The Collective

My Book of the Month selection for November was The Collective by Alison Gaylin (the other options were A Little Hope by Ethan Joella, The Keeper of Night by Kylie Lee Baker, The Family by Naomi Krupitsky, and How to Marry Keanu Reeves in 90 Days by K.M. Jackson). To be perfectly honest, I was not very interested in any of these options and I even contemplated skipping November but I really wanted an add-on so I just defaulted to the thriller. I had very low expectations but, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! Camille Gardner lost her fifteen-year-old daughter Emily five years ago when the latter attended a fraternity party where she was drugged, raped, and left in the woods to die of exposure. The young man responsible, Harris Blanchard, was acquitted after his expensive lawyers assassinated Emily's character during the trial. Camille has been unable to move on from her daughter's death because she believes that her killer has gotten away with murder. She causes a scene at an awards ceremony for Blanchard which goes viral on social media and is then asked to join a private support group on Facebook for mothers who have lost children but have not received justice. Spurred on by the other members of this group, she begins sharing her disturbing fantasies about punishing Blanchard herself and this leads to an invitation to join another group on the dark web. This group is a collective of women who work together completing individual tasks assigned by the administrator to mete out the justice they were denied. She carries out an innocuous assignment because she believes that it is all just an elaborate role play to bring consolation to the group members but, when she realizes that it is all too real, she is strangely exhilarated until she is in so deep that she fears for her own safety. This novel is incredibly suspenseful with very high stakes and I loved all of the twists and turns, especially the final one which blew me away because I did not see it coming (even though I should have because the clues are there). I really liked Camille as an unreliable narrator because both her rage and her fear are palpable and I found her to be very sympathetic, particularly when she questions all of her parenting decisions and how they may have played a role in what happened to her daughter. I also enjoyed the discussion about vigilante justice and Camille's reaction to what happens to Blanchard is quite interesting. This is a riveting and thought-provoking read which I was not expecting to like as much as I did. I highly recommend it (and I will definitely be checking out more from this author).

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at HCT

Last night I saw Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at Hale Theatre and, unfortunately, it is the worst production I have ever seen at HCT. Last night was opening night for the THS cast and this could account for some of my issues with the show but not all of them. This musical is based on the 1968 movie of the same name and is set in motion when Jeremy (Asher Nehring) and Jemima Potts (Hailey Burnham) ask their father, an eccentric inventor named Caractacus Potts (Austin Dorman), to buy an old car that won the Grand Prix three years in a row but is now sitting in a junk yard. However, the Baron (Benjamin Henderson) and Baroness Bomburst (Ali Bennett) of Vulgaria also want the car and send their spies, Boris (Ashley Carlson) and Goran (Trevor Dean), to get it. Caractacus refurbishes the car, names it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and takes the children and Truly Scrumptious (Whitney Hatch) on a picnic at the seaside. They are attacked by Boris and Goran but they soon discover that Chitty can float and fly and this allows them to get away. Boris and Goran, thinking that Grandpa Potts (Daniel Hess) is the inventor responsible for Chitty's transformation, kidnap him and bring him to Vulgaria to make another car for the Baron's birthday. Caractacus, Truly, and the children travel to Vulgaria in Chitty to rescue him and hilarity ensues. The story is rather silly but it is usually a lot of fun. I say usually because last night was anything but fun. I am almost always impressed with the sets at HCT but with this show I was a bit disappointed. The breakfast making machine is really elaborate but it didn't seem to do anything (from where I was sitting), the giant bubble bath in "Chu Chi Face" is weird and the actors had a lot of difficulty maneuvering in and around it, and the doors in the toy shop kept sticking when they were opened and closed. The car, which is meant to be the showstopper, had technical difficulties during the big reveal which literally stopped the show, not once but, twice. The second stoppage happened near the end of the first act so intermission was called and we never did get to see the final scene (where Grandpa Potts is kidnapped) which caused some confusion in the second act. The costumes and props are fabulous (definitely the best part of the show along with the projections) but cast members were dropping hats and props all evening and it was distracting. I didn't feel like the cast was particularly strong (I even felt that some roles were miscast) and the only actor who really stood out for me was Henderson as the Baron (he is hilarious). The choreography in the big song and dance numbers is underwhelming and, honestly, it seemed as if the dancers needed a few more weeks of rehearsal because their performances looked chaotic. To be sure, this was opening night and a few mishaps are to be expected but the tickets are expensive so I don't think it is unreasonable to demand a show that is more polished than this one was. I have been an Early Bird season subscriber for almost 15 years and I have never seen such a mess before. Part of me wants to see the MWF cast later in the run to see if I enjoy it more but part of me never wants to see this particular show ever again! I was very disappointed with this production and I can't in good conscience recommend it.

Spencer

I love the movie Jackie so I have been looking forward to Spencer, Pablo Larrain's latest portrait of an enigmatic woman, for a really long time and I was excited to finally have the chance to see it last night.  Even though the reviews from the Venice Film Festival, where it had its premiere, were outstanding, I was not expecting such a brilliant performance from Kristen Stewart!  The movie takes place over three days during the Christmas holiday at the Queen's Sandringham Estate in 1991.  Princess Diana (Stewart) decides to forego her chauffeur and security detail to drive herself but gets lost along the way.  She laments the fact that she can no longer find her way in the part of England where she was raised and this is symbolic of how she has lost herself as a member of the Royal Family.  When she arrives, she immediately feels claustrophobic and constrained by royal protocol, tradition, and lack of privacy.  She finds several allies in the Royal Head Chef (Sean Harris) and a Royal Dresser (Sally Hawkins) but is constantly held in check by the Equerry, Major Alistair Gregory (Timothy Spall).  She receives a pearl necklace as a Christmas present from Prince Charles (Jack Farthing) but is dismayed when she realizes that it is the same as one worn by his mistress and it becomes a metaphor for how trapped she feels.  She is also upset about Prince Charles' insistence on taking Prince William (Jack Nielsen) shooting on Boxing Day and identifies with the pheasants because they are pretty but not very bright. In her despair, she begins seeing visions of Anne Boleyn (Amy Manson) and fears a similar fate.  Just when she is about to come undone she sneaks away to Park House, her childhood home near Sandringham, and finds herself again.  I am a huge fan of Stewart (I think she is vastly underrated as an actress) but even I was a bit skeptical when I heard that she had been cast as Princess Diana.  Many of my fears were allayed when the first images of her in character were released and then the first trailer, where I heard her accent for the first time, convinced me.  Stewart gives a highly nuanced performance that completely embodies Diana's fragile state of mind during this period in her life.  It is so transformative that I sometimes forgot that I was watching Stewart.  I also really appreciate that Larrain chose to focus on one pivotal moment, rather than depict her whole life (much as he did with Jackie which focuses on the immediate aftermath of JFK's assassination), because it allows the audience to go beyond what we think we know about Diana.  The costumes, production design, and art direction are absolutely gorgeous and I loved the score by Jonny Greenwood because the almost discordant themes intermingled between the piano and strings emphasize Diana's status as an outsider.  I loved this movie and I highly recommend it.

Note:  In the final scenes Diana is wearing an O.P.P. (Ontario Provincial Police) hat.  I loved seeing this because I am originally from Ontario.

Stephen Hough Plays Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1

I was so happy to be at Abravanel Hall for a Utah Symphony concert last night and, even though I wasn't very familiar with the pieces that were performed, I really enjoyed them both.  The orchestra began with Symphony No. 4 "The Inextinguishable" by Carl Nielsen and I thought it was incredibly dramatic.  It was written as the world was on the brink of World War I and represents the will to live.  The mood and the tempo change quite a few times throughout the piece to emphasize the ebb and flow of life.  Sometimes it is very mournful with themes played by a solo cello and a solo violin, sometimes it is hopeful with themes played by the woodwinds, and sometimes it is triumphant with themes played by the brass.  My favorite was the fourth and final movement because it features two sets of timpani, placed on opposite sides of the stage, and it seems like they are dueling with each other.  It is really intense and it was actually a lot of fun to watch the back and forth between timpanists George Brown and Eric Hopkins.  The piece ultimately ends in victory with stirring themes by the strings and brass and I loved it so much.  So did the rest of the audience (people were talking about it in the elevator after the concert) because the orchestra and guest conductor Rune Bergmann, who is adorable, received a well-deserved standing ovation.  After the intermission the orchestra was joined by pianist Stephen Hough, who is very popular with Utah Symphony audiences, for Piano Concerto No. 1 by Johannes Brahms.  The piece also begins very dramatically with just the orchestra playing for quite a while before the piano enters softly.  Eventually the theme played by the piano gathers momentum to become really powerful and I loved watching Hough's fingers flying up and down the keyboard.  The second movement was my favorite because it is incredibly romantic and emotional (it was supposedly written for Clara Schumann, the wife of composer Robert Schumann, with whom Brahms had a complicated friendship) and Hough played it with so much feeling.  The final movement seems almost frenzied in comparison but it is no less beautiful.  I really enjoyed this concert, even more than I was expecting to, and I recommend getting a ticket (go here) to tonight's performance of the same program.

Note:  I am a season subscriber to the Masterworks series this year and my seat is next to the two cutest little old ladies.  They greet me like a long lost friend now and wondered where I was the last concert (I had to exchange my ticket in order to see James Taylor that night).

Eternals

The reviews for Eternals have been mixed (to say the least) so I have been looking forward to seeing it in order to form my own opinion.  I finally had the opportunity at a Thursday preview last night and, honestly, I think it is absolutely brilliant.  The Celestials, a powerful ancient alien race, send a group of ten Eternals, mysterious beings equipped with superpowers, to Earth in 5000 B.C. to fight the Deviants, deformed creatures who have evolved to kill humans.  Ajak (Salma Hayek) is the leader of the group and has the ability to heal, Sersi (Gemma Chan) has the ability to manipulate matter, Ikaris (Richard Madden) has the ability to fly and project cosmic energy from his eyes, Kingo (Kumail Nanjiani) has the ability to project cosmic energy from his fingertips, Sprite (Lia McHugh) has the ability to create illusions, Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) has the ability to invent new technology, Makkari (Lauren Ridloff) has super speed, Druig (Barry Keoghan) has the ability to manipulate minds, Gilgamesh (Don Lee) has super strength, and Thena (Angelina Jolie) has the ability to create any weapon out of energy.  The Eternals are forbidden from interfering in human history but they ultimately destroy all of the Deviants and scatter to live their own lives among humans.  In the present day, Sersi is in London working at the Natural History Museum while caring for Sprite and having a relationship with her co-worker Dane Whitman (Kit Harington) after being left by her partner Ikaris 500 years earlier, Ajak lives on a horse ranch in South Dakota, Kingo (a source of much comic relief) is a Bollywood star in Mumbai and relies on his manager Karun (Harish Patel), Gilgamesh is caring for Thena in the Outback of Australia, Druig is protecting the rain forests in the Amazon and ruling a tribe of indigenous people, Phastos is living in Chicago with his husband Ben (Haaz Sleiman) and son Jack (Esai Daniel Cross), and Makkari is an archaeologist collecting ancient artifacts in Iraq.  When Ikaris finds all of the Eternals again after the sudden reappearance of a Deviant, they discover that the Celestials pose an even greater threat to humanity than the Deviants and they must each individually decide how to respond.  I loved almost everything about this movie but I particularly loved how the character arcs and motivations for each of the Eternals are informed by the mythology surrounding their names (I didn't know anything about these characters so it was a lot of fun figuring out the references, especially the allusions to Circe, Athena, Ajax, Icarus, and Mercury) and I loved the relationships between the characters and how they are developed in a nonlinear way throughout ancient history to build the narrative cumulatively.  I also loved the philosophical debates between the characters about whether or not humanity deserves to be saved and I think the resolution of this question is beautiful and poignant.  I enjoyed the diversity of the characters, particularly one who is deaf and one who is openly gay, and I was beyond impressed with the sensitive depiction of a specific illness. Most of all, I loved that all of the above generated lots of epic discussions (which is a hallmark of great movies, in my opinion) between groups of people in the theater, the lobby, and the parking lot at my screening!  The performances are strong, the visuals are gorgeous, the action sequences are a lot of fun, and the score is amazing.  This movie is now my favorite in the MCU and is definitely one of my favorites of 2021.  I highly recommend it!

Note:  Several young girls squealed at the mid-credits scene.  I squealed at the end-credits scene!