Removing my blind spot, part 2 - Shirley

This weekend several new films were released. Not in theaters, but on a variety of streaming devices. Much has already been made of these films on social media, and with my blind spots front of mind I decided I would start with the film of least resistance, “Palm Springs.” I made it 20 minutes in. Perhaps that blind spot is bigger than I thought. Maybe I’ll give it another chance over the coming weeks. Who knows? What led me back to “Normal People” (see previous post!) was the quality of the product and sustained word of mouth. I have a feeling that “Palm Springs” will be forgotten rather quickly. Unless no more movies are released theatrically, and it ends up with Original Screenplay love come awards season. Believe it or not, that could happen.

This film sold for 20 million dollars at Sundance and was intended to have a studio release, but with COVID, it premiered on Hulu. Interestingly enough the streamer wars, which began as an onslaught on the dominance of Netflix (which took on the omnipresent Cable companies) by the likes of Apple TV+, Disney+, HBOMax and the forthcoming and free peacock have somewhat left Hulu unscathed.

One of my biggest television blind spots is arguably the show that landed Hulu on the map for original content, “The Handmaids Tale.” Specifically Elisabeth Moss. I loved Moss in “Mad Men.” A truly original actress who took that character on one of the most remarkable journeys we have seen on television. When I discovered Moss was a Scientologist I was crushed. No one is perfect, no. And although “cancel culture” is a new (I think) term, it has been a debate for some time. In my lifetime, the most obvious is Roman Polanski. I’m not here to debate anyone’s guilt or innocence. Or whether “the work” can or should be lofted above and beyond the artist’s actions.

Truth of the matter is, I don’t know a ton about Scientology. I watched “Going Clear” the documentary from Alex Gibney and “The Master.” And I avoided their tables at the 42nd St. Subway in NYC like the plague for over a decade, although their “Free Stress Test” was always intriguing to me! Luckily, I didn’t need a test to know that I was.

I never made a conscious decision not to watch Elisabeth Moss in anything. Not at first, I don’t think. But as time went on, I found myself staying away. Did Scientology keep me from watching Travolta in “Hairspray?” Nope. But then again, I understood things even less back then. Luckily, I haven’t had to worry about watching him in much these days, because nothing he (or Tom Cruise for that matter) has made in years has interested me in the slightest. I can tell you that Scientology didn’t stop me from watching Kirstie Alley in “Drop Dead Gorgeous” when I compiled my favorite films of all time a couple of summers ago. Blind spots within blind spots!

And then came “Shirley.”

When it comes to growth, there is often pain and aversion. My friend Amy is a huge fan of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and on more than one occasion we had discussed my not watching the show and how I was missing out on something very special, especially as a film/tv writer, but a few weeks ago, she laid down a hard fact for me. Where was my tolerance?

Is it possible for someone to belong to a religious organization and not succumb fully to the doctrine? If I chose not to watch the work of an artist who identified as a Christian or Catholic…how many people would that exclude? Would I even have anything to watch?

I decided to give it a go with “Shirley,” and I’m so glad that I did.

Moss portrays Shirley Jackson, a horror writer struggling with her mental stability, working on a new novel and tormented by her marriage to husband/professor/cheater Stanley Edgar Hyman. Stanley invites a student - Fred (Logan Lerman) and his wife Rose (Odessa Young) to stay with them as Fred begins his studies with Rose working around the house. Rose becomes a confidant of sorts to Shirley and helps her to venture back out into the world and into a level of sanity needed to work on her book. In the meantime, their roles begin to cross and reverse, with Rose delving into instability.

Beginning the film, I was hesitant. I didn’t want to like it because then it would be easier to not watch Moss in anything again, but I was beguiled. In the early scenes of the film it was difficult to see what Moss was concocting with her portrayal. Director Josephine Decker, cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen and Editor David Barker choose to bombard us with close ups and quick edits that don’t allow us much time to really process the emotion and depth on screen. But eventually I either got used to it or they took some cinematic breaths because around the time that Rose and Shirley begin to supplant each other, the film starts to soar with Moss a revelation. Like her Peggy in “Mad Men” this is a woman we haven’t quite seen before. In another’s hands, “Shirley” might be just another mad fictionalization of a real life.

This time of year is normally a delight for me in terms of cinematic discovery. I remember in early 2018 after coming off two very exciting Oscar seasons wondering if I would find anything worthy of the excitement instilled with my beloved “La La Land” and “Call Me By Your Name,” not to mention “Moonlight” and others. I was in Atlanta for a work trip and while the world was off seeing some summer blockbuster or another, I found an indie cinema and watched “Final Portrait.” A delightful indie film with Armie Hammer and Geoffrey Rush directed by Stanley Tucci. It was so wonderful and a breath of fresh summer air. It didn’t have much traction in that year’s awards race. None, that I can think of actually, but it made my Top 10. “Shirley” is in that realm. And unlike 2018, I didn’t have to go to a city as large as Atlanta to see it. I could watch it from my own home.

Moss has a chance at an Oscar nomination…not only because she is good, but because with the way things are headed, a lot of her potential competitors will more than likely be pushed past February’s eligibility deadline.

So, the blind spot. Is it gone? Perhaps. I have watched the rise of cancel culture on Twitter and the (already) endless and exhausting debate it has produced. Fortunately or unfortunately everyone has a voice on the subject and many of those voices, whether limited by word count or lack of critical thinking have very little ability for nuance. And if someone tries to express something in the grey area, they are attacked.

Now that I have seen my role in attempting to “cancel” Moss…well….I can say this. The blind spot is gone, and now I can see. What will be done with that? Only time will tell.