Severance 1.1-1.2: Erving Goffman Meets The Prisoner

Finally saw the first two episodes of Severance.  Well it's only been up on Apple TV+ for less than a week, and I'd intended to watch them earlier, but got caught up in other things, and I wanted to give those two episodes my full attention.  Hey, I almost sound like a perpetually apologetic worker (John Turturro's Irving in particular) in that quasi-totalitarian workplace, in which workers or "innies" have no knowledge of their lives outside of work, and vice versa, hence the title of the series, Severance.

Totalitarian is a good word for the ambience of this new series, reminiscent in various ways of George Orwell's 1984 and The Prisoner (great 1960s TV series).  At this point, we don't know how or why this schizoid society arose, and neither do the inhabitants that we've met.  Fortunately, by the end of the second episode, we meet a former employee, Petey, who has somehow re-integrated his workplace and off-time personas, and is beginning to spark an undoing of this system, in which the severance is said to be irreversible.

One of the sociologists in our off-screen world who would have had a lot to say about Severance is Erving Goffman (1922-1982), who said in The Presentation of Everyday Life (1956/1959) we all have front regions, that we show to our public, and back regions, in which we interact with our close friends and families.  A waiter in a restaurant, for example, might be perfectly polite and friendly to an obnoxious customer, and then tell his or her spouse later that night about the jackass in the restaurant.   Of course, that waiter has continuous memories of both front (public) and back (private) regions, unlike the severed workers in Severance.

It's been a while since I've encountered as coldly and frighteningly intellectual a science fiction narrative as Severance.  In addition to Turturro, the series has Christopher Walken and Patricia Arquette in supportive roles, and Adam Scott in a strong performance in the lead role as Mark, severed, but now in contact with Petey on the outside.  I'm going to give this series, directed by Ben Stiller, a shot -- see you back here with my next review in a few days.

Big Little Lies: Elvis and Answers

A superb conclusion to the Big Little Lies - a superb conclusion to one of the best series ever on any television.   Although there's always room for a second season, and I hope it happens, this short season was about as good as it gets.

First, let me say that the Elvis renditions on trivia night were themselves worth the price of admission.  Zoe Kravitz's "Don't" - one of my favorite Elvis songs anyway - was nonpareil.  And Adam Scott's performance of "The Wonder of You" was nothing to sneer at, either.  (Though my wife tells me he was lip-synching - well, kudos to the singer and the lip synching.)

But back to the plot: the ending was just right for this kind of whodunnit, because the "culprit" was the person who we would have least reason to even remotely suspect.  Bonnie (played by Zoe Kravitz) had no reason to kill anybody.

Until she saw what Perry was doing.  And, even then, she didn't intend to kill him.

But, boy, did he deserve to die. (Which is why I put "culprit" in quotes.)  Not only because of what he had been doing to Celeste, but because he is revealed as Jane's rapist.  That was a wild twist, and maybe the one weakness in the plot - wouldn't she have recognized Perry?  However much he changed, his eyes, his voice would have been the same.  But we do get the additional irony here that not only was Perry to father of violent Max, but of sweet Ziggy.

I'll conclude with saying I honestly don't know who should get the Emmy for best lead actress, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman were both so extraordinary in different ways.  Reese Witherspoon walked the line between being a bitch and a caring woman just perfectly.  And Nicole Kidman as an abused woman, trying to hold together her marriage, was indelible.  As for acting, hats of to Alexander Skarsgard for an unforgettable performance as the despicable Perry.

I'd watch another season in a heartbeat.  But this short season has already made television history.


See also Big Little Lies: Big Good, Truly ... Big Little Lies 1.5: Multivalent Whudunnit

Tell Me You Love Me Concludes for First Season

A very satisfying finale to Tell Me You Love Me on HBO On Demand last night...

1. Jaime and Hugo's getting back together and married was entirely motivated. I also liked the realistic way this episode built up to their happy ending. They meet in a gas station mart. Next have dinner, but don't sleep together. Instead, they talk later that night on the phone... and seal the deal. There surely were more people with broken hearts in the world before Alexander Graham Bell.

2. Palek walks out, Carolyn loses their baby, Palek comes back. A harsh arc, but it's about the only way the couple could have proceeded. What's not entirely clear is whether Carolyn will ever completely forgive Palek (I would say not - but there was no clear indication one way or another on the show).

3. Katie and David come this close to splitting, but - at last - make passionate love. This was predictable - but nonetheless satisfying.

And let me say here that Ally Walker's acting as Katie was really exceptional - last night and on the entire series. She had just the right mix of vulnerability, hope, and fatigue. All the acting on the series was excellent - the women (Michelle Borth as Jaime and Sonya Walger as Carolyn) standing out maybe a little more than the men (Tim DeKay as David and Adam Scott as Palek) (and Ian Somerhalder as Nick and Luke Farrell Kirby as Hugo with less screen time as Jaime's guys) - but it was all fine, and Ally Walker was the best of the best.

Along with Jane Alexander, who was superb as Dr. May Foster, and as I've said before, has never put in anything less than a great performance in anything I've ever seen.

As I also said in my preview review of the first show, Tell Me You Love Me wasn't really about the nudity, though that certainly made for some nice scenes.

But the show was about relationships, and I'm looking forward to Season Two. Will we be seeing these three couples again? I'd say probably not, but I have no information about this. Surely May Foster will be back - with David Selby as her husband Arthur - and you can be sure I'll be posting reviews right here on Infinite Regress.

Hey, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it...

See also Tell Me You Love Me on HBO and Tell Me You Love Seven Times ... and Episode 8 ...


5-minute podcast about Tell Me You Love Me

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book

Tell Me You Love Me Seven Times

Well, I've now seen seven episodes of Tell Me You Love Me on HBO, and thought I'd report back to you, your dedicated correspondent, about how I think the series is progressing.

First, the sex continues to be explicit and good. Episode 7, still fresh in my mind, had some especially good scenes with Jamie and Hugo, and Carolyn and Palek (separately, that is).

And what about the four ongoing relationship stories? Let's take them in chronological order, starting with the youngest.

Jamie (Michelle Borth) and Hugo (Luke Farrell Kirby): are no longer a couple, even though they were together last night, and who knows what might happen next. Turns out that Jamie, who in the first episode was obsessing about Hugo's wandering eyes, has a history herself. This is one of the signatures of the series: With each couple, we start out thinking that just one of the partners is causing the problem. But we soon learn that both are responsible, in their own ways. Jamie has now slept with two other guys since Hugo left her, and may (though I doubt it) be falling in love with Nick (Ian Somerhalder - Lost's Boone! - he never met Penny on Lost, but it's good to see both of them on Tell Me You Love Me, anyway).

Carolyn (Sonya Walger - Lost's Penny) and Palek (Adam Scott): have for the most part been trying to have a baby (or, at least, Carolyn's been trying), and there are some good surprises in this story that I won't tell you about in case you haven't yet seen
them. I don't see much hope for this couple, mainly because Palek is, I don't know, such a pretty-boy cold fish.

David (Tim DeKay) and Katie (Ally Walker): As I mentioned in my review last month, I find this relationship the most far-fetched: a couple sleeping together in the same bed, but haven't had sex in a year. I mean ... sooner or later, they're close together, half asleep, something should lead to something more ... but, ok, leaving that aside and suspending my disbelief ... Theirs is indeed a complex story, and more than it seemed at first. Katie is contributing to the problem. She confided last night that, when she and David were having sex, she sometimes faked her orgasms... And maybe more than sometimes. I predict that by the end of this season, we'll see this couple making love again, but it will be interesting to see how they get there.

Dr. May Foster (Jane Alexander) and Arthur (David Selby): are clearly a fourth couple, which is a nice touch, since Dr. Foster is also the couples' therapist treating each of the other three couples. We see May and David having some pretty passionate sex - though not as explicit as the first two couples - and I give Tell Me You Love Me credit for going into that largely uncharted territory of hot sex in your seventies. (Hey, it's always good to see a rosy future.) Their problem as a couple is probably the most mundane - a lifelong love of May's, played by Ronnie Cox, comes back into her life when his wife dies. But the story is well rendered.

All said, then, Tell Me You Love Me is keeping the promise it made in the first episode: a portrayal of sex and relationships in diverse walks of life in the 21st century, with not much left covered. The acting is really excellent throughout, and if some of the stories seem a bit strained, the passion of the players more than makes up for it.


5-minute podcast of this review


See also Tell Me You Love Me on HBO and Tell Me You Love Me on Tell Me You Love Me: Episode 8

---

The Plot to Save Socrates

"challenging fun" - Entertainment Weekly

"a Da Vinci-esque thriller" - New York Daily News

"Sierra Waters is sexy as hell" - curled up with a good book