Don't tell Carol...

HBO’s LGBT History: Nightingale (2015)

Manuel is working his way through all the LGBT-themed HBO productions.

Last week we visited Westeros and talked about Varys as a mainstream example of asexuality; definitely mining new ground for this weekly column that’s slowly coming to an end. This week we turn to a film that inadvertently makes a great entry to TFE’s unofficial Actor Month celebration (that it also features an “April Showers” scene means it’s meant to be): Elliott Lester’s Nightingale.

To say the film “stars David Oyelowo” doesn’t quite do it justice; it only stars Oyelowo. That’s only one of the things that makes Nightingale an odd if fascinating entry in this HBO history. For once, since the film is presented through the eyes of Oyelowo’s Peter Snowden—we never leave his house or see him interact with anyone else except for the phone calls to which we’re only given his side of the conversation—the word “gay” or “homosexuality” is never uttered; attentive viewers are clued early what with Peter’s subtle flamboyance (his colorful robe, the pride he shows in the red bow tie he wears to work, his penchant for singing old tunes) but even as Peter’s world begins to unravel, it’s unclear how much Peter, a devout and faith-driven army vet, understands his own sexuality in terms legible by LGBT advocates.

"Events have unfolded unexpectedly."

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When you can't find the words...

I don't know why, but I just adore it. The feeling it gives. I know that sounds terribly vague.

The Only Thing You Have To Fear Is

Team Experience from the Tribeca Film Festival - here's Jason on "Rebirth" and "Fear Inc."

It's weird that I brought up the 2006 film Severance last week when reviewing director Christopher Smiths' latest, because as soon as I sat down to watch Rebirth, writer-director Karl Mueller's new film about a suburban office drone sucked into a nightmare spiritual retreat, Severance was on my mind once again. Rebirth is never half as nasty as that film but the dots are there to be connected. This, too, is a satire most black about the search for that something greater than the proverbial pushing of pencils.

Kyle (Fran Kranz, Whedonite staple) starts the movie with a life that's tossed off in one of those meaningfully repetitive montages straight out of Fight Club. You know the type: coffee, car, cubicle, coffee, car, cubicle, and on and on to a not-early-enough grave...

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Judy by the Numbers: "For Me And My Gal"

Anne Marie is tracking Judy Garland's career through musical numbers...

 In 1942, Judy Garland met a man who would come to be one of her biggest onscreen costars and supporters at MGM. When he was cast in For Me and My Gal opposite Garland, Gene Kelly was as upstart Broadway star, hot off Pal Joey and trying to make the transition to Hollywood stardom. According to Kelly, Judy Garland eased that transition; she was gracious, she was giving, and she was a consummate professional. Gene Kelly, stage dancer, learned how to perform for the camera by watching Judy Garland.

The Movie: For Me And My Gal (1942)
The Songwriters: Edgar Leslie & E. Ray Goetz (lyrics) and George W. Meyer (music)
The Players: Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, George Murphy directed by Busby Berkeley

The Story: The title number of For Me And My Gal shows off the unique partnership Garland and Kelly shared. The two costars sing at the piano, a staging familiar to Garland fans who'd watched her share a similar scene with Mickey Rooney many times in the past. But Kelly is no Rooney. Where Mickey would mug, Gene floats. Where Mickey would riff, Gene croons. This isn't to say that Kelly can't be funny, but his relationship to Garland is different. Mickey and Judy were a couple of firecracker kids; he gave her zing and she gave him class. Judy and Gene are two contrasting talents; his dancing complements her songs. Each provides where the other is weak, creating a harmonious musical union. It's no wonder than Judy and Gene would go on to share another three movies together.