Review: The Master

“I have unlocked, and discovered, a secret. A secret to living in these bodies that we hold.”

                                                                                    -Lancaster Dodd, The Master

 

Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) sprints across a foggy cabbage patch, breathing heavily as he’s being chased, in a gorgeous tracking shot that reminded me I was in the hands of a director who knows his way around a camera. It isn’t totally clear how Freddie, a WWII Navy Veteran, ended up there in the first place, or why he is running. But it doesn’t matter. He’s running from himself as much as that particular situation. Over and over in The Master, director Paul Thomas Anderson returns to a shot of the wake behind a ship at sea, informing us of this aimlessness of character and narrative that we are viewing.

Skulking around on a pier somewhere, Freddie hops aboard a boat, and wakes up the next morning after apparently blacking out from his own brand of hooch. It is on board this vessel that he meets Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), the charismatic leader of a group loosely based on Scientology but only referred to in the movie as “The Cause.” Dodd has clearly taken interest in Freddie, and subjects Freddie to an intense round of “processing,” an exercise in which Freddie is forced to answer a series of extremely personal questions without blinking, designed to force the subject into an intense self-examination.

Not really a spiritual group as much as a metaphysically and philosophically based group, The Cause is nevertheless used by Anderson as a treatise on religion (which, surprisingly, is not depicted nearly as poorly as one would imagine). Anderson has treaded religious ground before. In There Will Be Blood, his previous film, Anderson uses an oil tycoon and a rural church minister to explore both the competing and similar interests of American capitalism and religion. In The Master, there is a similar struggle between competing forces: man’s individuality and instinctual nature, versus his need for control and purpose.  Whereas in There Will Be Blood, the competing interests exploit each other to gain an advantage, here the two men both desperately want something that the other has.

It is this symbiotic give-and-take relationship upon which the film plants its flag and explores its themes. To that end, a quick word on the acting. This is, to me, the best all around acting in a film since...I don’t even know, probably Sideways in 2004 or even before that.  Joaquin Phoenix is the best he’s ever been, giving a performance that is threatening, physical, and altogether unpredictable.  Hoffman’s foil to Phoenix, however, is on a completely different level (for me).  This is the epitome of a controlled performance; yet he is also charismatic, gregarious, and just mysterious enough to make you question his motives.  This is a performance that will stick with me for a long time.  Amy Adams gives a similarly restrained performance as the woman behind the man, and she probably won’t receive much Oscar love for it, but it deserves to be rewarded nonetheless. 

The film never really explores what The Cause is really all about, and, although this is somewhat unsatisfying for the viewer, it is purposely left ambiguous.  For how often do our own religions, “causes” which we are knowledgeable of, leave us grasping for answers at times? One who claims to fully understand the metaphysical or spiritual realms of the universe we live in is either truly ignorant, or a fraud (like Dodd?).  This, then, is the irony in Dodd’s quote at the top and in many of his hollow methods and doctrines throughout the film.  

Nevertheless, there are a couple of scenes in particular that do go into detail about The Cause, containing excellent exchanges dialogue and debate. If I have one criticism of the film, it is that it the script is much sharper when it is exploring ideas rather than characters. But it is not meant to be sharp; it is meant to be visceral and raw, which it succeeds in mightily. This struggle is summed up in what is the most revealing line of dialogue in the film, as Dodd tells Freddie “If you figure out a way to live without a master, any master, be sure to let the rest of us know, for you would be the first in the history of the world.” Dodd, in a way, is right—no one has ever lived without a master. Could it be, though, the only Master we ever truly serve is our own selves? 

 

Top 10 Most Anticipated for Fall 2012

Kids around the country are back in school, I’ve had a few fantasy football drafts already, and soon enough the Pumpkin Spice Latte will be back, so I guess that means it’s time for me to write one of my favorite columns of the year: my Top-10 Most Anticipated Films for the Fall.  

10.  Argo (dir. Ben Affleck)

This was a last-minute addition to the list, as it is starting to play the festival circuit and already reeling in rave reviews.  Ben Affleck’s first two films (Gone Baby Gone and The Town) were the work of someone who really knows his way around the camera, and with each film he makes it’s becoming clear that he will be around for awhile, improving upon himself with his work.  Perhaps his best strength as a filmmaker, though, is his interest in telling great stories.  This true story about the Iranian hostage crisis looks to be as intense as it will be fun, and between the plotline and the supporting cast, I have no doubt this will be entertaining.   

9. Amour (dir. Michael Haneke)

(No Trailer Yet)

Okay, this list in general is surprisingly devoid of art-house films that none of my readers will end up seeing, so I had to throw at least one in here.  Bonus points for me, also, as this is a foreign film.  My relationship with Michael Haneke’s films is an odd one—no other director in the business can make me say “What the *bleep* am I watching right now?” more than he does.  They are not in any way “enjoyable” films.  Yet, his last film, The White Ribbon, is a recent example of a director who is in complete control of his work, showing the perfect balance of restraint and flair.  I look forward to seeing what he can do in this film—a relationship drama. 

8. Looper (dir. Rian Johnson)

(Trailer)

If all I told you about this film is that the words “Bruce Willis,” “Joseph Gordon-Levitt,” and “time-travel” are involved, wouldn’t that be enough to make you want to see it?  In all seriousness, the plot and trailer alone for this film didn’t really put it on my most anticipated radar, but I keep reading things about how the script is amazing, and the actors all say it’s the best project they’ve EVER been a part of, and things like that.   Additionally, it’s by the director of Brick, one of the most criminally underrated movies of last decade (which also starred Levitt), so this one definitely has my curiosity piqued. 

7. Skyfall (dir. Sam Mendes)

(Trailer)

I have very few hard and fast rules in life, but one of those is that I see every movie starring Javier Bardem.  Bonus points if he’s a villain and has a terrible haircut in the movie.  But seriously, I’m really excited for this next installment in the Daniel Craig-era Bond franchise.  Quantum of Solace was a massive disappointment to me after the success of Casino Royale, but the trailer for this film is stunning, Sam Mendes is directing it, and again, Javier Bardem is involved. 

6. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (dir. Peter Jackson)

(Trailer)

Between The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, Spiderman, The Hunger Games, and the upcoming ending to the Twilight series (FINALLY), this was definitely a banner year for fanboy films, and the The Hobbit should be a nice way to cap off all of this madness at the end of the year.  I would be lying if I said I was as excited for this film as I was for all of the Lord of the Rings films, only because The Hobbit seems kind of anticlimactic story-wise compared to the former, and it will be hard to make it feel like it’s not something we’ve already seen.  However, I do have faith that Peter Jackson has a few tricks left up his sleeve, and I will be there front and center and ready to be thoroughly entertained when this film is released on December 14^th.  Oh, and I just found out that an actor named Adam Brown is playing one of the dwarves in the film, so yeah, badass.

5. The Place Beyond the Pines (dir. Derek Cianfrance)

(No Trailer Yet)

Ryan Gosling should be in all the movies.  He continually improves upon his craft, while attaching himself to interesting and out-of-the-ordinary projects.  This film, from the director of 2010’s Blue Valentine, stars Gosling as a “motorcycle stunt driver who considers committing a crime to provide for his wife and family.”  Sounds a lot like another recent Gosling film...Drive.  But hey, what could be bad about that? 

 4. Django Unchained (dir. Quentin Tarantino)

(Trailer)

This film would probably be higher on my list, if A) Terrence Malick wasn’t making a movie this year, and B) I hadn’t heard so much about the production hell that this film went through.  Casting changes left and right, even during shooting, can’t possibly be good for a film.  But hey, it’s Tarantino.  His worst movie is better than most, and his best movie is better than almost every movie.  So I have no trouble looking forward to a western in which Leonardo DiCaprio is a theatrical villain. 

3. Lincoln (dir. Steven Spielberg)

(No Trailer Yet)

Putting this at #3 is somewhat a leap of faith for me, and I’m really holding out hope that Daniel Day Lewis starring as the titular 16^th POTUS will at the very least make a run-of-the-mill film into a very good one.  The ceiling for this film, on the other hand, is unlimited.   

2. To the Wonder (dir. Terrence Malick)

(No Trailer Yet)

I’ve spoken of my love affair with Terrence Malick on the blog before, and though he released another film just last year (The Tree of Life), he has only made 6 films in 40 years counting this one, so it is still a very notable event when a new film from him is released.  Ben Affleck and Rachel MacAdams star as lovers in what we can only guess is a romantic drama, because as usual with his films, plot details are quite thin at the moment.  Malick’s directorial style is extremely suited to love stories, and the portions of his films that feature love stories are always some of my favorite aspects of his films.  To The Wonder is dropping in at the Venice Film Festival this week, so I’m sure we will know more details and perhaps have a trailer in the near future.    Oh, and once again, Javier Bardem.

1. The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

(Trailer)

I’m kind of going out on a semi-limb here, because as far as auteur directors go, PTA is certainly not one of my favorites, although I respect his work. I’m putting it as my #1 for several reasons.

(1) The cast is amazing, and Joaquin Phoenix and Phillip Seymour Hoffman look stunning                 in the trailer.

(2) I’m getting more of the “incredibly unsettling” vibe from the trailer that I so much enjoyed in Anderson’s most recent film, There Will Be Blood.

(3)Musical score by Johnny Greenwood (of Radiohead)

(4) Intense religious subject matter

The last couple of years when I wrote this column, my #1 most-anticipated film didn't crack my top-10 list for the year, or even get close, really.  I hope Paul Thomas Anderson's film can break this cycle, and I look forward to finding out when The Master is released on September 21.  

Review: 'The Dark Knight Rises'

“Bruce...don’t be afraid.”

These are the last words of Thomas Wayne to a young Bruce in Batman Begins as he lay dying, after being robbed and murdered in a dark Gotham alleyway.  As I watched all three films in Christopher Nolan’s wildly popular Batman franchise this past week, the thematic current of fear began to form in my mind as I watched the trilogy play out.  As the second act of The Dark Knight Rises comes to a close with Bruce climbing his way out of a daunting pit, I realized that perhaps the actions of Batman and Bruce Wayne were steered by this yearning to heed the words of his dying father.  In this way and many many others, Nolan gives us a more than satisfying conclusion to his Dark Knight legend.

When the story begins, Gotham has been safe for the eight years since the conclusion of The Dark Knight.  Batman has not been seen nor heard from after taking the blame for Two-Face’s killings, and Bruce Wayne has become an injured hermit, holed up in his rebuilt Wayne Manor.  The film begins with Commissioner Gordon’s speech on “Dent Day”, where he almost divulges the truth of what happened the night Two-Face/Harvey Dent died, and how Batman did not commit the murders. 

I appreciated that they brought this moral failing to the forefront of the conversation; although it is not until later that Gotham city finds out that Dent was the one who turned, it sets the table for one of the themes of the film: although Gotham is “safe,” its safety was built on a foundation of lies, and the “Dent Act” was mere political subterfuge by Gordon, et al, to keep criminals off the streets that Harvey Dent had put away while he was still alive.  So underneath the current of safety in the city, perhaps even a greater evil than the Joker lies in waiting—its own citizens.  It’s upon this shaky foundation that the villain Bane is able to emerge, and exploit the city, breaking Batman, Bruce Wayne, and the entire city down to their lowest possible state. 

Of course, the question that was on everybody’s mind after the success of The Dark Knight was, could Rises possibly be as good as its predecessor without the explosive presence of Heath Ledger’s Joker? My answer is a decisive yes and no.  The Joker was never going to be topped as a villain in this franchise, but after going back and watching TDK last week, the movie had several gaping weak spots for me that I thought Rises improved upon. 

For instance, TDK has some moments of bad acting by almost everyone except Ledger and Bale.  Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, even the great Gary Oldman could have been better coached by Nolan in spots, and a lot of the extras in the film should have been forced to take an acting class or two.  Contrast that to Rises, which is very well acted across the board (except for one noticeable glare, which I will get to in a little bit).  Bale shines here, and is given much more to do than in the previous film.  Hathaway is much better as Catwoman than I expected, and really gives a controlled, even performance.  Joseph-Gordon Levitt is also a standout, and inserts an emotional presence into the film that is perhaps more relatable for the audience than any other character in this series, as the everyman policeman Robert Blake.    

Because the Joker gave us the most entertaining moments of the series that couldn’t be recreated, I think Nolan and company smartly went a completely different direction with Bane.  As an expelled member of the League of Shadows, of which Bruce was also once a member, Bane knows how Bruce/Batman functions as well as anyone, and can exploit his weaknesses.  The Joker brought chaos into Gotham and Batman’s world, but he never had the ability to understand Batman in a way that could permanently bring him down for good; whereas Bane, although not as cunning, had the power to break Batman’s body and soul—first by breaking his back in a brutal fistfight, then by taking him to a foreign prison to rot as Bruce watches Bane destroy Gotham from the inside.

This film is by no means perfect.  Certain plot points seem slightly half-baked in order to make the story work out the way Nolan wanted, rather than letting them develop organically.  The character Miranda Tate in particular fits this bill, and her not unexpected turn as Talia-al-Ghul at the end seemed unearned, and perhaps even unbelievable.  This is the second film in a row for Nolan that he failed to direct Marion Cotillard to a good performance as the antagonist.

Also, Selina Kyle and Bruce ending up together at the end seemed little more than an assurance to the audience that Bruce was happy.  Their relationship was not established in a way that made this believable to me, other than a head-scratching kiss right in the middle of a countdown to a nuclear weapon’s detonation.  But overall, for a 167-minute film, the dense story all fit together very well, and I was thoroughly entertained throughout the runtime.  

A lot of people have talked about Alfred’s interactions with Bruce as being the most emotionally charged moments in the film.  Michael Caine does give his best performance in the series here.  Others have mentioned the last twenty minutes or so being the primary source of the gut-punching (and no doubt that it was gut-punching).  For me, though, the most emotional moments in the film came when Bruce is in the prison. This is where he finally begins to understand what it means to carry out his father’s dying wishes that he not be afraid. This is where, thematically, the film ties up the series the best. 

Until this point in the series Bruce doesn’t realize that his advantages have, to some degree, been holding him back: his enormous wealth and privilege, his superior physical form, a plethora of resources at his complete disposal, and his harbored anger concerning his parents’ death.  Only after all of those things were taken from him, could he begin to fully repair his soul.  Only after he has gone as low as he can go, was Batman able to Rise.

Epilogue:  Although I’m sad about Nolan’s Batman franchise being done, I’m excited to see where the director will take his career from here.  Between the Batman films and Inception, it seems like he is keen on making “big” films, and their success both critically and financially is undeniable.  But with all their success, his smallest commercial film, Memento, is still the filmmaker’s masterpiece.  I doubt very strongly he will return to that degree of art-house filmmaking, but I’d like to see him try his hand at something smaller, and perhaps even something more personal.  I’d like to see him go fresh with some of the actors he uses.  Regardless, he is still the only filmmaker whose movies I will see on opening day, every time, no questions asked; and I feel lucky to be right in his target audience during his run as a filmmaker. 

Batman: A Running Diary

Yet another blogger is here to write about Christopher Nolan’s Batman franchise!  I’ve mentioned the series once or twice here on the blog, and delineated my thoughts on the director in general in various discussions of Memento and Inception.  With the final installment of the series coming Friday, I sat down this week and burned through both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and instead of doing something more boring, I kept a little running diary of my thoughts.  I will be back on Friday or Saturday latest to offer up my thoughts on all things The Dark Knight Rises.  In the meantime, enjoy my running diary:

Batman Begins

-This movie starts out generic, with the whole young Bruce Wayne being afraid of bats thing, but this actually makes more sense than usual cliché child flashbacks because of what ends up happening to his parents.

-One thing I’ll say, these movies have the scope and the look to hold up for a long time.  Kind of weird comparing them to Burton’s films, which are good but are such a 90’s time-capsule that they won’t hold up the same way.

-Man, WB taking a chance on Christopher Nolan is probably one of the best gambles a major studio has ever taken.  To that point, he had Memento and Insomnia under his belt—neither of which really screams “excellent superhero movie director.”  His pitch for the franchise must have been fantastic.

-And so begins the pulsating, ever-present Hans Zimmer music. 

-Possibly theory: was this movie the launching point for the “older Liam Neeson, action star” phenomenon?

-Enter recent-divorcee Katie Holmes!! UNPOPULAR OPINION ALERT: I liked Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes a lot more than Maggie Gyllenhaal.  Seriously though, what an idiot for not reprising her role in The Dark Knight.

-Favorite quotes of the series, #1: “Justice is about harmony...revenge is about getting what you want.”

Speaking of casting choices, Tom Wilkinson isn’t very believable as a mob boss.  And this is coming from a card-carrying member of the T-Wil fanclub.

-Favorite quotes, #2: “People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy.”

-One thing that’s been interesting to me about the series is the color scheme of the movies.  Begins has a dark orange sunrise-hue for a lot of the film, perhaps signaling the, ahem, “beginning” of something?  Knight, on the other hand, has a lot of black and steel blue (as in “dark” and, um, “knight”).  Upon reflection, Nolan is a little too obvious sometimes.  More on this later.  But I’m interested to see what color palette will be used in TDKR.

-Was it a nod to Tim Burton when Batman does the whole “I’m Batman” head-butt thing?  Or is that a Batman thing in general?  I should really know these things.

-Favorite shots in the series, #1:  Batman standing on top of the building as Nolan circles around him with the camera.  Hans Zimmer accompanying. 

-Opinion I’ve formed: Michael Keaton was the best at the playboy Bruce Wayne...but Christian Bale is a better Bruce Wayne and Batman in every other facet (well, if we’re not counting Adam West, that is).

Thematic undercurrent that’s beginning to form: a lot of references to fear, and overcoming it.  Never noticed this much before.  Let’s see where this goes.

-The whole plot point of Katie Holmes defending herself and that little kid was a little overcooked.

-Fight on a speeding train would normally be cliché but again, was set up very well here...it had significance that ran several layers deep.

-Nolan knows how to end a freaking movie.  “I never had a chance to thank you.”  “And you’ll never have to.” (Favorite quotes, #3)

The Dark Knight

-Again, pulsating Hans Zimmer to begin...really sets the tone for the movie.  Also love the first shot in the movie...I remember seeing it in IMAX for the first time, and the first shot of the movie with the building floored me, one of the first films I think I saw that was actually shot with IMAX cameras.

-Enter Heath Ledger: “Whatever doesn’t kill you simply makes you stranger.” (Favorite quotes, #4)  Had to get that entrance right here, and everyone nailed it: Nolan, Heath, Zimmer.

-Upon several rewatches now, The Dark Knight is quite a bit campier than Batman Begins.  I know this is intentional, but it honestly knocks Dark Knight down a peg or two because of it.

-They really didn’t flesh out this whole “multiple Batmen” subplot in the beginning here...could have done without that I think.  “What’s the difference between me and you?  “I’m not wearing hockey pants.”  That exchange doesn’t really cut it in terms of tying up the subplot.

-Favorite shots in the series, #3: Batman falling on top of the van in the parking garage.

-One thing I’ve always liked about the movie is the compare/contrast between Harvey Dent and Batman.  Once again, not extremely subtle, but still effective.

-Heath KILLS this the scene where he ambushes the black mobster dudes, in which he gives us the now-iconic “Why. So. Serious?” line.  He vacillates between terrifying and maniacal seamlessly. 

-Favorite shots, #4: Batman standing on top of the tower in Hong Kong...Nolan really has the circling around the building thing down pat.

-Bale doesn’t get too much of a chance to shine in TDK.  Certainly not anywhere as much as in Begins.  It’s obviously a showcase for the Joker, but I do wish Bale had been give a little more to do.  I hope this changes in TDKR.

-I still love the scene where Morgan Freeman gives the little monologue to the accountant who finds out Batman’s identity.

-Favorite shots, #5: Joker hanging out of the cop car.  

-Is it even a debate that the car chase scene culminating in the showdown between Batman/Joker is the best action scene in the first two films?  Can Nolan top this in TDKR?

-As I said in the BB running diary, I preferred Joey as Rachel Dawes to Ms. Gyllenhaal; however, Maggie is really good in her final scene. 

-Honest opinion time: I think I need to take a few years off from watching TDK.  I like it less and less, save for Heath’s performance, every time I watch it.

-Okay, the whole “fear” current I was feeling in Begins was actually a thing: scene with Joker and Two Face in the hospital: “Oh and you know the thing about chaos?  It’s fear.” (Favorite quotes, #5)

-I like the idea of the two ferries with the civilians versus the criminals thing...I don’t think it was executed very well, to be completely honest.  Pretty cheesy acting..."those guys HAD their chance!”

-Even more of a misstep here, after the civilians vote to blow up the criminals’ ferry: “We’re still here...that means they haven’t killed us yet either...”  Oh, is that what it means Nolan?  IS THAT WHAT IT MEANS???  See, this is a Nolan thing that doesn’t continue.  In The Dark Knight and moreso in Inception, Nolan treats his audience like they’re idiots with respect to the plot points.  Ellen Page’s character in Inception existed almost entirely for the purpose of being a mouthpiece for the audience, having every little thing explained to her.  

-The final Batman and Joker dialogue on the building will always be an iconic scene to me, like not just for the Batman movies but for movies in general.  “This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object...you and I are destined to do this forever.” It’s just such a damn shame we won’t get more of this in Rises.  It was the film America deserved.

-Harvey seems a little whiny just for having to listen to his girlfriend die...I mean, geez.  Not quite the same as pointing a gun at a man’s young child right in front of him, dude. 

-“The only morality in a cruel world is chance...fair.” (Favorite quotes, #6)

-So, when Dent falls off the building as he throws up the coin, and the coin lands on “heads”...a lot of people think this means he’s still alive...to me the movie clearly shows that it just means that’s how Gotham will view him historically, since they will never know about his turn as Two-Face, rather than as two face.  Seems pretty obvious.  Whatever.

-Second only to the Batman/Joker scene above is the final scene with Two Face/Batman/Gordon.  Further shows the compare/contrast Nolan is making between Batman and Harvey Dent.  That Batman, as a vigilante, could never accomplish what Dent could have as a public servant, which is why the Joker targeted Dent: “Because you were the best of us.”  The Joker could break Gotham’s spirit fully by making Dent turn.  This is further shown in the final montage at Dent’s funeral, where Gordon describes him as “the hero Gotham needed, but not the one it deserved,” whereas Gordon describes Batman as “the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.” (Favorite quotes, #7).  

-Favorite shots in the series, #6: The final, shot, Batman speeding away the Bat-Bot.  I’ll say this one more time: NOLAN KNOWS HOW TO END A FREAKING MOVIE.  I’m thinking this bodes well for the ending of the series.   

Needless to say, I’m quite excited about going to the theater tomorrow.  Regardless of whether The Dark Knight Rises is as good as it’s predecessor, it’s good to know going into a movie that it will at the very least be an entertaining, cerebral blockbuster.  Nolan has never let me down on either of those two things in any of his movies.  

Mad Men: A Retrospective

Sometimes I think about what it would have been like to see a movie like Gone With The Wind or The Godfather when it was originally released in theaters.  I like to wonder what the experience would have been like for someone like myself back in those days, before years and years of history continually affirmed each of the movies’ greatness within the annals of filmdom.  I like to think about what was going through people’s minds, say, when Scarlett O’Hara cries the now-legendary line “If God is my witness, I’ll never go hungry again!” or when a young Michael Corleone pulls off a double-murder in the famous Italian restaurant scene, thus beginning his dark descent into a life of corruption and power.  My guess is that in many cases, the reaction was something like this: “I don’t know how this movie is going to end, but right now this in unlike anything I’ve ever seen...I’m watching something truly special right now.”

And that brings us to where we are before tonight’s Season 5 finale of Mad Men.   

Fat Betty and Other Fun Season 5 Adventures

A show that simply refuses to stop getting better, Mad Men has given us everything we could have asked for in its fifth season.  Perhaps due to Netflix and the ability to watch the first four seasons, it seems like people are finally catching on (the ratings are higher this season than ever before) to Don Draper & the gang.  This season has given us “Zou Bisou Bisou,” Fat Betty, Pete becoming as close to a villain as the show’s ever had, Don & Joan and a Jaguar, Lane’s unfortunate demise, Roger taking LSD (more on that later), and Peggy’s tearjerker of a resignation.   More than in any season before, the show has been appointment TV for everyone I know who watches it, and I’ve had more discussions, email and twitter conversations, texts, and phone calls about all the events I’ve just mentioned than in the first four seasons combined.

And although these events have been fun to dissect and discuss, I keep thinking about them in terms of the larger picture.  When the season 5 promotional banner came out (picture on right), there were obviously tons of bloggers and writers flapping around like schoolgirls over what the meaning was.  The answer has been fairly clear from the beginning of the season: more than ever, women are having a large impact on what is happening in the show, and are far more powerful than they’ve been up until this point, and all in different ways.  Megan is finally reeling Don in (and is also very career driven and apparently good at everything she does), Peggy finally took her life under control and, for better or worse, got out from under Don’s wing, perhaps forever.  And let’s not forget that without Joan (who is now a partner), SCDP doesn’t land Jaguar. 

This 1967 view of women is a far cry from where we began in 1959, with oblivious Betty, skanky/flirty Joan, and sheltered Peggy.  The paradigm shift is significant, and for all of the time we spent hoping for the “Don is BACK!!” storylines this season, perhaps something as simple as the promo banner could have told us it wasn’t in the cards.  Are we so naïve to believe that the titular Men of Madison Avenue will one day catch up to this world when all of the signs point the other way? 

And that’s one of the underrated great things about Mad Men—you sometimes forget after five seasons where we came from.  It has such slow, calculated shifts (not only the one I just mentioned but several others as well), that much like in real life, you have to take a step back and remember where you started for it to register its full impact on you.

A Brief History of My Favorite Episodes

It’s also part of the reason that Mad Men, for me, has gotten better with every season. Every season features at least one episode that becomes my new favorite episode of the series.  Season 2 features a compelling duo of episodes in which Don spends some time in California with his “wife,” Anna, which gives us a glimpse into Don (or, Dick) as he truly sees himself.  Season 3’s finale, “Shut the Door, Have a Seat,” topped that, when Don successfully makes his bid to start the new ad agency.  Then it happened again in Season 4’s “The Suitcase,” a brilliant bottle episode on the eve of the Ali-Liston fight in which Don and Peggy go a few rounds themselves trying to come up with an idea for a Samsonite campaign.

And then there was “Tomorrowland,” Season 4’s completely enraging finale. In retrospect, the episode is one of the smartest unexpected turns the series has ever taken, culminating in Don’s unlikely proposal to young Megan Calvet after a season of wooing the much-preferred Faye, causing me and millions of people across the country to yell at their TV screen “WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU IDIOT?!?!!!” over and over and over again.

Far Away Places

And finally, Season 5 gave me yet another favorite episode of the series, “Far Away Places.”  Three concurring storylines involving Don, Peggy, and Roger are spread across this episode, yet we get to see each one evolve separately.  This artistic measure was one of the best that the Mad Men writers have ever come up with—the three-act structure it took on contained very different plots, but all with a similar tone and theme. Peggy’s story involves her frustrations at work—her Heinz Beans campaign is rejected, which causes her to go on a Don-esque tirade against the Heinz reps. In fact, the rest of her day goes just about like Don’s might—she skips out of work, goes to a movie, treats a random dude in the theater to a Peggy delight with a capital D (after sharing his joint), and heads back to the office to crash on Don’s couch. 

Don and Megan’s storyline starts with an unanticipated trip to a Howard Johnson, of all places, and ends in the legitimately frightening scene of Don chasing Megan around their penthouse, stripping Don down to his most primal state.  In between all of this, they get in a fight about orange sherbet, Megan disappears, Don doesn’t know where she went, and he spends the long night in the café of the Ho-Jo, alone in his thoughts about what he’s done (or rather, “Far Away” in his thoughts). 

Roger & His Magical Singing Stolichnaya Bottle

But Roger. Oh, Roger.  Roger & Jane experience a much different kind of trip than Don and Megan—they spend their evening in a psychiatrist’s home tripping on LSD.  This scene of Roger on a hard drug proves quite entertaining (but not over the top), and ends with a devastating shot of Roger and Jane on the floor in bath robes, wondering what happened to their relationship, not in an immature or selfish way—but rather, in complete and utter clarity, courtesy of that good ole’ acid they dropped some several hours before.  Then and there, they admit they don’t love each other anymore, and that their marriage is, for all intents and purposes, over.  And then Jane says these words: 

“I knew we were going somewhere, and I didn’t want it to be here.” 

Which, for me, sums up not just the episode, and not just the season, but perhaps even the entire series of Mad Men.  It’s an underlying feeling we all get when watching the show—we want all of these characters to change, to succeed, to find happiness; but we know in our heart of hearts there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, and that what awaits our beloved antiheroes is not success, but failure. Not change, but unrelenting stagnation.  Not happiness, but tragedy.  It’s the truth we all know we are headed for, though unlike Roger & Jane we don’t need to take LSD to prove it to us.  As with Scarlett O’Hara, a “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn,” seems a lot more plausible ending for these characters than a “they lived happily ever after,” doesn’t it?

The End?

Mad Men will end someday sooner rather than later.  I don’t know what will happen in tonight’s finale, and I don’t know the fate of Don Draper, Roger Sterling, or Peggy Olsen over the show’s final seasons.  I know that in real life there are ebbs and flows—last season we saw Don at his absolute worst, this season we see him at his best with Megan.  And I expect this up and down trend to continue.  But in the end, this is not a show about redemption—it is a show about people.

Whatever the outcome is, whatever happens tomorrow night or in the seasons beyond, I know that like those lucky enough to see Gone With The Wind or The Godfather when they were released, I feel similarly lucky to be watching something extraordinary unfold as its happening.   

Better shows than Mad Men may come along, but there’s never been anything quite like it, and there never will be.