The Cold Millions

The November selection for the Barnes & Noble Book Club was The Cold Millions by Jess Walter. I must admit that I really struggled with this because the subject matter was not particularly interesting to me and I found Walter's prose to be unnecessarily flowery. I picked it up and put it down again multiple times and barely got it finished before the live Q&A with the author on Tuesday. This sweeping historical novel, based on actual events, is set in the Pacific Northwest in 1909 and follows two orphan brothers from Montana who ride the rails looking for itinerant work. Gregory "Gig" and Ryan "Rye" Dolan end up in Spokane and get caught up the free speech demonstrations by the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or Wobblies as they are more commonly known. Gig, the elder brother, is fiery and idealistic and and ends up in jail, along with hundreds of others, for giving a speech during a riot. Rye, desperate to get Gig released, becomes a pawn for an eccentric group of characters (both real and fictional) who use him for their own ends, including a wealthy industrialist hoping to eradicate the unions from his businesses, a vaudeville showgirl with competing alliances, a hard-boiled assassin out to prove he is still up for the job, a double-crossing anarchist with plans of his own, a Pinkerton detective who is not who he appears to be, and a union activist who happens to be 19 and pregnant. Will Gig survive the beatings and hunger strikes in prison with his idealism in tact? Will Rye sell his soul to save Gig? Will the unions do anything to change the inequality between the wealthy few and the cold millions who struggle to survive? It sounds like it would be a compelling read and most people in our virtual discussion thought it was. Unfortunately, I did not. There are a bewildering number of characters and the narrative alternates between too many different POVs. I sometimes found it difficult to keep all of them straight, especially all of the minor characters meant to provide color rather than advance the plot (I sometimes have the same problem with Dickens and Hugo). I was not very invested in any of the characters because they are kept at such a distance (maybe it is due to the aforementioned flowery prose) so it is hard to sympathize with any of them. I actually found Rye, the main protagonist, to be quite unappealing because he is so passive. He is merely swept along by the actions of other characters without really taking a stand and I was a bit disappointed with the epilogue because he seems to benefit from the labor movement throughout his life without much involvement. In fact, I thought the ending was anticlimactic after the slog to get through it but I appreciate the author's comment in our discussion about wanting to demonstrate that the struggle still continues today. I usually love historical fiction but this just didn't do it for me. I am clearly in the minority so I recommend reading it for yourself if the topic sounds interesting to you.

Note:  The Barnes & Noble Book Club is taking the month of December off and will return with a new selection in January.

A Christmas Carol at HCT 2020

With HCT's new guidelines for socially distanced seating (which I actually applaud), I didn't think that I would be able to see A Christmas Carol this year. Even though I have seen it more times than I can count, the thought of missing out on yet another Christmas tradition made me a bit sad. Then HCT released a few tickets last weekend and I quickly grabbed one for an early show yesterday afternoon! I enjoyed it so much, probably more than I ever have before! HCT's production is a lovely adaptation of the well-known classic by Charles Dickens about the reclamation of Ebenezer Scrooge (David Weeks) by the Ghosts of Christmas Past (Jackie Spendlove), Present (Jonathan Fifield), and Future (Spencer Hohl). What I love most about HCT's production is the addition of Christmas music in between every scene by an octet (Brett Myers, Taylor J. Smith, Michael Von Forell, Josh Shimizu, Emily Hawkes, Mindi Hansen, Emily Leishman Roh, and Erin Camp Worland) and in certain party scenes by the characters. I love Christmas music so much and I think the addition really helps add to the mood. My favorite song by the octet is "What Child is This?" and I also really love "Bring a Torch Jeanette, Isabella" during the Fezziwig's party (it was my favorite song to sing when I was in the choir in college) and "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" during Fred's party. This year they added a violin (Katie Frandsen) to the musical numbers and I loved it! Because I've seen this production so many times I always anticipate seeing the same actors return to the same role year after year but this year there were quite a few new faces!  I particularly loved Elijah Thomas as Charles Dickens/Fred because his performance of the opening prologue (it seems like it was expanded this year) gave me goosebumps, Anthony LeRoy Lovato as Bob Cratchit because he is so tender after the death of Tiny Tim, and Jonathan Fifeld as the Ghost of Christmas Present because he is jolly but also a little bit stern. Of course the young actor playing Tiny Tim (Payson Inkley) is absolutely adorable and he really works it when he says his iconic line at the end of the show. The elaborate Victorian sets on the turntable (I love the rag and bottle shop) and the opulent costumes effectively transport the audience back to London in the 1800s but, because I was sitting on the side in the back of the theatre, I sometimes had a hard time seeing all of the projections and I missed the climactic moment when the Ghost of Christmas Future shows Scrooge his name on the tombstone. It mattered not because this show is full of so much Christmas cheer that you can't help leaving the theatre with a smile on your face and a vow to keep Christmas in your heart all year long! I highly recommend getting a ticket and, last I heard, there are still some available for a few shows (go here)

Come Play

I really wanted to see Come Play when it was first released in October but, for one reason or another, I never made it.  I noticed that it was still playing in theaters and, since I had nothing to do last night, I decided to see it.  To be honest, the main reason I wanted to see it is because of Azhy Robertson who was so good in Marriage Story.  This time Robertson is Oliver, a young autistic boy who is non-verbal and uses electronic devices exclusively to communicate.  He is bullied by the kids at school and his parents, Sarah (Gillian Jacobs) and Marty (John Gallagher, Jr.), argue about what is best for him so he finds solace in watching Spongebob Squarepants whenever he feels isolated.  A children's story called Misunderstood Monsters suddenly appears on his phone and tablet and he reads about a monster named Larry who has no friends because he is different.  Larry tells Oliver that all he wants is for him to be his friend.  At first Larry manifests himself through various electronic devices but he soon enters the real world by draining power from electricity, most notably from lights, to terrorize everyone.  Ultimately, Oliver must decide if having Larry as a friend is better than having no one.  Reviews have been mixed but, while I wouldn't call this a great movie, I liked it more than I thought I would.  Robertson's performance is the best thing going for this movie (most of the other performances are incredibly bland) and, even though he has almost no dialogue, his facial expressions and body language convey so many different emotions.  He is riveting, especially in the scenes where he is overstimulated.  The message that screens are no substitute for human interaction gets a bit muddled in the execution but it is definitely thought-provoking, especially now when so many things are virtual rather than face to face.  There are a few really menacing sequences, particularly when Larry appears in front of Oliver's friends at a sleepover (which is incredibly scary!), but for the most part the narrative relies on cheap jump scares rather than on atmosphere.  It is inconsistent but I enjoyed it enough to recommend it to fans of the genre.

Mank

The movie Mank is getting a lot of Oscar buzz right now (for Best Picture and for director David Fincher) so, of course, I wanted to see it.  I had the chance yesterday and the hype is definitely real!  Screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz (Gary Oldman) is a washed up alcoholic who has burned all of his bridges in Hollywood but he is chosen by Orson Welles (Tom Burke), who has been given carte blanche by RKO Pictures, to write the screenplay for his first movie.  However, this comes with a "for hire" clause which means that Mankiewicz will be paid but won't receive credit for writing the script. When Mankiewicz is injured in a serious car accident, Welles sets him up on an isolated ranch in the desert with three minders, a housekeeper named Fraulein Frieda (Monika Gossman), a typist named Rita Alexander (Lily Collins), and producer John Houseman (Sam Troughton), to keep him working on a strict deadline and, more importantly, to keep him sober.  As he writes what will become Citizen Kane, there are flashbacks to his relationships with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst (Charles Dance) and studio mogul Louis B. Mayer (Arliss Howard).  Mankiewicz is disillusioned by how they used their power to influence the 1934 California gubernatorial race and this informs the script.  His interactions with actress Marion Davies (a brilliant Amanda Seyfried), Hearst's mistress, are also explored, although he repeatedly denies that she is the model for Susan Alexander Kane.  He finishes the script and, despite warnings from his brother Joseph (Tom Pelphrey) and Marion that it is dangerous, he decides that it is the best thing he has ever written and fights Welles for credit.  This movie is incredibly dense and it assumes that viewers know the plot of Citizen Kane (it is referenced dozens of times without explanation) but it is absolutely brilliant.  The story, which may or may not be true (authorship of Citizen Kane has been disputed for decades), is fascinating and cinephiles will find the depiction of Old Hollywood as glamorous but also corrupt very intriguing and thought-provoking.  It is a technical masterpiece with black and white cinematography, shot composition, lighting, and editing that mimic the look and feel of Citizen Kane and an authentic-sounding score recorded in mono by regular Fincher collaborators Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.  Oldman is outstanding but I was especially impressed with Seyfried who gives the best performance of her career.  The supporting cast is also very good (cinephiles will love all of the cameos portraying Old Hollywood legends), especially Ferdinand Kingsley as Irving Thalberg (the scene where he says he makes no apology for doing what he has to do gave me goosebumps) and Dance (the scene where Hearst escorts Mankiewicz out of San Simeon also gave me goosebumps).  I loved it and consider it to be a must-see for film aficionados but I concede that some might find it confusing (especially for anyone who hasn't seen Citizen Kane) or boring (it is, after all, about the writing of a screenplay).  It is in theaters for a limited run and then it will stream on Netflix beginning December 4. 

Christmas Porch

I will sometimes put a Christmas wreath on my door but I have never decorated my porch before (many of my neighbors do).  Since I've gone a little overboard with my Christmas decorations this year, I decided that I might as well go all the way!  My sister bought this sign from a vendor that she met at a craft boutique and, when I said I wanted one, she asked her if she had any of them left.  I was so excited when she said that she would make me one!  I really love it because it is black but still obviously Christmas themed!

Then I found this cute door mat on Amazon.  I am really liking buffalo checks right now!

The last item that I needed for my porch was a wreath.  I usually just buy a pine wreath from Home Depot on Black Friday but I found this one on Facebook and had to have it!

A fourteen-year-old girl near me was making them to sell to earn money for Christmas and I liked the idea of supporting her.  I also really liked the wreath because it is really simple and has a buffalo check ribbon (it is also really sparkly).  My sister bought one as well and we got seriously lost in her subdivision when we went to pick them up!

I really love how it looks!  I rarely invite anyone over and I almost never use this door to enter my house (I go in through the garage) but it makes me happy!  Maybe the Amazon delivery man will appreciate it?

Note:  My sister thinks that I will start decorating the porch for every season now.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that!