Author: Diana Paul

“The Staircase”—Entryway into Murder?

Written by Diana Paul on July 11, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on “The Staircase”—Entryway into Murder?

The Staircase (HBO Max released May 2022), loosely based on the 2004 French documentary by the same name, (see my October 2017 review of the Netflix documentary mini-series) dramatizes the death of wife Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette), and the subsequent indictment and conviction for her murder by her husband, the novelist Michael Peterson (Colin Firth). All the features of a murder mystery are here: deflection, denial, confession, and motive. Viewers who are fans of the true-crime genre will find this “inspired by a true story” mini-series to be even...

“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”–Full Exposure

Written by Diana Paul on July 3, 2022. Posted in movie reviews. 2 Comments on “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”–Full Exposure

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, (Hulu, released on June 17), a two-actor comedic drama set in a hotel room, tells their story while having sex. There’s nothing fussy, nothing to distract. Human interaction of the most intimate kind–emotionally, spiritually, psychologically, and sensually– is the main theme here. Nancy Stokes (Emma Thompson), a sixty-three year old, recent widow, has never had an orgasm in her 31-year marriage. Fearing that this may be her last chance to find out what she has been missing, she hires a young 24-year-old male...

“Gaslit”–“The Martha Mitchell Effect”

Written by Diana Paul on June 26, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on “Gaslit”–“The Martha Mitchell Effect”

This STARZ series, released immediately before the 50th anniversary of the Watergate scandal, reveals the familiar but also the untold stories of Richard Nixon and his circle of subordinates and eventual whistleblowers. Gaslit takes us back to the divided America of the early 1970s (pending the “end” of the Vietnam War) with comparisons to the post-Trump havoc of 2022. First and foremost, however, Gaslit and the Netflix documentary The Martha Mitchell Effect peel back the skin on the story of two marriages: how loyalty to a president over a spouse makes...

“The First Lady” (2022)–Second to None

Written by Diana Paul on June 20, 2022. Posted in movie reviews, Television reviews. 1 Comment on “The First Lady” (2022)–Second to None

Three remarkable women, in The First Lady, a Showtime mini-series (released April 17), provided indispensable support to their husbands before and throughout their presidencies. Eleanor Roosevelt (Gillian Anderson), Betty Ford (Michelle Pfeiffer), and Michelle Obama (Viola Davis)–all three made soul-crushing sacrifices, wearing masks of the “political wife” who stands by her man. Almost miraculously, they achieved meaningful successes on their own, despite the political machinery determined to relegate them to merely decorative roles, a poise...

“Tokyo Vice”–Yakuza on Ice

Written by Diana Paul on June 13, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. No Comments on “Tokyo Vice”–Yakuza on Ice

Tokyo Vice, adapted from the titular 2009 memoir, by Jake Adelstein, retells and also fictionalizes the experience Adelstein had as a 20-something American expatriate determined to be a reporter for the largest Japanese newspaper. The first episode details Jake’s (Ansel Elgort of “Baby Driver” and “West Side Story) obsession to pass the competitive entrance exam for one of the prestigious internships at Meicho newspaper. Hired in 1999 into a newsroom with strict rules of journalistic procedures Jake fights the beaucratic...

“Anatomy of a Scandal”–Autopsy of Privilege

Written by Diana Paul on June 6, 2022. Posted in Television reviews. 1 Comment on “Anatomy of a Scandal”–Autopsy of Privilege

Anatomy of a Scandal, a Netflix thriller mini-series created by David E. Kelley and Melissa Gibson, is based on Sarah Vaughan’s novel by the same name. Released on April 15, 2022, Anatomy of a Scandal takes the viewer into familiar territory: the “he said, she said” of a rape trial involving an illustrious and powerful political figure. Handsome and elegant British MP James Whitehouse (Rupert Friend) is a scion of the illustrious and aristocratic Whitehouse family. “Being a Whitehouse means you never lose,” his young son...