when Doomsday arrives. After setting up this backstory, we count down the days to Armageddon, which features a bewildering series of plots and engaging characters, including witches, Witch Finders, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (who have all been upgraded to motorcycles to keep up with the times), and a dog named Dog. All of these disparate elements coalesce into a wondrous whole until we finally reach a conclusion that is worthy of being described as EPIC.

The highest compliment I can ever give a movie or TV show based on a book is that it makes me revisit the book and love it even more; this show accomplished that with ease. Good Omens is a wonderfully faithful adaptation – I had forgotten so much, but the show captures everything that is great and inventive and wacky about this book and why it has been beloved to so many readers for the past 29 years. Featuring a brilliant supporting cast, wonderful voice acting, a suitably big budget to bring all the crazy special effects to life, and punctuated by the music of Queen, there’s so much to love about this series. It is merely six episodes, so it’s a small time commitment, but if you’re like me, you will get sucked into a literary wormhole, and then all bets are off. But what a beautiful way to go.

Irish Comedy Roundup: Derry Girls and This Way Up

Over the past month, I have bingewatched two shows about Irish women. Therefore, it seems only fair to post a review of two shows that will scratch that particular itch you didn’t know you had for prime Irish comedy.

Derry Girls: This show is simply a laugh riot. Created and written by Lisa McGee, it is set in Derry, Northern Ireland, during the Troubles in the 1990s, and tells the story of a group of teen girls who are getting on with their lives in hilarious adolescent fashion. The star of the show is Saoirse-Monica Jackson, who plays Erin, a high-strung and over dramatic young woman who has a face that has already launched a thousand memes. Together with her gang of girlfriends (plus one boy, James, who has arrived from England and is forced to attend the girls’ school because he would be bullied too much at the boys’ school for being English – yes it’s as ridiculously brilliant as you can imagine) they get into all manner of scrapes and farcical situations. 

Erin and her friends are poorer than some of the wealthier girls at the school who can easily pay for a class trip to Paris or buy fancy dresses for school dances without a second thought, so there are the requisite schemes to make money that go awry, or various efforts to subvert the establishment that come crashing down. Siobhan McSweeney, who plays the school principal, Sister Michael, is hands down my favorite character, a world-weary nun who hates every child under her care but will keep plugging away to maintain some semblance of control over these unruly imps. Erin’s family is a fun mix of weirdos, and every episode is a complete surprise as one more oddball comes crawling out of the woodwork. Of course, all this comedy is set against the backdrop of extreme unrest and political division. There is an episode where the army is constantly practicing their drills, and the incessant pounding of drums is getting on everyone’s nerves. As a viewer, you feel their pain, as your temples throb from this relentless noise until the family finally escape to the countryside (albeit with a stowaway who brings a fresh set of troubles). 

The show prominently features the music of The Cranberries, and quite frankly they had me from Episode 1 which opened with "Dreams." It then ended with an insane Detention scene, featuring music from the Dropkick Murphys, that was such an explosion of insanity that there was no way I could stop watching. Then a few episodes later, all the girls, who were bickering about something at a party, immediately stopped because Whigfield’s "Saturday Night" started playing and they HAD to go dance to it. Me too girls, me too. As someone who grew up in the 90's and went to a Catholic school, this show’s soundtrack and setting occupies a sacred place in my heart. But based on the widespread critical acclaim, you don’t have to have anything in common with these characters to acknowledge that this show is a non-stop, giggle-inducing, staggering work of comic genius. Go forth and binge.

This Way Up: Unlike Derry Girls, this is a much quieter show, but still features standout performances from Irish actresses. Aisling Bea stars as Aine (like all Irish names, you’ll need to hear how it’s pronounced), a woman who has just been released from a rehab facility after a mental breakdown, and Sharon Horgan plays her overprotective and extremely worried sister, Shona. Yes, it’s a dark premise to begin with, but in the hands of these two women, you get a great deal of comedy, warmth, and life-affirming loveliness, that is somewhat akin to Fleabag. 

The show has been compared to Fleabag a lot, but you need to assess it on its own merits because it isn’t trying to be quite so over-the-top and is certainly not pushing the fourth wall. Instead, it tells its story traditionally, relying on wonderful acting and impeccable casting. It brilliantly captures what it’s like to be in the throes of a depressive spiral – some days you’re joking around and the life of the party, and then on other days, someone cancels their plans with you, and before you know it, you’re wandering around in a fog and feel like nothing’s going right. And yet throughout, you want to be treated like any other person, not like “the mad woman.” 

There are also the more practical considerations, where Aine struggles to seek help because paying her rent is more of a priority than paying for a therapist. And there’s a great episode where the women meet up with their mother, and Aine has a heart-to-heart with her that reveals a lot of the secrets we keep to ourselves and never share because of the stigma around mental health. Shona is a loving and kind sister, but she also has her limits, and it’s a scary and nerve-wracking thing to care so much for someone with self-destructive tendencies. Ultimately, This Way Up offers up thoughtful storytelling – it deals in serious themes but with such a deft and comic touch that it makes the medicine go down easy and will stay with you for a while. And of course, it wouldn’t be complete with the two sisters singing The Cranberries’ "Zombies" during one of the episodes, in a moment that highlights why this niche category of “Irish female comedy” is rapidly becoming my favorite genre of television.

August Movie Recap: Good Boys, Ready or Not, Blinded by the Light

I watched a slew of movies in August but failed to write about most of them as laying out in the last vestiges of summer sunshine took precedence over blogging indoors. However, as fall weather arrives, here’s a quick recap of three movies I watched that were quite delightful and which you may enjoy before the onslaught of more prestigious Oscar bait.

Good Boys: The common one-line summary of this film is that it’s Superbad for tweens. This is highly accurate but it doesn’t capture the movie’s inherent sweetness. The trailer already gives away the most ridiculous gags and jokes in the film, which is about a trio of middle school boys who have been invited to their first kissing party and must go through various trials (one of which involves replacing a drone and purchasing molly from a frat house – I swear it makes some sort of sense when you watch the movie) and are navigating all their pre-pubescent urges alongside the challenges of adolescent friendship. 

This moves captures how complicated it can be to be a kid, where you and your friends are maturing at different rates and facing the dawning notion that just because you have all been friends since you were born, you will not necessarily be friends until you die. There’s also a lot of talk about consent, and while this is played for laughs, it is still refreshing to watch the evolution of teen movies where the boys are worried and confused about how the girls will feel instead of just leaning in to their desires. Is this still a filthy romp, made all the more delightful by watching young children swear like pirates? Sure. But does it contain a lot of heart? You bet. One of the kids is played by Jacob Tremblay, the baby-faced innocent who was heralded at the age of eight for his captivating performance in Room. If this is the kind of thing he’s going to do as part of his transition from child actor to full-fledged star, I’m all for it. Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon who co-star in the film are just as wonderful, and I would happily bankroll a series of 7 Up-style films where we watch these kids grow up into adults and all the gross but heartfelt shenanigans they get into along the way.

Ready or Not: Readers of the blog are well aware that I don’t like horror movies but I have a soft spot for funny horror. If it’s scary but punctuated by jokes, I will watch any bloodbath. Therefore, this film was right up my alley. Starring Samara Weaving as Grace, this is a movie about a woman who marries into a wealthy family and gets roped into playing a deadly game of Hide and Seek on her wedding night as part of an ancient family tradition. Is it utterly bonkers? Yes. Is it utterly brilliant? Yup. 

I won’t go into the details as to why this family thinks they have to kill Grace before dawn as she attempts to hide and escape from their creaky old mansion. Let’s just say there are reasons, which seem weird and wacky and come to fruition in fabulous fashion at the end of the film. But what is fun is watching a family of wealthy privileged folk collectively lose their minds in hapless bloodlust while Grace, a former foster child who thought she was so lucky to be getting a family at last, fights back and decides that she was probably better off without a family after all. The cast consists of some wonderful actors, chiefly Andie MacDowell as Grace’s new mother-in-law, and you have not lived until you’ve seen that woman wield a crossbow and tell her adult children to try not to kill any more of the help. It’s a fun, blood-soaked romp, and it is everything you want from a summer movie. Not remotely serious, but endlessly entertaining.

Blinded by the Light: Directed and co-written by Gurinder Chadha (the woman who blessed us with Bend It Like Beckham), this film is the story of Javed Khan (played by the very charming and imminent star Viveik Kalra), a Pakistani teenager growing up in the UK in 1987, who discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen, leading him to pursue a career as a writer. This is based on the true story of journalist Sarfraz Mansoor (who also co-wrote the script with Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges) and it’s an earnest and charming tale about the global and transformative power of music. Javed is just a gangly kid in Luton who sees no future for himself, but listening to Springsteen’s lyrics, he finds a kindred spirit, and all of those feelings he has bottled up inside himself start to pour out in his writing. Spotted by an encouraging English teacher (because what would we be without kind English teachers?) his talents are nurtured, and he builds a community of friends around him to support his wildest dreams. 

Of course, writerly ambitions are not going to be supported by South Asian parents, and you get the expected tussle with the strict father and timid mother, but what’s refreshing about this movie is that it properly represents the brown immigrant experience. Are brown parents all about getting a “proper” job and being hopelessly overbearing? Sure. But do they come from a place of love and caring and eventually capitulate because they want their kids to be happy? Yes. Now, I did find myself wondering what happened to Javed’s two sisters – they did not seem like they had as much agency to live out their dreams (because: patriarchy), but there is an interlude where we see Javed’s younger sister also engaging in her own bit of rebellion, so at least some fun is being had. We also see the horrific racism South Asians were subjected to during the Thatcher era, which is very reminiscent of the current rise of white nationalism across the globe, so it seems we are doomed to repeat history. However, this is ultimately an uplifting story about the immigrant experience, overcoming the awkwardness of adolescence to pursue your passions, and finding your own path despite all the people clamoring to foist their own paths onto you. It is a sweet and earnest movie, and if you love Bruce Springsteen, be prepared to sing your heart out for two hours straight.

When They See Us: Justice Isn't Blind

My first introduction to the Central Park Five was Ken Burns' excellent 2013 documentary. At the time of release, the civil suit was ongoing and it wasn't a sure thing that these five men would receive a settlement from New York State to address the years of brutal hardship and injustice they faced. However, the case was finally settled in 2014, and now we have Ava Duvernay's When They See Us, a retelling of that horrific tale of five innocent boys whose lives were ruined because of the one night they decided to go to Central Park and were accused of the assault and rape of a woman they had never seen.

The show is a four-part limited series, with the first two episodes focused on the boys and the events leading up to their arrest, unlawful interrogation, and trial where they were all found guilty. The next two episodes are focused on the men they became in prison and what happened to them when they got out. Duvernay's powerful documentary, 13TH already tackled the notorious American prison industrial complex, but in this series, we get to see the human cost on an individual level. As each of these men are released from prison, they find that they will continue to be treated as prisoners for the rest of their lives. A parole officer walks one man through the rules, and how he can't get a job anywhere that another felon is already employed as felons aren't allowed to interact. Another member of the Five wants to be a teacher - nope, can't get any job that requires licensure once you've been incarcerated, and no way you'll be allowed around children after being accused of a sex crime. It's no wonder then that these men struggle to get back on their feet. But the fourth episode is reserved almost exclusively for Korey Wise, the only member of the Five who was 16 at the time of arrest and therefore tried as an adult (why can you be tried as an adult at 16? Search me, nothing about the American criminal justice system makes any sense.) After the guilty verdict was returned, he was sent to the infamous Riker's Island prison, subjected to violence and barbaric cruelty at the hands of his fellow prisoners and guards. He also spent long stretches in solitary confinement, suffering for twelve whole years before new evidence was found and he was finally exonerated of his crimes.

There's so much that is upsetting and needlessly cruel about this case. There's the police brutality and the inhumane racism with which these children were treated during police questioning. The police twisted the facts to suit their needs, and they desperately needed these five boys to be violent rapists instead of just five boys who were hanging out in the park. The title of the series, When They See Us, is a reminder that the "they" in question, i.e. the police/media/white majority, do not see innocent children when they see a group of black teenagers. They see "animals," "thugs," and dangerous criminals who do not deserve any rights and don't have to be treated fairly when accused of a crime. These children can be tortured, threatened, and beaten until they confess to crimes they never committed, and their families can be pressured, lied to, and forced to sign affidavits and testimonies that they don't understand, without any lawyers present. Justice is a farce when you're a minority - you don't have the same rights as a white criminal and you will be treated as a dangerous man instead of a scared boy.

What has always struck me about this case, and what struck me anew in watching this series, is how these five boys (and later men) never admitted their guilt. They could have gotten a plea deal, they could have gotten out on early parole, but they knew they didn't commit this heinous crime, and they refused to lie and say they did it, even when it would have made their lives marginally easier. In this case, they finally received some justice, and it is particularly heartening to know that Korey Wise donated the money from his settlement to the University of Colarado's Innocence Project to help future generations of the innocent be exonerated. But When They See Us is an all-encompassing view of what this case did to these five boys and their families. Each one has a unique story and set of circumstances, and each is painful and shocking. The vitriol that they were subjected to in the press (and of course, from Donald Trump, because that man was always a god-awful racist, well before he became our nation's Grand Wizard-in-Chief) centered around them being poor minority kids, who were presumably raised by shoddy parents, with no rules and respect for society. But no - these were just ordinary kids, some of whom had better parents than others, but all of whom knew that you didn't just go into the Park and violently assault and rape a woman. It is so easy to treat people who don't look like you as the "other," capable of absolute barbarism. But they aren't different, they just don't look like you. By humanizing each of the Five, Duvernay breaks down the barriers between us and them, and makes it a story about Korey, Antron, Yusef, Raymond, and Kevin. It is a story that is heartbreaking and unfortunately still a reality in this day and age.

When They See Us is a powerful and moving series, and every performance in it is a revelation. Jharrel Jerome and Niecy Nash, who play Korey Wise and his mom, are particularly spectacular, and I defy anyone to watch Episode 4 and not want to throw something at their TV screen as they watch this innocent kid get broken by the prison system. What's even more galling is that he was never on the police's list to begin with - he only went into the station to support his friend Yusef who had been called in for questioning, and then ended up getting the harshest sentence of all the boys. I wish I had hope that things had changed, but we all know that things are still grossly unfair and inhumane for minorities, who get tossed into prison for all manner of petty violations and then enter into a tyrannical cycle of disenfranchisement that they will almost never break free from. This story has a "happy" ending of sorts, but all it does it remind you of the thousands of people still suffering in our prisons, who might be innocent, or should have been given any number of other options before being tossed into jail. Watch this series, watch 13TH, and then start petitioning every politician you know for prison reform. It's one more thing we need to fight for.