For the first instalment of What to Watch, we have the new amazon limited series about love, a nun double bill, and Daniel Radcliffe’s quirky corpse.
1. Modern Love
The superbly acted Amazon Prime limited release based on the New York Times column also named Modern Love shows us that love is much more than complicated than what the movies will have you believe. Though some episodes shine more than others, I can’t say any of them were stinkers. If you’ve been looking for the next great romcom or you’ve been wanting more Queer Eye, a 30-minutes-an-episode anthology is exactly what the doctor ordered. The refreshing part of Modern Love is less about two strangers falling into a romance under charming circumstances and more about the many different kinds of love that can emerge from getting to know someone. Though there’s plenty of that romance under charming circumstances if you have the hankering. Both heart-warmingly cheesy and thought-provokingly nuanced, I binged watched this in the space of 4 hours. I was so ravenous that the worst part was when it ended. With a cast list of Dev Patel, Catherine Keener, Sofia Boutella, Anne Hathaway, and others, you’re sure to find an episode you want to rewatch over and over again. If you’re in a time crunch, go watch episode 3. If you’re just thirsty for Dev Patel as a romantic lead, it’s episode 2.
2. Black Narcissus
Admittedly, I don’t tend to watch many films about religion. Sure, Martin Scorsese’s Silence is a brilliant film. First Reformed was my film of the year in 2018. Ingmar Bergman’s Seventh Seal and Winter Light are haunting. But as a whole, I tend to stay from films about religion. It’s pretty easy, there aren’t many films being made about it, or at least ones that I hear about that aren’t God’s Not Dead. Even fewer films about a religion that isn’t Christianity. Black Narcissus was a complete shock to a system. The film begins with Sister Cloudagh being relocated to with a group of Angelican nuns to the Himalayas, where she’s put in charge. There she meets Mr Dean, the dashing handyman who catches her attention, whether she wants it or not. Sister Ruth, a younger nun grows jealous of their friendship, adding even more tension. Though this sounds like the plot of some terrible porn, Black Narcissus is a rumination on desire, heightened by extreme self-denial. There’s something deliciously dramatic about the moral panic of Black Narcissus. Sister Ruth is not just a nun who rejects her vows for her desires, you watch her transform into the monstrous. Anna Biller has cited Black Narcissus as an inspiration for The Love Witch, and it shows. Both are dark and completely about the frustrating wants of women.
3. Novitiate
I swear to god, this was an accident. I didn’t set out to just watch two nun films in a row. The nuns just happened to me. At a shallow level, they’re both films about devotion to religious life. But on a deeper level, Black Narcissus and Novitiate are both about finding a desire for something missed. The latter is much more earnest about its themes. Criminally overlooked, Margaret Betts’ coming of age film starts with Qualley’s voice saying
‘They think of nuns today, and they see a bunch of old women. Women who couldn’t find husbands, or for some reason just couldn’t make it in the outside world. So they ran off to a monastery to escape everything. What they don’t understand is that beneath everything else… we were women in love.’
It’s a brutal watch, but if you can stomach the pain, Novitiate rewards the viewer with more than a few things to think about on a Sunday — no matter where you fall on the religious spectrum.
4. All About Eve
Frankly, it’s a bit embarrassing to admit that I’d never watched All About Eve until this week. The stage adaptation starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James was plastered in every London tube station a few months ago. That should have a sign to go find a copy of the 1950’s classic as soon as I get home, but like someone walking around with food stuck between their teeth, I remained oblivious. When I finally watched it, All About Eve was a revelation. Not only did it feel modern in its portrayal of women, but almost every line was so brilliant, I wanted to put it on a shirt. Anna Baxter plays the menacingly manipulative Eve with great power, but it’s Bette Davis who plays the dwindling ageing star Margo Channing that gets all the best lines. The sheer screen charisma combined with the catty dialogue makes a fun coupling for a character that’s ultimately quite tragic. It’s little wonder why there’s a cult of Bette Davis among the gay community.
5. Swiss Army Man
If you’re in the mood for probably one of the strangest love stories this side of the A24 catalogue, Swiss Army Man is your film. Hank (Paul Dano) is stranded on an island. The desperately solitary life has driven him to suicide. A saviour in the form of the corpse (Daniel Radcliffe) materialises out of the ocean. This magical cadaver somehow provides him with food, water, navigation, and more importantly friendship. Despite the questionable premise, Swiss Army Man is a wonderfully warm flick that concerns itself most on the nourishing nature of companionship in times of extreme loneliness. If you can overlook the taboo of befriending corpses, you’ll love Swiss Army Man.