— The great Wesley Morris with another slam-dunk, a piece I wish I had thought to write. But that’s why I love him so much: he writes stuff I’ve felt, in an inchoate unformed way, and he puts words to stuff that needs to be said: Who We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Weinstein. An essay in celebration of the missed-opportunities of Annabella Sciorra’s career. He didn’t mention Reversal of Fortune, but I love her in that too. I love his observation that she – unlike most young actresses today – clearly comes from somewhere specific.
— My friend Dan Callahan’s extraordinary – and subtle and specific – analysis of Call Me By Your Name: Redefining Masculinity: On Armie Hammer In ‘Call Me By Your Name’. There’s a lot of really REALLY bad takes out there right now about this wonderful movie. You don’t have to like it but looping it into the Weinstein/predator/Roy Moore conversation is so dishonest and imbecilic and Victorian-era-tut-tutting that it shouldn’t be treated seriously. The “kid” in Call Me By Your Name is of consenting age. My first relationship was with a guy in his early 20s when I was that age. My senior prom date was 21 years old. The relationship was a disaster but not because of the age difference. People are rightfully protective of young people who can’t consent. But this movie is not that story. Unfortunately, here we are. And telling people to calm the fuck down does not go over well. Hence, we need nuanced commentary like this. I’ve only seen the movie once, and Dan’s essay makes me want to see it again. He picked up on way more than I sensed, in particular with the kid’s mother.
— Juggling five books at the moment. Reading in small spurts. Here are three of the books:
The Renoir biography in particular is phenomenal. One of the reading experiences of the year.
— The War Against the Jews: 1933-1945
, by Lucy Davidowicz. Published in 1986, it is still one of the most exhaustive studies about the systematic and measured and premeditated persecution of the Jews once Hitler came to power, describing how THIS brand of anti-Semitism was quite a different thing from what had come the centuries before, where the Jews could get concessions, special status granted, all the rest. Her portrait of ghetto life is particularly strong.
— Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power
, by Robert Kaplan. This is my commute read. I’ve written a lot about Robert Kaplan’s impact on my life when I first discovered his Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History
years ago. I can’t even express how much he’s opened up my perspective, how much I value him as a guide, even in those moments I think his take is clearly biased. (He makes no bones about it. He doesn’t pretend to be objective.) His travelogue/reporting through basically every country on earth, reporting on life on the ground, interviewing government officials as well as authors, intellectuals, writers, teachers, NGO workers, cab drivers … gives a welcome perspective on places we in the US only hear about in news stories on page 5. I fell behind with my Kaplan reading for a bunch of years although I continued to buy his books. There is now a backlog on my shelves. In the last two years I read his two books about the different branches of the US military and what they are up to – how they operate – but since those books he’s come out with 5 more. I’m playing catchup now. Monsoon is very good. Kaplan is hawkish in terms of American power, and senses the shift Eastward. Change is not to be fought against. It’s a losing battle. What does the future hold? How can we learn from the past? America has no past, not really, not compared to other Empires. He has the realism of a man who has been studying the rise and fall of Empires since he was a young man. Greece, Rome, Venice, Turkey, Oman, Persia … the storied histories of these ancient Empires informs how he understands the world now. He’s also a huge climate-change advocate and is extremely alarmed by what he sees as the catastrophic effects it will have on the Indian Ocean countries in particular. He has the perspective of millennia, not decades, not even centuries. He travels along all of the port cities on the shores of the Indian Ocean and all of the famous Bays and Canals, how crucial it is that the countries bordering these areas are stable, how will wars affect these passageway … It’s a Big Picture book, told in a small picture way, as he strolls along beaches, ports, talking to fishermen, dock workers, etc. I am loving it. I have a huge love for this writer. I am thankful for him.
— Scott Eyman (whose biography of John Wayne was one of the most pleasurable things I’ve read in a good long while) reviews the first biography about director Michael Curtiz for the Wall Street Journal. I can’t wait to read the book, but Eyman’s review is a knowledgeable and well-informed essay on Curtiz, and what made him unique. I notice, though, that there is no mention of King Creole, starring Elvis. It’s a wonderful film. Elvis still don’t get no respect. Never fear: I am here.
Wesley Morris…. shit. That guy is some writer. The other piece of his I read was on black male sexuality and Moonlight (from your link also). He’s just a great writer. Full of heart, critical, and deep. Must read more of him, thanks so much for spreading the word.
/You don’t have to like it but looping it into the Weinstein/predator/Roy Moore conversation is so dishonest and imbecilic and Victorian-era-tut-tutting that it shouldn’t be treated seriously./
Haha I love that! “Imbecilic”! Indeed. I saw the trailer for Call me by Your Name (from the director who did I am Love [!!!!!!] and A Bigger Splash, which I also loved) while seeing Lady Bird and then The Florida Project back to back (my 72-year old friend, Jeannie, usually sneaks in to another movie after she sees the first one at this particular theatre, so I popped my cherry on that one). Need to see it, the film looks incredible and deep, and reading what you wrote about it makes me want to see it more, then I can read your friend’s essay.
Brooke – yes, that Moolight piece. Wow!! and his Magic Mike review on Grantland – which was how I first became aware of him. He’s so good!
In re: Call Me By Your Name – yes! Luca! A Bigger Splash was one of my favorites last year. This is very different – and may drive some people crazy (not because of the age difference but because it is – perhaps – the slowest courtship that ever existed. Literally the first hour of the movie they touch like once. It’s all about the feeling of wanting someone. Not so much having the person.)
Really good teen-desire-achy-breaky-hormone movie.
But to call it the story of a pedophile??? IRRESPONSIBLE. INCORRECT. INSANE.
Oh god I didn’t even mention Annabella Sciorra, the subject of that piece. Gloria from the Sopranos!! Had no idea that was her or about her acting, really (I’ve got a lot to learn). She was incredible, unforgettable, tragic, as Gloria. Shit. I remember when she tells Tony to kill her in that famous scene, when she’s driving Carmella… god. I hope she gets some redemption and peace in the wake of all this.
Yes!! Annabella! She was freakin’ unforgettable in The Sopranos – more dangerous than any of the mobsters he was used to dealing with. Like, she basically brought him to his knees. She was totally tragic – BRAVE – throwing the steak at his head when he’s late?? I love how “put together” she was at her job. Her outfits, etc. But once he got to know her … you want to tell him to RUN. which was a very weird feeling, since at first I wanted to tell HER to run.
She is a wonderful actress.
I first became aware of her in True Love, Nancy Savoca’s first film. She’s soooo Brooklyn. SO talented. Jungle Fever too – she’s great in that!
I hope she starts working again in a substantial way. Character parts, whatever. She so deserves it.
This is exactly why I love Morris: “he writes stuff I’ve felt, in an inchoate unformed way, and he puts words to stuff that needs to be said.” The world feels so much more confusing to me when he and Jenna Wortham are on a break from the Still Processing podcast!
KC – I haven’t listened to that podcast. Will have to rectify!
His perspective is so interesting – he digs deep into what things mean, what’s missing in any given conversation.
and – in my opinion – he is the only critic – especially male critic – who GOT Magic Mike XXL.
This post made me laugh. I had an ebullient waiter, upon finding out I was in school for poetry, inform me that I absolutely must read the short stories of John Cheever (and William Faulkner). He also quoted Stephen Sondheim at me. It was a wonderful meal. Upon finding your mention of Cheever a day or two later, perhaps I really should invest in his shorts!
(Faulkner and I were already acquainted)
I love that this recommendation came from an “ebullient waiter” !!
John Cheever is … BLEAK, man! BLEAK. as a friend said on FB: “With Cheever, there is no catharsis.”
Totally true.
But these STORIES. They’re all versions of the same thing – populated by the same types of people – Westchester people, Upper East Side people, Mad Men people … and he is the poet of the abyss inside of the aspirational American dream. Also, DECADES before the phrase came into (overused, imho) vogue, he dissects and exposes “white male privilege” like nobody’s business. His lead characters are men who are baffled that the world doesn’t bow to their whims, disappointed that they can’t get what they want, that they won’t always be the Quarterback they were in high school. I am not sure he has compassion for these men – he KNEW those men, he WAS one of those men – but he NAILS it.
A master of the short story.
I’d put “The Swimmer” up there with “The Dead” as one of the best short stories of the 20th century.
Have fun with Cheever! Ha. At least we can be thankful that we do not live (hopefully) in a Cheever short story.