Monday, September 23, 2013
More than any of us can bear
BLOGGER'S NOTE: This review originally ran on this blog on Aug. 9, 2006. I'm re-posting it for The Oliver Stone Blogathon occurring through Oct. 6 at Seetimaar — Diary of a Movie Lover
By Edward Copeland
I finally caught up with Oliver Stone's World Trade Center and, as indicated by many reviews, it certainly qualifies as the least Oliver Stone-like film Stone has made (though Oliver can't resist tossing in a couple of ghostly images of Jesus in a light but hey, at least it wasn't a mystical Indian). World Trade Center does end up being Stone's best work in quite some time.
Like most Stone movies, it contains fat that could be lost easily and in the battle of 9/11 movies, I still prefer United 93, even though Stone's film contains good performances. Cage gives his best straight performance in ages. Yes, I loved him in Adaptation, but I can't remember the last time he played a dramatic role in a movie that wasn't a time-waster.
He's also ably supported by Michael Pena as the fellow Port Authority officer trapped with him beneath the rubble, and Maria Bello as Cage's wife and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Pena's wife, awaiting word on their husbands' fates. If I prefer United 93 to World Trade Center, it's for one main reason: the emotional wounds of 9/11 remain so fresh, that it seems almost unnecessary to tell personal, albeit true, stories to wring emotion from a viewer. The relative anonymity of the passengers depicted in United 93 touched me more deeply than the fleshed-out stories in World Trade Center did, especially when they tack on a lapsed paramedic (Frank Whaley) and a former Marine (Michael Shannon) who abandons his office job, throws on his old uniform and marches into Ground Zero to help.
World Trade Center depicts well the confusion and communications breakdowns on 9/11, where the first responders themselves don't realize that a second plane has hit the second tower until well after they've arrived on the scene of the first tower.
As you expect from a Stone production, his production team delivers top-notch technical aspects. While World Trade Center as a film comes off as Stone's finest in ages, it's difficult to compete with the real images we saw that day. Paul Greengrass found a way to accomplish that in United 93. While Stone's film offers good performances, somehow the personal touch ends up being less emotionally satisfying.
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Labels: 00s, M. Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Michael Shannon, Nicolas Cage, Oliver Stone
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Sunday, February 19, 2012
There's a storm coming — and he goes by the name of Michael Shannon
By Edward Copeland
Over the course of the past several years, I have become a huge fan of Michael Shannon. It took his brief appearance in Revolutionary Road for him to catch my attention and after that, I always noticed him in films such as The Missing Person and The Runaways. For the past two years, Shannon has been seen to me almost exclusively in the guise of Agent Nelson Van Alden on HBO's Boardwalk Empire. He has turned in a brilliant performance despite the fact that his character has been written into a corner and removed from the main action of the series in the second season. That's why getting to see Shannon play a completely different character in Take Shelter provided such a refreshing experience, even if the movie itself isn't quite as good as its reputation.
Shannon stars as Curtis LaForche, a 35-year-old Ohio husband and father haunted by dreams of an impending cataclysm that could mean the end of the world. Part of him worries that he's showing signs of the same type of mental illness his mother (Kathy Baker, who appears in a nice, understated cameo) developed around the same age. However, Curtis doesn't want to take chances so he begins fortifying and expanding the family's storm shelter — even to the point of taking out risky loans and "borrowing" heavy equipment from the sand-mining operation where he works as a crew chief.
The family lives in a precarious financial state as it is. His wife, Samantha (Jessica Chastain, required by a rider on a piece of congressional legislation to appear in every third film released in 2011), helps to supplement the meager family income with work as a seamstress to help with the costs associated with their 6-year-old daughter Hannah (Tova Stewart), who is deaf but might be a candidate for a cochlear implant.
Eventually, Curtis' obsession begins to take a toll, putting a strain on his marriage, affecting his job and reputation in the community. Shannon, who I never seem to tire of praising, gives a very quiet performance as Curtis, which makes the one scene when he's confronted by a co-worker (played by Shea Whigham, Boardwalk Empire's Sheriff Eli Thompson) and explodes in rage, defending his sanity and warning the people in the room of what might be coming all the more powerful.
Chastain also turns in a fine performance. Granted, I've only been able to see about a third of the 276 films in which she appeared in 2011, but I may be most impressed with Chastain's work here, though that could change if I ever see Coriolanus or Texas Killing Fields.
Written and directed by Jeff Nichols, Take Shelter marks his second feature after his debut, Shotgun Stories, which also starred Shannon. While the acting in Take Shelter can't be faulted and Nichols writes an intriguing premise, the film could have used more judicious cutting. At nearly a full two hours long, Take Shelter occasionally drags and some scenes seem redundant. Also, while I understand that Take Shelter had a relatively low budget ($5 million), some of the visual effects look hokey.
Take Shelter is far from perfect, but it does offer another great Michael Shannon performance.
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Labels: 10s, Boardwalk Empire, HBO, Michael Shannon
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Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Boardwalk Empire No. 24: To the Lost Part II
By Edward Copeland
Picking up where Part I of the recap left off (and if you miss part I, click here), Leander Cephas Whitlock meets with James and Gillian about settling the Commodore's affairs. The death certificate rules his cause of death as "an accident" which Leander informs them "that cost a pretty penny." The Commodore also left a will, which surprises Gillian who didn't know he had one. Whitlock tells them the late Louis Kaestner had one drawn up in 1914. but he never revised it. In the finale's biggest laugh (for me anyway), it turns out the Commodore left the bulk of his estate to Louanne Hunt, his former maid who tried to poison him to death in the first season. (Dammit, we'll probably never learn what message she left Nucky in that Bible before she left town.) Jimmy asks what happens if they don't find a will. Leander says it would go to him as next of kin. Jimmy inquires if it would go to Tommy should something happen to him and Whitlock confirms it would. Jimmy tears up the copy of the will. Langston enters and informs Jimmy that his guests have arrived.
Gillian whispers to Jimmy, "Be firm in what you want. You need to make sure that they — " Jimmy cuts her off and says what he should have told her a long time ago. "Ma, no more advice." Gillian tells him that she's only tried to help him. "I never meant for any — " Gillian starts to say before Jimmy shuts her down again. "I know you did," he replies. His mother gets up to leave. "You're the man of the house." Arriving for the meeting are interim County Treasurer Jim Neary, Ward Boss Boyd and Senior County Clerk Paddy Ryan. As always, the most important presence has been there all along — the unnamed bear. "Obviously with my father's passing, things have changed quite a bit," Jimmy addresses the conspirators. "I'm talking to the mayor about naming a street for him," Neary says. "My condolences," Boyd offers. "On your wife as well, Jim," Ryan adds. "Thank you. I've rethought our position regarding Nucky," Jimmy informs them. "His ass in a sling sounds like the right position to me," Neary laughs. "We're going after Eli. You'll recant your testimony, all of you. Blame everything on him," Jimmy instructs them. "My reputation is on the line," Ryan declares. "And if Nucky beats the charges, where's your reputation then?" Jimmy poses the question. "He's on the ropes, kid. He's on the run," Neary emphasizes. "This is no time to lose confidence," Ryan insists. "What do you think, Leander?" Boyd asks. "My advice is to stay the course," Whitlock counsels. "You've been through the wringer, kid. Your wife — now your pop — that's a burden for any man," Neary says. In a very nice shot, the camera circles behind Jimmy and as the others keep telling him to stick to the plan, you can tell he's zoning out. Their words begin to be accompanied by a version of "Ave Maria" sung by Enrico Caruso. "Take a trip. Clear your mind. A week from now, this will all be over," Boyd advises. "We've come this far. Why turn back?" Ryan asks. "Besides, I like being the treasurer," Neary admits.
Margaret wakes up and looks out and sees Nucky and Teddy working with Emily in the yard. She smiles. Later, as Johan Svendsen's "Romance in G Major, Op. 26" (performed by Erica Morini plays), she comes down to the porch dressed where Nucky and the children are eating breakfast. "I would like you to come with me please," Margaret tells Nucky. "Where?" he asks. "Mr. Sleater will drive us to church where I intend to make a full and complete confession. Then after I've made my peace with God, Father Brennan will marry us," she informs Nucky. Nucky puts down his newspaper and stands. "Thank you. I don't know what — " Margaret interrupts Nucky's gratitude. "Children, we'll be back later. Say goodbye to your father," she tells them. Teddy says, "Goodbye" as does Emily, who adds "Daddy" on the end of her salutation. Nucky and Margaret go back inside the house and Margaret calls for Katy to come with them. She really loves to
drive the knife in that girl's back, doesn't she? The music on the soundtrack switches to Schubert's "Moments Musicaux Op. 94 D780 No. 3" performed by Seymour Lipkin as the scene switches to Esther Randolph practicing her opening argument for Nucky's trial while getting dressed. It's the beginning of an intercut montage paying homage to the famous intercutting of the baptism and the murders in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. In the Boardwalk Empire version, we switch between three locales: Randolph in her apartment, the church and the Atlantic County Municipal Building that houses the county treasurer's office. For simplicity's sake, I will uppercase and bold the location before each part with APARTMENT, CHURCH and OFFICE. As I wrote in Part I of the recap, I can't complain about the assemblage of the episode itself. Tim Van Patten does his usual exceptional directing job. Terence Winter writes some great scenes. My criticisms take aim at the show overall, especially its future, which sounds more disconcerting when you read Winter's interview with EW.com hinting about Season 3. APARTMENT: "May it please the court, gentlemen of the jury, my name is Esther Randolph, assistant United States Attorney." CHURCH: "Bless me father for I have sinned," Margaret says in the confessional. APARTMENT: "During the course of this trial, you'll hear a great many charges brought against Enoch Thompson, first and foremost…." Randolph practices while buttoning her blouse. CHURCH: The visuals pan past Margaret confessing to Brennan, though the voice continues to belong to Randolph. "…that he ordered the murder of a Mr. Hans Schroeder, a romantic rival." APARTMENT: Esther rolls up her panty hose. "Using his influence as treasurer of Atlantic County, Mr. Thompson also engaged in other violations of the law…"
OFFICE: Richard parks a car in from of the Atlantic County Municipal Building and he and Jimmy get out. Again, it's Esther's voice we hear. "…enlisting his underlings in graft, violations of the Volstead Act and extortion of local businesses." CHURCH: Margaret exits the confessional. She's wearing a white veil over the back of her head. Another nice pan as Nucky stands outside to greet her. The camera keeps going and we see first Katy, then Owen. "Enoch Thompson is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his ends." OFFICE: At this point, the musical piece switches to a different composition by Schubert, also performed by Lipkin. It's "Impromptu D.935 Op. 142 No. 1 Op 142." We follow Richard and Jimmy from behind and foot level as they march down the hall of the municipal building. "A man whose greed knows no boundaries." We see Richard and Jimmy from the front and above. CHURCH: A new voice joins Randolph's as Nucky and Margaret stand at the altar. "Let women be subject to their husbands as to the Lord for the husband is the hand…" Father Brennan says before his words get overlapped by Randolph's. "You'll hear how rather than minding the city's coffers…" APARTMENT: Esther fastens her skirt. "…he was instead lining his own pockets." CHURCH: "Therefore, as the church is subject to Christ so to let the wife be to her husband in all things," Brennan preaches. OFFICE: The phone rings in the county treasurer's office, but the secretary, Eunice Keltner, whom we met earlier this
season when Nucky got evicted from his suite at the Ritz, can't answer it at the moment as Jim Neary is busy taking her from behind as she's bent over the desk. "Along with his various aldermen, he has plundered the citizens of Atlantic County…: CHURCH: "…using the spoils of his position to ensure his position by rigging last year's election." APARTMENT: Randolph has almost completed getting dressed as she's down to her shoes. "You will hear directly from some of these aldermen, including James Neary, now the interim treasurer." OFFICE: "What the fuck?" Neary shouts as Jimmy and Richard kick his office doors open. Jimmy brandishes his gun and addresses Eunice. "Look at me. Take a coffee break and don't come back," he tells her. CHURCH: "Marriage is an institution not to be taken lightly," Brennan says to
Margaret and Nucky. APARTMENT: Her outfit fully in place, Randolph walks back and forth in her room. "Enoch Thompson is a man loyal only to himself." CHURCH: "…a sacred covenant before God." APARTMENT: Esther applies lipstick. "A man who orders up murder like you and I order coffee." CHURCH: "Knowing this, I ask you, dp you Margaret, choose to marry Enoch, to join with him as your husband for all the days of your life?" Brennan asks. "I do," she answers. OFFICE: Jimmy dictates while Neary types with Richard offering the encouragement of a gun leveled at his head. "…at which point Elias Thompson ordered me to falsify voting records…" CHURCH: "I, Enoch, take you Margaret, for my lawful wife." OFFICE: "Sign it," Jimmy orders. "Nice fellas. A fuckin' confession signed at gunpoint," Neary says. "It's not just a confession," Jimmy tells him. Richard pushes Neary back in the chair and shoves the gun in his mouth. "It's a suicide note," he informs him as he blows off the back of his head. CHURCH: "You may kiss the bride." They do. OFFICE: Jimmy and Richard take their leave as Randolph's voice returns. "Accordingly, there can only be one…" APARTMENT: "…just verdict — guilty," Esther spins and says. Lathrop applauds from bed where his leg remains bandaged from the gunshot wound Van Alden gave him during his escape.
Judge Hillcote (Ian Stuart), the man assigned to preside over Nucky's trial which I presume still is being held in Camden County, pounds his gavel and calls for order. A very unhappy Esther Randolph starts expressing her disbelief out loud at recent events. "A last-minute
marriage, an alleged suicide, seven recantations of sworn testimony. In my eight years as a prosecutor, I've never seen a more blatant example of witness tampering," she seethes. This is the point in the episode where the cloud started to lift for me as well. Granted, I knew that Nucky would be escaping punishment somehow — he's the show lead. On the other hand, since I've read that EW.com interview with Terence Winter where he discusses the big time leap that they plan to take between the end of the finale and the beginning of season 3, if they were going to be gutsy enough to have its main character behave completely inconsistently, why couldn't they have given him a short prison term as Eli will be taking or that the Commodore once took yet still managed to hold on to people's respect? What bothered me is that they built a great, strong, smart character in Esther Randolph and had Julianne Nicholson play her well. I don't think she'd give up that easily and if she thought Nucky were capable of faking suicides and forcing people to recant, why didn't she have them in protective custody? It's a flaw that happens way too often in movies and through the entire run of
The Sopranos — the Feds get portrayed as bumbling idiots that make it way too easy for the crooks to be criminals. I'll just summarize the big points of the courtroom scene, because it's too annoying to spell out in detail. In retrospect, it looks even worse because none of this would have happened (except getting Margaret to marry him) if Jimmy didn't kill Neary and strong-arm the other recantations. Yet, Nucky still decides of the people who plotted against him, Jimmy he has to kill. Will he get around to offing Paddy Ryan? How about Ward Boss Boyd? I've talked a lot about how by now Mickey Doyle has been
so disloyal to so many people, I've decided what he really deserves is a Murder on the Orient Express death where everyone he's wronged comes in and stabs him once, and the investigating detective decides to let them get away with it. Nucky doesn't even consider killing Eli, who was the one who said, "Jesus Christ, just kill him.…Just put a bullet in his head and get it over with." That's what makes it ironic that they did an elaborate homage to Coppola's murder montages in the Godfather films — once Mama Corleone died in Part II then Michael went ahead and whacked his brother Fredo and could Eli be any more Fredo-like even if Nucky isn't exactly the Michael Corleone model? Now, the courtroom highlights: 1) The judge advises Randolph that she doesn't stand a chance for a murder conviction and she's lost her main witness on the other charges. He asks if she wants to proceed or "get her ducks in a row?" "I'll take the ducks," Randolph replies.; 2) The judge declares a mistrial; 3) The judge grants Douglas Wallbridge's request to release Eli on his own recognizance for a capital crime mind you; 4) Deputy Halloran's public defender (Ian Scott McGregor) makes the same request, but he confessed to killing Hans and his plea deal was contingent on Nucky's case going to a jury. The judge orders Halloran remanded to Leavenworth. The still injured deputy rises, yelling in a garbled voice, "I don't understand." 5) Fallon and Eddie try to shield Nucky from the throngs of reporters as he marches from the courtroom in triumph.Gillian accompanies Jimmy and Tommy to the beach where a man name Finnerty (Roy Milton Davis) sells pony rides. Finnerty gives Tommy a choice of two hats. "Cowboy or soldier?" he asks. "Soldier," Tommy replies. Jimmy mentions the heat. A lot of characters in this episode have referred to the heat. Now I've tried all kinds of searches. If we assume that Nucky's trial date remained on the date it was set (Aug. 23, 1921), I've tried to find stories about a big East Coast heat wave, but had no luck.
Nucky comes home plastered to find Margaret awake and pulling down the bedspread. "You're awake — and I'm drunk. Not the most romantic greeting, is it?" Nucky says. "Honesty has its virtues," Margaret tells him. Nucky admits that he was celebrating with Fallon and Margaret congratulates him. "A stroke of luck," she comments. "I know what you're thinking. I had nothing to do with Neary's suicide, Margaret," he swears. "I believe you," she smiles. "Look, I'd be lying if I said it didn't benefit me because obviously it did, but he was a very troubled man involved in something he knew was wrong. I can't be responsible for all the misfortune in the world, can I?" Nucky asks. "I said I believe you," Margaret repeats, this time with her arms crossed. Nucky then shows her the evening paper which has a story about Congress set to approve the road appropriations. "That land will be worth a fortune, Mrs. Thompson," he tells her, adding that he'll need her to sign the deed back over when she gets a chance. "Of course, it was only for safekeeping," she says. Nucky asks if he'll be sleeping in their bed. "We are married," she replies. "Who knows? Maybe you are right. Maybe God is giving me another chance," he says as he sits down to take off his shoes.
The following morning, Nucky navigates the maze of Thompson children to find Eli sitting on his porch, already drinking early in the day. "A little early, isn't it?" Nucky comments. "My own recognizance. It means I make the rules," Eli says. "Hot enough for ya?" Eli asks. "Yes. And how about those Phillies and my brother trying to have me killed?" Nucky drops into the conversation as his idea of small talk. Eli cocks
his head toward his brother. "Et tu, Eli?" Nucky says, though the Shakespeare reference flies past his head just as Mickey didn't recognize Manny's use of the Bard. "Shakespeare — Julius Caesar," Nucky elaborates. "There's a character named Eli?" his brother asks. Nucky looks away. Honestly — you choose to keep him alive and murder Jimmy? Right then if you had shot Eli, it would have been considered a mercy killing. John Steinbeck hadn't written Of Mice and Men yet, but it would be as if you were George, Nucky, and Eli was Lennie, wanting to hear about the fucking rabbits again. "I told you I had nothing to do with that. The shooting," Eli lies. "That's not what your partner said," Nucky responds. "My partner?" "Jimmy," Nucky says. "What do you expect? That fuckin' kid'll lie about anything," Eli claims. "After all this, will you at least do me the courtesy of being honest?" Nucky requests. "I am being honest. I tried to stop them — they threatened me — my life, my livelihood. I came to you, Nucky. Remember that? I came to you, hat in hand," Eli insists. "You'll plead guilty — to everything — all of it — before they bring new charges. I spoke to the attorney general. You'll do two years at the most, be out in half that time. Joan, the kids — they'll be well looked after. It's the best you're going to do, Eli. God knows it could be a lot worse," Nucky informs him. Eli lets out a deep sigh of acceptance. Bach's "Oboe Concerto in G minor: II. Largo" performed by Christian Hommel, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and Helmut Müller-Brühl can be heard as Rothstein looks at an envelope of heroin on his desk. "I'd understood it was brown," Rothstein says to Lansky and Luciana. "Some is. There's all different types," Lansky answers. "It should be gold you ask me," Luciano adds. "They try it once, you got a customer for life," Meyer tells A.R. Once again, for being in such a heroin-induced haze in last week's episode, Jimmy did clean up incredibly fast, but again that's another sign of the inconsistencies, some of which I've talked about and others I've ignored. From the fourth episode of the season, the Commodore couldn't speak and was paralyzed on his right side. Two episodes ago, his talking still wasn't great, but he shocked everyone by being able to use his right side to help himself stand up and walk a few steps. Last week,
he was agile enough to rush into a room wielding a spear when he heard Gillian's scream as Jimmy was choking her and sparring well with his son more than 50 years younger than he was. When poor Agent Clarkson got severely burned in the bombing of Mickey's warehouse, it was two episodes (and a longer time period than two weeks) before we heard about it again and he was dying — presumably the state he'd been in the longer time. Before I saw the finale, I had started working on a season in review and was going to point out that except for one brief mention by Nucky that Ward Boss O'Neill was "in hiding," no one brings him up and I was going to predict that when those roads got built, given where Eli buried him, his body would be unearthed. Seeing where they had their celebration at the end of the show, it seems painfully obvious I had that one on the nose. On the plus side, I've said it before, they should just spin off Rothstein and give Stuhlbarg his own movie or miniseries. By the way, since Capone, Lansky and Luciano were all planning to divide that money and get out of Atlantic City whether Jimmy came back or not, why did that scene not happen? The heroin trade appeals to the businessman in Rothstein when he gets a phone call asking as a courtesy if he would have any problem should something happen to Manny Horvitz. Lansky and Luciano both shake their heads that they don't care. "If Mr. Horvitz were to go, I would have no opinion one way or the other," Rothstein tells Nucky. "It appears I have a decision to make," Nucky says. "Flip a coin. When it's in the air, you'll know which side you're hoping for," Rothstein advises. Even within the context of this episode at that moment, Nucky doesn't seem as if he feels Jimmy must die for his sins. It doesn't play logically. They may argue that Nucky had to get his hands dirty to show he made the full journey, but his trajectory takes him backward. The man he's speaking to has people killed, but he doesn't do it himself. As Paulie would tell Tony on The Sopranos, it's one of the perks that comes with being boss. Jimmy would do it because he's a hothead as Tony on the other show was. Nucky never has been played that way. He's a political animal, not a savage one. Since this is loosely based on a real person, Nucky Johnson, who was a political boss involved in bootlegging and other criminal activities but murder and out-and-out gangsterism wasn't part of it.
A landlady (Charlotte Booker) shows her new tenants, Mr. and Mrs. Mueller and their baby girl a.k.a. Nelson Van Alden, Sigrid and baby Abigail into their new apartment in Cicero, Ill. In many ways, this twist shocked me more than the Jimmy execution. They more or less ruined Van Alden's character as federal agent when he drowned Agent Sebso in Season One. With Mickey reaching out to him in the penultimate episode, I was sure he was going to pretend to still be a fed so he could bust up that meeting with Capone, Lansky, Luciano and Mickey just to try to get some of the cash and end up dying in the attempt so Michael Shannon could move on to movies. Now, when you read all the Terence Winter interviews and see that they placed Van Alden in Cicero because that's where Al Capone starts getting really active, it does not sound promising for the show's future. I guess it's not that bad since for most of the season, especially when it was the Lucy-Van Alden storyline, that seemed like an entirely different show since they had no contact with any of the other regulars or storylines. Shannon got to have one really great episode (which was the worst episode overall) when Nucky tried to blackmail him and he discovered the love of his child and tried to be good again. Other than that though, he got nada. While Stephen Graham is great as Capone, I actually counted: The stuffed bear did appear in more episodes than he did this season. With Jimmy gone, there's no plausible reason to keep Capone involved. This series supposedly focuses on Atlantic City, not Chicago and Cicero, Ill. Since Manny can come back, are they going to incorporate Philly stories as well? I'm sure New York will stay in the picture. Hell, maybe we can keep Esther Randolph. Eventually they can plant characters in every city and state in the union at the time. Make that world — don't want to slight the characters we met in Belfast.
The bear makes another appearance as Gillian plays with Tommy in one room and Jimmy and Richard get drunk in the adjacent room. Jimmmy tells him about a soldier named Radcliff who would change the words to "Over There." "Over there/fuck a bear/I'll fight any night in my underwear," an inebriated Jimmy sings. "You know, I'd be out days on end moving from blind to blind. Water, rations, rifle — never speak a word. I'd come back to camp and the boys joking…and I'd feel…this is where I'm meant to be," Richard says. "Nobody was meant to be there," Jimmy declares as he takes another drink. "But that's where we were. And we're still there, aren't we?" Richard states, looking up at Jimmy. "Time to come home, Richard," Jimmy tells him. "How?" Richard asks. "I don't know, but promise me you're gonna try," Jimmy requests as the phone rings. Jimmy answers it to find Nucky on the line. "It's me. I've located your friend, Mr. Horvitz," Nucky tells him. "How?" Jimmy asks. "Mickey Doyle. Horvitz is meeting me in one hour. The War Memorial," Nucky responds. "I'll be there," Jimmy replies before hanging up. "Who was that?" Richard inquires. "Nucky. He found Manny Horvitz," Jimmy says. "I'll come with you," Richard announces. Jimmy places his hand on Richard's shoulder. "It's OK," Jimmy tells him. "I could take care of this for you," Richard insists. "This is
somethin' I gotta do myself," Jimmy replies. Jimmy leaves and Gillian hears the door close. Richard stands. "Did Jimmy go out?" she asks. "Yeah. Something he has to do," Richard replies, walking into the other room. Gillian notices that Tommy has something hanging around his neck she takes it out and Richard recognizes the significance first: The boy wears Jimmy's dog tags. "So you can always tell who you are," Tommy says. "Did Daddy give you those?" Gillian asks. Tommy nods yes. "You know what? You're going to be a big man in this city one day — just like your father," Gillian tells the boy as she leads him upstairs. Though Winter emphasizes in his interviews that there still will be a place on the show for the character of Richard Harrow, how exactly? Jack Huston's amazing performance has made him a fan favorite and contributed to one of this season's highlights. However, his character remains so emotionally fragile that on that episode set on Memorial Day he went out to the woods with the intention of killing himself. He truly connected with two characters — and they've both been murdered within the past three episodes. After Angela's killing, he had to go physically touch her blood. We're supposed to buy that the next season, which will be jumping ahead a year and half of so until 1923 will still find Richard in Atlantic City? He won't go back to Chicago the way Capone treated him. Honestly, when he finds out that Jimmy's dead and Nucky did it, how realistic would it be that he wouldn't try to take Nucky out afterward and either succeed or get killed in the attempt?
It is pouring down rain at the still-under construction War Memorial when Jimmy arrives in his car. Nucky and Owen get out of his and Owen removes Manny, who has his hands tied behind his back. Jimmy limps over to them. "So now you will have your revenge, boychik," Horvitz says. "Is that what this is?" Jimmy asks as if he knows it's a set up or can somehow see that Eli has taken his place behind him. He must have heard him, because Jimmy turns to see Eli aiming the rifle on him. When he turns back around, Manny whirls the ropes that supposedly tied his hands off and lets them fall to the ground. Owen comes
over to frisk Jimmy. "His boot," Eli warns. "I'm not armed," Jimmy declares. "He isn't," Owen confirms. "This is the only way we could have ended, isn't it?" Jimmy says to Nucky. No, not when you're willing to let characters have no consistency whatsoever. Hell, then you can end any way you want. "This is your choice, James," NewNucky snarls. "I died in the trenches — years back. I thought you knew that. So who's going to do it? Manny? You Eli?" Jimmy asks. "I am," NuNucky replies, removing the revolver from his jacket. "My first time I vomited after — two days straight. Second time I didn't even think about it," Jimmy tells NuNucky about killing. "So fucking stupid," NuNucky says. "Just try to make yourself calm," Jimmy advises. "You had everything going," NuNucky declares. "Just breathe, Nuck," Jimmy tells him. "Your whole life," NuNucky reminds him. "You'll get through it. All you got to worry about is when you run out of booze and you run
out of company and the only person left to judge you — " NuNucky fires and Jimmy falls to the ground. All the witnesses stare, somewhat in disbelief, at what just transpired. They get distracted by the coughing and gagging sounds that Jimmy continues to make. NuNucky's first try wasn't the charm. He walks up to Jimmy. "You don't know me, James. You never did. I am not seeking forgiveness," NuNucky informs young dying man and shoots him point blank in the head. There isn't any more coughing, gagging —
or breathing — this time. Manny turns away, Eli gives NuNucky a nod as if to say that he did the right thing and NuNucky walks away. The soundtrack fills with The Hungarian State Opera Chorus conducted by Pier Giorgio Morandi performs Verdi's "Quattro Pezzi Sacri: Ave Maria" as the life drains out of Jimmy's face. He's back in the trenches, somewhere in Europe again with other soldiers, waiting for the signal that tells them when to go over the top. The whistle blows and they all start climbing into light. Michael Pitt has grown so much in the role that I'd be sad to see him go even if I thoughT this were a wise storytelling decision and not a destructive one. I haven't put it anywhere before but Boardwalk Empire really wasted the talents of Dabney Coleman in the two seasons they had him. Both years, they incapacitated the Commodore early so that Coleman spent most of the seasons on the sidelines and just use him again toward the end. They never really gave him a chance to develop the Commodore more fully. With Coleman and Pitt gone now, I assume this means Dominic Chianese won't be returning as Leander either.
The next morning, NuNucky tells Margaret he's skipping breakfast because of an early meeting. She mentions that he was out awfully late the night before. "I ran into James Darmody. We cleared the air," NuNucky tells her. "I'm surprised," she says. "It turns out he's re-enlisting. Already left, actually," NuNucky lies to his wife and from her face you know she sees right through him. "Well, the rain broke
the heat at least," NuNucky comments. "Yes, it did," she agrees though you can tell her thoughts remain on his lies. As NuNucky heads off, Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks perform an instrumental version of "Look for the Silver Lining" written in 1919 by composer Jerome Kern and lyricist B.G. DeSylva for the musical flop Zip, Goes a Million in 1919. Here is a 1921 version sung by Marion Harris. Margaret looks at the deed of land and traces her hand over the large tract of New Jersey it covers. Meanwhile, that blue Rolls-Royce pulls into some fields which, as I mentioned before, bear a striking resemblance to where Eli buried Ward Boss O'Neill by the side of the road. "What are you doing? You're in the middle of a highway!" Mayor Bader jokes. "Congratulations Nucky," Ernie Moran offers as he pours NuNucky some champagne. "Not a minute too soon — we're almost out," Bader shouts to Damian Flemming as he pulls up. "So this is it, eh? The road to riches," Moran declares. "I was thinking the Harding Highway," NuNucky suggests. "It never hurts to remember your friends, huh," Flemming interjects as he opens a bottle he brought with him. Back at the Margate estate, Margaret fills out the transfer of the land deed. At first, she accidentally starts to write Schroeder for her last name, but changes it to Thompson. Then, under transferee, instead of writing NuNucky's name she fills in St. Finbar's Church. Margaret then calls for Katy and asks her to deliver to the church at once. Back in the fields, NuNucky toasts, "To the future, gentlemen." Over the end credits, Henry Burr and the Peerless Quartet perform "Over There" which they recorded in 1917.
One thing that bothered me before the finale is how the town is being run? I never understood why the town suddenly accepted Jimmy as the new boss anyway. On whose say-so? At least Nucky and the Commodore before him held elected offices. At the same time, I have questioned before, with all the ward bosses but Flemming revolting, were collections still being made and if so, who were they being made to? After O'Neill "went into hiding," did anyone pick up his stops? Were the city businesses, despite the strike, actually enjoying a respite since the new boss spent some time out of town snorting heroin and reliving his past? Now, how is order restored? Does Bader suddenly restore Nucky as treasurer and he's the boss again? Hell, I say they make Eddie the boss of Atlantic City. It would be just as coherent as the rest of the show has become now when you stop to think about it.
I may still write a full-fledged season in review, but I've yet to decide. Most of my criticisms made it into this two-part recap, though it's skimpy on the positives, which I had many. If I do one, it will take a while to get to it. In case I don't, what it boils down to me is that its lack of consistency finally has proved too much to bear. I had written about how they had written characters into corners, but the ones they could conceivably get out they chose not to and the ones they shouldn't have, they didn't and I think it wasn't because of a master plan — I think it was purely because they thought it'd be fun to surprise the audience. In contrast, Breaking Bad likes to do the same thing, but they haven't made a misstep yet, Their slow burn at making the audience go from rooting for Walter White to hating him was done slowly and deliberately. Nucky's change didn't make sense even within the context of that episode. With as many other places that they are telling stories, they may as well knock him off and just make it a show about Rothstein. At least they would be forced by history to conform to real life to some extent.
I also must confess that I know that I'm in the small minority of fans who enjoy the political machinations especially within historical contexts. I haven't seen a lot of shows that cover that territory but if they are jettisoning that aspect just to become all-gangster, all-the-time, it may become like it was for me for many years after St. Elsewhere went off. After it, I didn't feel like wanting to watch a lesser medical show. I've seen a great gangster show and there still remains a great crime drama on the air. I don't know that I need a lesser gangster show, no matter how well acted and designed.
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Labels: Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Coppola, Dabney Coleman, HBO, Michael Shannon, Musicals, Shakespeare, The Sopranos, TV Recap
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Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Boardwalk Empire No. 23: Under God's Will She Flourishes
By Edward Copeland
I understand the reason for wanting to keep this episode under wraps (and if there remains one more episode in the season, I can't imagine what else can be coming home to roost). The delay in my ability to recap "Under God's Will She Flourishes" sucks, not just because of petty annoyances to my schedule but because it puts off my ability to write about what could be one of the best episodes in the history of Boardwalk Empire and what certainly is one of its most pivotal. What wasn't anticipated was the evil egotism of technology companies that our so obsessed with having control of customers' machines and lives that they insert poison pills that periodically make things unusable and which Monday night made all my wireless connections on my laptop vanish, severing my connection to the Internet and forcing me to try to do this recap on my old, decrepit laptop. Then Harry Morgan goes and dies on me and I felt compelled to write something on him, delaying the recap further. I apologize that it isn't up to my usual recap standard. Hopefully, the other laptop will be alive again for the finale recap, though even if it is I may have to reconsider how the last one is done. Without an advance screener, these recaps really can't be done the way I do them after the fact.
Written by Howard Korder and directed by Allen Coulter, the bulk of this episode takes us back to Princeton in 1916, giving us insight into the beginning of Jimmy and Angela's romance as well as the twisted relationship between Gillian and her son. On top of that, in the 1921 scenes, those who thought it was unrealistic that Van Alden could drown Agent Sebso in front of that many witnesses and get away with it will be pleased to see that story returns at the same time a cornered Mickey reaches out to his favorite federal agent to seek help because he fears that his days are numbered. We also learn a bit about Van Alden's upbringing that explains the way he is to some extent. Meanwhile, Margaret goes farther off the deep end and for the second week in a row, someone from the main credits gets a toe tag. Still, as great as this episode is, the walls seem to be closing in on so many characters simultaneously, I wonder what they plan to do for a third season. Vince Gilligan, the mastermind behind Breaking Bad, is fond of saying that he and his writers enjoy painting themselves into corners, just to see how they'll get out of it. Boardwalk Empire has painted so many members of its ensemble into so many corners, I have to wonder if they can reasonably find ways out for most of its characters. Maybe there's a reason they added so many characters this season.
When we saw Jimmy driving toward Princeton at the end of last week's episode, it was easy to see that it wasn't just any town in New Jersey that he'd picked to unload his booze but also the site of the pivotal event in Darmody's young life — when he opted not to continue
his pursuit of higher education at the prestigious university and chose to join the fight in The Great War against the Kaiser. In this episode, consisting largely of the flashbacks to 1916, we learn what events drove Jimmy to decide that risking death overseas appeared preferable to a double-barrel shock to his system from the women in his life and the possibility that his hot-headed nature placed his academic future at risk anyway. Howard Korder wrote this excellent episode, already having penned one of this season's other best installments, "Gimcrack & Bunkum." Finally, the talented director Allen Coulter, who only has helmed one solid Boardwalk Empire episode, the first season's "Paris Green," gets to show what he can do with a great Boardwalk Empire script after being burdened with this season's low point, "Peg of Old," and last season's mostly weak "Home." Quite a change from Coulter's work on The Sopranos where he helmed many of the show's classic and most revered episodes such as "College," "The Knight in White Satin Armor" and "Irregular Around the Margins," just to name three. The second season's penultimate episode takes its title, "Under God's Will She Flourishes," from the English translation of Dei Sub Numine Viget, the Latin motto of Princeton University, though Princeton's website actually translates the saying to "Under the Protection of God She Flourishes." We open on Jimmy asleep in bed as he hears Angela's voice calling, "Jimmy. Jimmy." She then appears on top of him. Viewers who saw young Mrs. Darmody executed last week by Manny Horvitz might be momentarily confused or assume that Jimmy is dreaming of his late wife. "I'm sorry," she says. "Was I dreaming?" Jimmy asks her. "We're in Princeton," Angela tells him. "Don't go," Jimmy pleads, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm supposed to work breakfast," she explains. "Let 'em starve," an unsympathetic Darmody suggests. Angela turns on the bedside lamp and Jimmy cringes at the illumination, She hands him a piece of paper. "I drew you," she tells him, showing him the pencil sketch. "Is that really what my ear looks like?" Jimmy wants to know. Some noises can be heard in the hall and Jimmy expresses concern that it could be someone named Mrs. Krakauer, so we finally realize that this isn't a dream — we have traveled back to 1916, when Jimmy attended
Princeton as a freshman, thanks to Nucky's help, and he and Angela have spent the night in his dormitory bed. As Jimmy and Angela start to arrange themselves to avoid being caught should Mrs. Krakauer happen to make her way to Jimmy's room, Jimmy remembers to tell Angela that his mother is coming to visit that afternoon. "She 'needs' to see me," Jimmy says, making quote marks in the air with his fingers when he says needs. Angela offers to "keep out of (Jimmy's) hair," but he insists that she should meet Gillian. "You think that's a good idea?" Angela asks but his reply gets interrupted by a knock on the door that sends the young lovers scurrying out of bed for clothing. "You owe me your life," the out-of-breath young man at the door, Cal Widdecomb (William Pierce Cravens) announces. "Krakauer was up her snooping. She heard something. I said it was just me reciting Robert Service." Jimmy, pulling his pants on in a rush, tells Cal, "You make me sick 'cause you actually do." Cal scouts the hallway to make sure the coast is clear for Angela and she then makes her way out of Jimmy's room. "Next time we go back to using your car. Please?" she begs. "Well the thing is that wasn't my car," Jimmy admits. "I hate you," she smiles. "One more thing," Jimmy adds, pulling Angela back for a goodbye kiss and telling her he'll see her that night. "Maybe," she replies. "Maybe?" he responds quizzically. At the end of the hall, Cal whisper-calls to Darmody, "How come you and not me?" Jimmy just shrugs, sticks out his lip and closes his door behind him. After the horrific ending to last week, this flashback certainly offers a pleasing way to begin, even if we know that any sweetness will end bitterly. Despite that, it's nice that we get another image of Aleksa Palladino so that the slaying of Angela isn't the character's last image. To see how playful she and Jimmy once were, is quite moving since we never really glimpsed that. Michael Pitt's college look is interesting as well, very reminiscent of his work in Michael Haneke's U.S. remake of Funny Games. 
"As cookies go, this Esther Randolph's strictly vinegar," Bill Fallon tells his new client, Nucky, as they meet at Nucky's home office. There hasn't been enough of that kind of writing, even in the good episodes of Boardwalk Empire, lately. I love when they give us pearls of dialogue such as that. That love of language remains one of my favorite aspects of the series. "And the judge?" Nucky asks. "I was giving the signals — he wasn't responding," Fallon replies. "Signal harder!" Nucky suggests emphatically. "Any harder and he'll nail me for bribery. Then we'll both need new lawyers," Fallon says to Thompson. Nucky looks frustrated. Fallon isn't proving to be any more of a magic elixir than Ginsburg's "brilliant plan" turned out to be. Sometimes, a guilty man just can't catch a break. "Randolph's betting big on the capital case. She wants you in the noose for Hans Schroeder. And the deputy — Halloran. He'll say you gave the order and they let him walk," Fallon informs Nucky. "What about Eli?" Nucky asks. "Not talking," Fallon replies. "To the Feds?" Thompson assumes. "To us," Fallon corrects him. Nucky makes a point of telling his high-priced attorney that he's innocent. Fallon assures Thompson that he wouldn't have taken the case if he were guilty. Nucky probes as to what else Randolph has in store for him and Fallon lets him know that one of the prosecution witnesses will be Agent Nelson Van Alden. "The man's a bigamist," Nucky exclaims. "No, he's an adulterer with a child by your former mistress. Let's not even have the jury start
wondering whose ox is being gored there. But he is a Treasury agent and depending on your leanings — " Nucky interrupts Fallon's report because he's been distracted by Harlan, who has continued dusting the office throughout his meeting with Fallon. "You need to dust under my eyelids, Harlan?" Nucky asks the man who worked for him at the Ritz and has been acting as a butler since he relocated his office to his Margate estate. "No sir, Mr. Thompson," Harlan replies. "Then that's all for now," Nucky tells Harlan before return his attention to Fallon and asking, "How bad is this?" Fallon assures Nucky that he isn't a naysayer but, "a prudent man might want to get his finances in order." Nucky voices a need for a scotch and as Fallon rises to pour two, Nucky sees that Harlan has yet to leave. "Was I not clear?" he says to the butler. "Yes sir," Harlan replies. "Then what?" an aggravated Nucky responds. "You kept me workin' these past weeks with the strike and all — " Nucky stops Harlan, insisting that no thanks are necessary. "I belong to the Shiloh Baptist Church," Harlan begins to say but Nucky interrupts again, trying to get him out of the room. "I appreciate your prayers, now if you don't mind," Nucky says in hopes of moving Harlan along. However, Fallon recognizes that Harlan has something else on his mind and inquires what he wants to say. "About a year ago, the deacon held our annual Week of Miracles — prayers, baptisms and such — for anyone inclined to accept the Savior. Your Agent Van Alden show up one afternoon with the other lawman," Harlan shares with the men. "And?" Fallon asks. "He drowned that fella in front of us all," Harlan tells them. "Harlan, is it?" Fallon smiles. I love that this show never forgets. I always thought they really wrote Van Alden into a corner when he killed Sebso and as separate as his character has been from the main action this season, I can't help but think that next week will mark his swan song. Michael Shannon has been great, but he is such a talented actor who probably is missing a lot of opportunities by being on the show, I can imagine him leaving. With the characters who are being killed off or who might be written off, the third season could end up having more cast turnover than the entire run of Law & Order.Unaware of what has finally surfaced about him and Agent Sebso, Nelson bids good morning to Sigrid, who is preparing breakfast. The agent asks about his daughter and Sigrid tells him baby Abigail is sleeping. Sigrid tries out some Dutch on Van Alden, but he says he doesn't understand. "'How are you?' You are Dutch, no?" Sigrid assumes, based on his surname. "No, I'm from upstate New York," Van Alden answers. "Your mama and papa — do you go to them to visit?" the nanny inquires. Nelson opens up to Sigrid more than we've ever heard him open up about his childhood except for the time he told Lucy about his aunt and the Christmas pageant. "They don't enjoy my company," he admits. "How can this be?" Sigrid asks. "My parents were followers of Reverend Edgartin Sterry I searched but if Sterry were real, I find no trace of him. who prophesied the Second Coming in 1892," Van Alden tells Sigrid who comments that she wasn't born yet. "In anticipation of Judgment Day, my father gave away our farm. We lived in a tent — penniless — for an entire year waiting for the Lord to return cloaked in fire and glory," Nelson shares. "This did not happen," Sigrid says, stating the obvious. "My father never got over it and somehow the mere fact of my ongoing existence is more than he can bear," Nelson concludes. "He will still come — Jesus," Sigrid declares. "Doesn't that worry you?" Van Alden asks. Sigrid turns from the stove to face her employer. "You are a good man, Mr. Van Alden. There is nothing to be frightened of." Nelson smiles serenely at her.
With the leg brace fastened into place, Dr. Holt asks young Emily if she's ready to try them out. Margaret stands on her daughter's other side ready to help as well while Father Brennan watches. "How does it feel?" her mother asks. "Rubbery," the child replies. "We're going to let go of you," Holt tells the little girl. "But we're right here," Margaret assures her. The adults remove their hands from Emily and almost immediately she starts to buckle. Holt catches her. "That's a good start," Holt says. "You were standin' straight up. Wasn't she father?" Margaret adds. "Right there with the best of them," Brennan concurs. Holt brings out a lollipop for Emily and lets the girl know he's going to speak with her mother for a few minutes. "She needs to develop strength in her arms and torso to find her balance. Might be a little rough at first. She'll be strongly tempted
to go back to crawling," Holt explains, before taking a slightly stern tone. "But we're not gonna let her do that, are we?" "We are not," Margaret promises. Holt heads back to Emily to get her release papers signed as Father Brennan approaches Margaret. "You held up Emily. The Lord will hold up you," Brennan tells her. "She needs to learn to support herself," Margaret echoes Holt's words to the priest. "A man once was invited to visit both Heaven and Hell, First he went to Hell where all the tormented souls were sitting at tables laden with food, yet they were starving and howling with hunger. Each had a spoon but the spoons were so long they couldn't get them into their mouths. Their frustration was their torment," Brennan begins his parable. "And in Heaven?" Margaret asks. "In Heaven, to his amazement, the man found the souls of the blessed sitting at similar tables laden with food but they were all fed and contented. Each had a spoon and the spoons were just as long as the spoons in Hell but they were able to eat all they needed because they were feeding each other," Brennan concludes. Margaret looks puzzled by the story the priest just told, but she didn't get to ask anything before Brennan informed her that her donation enabled the church to begin construction of a new parish hall — the walls and floors at least, he says they still lack funds for a roof. The guilt-stricken and possibly mentally ill Margaret offers to get Brennan more. "That's not what I was asking for," he tells her, giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and leaving. We're several scenes into the episode by now and probably wondering if anyone has even discovered Angela, Louise and the bloody scene at the Darmody beachhouse. It appears that someone has as an Atlantic County ambulance pulls away after loading a covered body into the back. When the ambulance ceases to obstruct our view, we see Gillian in the window, smoking a cigarette. When the scene moves inside the beachhouse, Deputy Benedek (Dustin Olson) of the Sheriff's Department asks Gillian if she knows where her son was last night. "He was attending to his business," she answers with her back to the lawman as she continues to look out at the beach and the water. "Which is?" the deputy inquires. "Why are you here?" Gillian asks the deputy spitefully. "It's a double homicide, ma'am," he replies. "Why are you here? I specifically asked for Sheriff Thompson," Gillian informs him. "The sheriff's unavailable," Benedek says. "Well, you'll need to talk to him instead of hitting at accusations," Gillian tells him. OK. While I still think this is one of the series' best
episodes, are you trying to convince me that Esther Randolph had the sheriff arrested on a murder charge and that it didn't make the newspaper and even if somehow it didn't make the press, Gillian hadn't heard about it? The deputy insists that he's just trying to get the facts straight. He's been so quiet and dressed in clothes that almost blend into the background, you might not have noticed Richard sitting in a chair in the adjacent living room behind the deputy. "The facts are these: My son's wife was being intimate with another woman. I highly doubt it was the first time. An intruder broke in and killed them both," Gillian declares with a tongue full of acid as she crosses to the living room and stood by Richard. Benedek turns around and notices Harrow sitting there. "You're an associate of Mr. Darmody's?" the deputy asks. "Yes," Richard says. "Do you know his whereabouts?" Benedek inquires. Richard tries to speak, but he's clearly torn up over the events, so Gillian steps in. "Can't you see this man is a simpleton? He's just someone that my son is charitable to. He doesn't know anything," she whispers. Richard plays along. Deputy Benedek tells them that they will let them know when they can claim the body and departs. "Thank you for your sympathy," Gillian says with all the fake sincerity she can muster. She asks Richard if he's been able to get a hold of Jimmy. "He wouldn't answer the phone," Richard replies. "He needs to come home. People will get the wrong idea," Gillian tells him. Richard has stood up from the chair and looks about the room in kind of a fog. "Excuse me please," he says. Harrow slowly walks down the hall to the bedroom and looks at the coagulated blood scarring the floor. He dips his finger in the mess — his last connection to Angela, though it could just as easily be Louise's blood — and stares at it mournfully. As Richard gazes at the blood, Jimmy's voice intrudes from the next scene, taking us back to Princeton in 1916. "My father prov'd himself a gentleman, Sold all 's land, and, like a fortunate fellow…"
"…Died ere the money was spent. You brought me up At," Jimmy pauses on the next word, uncertain of the pronunciation, and we see he is reading from a book in a small lit class. The professor, Noel Pearson (Gabriel Olds), helps him out. "Padua," Pearson says. "Padua, where I protest, For want of means — I have been fain to heel my tutor's stockings, At least seven years; conspiring with a beard, Made me a graduate; And shall I, Having a path so open, and so free To my preferment, still retain your milk In my pale forehead?" Jimmy reads. "To which his mother replies, 'O That I had never born thee.' So — nasty little scene. What's Webster on about here?" Pearson asks the students before specifically selecting, "Mr. Carruthers." The John Webster play the students are discussing is The White Devil. The passage from Act I, Scene II which Jimmy reads has been trimmed a few lines as you can read here. "The way to graduate from college is to bribe someone, sir," Carruthers (Ben Forster) says. "That may be so in your case," Pearson responds, eliciting laughs from the group. "But think more broadly. Mr. LeBarron," the teacher chooses the student to his left as his next victim. "It's a corrupt society, so you can't help but be corrupt in it," LeBarron (Lucas Wells) answers. "The Jacobeans loved to depict Italy like this. Women are bald-faced whores and men are lustful panderers. All very entertaining but what's the scene about?" Pearson poses the question. "His mother taught him things that aren't of any use. Everybody around him is getting rich and he can feel it. Like he's hungry. Like he can taste it," Jimmy speaks up. "Sounds persuasive to me. Good. Next week The Revenger's Tragedy," Pearson tells them. "I can't make class next week, Mr. Pearson. S.A.T.C. This stood for Student Army Training Corps, which briefly replaced the ROTC, but wasn't instituted nationally until The Selective Service Act of 1918. The various schools across the country all had groups for military training, but not under the SATC name. On the other hand, indexes of Princeton collections do refer to S.A.T.C. 1916, but finding links for any of this is difficult. is on maneuvers," Marten Sharpe (Will Cart) informs his professor. "Taking your soldiering
seriously," Pearson comments. "We're headed to war, aren't we?" Sharpe responds. "He just likes the uniform," Jimmy wises off. "It's called patriotism. I guess you don't know anything about that," Sharpe fires back at Jimmy. This scene plays as a perfect microcosm of Jimmy's life to come and the series in general. What a wonderful choice of literary material they chose. The White Devil by John Webster isn't a well-known work, but its view of Padua and corruption sounds like its portrait of Atlantic City. The line Sharpe uses on Jimmy about patriotism is the same reason he gives to Nucky as to why he went to war when he returns. He also could be discussing Gillian when he interprets the scene. "The Kaiser never hurt me," Jimmy declares. "My brother died on the Lusitania," Tom (Patrick O'Neill) informs him. "I didn't know that, Tom," Jimmy says sheepishly. "Then you might apologize," Sharpe suggests. "Sure I do. I'm sorry," Jimmy apologizes. "Alright gentlemen, we've averted a duel. Next week, The Revenger's Tragedy. Read Tourneur," Pearson says. As the students exit, Pearson asks Jimmy to stay a moment. "You won't win that way with fellas like that," Pearson advises. "I know — that was stupid of me," Jimmy admits. "Then why did you say it?" Pearson inquires. "Where I come from people sort of come out swinging," Jimmy replies. "Where is that?" the teacher asks. "Atlantic City," he answers. Pearson probes to see if Jimmy's post-graduation plans include going back. Jimmy explains that it is what's expected of him by his guardian, Mr. Thompson, and his mother. Pearson asks if Thompson is a Princeton man. "No, but he knows people," Jimmy replies. Pearson inquires if Thompson's paying for Princeton. "If I don't screw up," Jimmy says. Pearson explains that people such as Sharpe and LeBarron had everything set up for them from birth so the needn't worry, but people like Jimmy and him "need to be clever," explaining that his father punched tickets on the Northern Pacific for 30 years and he's proud of Pearson even though he has no idea what he does for a living. Pearson tells Jimmy he can go and as Darmody is leaving, the teacher stops. "What! Because we are poor, shall we be vicious?" Pearson emotes with flair. "Pray! What means have you to keep me from the galley or the gallows?" Jimmy repeats back. "Webster — terrific stuff, isn't it?" Pearson says, adding that he'll see Jimmy at that night's mixer.Lansky, Luciano and Capone return to the warehouse with Mickey to assess the progress of their booze clearance sale. "I got rid of my whole share in Philly," Mickey announces. Being strangled by Manny must work wonders for an injured neck. The last time we saw Mickey was when Horvitz was squeezing his neck brace and shoving his head against the window to get Jimmy's address. Now, Doyle isn't even wearing the neck brace. "We didn't even have to go back to New York. Sold the whole lot in Hoboken," Lucky says. Mickey asks what they should do with Jimmy's piece. "Fuck Jimmy. It's ours now. He ain't gonna be showin' his mug around
here again," Luciano declares. "The quiff was my wife, I woulda done it same way," Capone proclaim. "If she was your wife, I wouldn't blame here," Lucky teases. "He's comin' back," Mickey insists. "Seems unlikely," Lansky comments as he keeps jotting figures in a tiny notebook. "He didn't ice her," Doyle tells them. "Then who did?" Capone turns and asks. "Manny Horvitz," Mickey answers authoritatively. The three gangsters not native to Atlantic City all stop and look at Mickey. "A little agitation between him and Jimmy," Mickey elaborates. "Then it's Jimmy's problem," Luciano says. "Sell this shit and be done with it," Al says. "And when he turns up lookin' for his dough?" Doyle asks. "Pay him out of your share," Meyer suggests. "My share? How do you figure that?" Doyle says, puzzled. "'Cause you're a mope, that's how," Capone laughs. "What's left over for me?" Mickey wants to know. "What's left over for me? Run these numbers — A.R. holds a half-million dollar policy against your life," Lucky reminds Doyle. "I don't know nothin' about that," Mickey claims. "I watched you sign it, you fuckin' snitch. So how about I put a slug in your head and we split the policy with him?" Luciano threatens. "My share'll be fine," Mickey decides. "I thought so," Lucky says. Al gives Mickey two little slaps on the cheek and walks out laughing with Lucky and Meyer. I've said it before, but honestly, how has Mickey survived this long since he works for and against practically everyone. Again, another example of the show's great long memory. I'd forgotten about those life insurance policies Rothstein made Mickey and the D'Alessio brothers sign. I wonder if he got to collect on all those dead D'Alessios. I've written before as to how it was going to be a reach to keep the out-of-town gangsters involved in the show and that scene to me sure played as if they'd had enough fooling around in Atlantic City and wanted to just get their money and get back to their normal stomping grounds. I wonder if they are about to be phased out of the show as well (since they can't kill off real historical figures before their time).There's a funny bit where Nucky and Margaret argue about parables. She tries to explain what Brennan told her about dinner in Heaven and Hell and he keeps asking logical questions such as "Why couldn't they bend their arms?" or "Why didn't they just put their hands higher up on the spoons?" A frustrated Margaret pooh-poohs his tale from a few episodes back about the drowning man refusing the sailboats and the lifeguard. "That was about helping yourself," he tells her. They argue a bit over higher powers and whether it's divine retribution or coincidence, but the discussion gets short-circuited by Emily's cry from the other room that she "needs to go potty."
Eli meets with his lawyer Douglas Wallbridge (Randall Newsome) in his jail cell where he learns that Halloran's deposition fingers him for killing Hans Schroeder and ordering the attack on him during the riot at the strike. Eli denies it all and just wants bail, but Wallbridge says they won't give him any because he's considered a flight risk. He also says that Randolph is willing to spare his life if Eli testifies that he killed Hans under Nucky's orders. At first, Eli doesn't grasp what the lawyer means until he spells out that Eli could be facing the electric chair if he alone is tried for the murder.
We return to 1916 where Jimmy puts Gillian's things away in the room she'll be staying in. He asks why she's come and his mother says just to see how much he's changed, adding that she talked to Miss Krakauer and she told her "shocking" things such as she's seen Jimmy kissing "some underfed waitress." "Her name is Angela and she draws," Jimmy tells her. "So does a chimney," Gillian replies. He quizzes her about a man she's been dating named Arthur Henderson and she informs her son that he's married. "Married and mortgaged in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 'Sorry, little squirrel. I thought girls like you could tell,'" she shares the story. "He didn't deserve you, ma," Jimmy says. Gillian admits she had her "little pleasures" from the affair. She brought Jimmy some booze and encourages Jimmy to have some, though he insists he has to write an essay. Gillian tells him that when she was on the train she thought that she could never get too sad because she'd always have him. Jimmy gives her a kiss on the forehead and tells her he loves her.
At the Post Office in 1921, Nelson stares at Rose's divorce petition while Randolph talks with Lathrop and Halsey about how a widow like Margaret ended up in a three-room bungalow. Lathrop suggests she pursued Nucky. Randolph asks Van Alden for his opinion of Margaret he had since he interviewed her. "She left no impression on me one way or another," Van Alden lies. Randolph decides to bring Margaret in for questioning. Van Alden signs the divorce petition.
At the 1916 Princeton mixer, Jimmy is delighted to see that Angela did show. In the background, you can hear voices singing "Old Nassau," the Princeton alma mater written in 1859. She meets Gillian, who insists on a kiss. Jimmy looks annoyed to see his mother flirting with Pearson. Angela makes the revelation that she's pregnant and Jimmy makes plans for them to get a place together. Angela says he hardly knows her but Jimmy says he knows she's a "good person." The most touching portions of this part of the flashback belong to Jimmy's friend Cal, who already is quite inebriated. When he finds Jimmy and Angela, Cal tells them, "I'm attaching myself to both of you. Do you know why? Because I'm socially inept and full of anxiety." Later, and he's probably being truthful, he pours his drunken heart out to Angela, trying to pass off his father's tire plant in Ohio as making him wealthier than he is. It is highly doubtful that we'll ever see the Cal Widdecomb character again, but he is such a sharp contrast to any other character we've seen on the show that he really stands out. The actor William Pierce Cravens creates such a full-bodied presence in just two scenes that it's a shame that he doesn't fit into the show's structure all the time.
Nucky breaks the news to Margaret that he's just been informed by Fallon that Eli will testify against him and that he faces the possibility of the electric chair. He tries to talk to her reasonably about how he can hide his assets so she can be taken care of and have access to them, but she is too far gone to discuss matters like that. Margaret accuses Nucky of thinking that he can make some good come out of this. He blames Father Brennan for putting ideas in her heads. As he starts to explain how the land he owns will be transferred to her, Margaret leans back in her chair and drifts away, Chopin's "Nocturne No. 15 in F Minor" starts playing, bleeding us back to 1916 again where Jimmy leans against the building where the mixer is taking place, drinking from a flask. Angela walks up and asks if he's going back in when Gillian comes out an exit breathing heavy and adjusting her dress, which looks ripped. "I thought we were just flirting," Gillian says. He sees that Pearson was the culprit. "What did you do to my mother?" Jimmy demands to know. As people still do in 1921, Pearson expresses surprise that Gillian is his mom. "Let's just say your life is pretty Jacobean all by itself," the professor declares. Jimmy orders him up on his feet. Pearson advises him not to get wound up and promises to apologize in "a convincingly chivalrous manner." Jimmy punches him hard in the face anyway. Pearson warns him to walk away and he'll forget it happened. "It is happening," Jimmy says before proceeding to beat on the teacher some more.
Mickey contacts Van Alden for a meeting. (Fun moment: Mickey asks Nelson to sit but he says he'd prefer to stand and Mickey replies, "Please. I don't like the way you loom.") Mickey, none too happy with getting screwed out of money by Capone, Luciano and Lansky and tossed over a balcony by the absent Jimmy tells Van Alden about the big score about to be divvied up, suggesting that the Feds intervene. Mickey just wants half back which he guesses is $300,000. "150 in your pocket. A lot better than the envelope you been gettin', huh," Mickey says. So we do know for sure now that the cash that Nelson hid both before and after Lucy stayed with him came from Mickey. Unfortunately for Doyle, Van Alden rejects his deal this time. Mickey isn't happy to hear that. Van Alden tells him never to contact him again. “You’re gonna fuck me over? ‘Cause that’s not how I think,” Mickey shouts as Nelson leaves.
Jimmy, not that sober himself, takes an even drunker Gillian back to her room. She notes blood on his shirt and starts to take it off but he does it himself. She asks him how badly he hurt Pearson. "Enough to get me expelled," Jimmy tells her. "No. Nucky'll fix it. He can fix it," Gillian assures him. Here comes the scene, the one that puts all our speculation about Gillian's tendency to be overfamiliar with her son to rest. The flashback even tossed out the idea of Jimmy's jealousy since before he "defended her honor" he looked unhappy at her flirting with Pearson. "I'm just the loneliest person on earth," Gillian sighs. She then asks Jimmy, referring to Angela, if he loves that "skinny girl." "I don't know. No. I don't know," Jimmy replies. She warns him not to do anything stupid and he helps her get undressed for bed. She tells him she hates for him to see her like this. "Tomorrow, you won't remember any of this," Jimmy says. "I always remember everything. No matter what," Gillian responds as he gets her into the bed and she pulls him down with her. She reminisces about curling up next to him when he was little. Jimmy says, "Good night, ma. I love you." He leans down to kiss her, but Gillian pulls him into a full-on liplock as a train goes by telling him, "There's nothing wrong, baby. There's nothing wrong with any of it," she tells him and the incest we wondered about actually occurs. The next morning, Jimmy wakes up alone, looking horrified, like a ghost. He looks out the window and sees students running through military drills.
An Army recruiting officer (Jeb Kreager) asks Jimmy for his next of kin, but he says both of his parents are dead and leaves his fiancee, Angela Ianotti, as a contact. The recruiter inquires his reason for wanting to fight. "Frankly sir, because I'd like to stick a bayonet straight through the Kaiser's guts," Jimmy replies. "What for?" the recruiter asks. "I lost a brother on the Lusitania," Jimmy says, stealing Tom's story.
Margaret works on Emily's braces, which are chafing the girl though she can't feel it, when Owen comes downstairs and offers to smooth it out for her. "Do you think about me? 'Cause I think about you," Owen tells her. Margaret says she'll pray he gains the strength to stop. He replies that will mean she's thinking about him. Katy sees them together and runs out of the room.
The 1921 Jimmy wakes up wherever he is and grabs a bottle of booze, drinks and blacks out. Later, we hear Gillian's voice coming through the phone receiver that's off the hook on his chest telling him that he needs to come home. "You have a son and business waiting for you. Do you understand?" his mother asks. He manages to answer into the phone that he does. She says he must show the world he has nothing to hide. He lets the phone go and snorts one of those heroin samples that Luciano gave him to hand out to potential customers.
Van Alden rounds the corner (literally, not figuratively, because with what goes down here combined with the previous scenes of this episode, I'd bet that next week will be Michael Shannon's last appearance as Agent Nelson Van Alden on Boardwalk Empire.) and enter his office at the Post Office. "Agent Van Alden, this is Mr. Fallon — Mr. Thompson's new attorney," Randolph says to him. "How are you this fine day, sir?" Fallon asks. The camera switches to Van Alden's stricken point-of-view — stricken because behind Fallon and Randolph stands Deacon Cuffy of the Shiloh Baptist Church, who saw Nelson drown Agent Sebso that day. It's unclear if Van Alden notices that Lathrop has staked out a place behind him to stop his exit. "And I believe you may have already met Deacon Lemuel Cuffy," Randolph adds. Fallon tells Van Alden he has some things to show him. "These were your former partner's I believe — Agent Sebso's," Fallon says, removing a gun and a pair of shoes from a box. Randolph asks if Nelson recognizes them, but he hasn't said a word. "It is joy for the just to do judgment," Cuffy declares. Lathrop tells Nelson to put his arms in front of him and reaches inside Van Alden's coat pocket. Nelson gets a shot off, hitting Lathrop in the leg, and runs, shoving Agent Sawicki into a pile of mailbags as he flees outside through double doors.
As if Margaret weren't already near the precipice, receiving a subpoena has pushed right over. Nucky tries to speak rationally. "We began in sin, we'll end in it unless we change," Margaret insists. Nucky tells her that she's talking rubbish. Margaret continues to blame herself for the misfortune that has fallen on her and everyone she love. She tells Nucky that she's stolen, deceived and cheated and he grills her for examples but when he asks who she has cheated on, she can't bring herself to say him and name Owen. After a long pause she says, "I live with the man who had the father of my children murdered." Nucky denies he ordered Hans' death, only admitting that he said he deserved it. When he realizes that her guilt complex has her contemplating testifying, he warns her that she can do what she likes to ease her conscience but he won't permit her to take him down with her. "And if you don't think I'm good as my word, you don't know me at all," Nucky warns her.
Jimmy has made it back to Atlantic City and listens to his mother make plans at the Commodore's, discussing funeral arrangements and what to tell Tommy. "I think — tell me I'm wrong — we'll tell him she went to live with her friends in Paris and she wants her little boy to stay here where she knows he'll be safe with his daddy who works so hard and his mima who loves him so very much. You know what, a month from now — and I don't mean to sound cold — he won't even remember who she —" Gillian doesn't finish that sentence because Jimmy, who looked to be in a stupor, leaps from his chair and starts choking the life out of her. "I'll remember. I'll remember," Jimmy shouts repeatedly at her while he throttles her. Unfortunately, before he can finish her off, the Commodore appears from behind with his spear and sticks it in Jimmy's side. Father and son struggle over the spear. Helluva recovery since the Commodore just showed he could stand last week and now he's rushing to defend someone with a spear. Somehow Jimmy gets to his handy knife and plunges it into the Commodore's gut. He stumbles backward. Jimmy removes the knife, "Then finish it. Goddamn you!" Gillian yells and Jimmy gives his father the fatal wound. Then Jimmy goes upstairs and blinds himself. Sorry. Wrong story. Besides, he has to marry Jocasta — I mean Gillian — first. The Commodore collapses to the floor. Jimmy limps to the other room and does the same.
Jimmy wakes up in a chair with his shoulder bandaged. He sees Richard cleaning up the scene from the Commodore's killing. Richard closes the curtain and Jimmy goes back to sleep. Later, he hears Angela's voice telling him she has to leave. He gets up and sees little Tommy, who woke up from a bad dream. Tommy asks where his mommy is and Gillian answers, "I'm here." She tells Jimmy not to worry about what happened. She knows he didn't mean it. Everything will be better now. As Gillian carries Tommy upstairs, she says, "One day he won't be little anymore. It happens." Is she counting the decades until Tommy gets the Princeton treatment? The song "Make Believe" begins playing as Jimmy watches her carry Tommy upstairs and continues through the closing credits.
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Labels: Boardwalk Empire, Haneke, HBO, Law and Order, Michael Shannon, The Sopranos, TV Recap
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