Young Jane Young: Women Face Repercussions

Gabrielle Zevin's Young Jane Young is one of the most inventive novels I've read this year. It tells a wildly compelling story about a woman who has an affair with a married Congressman and then faces the aftermath while he emerges relatively unscathed and continues his political ambitions (sound familiar?). Men reading this blog, I urge you to pick up this novel and give it a whirl: it is superbly written and might give you some insight into why the women around you think the world is so unfair.

The story is told in five parts from the perspectives of three generations of women affected by these events. Aviva Grossman is the name of the young college intern who had the affair. Over the course of the novel, you get to hear the story from her indignant Jewish retiree mother in Boca Raton, from the Congressman's wife, from Aviva's daughter, and from Aviva herself. The fifth part of this novel is my absolute favorite, a Choose Your Own Adventure narrative outlining the various choices that Aviva made when she began her internship that led to the affair and its repercussions. It is funny, poignant, and searingly incisive about how our actions can have long-ranging consequences that alter not just our own lives, but the lives of everyone around us.

Of course, the most relevant part of this book is that it is told solely from the perspective of women. And because Zevin is playing the long game, you don't simply get each character's initial reaction, but their evolution as they come to grips with the events and have to deal with the ramifications. There's a fair amount of slut-shaming and guilt, then a certain defiance and indignation at Aviva's unfair treatment, and then a repetition of the whole cycle once Aviva's daughter gets older and discovers her mother's past. All of these narratives are woven together masterfully, playing off each other in perfect harmony and reaching a sweet crescendo in that final section that wraps up the entire story and reveals all the secrets that have been lurking in the shadows for the past 300 pages.

Young Jane Young is the work of an author at the peak of her abilities. It is un-put-down-able, a binge read that is as entertaining as it is enlightening, featuring a cast of fictional women that I would love to get to know in real life. It has a blistering plot, solid character development, and an unconventional structure, all factors that intertwine to make this one of the most enjoyable books of the year. Seek it out and discover who Young Jane Young is. She's a character you'll never forget. 

Dunkirk: War Is Hell

Dunkirk is written and directed by Christopher Nolan. It stars a troupe of British actors depicting the horrifying and heroic events of 1940, when Allied troops were stranded on the beaches of Dunkirk, at the mercy of repetitive bombing by the German Luftwaffe while the British Navy struggled to evacuate them as the water was too shallow for their ships to land. Instead, a crew of small civilian boats, ordinarily used for fishing or sailing tours, were tasked with crossing the English Channel and rescuing desperate soldiers, ultimately leading to the miraculous evacuation of over 300,000 soldiers. It's a moving story, and in the hands of Nolan and his team, a powerful one.

I accidentally watched this film in IMAX but I am glad I did. This is a movie that is meant to submerge you into the deepest, darkest, and most frightening aspects of warfare, and doing it while the Hans Zimmer soundtrack is thrumming through your veins via IMAX speakers and Hoyte van Hoytema's cinematography is searing itself onto your retinas is quite the experience. The story follows three timelines to capture the action on the ground, at sea, and in the air, each one grueling and exhilarating in its own right. It also depicts a full spectrum of the aftermath, from shell shock and guilt, to relief and grief; it is honest and unflinching about the heroism and tragedy involved in this evacuation.

The cast is a mix of fresh-faced young actors (including Harry Styles in his acting debut) and seasoned professionals like Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy. Everyone does a phenomenal job at capturing the fear, agony, and resilience that is part and parcel of going to war, and when you walk out of the theater, you will certainly feel like you were put through the wringer yourself. There is very little dialogue; instead the movie aims to plunge you into the action where there is no time to talk, only time to make heartbreaking decisions that will change your life forever. The soundtrack is marked by a ticking clock that is counting down each second of this horror, which serves to highlight the urgency and sense of hopelessness these soldiers feel as they await rescue while the Germans periodically swoop in and bomb them on the wide open beaches.

Dunkirk is an excellent movie that is sure to pick up numerous accolades over awards season. With a runtime of 106 minutes, it is a war movie that doesn't need a lot of time to get its point across - instead it efficiently and movingly illustrates the trauma of being in a war zone and the absolute pointlessness of it all. While the Dunkirk evacuation may have been a miracle that resulted in hundreds of thousands of lives being saved, World War II ultimately resulted in 85 million fatalities. While Nolan is presenting one of the "good" stories, at no point does he shy away from the fact that there is nothing glamorous about warfare. It is bloody, it is brutal, people die, and allies turn on each other.

Of course, the movie ends with a soldier reciting Churchill's inspiring speech:

We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

These words have always sent shivers down my spine, but I never fully understood the context until watching this film. Therefore, Dunkirk serves as a reminder that while war is a horrible and damaging thing, the human spirit endures. Sometimes, there are things worth fighting for.

Groundhog Day: You've Never Seen This Before

This happens to me every year. I don't see a musical in ages and then I go see one on Broadway and have to keep pinching myself because I must be dreaming, there's no way all of that is happening on stage. Watching Groundhog Day yesterday was no exception, but it was also one of the best musicals I have seen in 16 years of living in Manhattan. My only regret is I didn't go sooner, and it's closing on September 17, so if you live in NYC or will be visiting before then, don't hesitate. Buy a ticket and make haste to the August Wilson Theater.

Where does one start with describing why this show is so phenomenal? Perhaps a brief synopsis for those who haven't seen the movie. It's the story of a cranky weatherman, Phil Connors (played by the talented and dreamy Andy Karl), who has headed to Punxsutawney, PA on February 2nd. He has to cover the annual ritual of Groundhog Day, where people wait to see if a groundhog will see its shadow, thereby predicting six more weeks of winter. He hates this holiday and thinks it is beneath him to cover this story; but in a bizarre twist, he gets stuck in an infinite time loop where he has to re-live this day over and over again. Every morning, his alarm goes off, and it's still February 2nd. What follows is a hilarious evolution: he is first certain he's crazy, then excited to take sleazy advantage of the opportunities these multiple re-dos get him, then depressed about being stuck in this day forever, and finally accepts that this is going to be his life.

Given that plot, this show is a miracle of set design and staging wizardry. It could get awfully boring to have to re-live the same day over and over again, but there is absolutely nothing boring about watching how the actors, stage hands, lighting technicians, and other backstage magicians work in concert to choreograph every aspect of this day so that things run smoothly in the background while Phil has a meltdown over the sameness of it all. Honestly, I could watch this show a dozen more times just to identify more nuances of stage and set design; one particularly standout moment is when they engage in the silliest and most inventive way of depicting a car chase on a Broadway stage.

Apart from the brilliant Andy Karl performance (and truly, it is brilliant, just the way he gets dressed each morning feels like an inspired choice), there is an equally brilliant and moving performance from his co-star, Barrett Doss. She plays Rita, Phil's associate producer, who thinks he's an asshole (her actual words) but becomes his eventual love interest, and she is the true heart of the show. With her beautiful voice and soaring romantic songs, she is the ideal complement to Phil's more sarcastic rock n'roll ditties, and the chemistry between the two of them is heartbreakingly excellent. In fact, it's in those moments, when you simply have the actors on stage singing to each other as snow falls around them and lights twinkle magically, that you forget you're watching a Broadway musical and instead feel like you're watching a real-life romance bloom in front of your eyes.

Aside from the main couple, however, I have to mention two supporting players of note. John Sanders plays Ned Ryerson, the annoying life insurance salesman who has a whole backstory that leads him to sing one of the most moving songs in the whole piece. And Rebecca Faulkenberry plays Nancy. Who is Nancy? Nancy is essentially a nobody in the grand scheme of this plot. But Nancy has the best song in the entire play, a meta commentary on what it is like to be a pretty blonde actress trying to make it when men run the show, and it is the most unexpected and fantastic diversion before the second half resumes course. It is also a testament to the variety of music in this show - it ranges from heavy rock songs, to funny country interludes, to stirring romantic ballads. The lyrics range from raunchy and caustic to romantic and heartwarming (what else could you expect from the genius mind of Tim Minchin?), and the entire show walks that tightrope from start to finish.

Groundhog Day is a transformative piece of art, taking a well-known movie about deja vu and turning into something that feels brand new. The actors are incandescent, the sets and staging are mesmerizing, the music is bewitching, the story is funny, ribald, and moving. It's the perfect package. And if I had the chance to re-live last night over and over again, I wouldn't even think twice. 

GLOW: Ladies, Get Ready to Rumble!

If you read my Wonder Woman post, you know that I tend to get choked up about overt displays of female strength and camaraderie. So I am unsurprisingly thrilled by Netflix's series, GLOW,  a fictionalized exploration of the making of the 80's show, Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. Featuring a cast of women in leotards kicking each other's asses in a multitude of ways, this is the show to watch  if you want to learn about how women work together when men aren't around.

First off, let's reiterate that GLOW was a real show that aired from 1986-1990. As a product of its age, it trucked heavily in sexist and racist stereotypes, while at the same time, managing to be a celebration of race and women simply due to its existence. It's that difficult conundrum of representation - if you rarely see any brown women on TV, it is super exciting to see one wrestling on your TV screen, even if she's doing it under the moniker of Beirut and threatening to be a terrorist who wants to destroy America. However, Liz Flahive and Carly Mensch, the creators of Netflix's GLOW (and former writers on Orange Is the New Black - how's that for pedigree?), give us the behind-the-scenes look at how this crazy show got made, which proves to be even more entertaining than what made it to TV sets across the nation.

Most importantly, this show is FUN. It is well-written and well-executed, clipping through its 10-episode season at a brisk and never-dull pace. The focus is mostly on the two white women at the helm (Alison Brie and Betty Gilpin, who are actresses I love from their work on Community and Masters of Sex), but I'm hoping the show follows Orange Is the New Black's lead and evolves into making this more of an ensemble piece with equal weight given to the other women. Right now a lot of the other cast members are playing to their racial stereotoypes, simply by virtue of the original GLOW being terrifically un-PC (after all, this was a show that had a black wrestler named "Welfare Queen"), but I'm hoping subsequent seasons give us more context into the backgrounds of these women and where their true motivations lie. The evolution of the characters over the course of the first season is already promising, deftly dealing with a lot of themes that TV usually handles supremely clunkily, so I have high expectations for upcoming seasons.

I would also be remiss if I didn't shout out the main man in the group, Marc Maron, who is playing Sam Sylvia, the leader of this motley crew, who has the unenviable task of wrangling together a bunch of novices and turning them into wrestling phenoms. At times, the show does veer towards giving him more screentime than the women who ought to be the focus, but all is forgiven because this is Maron being the most Maron-esque you'll ever see him. He is irritable, crass, rude, condescending, and then occasionally capable of great kindness and warmth before he returns to being an ass. It's a great character to have amidst all the estrogen, when deployed correctly.

The original GLOW was beloved by young girls, a weird little show that showed them something different from the usual fare on TV, and taught them that ladies didn't always have to be demure, docile creatures. Netflix's GLOW will be beloved by women of all ages for allowing more female and diverse racial representation on TV and giving us all someone to root for. It's not always a perfect show, but it is entertaining, warm, and witty, and I for one, cannot wait for the second season.

Before the Fall: People Are a Mystery

If you've watched the TV show Fargo, you will understand why I was excited to hear that the show's creator, Noah Hawley, had a new novel out. Fargo is one of those TV shows that is scripted so elegantly that you are in awe of the writing even as you watch the stunning visuals play out on your television screen. So I was intrigued to see if Hawley's novel, Before the Fall, would be similarly well-written and thrilling. Boy did he deliver.

The novel is a mystery about a plane crash. We begin with a private jet going down off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, and what follows are flashbacks telling us about the lives of all the individuals on that plane as well as updates on the aftermath and the investigation. The first few chapters are the most vivid, cinematic prose you will have read in a while. As Hawley describes the crash and the actions of one of the survivors, you will hold your breath, feel the cold of the Antarctic seep into your bones and the panic thrum through your veins, and desperately turn the pages to discover what happens next.

The rest of the novel unfolds gradually, delving into deep character studies that would make any psychologist proud. Each character's strengths and flaws emerge with startling clarity, and as you go through the roster, it seems like absolutely everyone had a motive or a circumstance that could hint at foul play. As the investigation proceeds, warring factions debate whether the crash was due to mechanical failure or something more sinister, and as you hurtle towards the conclusion, you find yourself wondering if the result will be a Murder on the Orient Express-style denouement (I'm not going to explain that spoilerific comment, but you Agatha Christie fans will understand). However, the actual outcome is something far more sad and sinister than any of the hypotheticals the novel initially proposes.

Noah Hawley is a magnificent writer and he is well-versed in getting his audience to engage with his material, whether it is on screen or on the page. As you read Before the Fall, you cannot help but get invested in the futures of the various characters and try your best to outwit the FBI to guess what really happened on that plane. As each revelation comes to light, these people become more real, the situation becomes more bleak, and the novel becomes an ever-more accurate encapsulation of the current state of America. There are observations about politics, media, gender, wealth, art, and a host of other complicated topics; but first and foremost, this is a damn good mystery novel and it deserves your attention.

Anne With an E: Anne Shirley Cuthbert's Glorious Return

I never read Anne of Green Gables as a child. I read it when I was 21 years old, right after I had finished wading through the Twilight saga. Reading L.M. Montgomery's evocative, miraculous prose, and reveling in the classic story of this young orphan girl who had more grit and determination in her little finger than any of the female characters I had been reading about lately, was the most refreshing experience of my life. I fell deeply and irrevocably in love with Anne, and now, I have fallen hopelessly in love with Moira Walley-Beckett's TV adaptation of the books, Anne With an E.

You may have heard that this is a grittier version of the tale. And that is true. No one is singing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" a la other red-headed orphan girls. Instead of solely making this a pretty story about an orphan who moves to beautiful Prince Edward Island, gets adopted, and goes on to live a happy life, the show chooses to explore the backstory of these characters and lend them a depth that makes you fall in love with them even more. By focusing on Anne's past, where she faced abuse from foster parents who were only interested in treating her like a nanny for their children, we are able to further admire her resilience and relentless optimism. By learning more about Marilla and Matthew's romantic disappointments, we can better understand their deep bond of sibling unity and their willingness to pour all their love onto this peculiar little girl. I was initially terrified of Geraldine James' portrayal of Aunt Marilla, bemoaning her seeming cold-heartedness and desire to send Anne back to the orphanage when it turned out she was a girl instead of a boy. But as the season progressed, she quickly became my favorite character (after Anne, of course), because underneath that stony facade lies a heart of pure gold.

I won't detail every plot point of the first season because you need to relish the heartbreakingly few seven episodes and watch them unfold naturally. However, the best episode (in my oh-so humble opinion) is Episode 5, i.e. the Period Episode. You rarely see girls getting their periods on TV or in classic literature, but watching Anne freak out and Marilla calming her down might be the most entertaining and educational moment in recent TV history. Following that, watching Matthew's uncomfortable male response is immensely delightful, as is the subsequent conversation between Marilla and her best friend Rachel as they discuss the joys of being post-menopausal. This episode keeps giving and giving: there's the reaction of Anne's friends at school, her trepidation as she gets called up in front of the class and worries that her dress might be stained (ladies, we all remember that feeling, right?), and then, of course, the ultimate resolution of the whole saga, where Anne realizes that while this means she is getting older, it doesn't mean it's the end of the world.

Every actor in Anne With an E is impeccably cast, none more so than Amybeth McNulty. With her beaming smile, bright-red pigtails, freckled face, and joyous declamation of grandiose words, she is the perfect Anne, capable of turning on a dime from being moody to magical. She takes Anne's eccentric dialogue and makes it perfectly plausible, and watching the dramatic conversations between her and her best friend, Diana, or her scrappy arguments with Gilbert Blythe, transported me back to that bipolar time in childhood, when everything seems so urgent and immediate, and every event either sends you into transports of delight or abject misery.

In addition, this is also a gorgeous piece of television. Every set is brimming with historically accurate details and the costumes are embellished with little touches that lend authenticity and spark to every single character. The scenery is gasp-inducing, and while Anne always seems so hyperbolic, even you cannot disagree with her when she first enters Green Gables and is immediately enchanted by the indescribably magnificent landscape. The house oozes a tangible comfort and I wanted nothing more than to wrap myself up in a shawl and have a cup of tea with Marilla. And the soundtrack is pitch perfect as well, a wonderful complement to every second of the series. I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the wonderful opening title sequence, set to the Tragically Hip's Ahead By a Century. It is an artistic wonderland that immediately tells you what to expect from our plucky and classically Canadian heroine.

Perhaps the best clue that Anne With an E is an excellent adaptation is that the minute you're done watching it, you'll want to re-read the books. It is a loving, cinematically gorgeous ode to a literary heroine beloved by generations of girls and women. In the hands of Moira Walley-Beckett (who previously wrote the best episodes of Breaking Bad and therefore has an impeccable TV pedigree), Anne has found the right person to tell her story. Most importantly, Walley-Beckett is Canadian, so she understands that this is not only an important story for women and girls, but an important story for an entire nation. She can rest easy; she has done us all proud.

I originally posted this article on Wellesley Underground where I am the new WU Reviews editor. If you enjoy my posts here, I highly recommend you read the WU Reviews series to get some wonderfully diverse viewpoints on the latest TV, literature, and cinema!

Spider-Man: Homecoming: The Franchise is Reborn

We all know the Spider-Man jokes. This franchise has been re-booted endlessly in the past decade and everyone regarded the advent of Tom Holland as yet another fresh-faced Peter Parker/Spider-Man with the deepest apathy. Why do we need to reboot this ailing franchise? How could it possibly be any good? What is the point? Well, the point is that it isn't just anyone rebooting the franchise. Marvel has officially joined forces with Sony, and the resulting Spider-Man: Homecoming is spectacular.

First off, some critical story elements. The studio has wisely shied away from the origin story. The tale picks up right where we left off with the new Spidey's appearance in last year's Captain America: Civil War. Therefore, we don't have to go through the rigamarole of watching him being bitten by a radioactive spider, having Uncle Ben utter "with great power comes great responsibility," etc. Ben's dead, Peter Parker has his powers and is swinging around Queens being a friendly neighborhood vigilante, and Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is going to help him become an Avenger. So this is really the origin story of how Spidey became an Avenger, but is also a tale of how a scrawny 15-year old learns to harness his power to become a genuine superhero that fights supervillains armed with extraterrestrial weapons.

Like with any Marvel movie, there's a ton of action courtesy of Michael Keaton as the villain, Vulture, who is manufacturing crazy weapons using alien technology that he smuggles from the sites of every Avengers battle. He is a formidable opponent for Peter and there's a certain amount of meta joy the audience can experience on two fronts: first, the Vulture is a lot like the Birdman, and second, it's hilarious to see the former Batman now playing a Marvel villain.

But the action is not what's important about this movie. What is important is Marvel's ability to inject every single film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with humor and character development. Throw in a brilliant sidekick in the form of Peter's best friend, Ned (Jacob Batalon), who is thrilled to bits when he discovers Peter's secret identity, and you've got the makings of a fine teen comedy. In fact, this is the first Spider-Man who legitimately seems like he belongs in high school. While there's a need for some crime fighting and avenging, the movie is mostly about Peter's foray into adolescence and the complications that causes, which are oftentimes worse than the complications of being a superhero. Holland is a terrific actor and his Spider-Man is both heroic and awkward, a potent combination that allows for much hilarity.

Spider-Man: Homecoming is a legitimately entertaining film that doesn't require you to be steeped in the MCU. You can enjoy it entirely on its own merits and have a grand time. There is a big twist towards the end that genuinely surprised me, and my friend Laura and I had moments when we actually gasped out loud. The fact that a Spider-Man movie can still contain surprises is quite astonishing, so tamp down your incredulity and give this movie a chance. The franchise is in good hands once again.