Author: acsversace news

‘American Crime Story’ Comes to a Tragic End as Everyone Winds Up ‘Alone’

The finale of American Crime Story season 2 is titled “Alone,” a theme that is seen throughout the excellent episode. This season has quietly been one of the strongest things on TV right now (maybe the best show currently airing). Credit must be given to the writers and producers, because they absolutely stuck the landing, which is a tricky thing with a true story that ends in such a way as Andrew Cunanan’s story ended.

The thrust of the action returns to present-day Miami Beach (present day for the show), where Cunanan (Darren Criss) is on the run and then in hiding because of the high-profile nature of Gianni Versace’s murder. Unlike with Cunanan’s previous victims, Versace’s killing has captured the attention of the entire country, and therefore a manhunt involving hundreds of federal agents has descended upon the city.

As such, Cunanan has basically nowhere to go. He breaks into a houseboat and posts up there, initially celebrating his fame and being able to get away with killing Versace (Édgar Ramírez) in broad daylight. But as the days go by, Cunanan can’t leave the city because of police checkpoints, and he becomes increasingly desperate, to the point where he eats canned dog food because there’s nothing else in the houseboat.

In a heartbreaking scene (and it’s quite a credit to Criss’ performance that this scene is even remotely sad), Cunanan calls his father in Manila and cries about how he doesn’t know what to do. Modesto (Jon Jon Briones) promises he’ll be on the next flight out and that he’ll come get Andrew, but the next day, Cunanan watches on TV as his father is interviewed in Manila. Clearly, Modesto hasn’t even left the Philippines yet — plus, he makes up complete lies about his conversation with his son.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, but Andrew has never been on the receiving end of the lies in quite this way, and it’s devastating.

When the caretaker of the houseboat comes by and finds Andrew there, the cops descend and the manhunt ends when Cunanan shoots himself in the head.

While all of this has been going on, there have also been glimpses of just how “alone” everyone else is. Cunanan’s mother Mary Ann (Joanna P. Adler) is alone and terrified, ushered out the door of her apartment by federal agents while reporters scream questions at her. Marilyn Miglin (Judith Light, who is outstanding in this episode) is trying to soldier on with her life and her business, but she is clearly a little lost without Lee and in a lot of pain.

Ronnie (Max Greenfield) is shown defending himself alone to the FBI, railing on them for not caring about these crimes because they involved gay men until a victim was so high-profile that they couldn’t ignore it anymore.

David Madson’s father is having to defend his son against accusations that David (Cody Fern) was involved in the murder of Jeff Trail (Finn Wittrock), which, by all accounts from law enforcement, he was not.

Versace’s partner Antonio (Ricky Martin) is utterly alone, even when surrounded by Versace’s friends and family, because no one will really acknowledge their love and the pain Antonio is in. In case you were wondering, Antonio is still alive, so the suicide attempt we see at the end of the episode was unsuccessful (if it even happened; we can’t find anything to corroborate that it did).

Even Donatella (Penelope Cruz) is alone, though she has a better support system than most. But she is haunted by refusing to take her brother’s call the morning he was killed, which she finally confesses to her older brother Santo (Giovanni Cirfiera) after the crowds and press have dispersed and they are alone.

It’s an incredibly tragic ending to a tragic season, but what else could it have been? Andrew Cunanan clearly was in a lot of pain and he inflicted that pain and suffering on nearly everyone around him, first psychologically and then as an actual killer. He then finally turned his pain and desperation back on himself.

‘American Crime Story’ Comes to a Tragic End as Everyone Winds Up ‘Alone’

I just wanted to take this opportunity to extend a million thank yous to anyone who was involved with running this blog and updating us with ACS information. You became my absolute BIBLE for this season and I think I would have felt very lost without you so yeah, THANK YOU SO MUCH :)

You’re welcome! It’s been a pleasure sharing this journey with everyone, and ACS Versace has been an incredible show to follow. I do feel a little sad that there’s an expiration date on this blog, but we still have a couple of awards seasons! I’ll be sticking around; my main is @mintysmoothie if anyone wants to chat me up. I don’t blog all that much but I’m trying to be more active in fandom haha. I also have something interesting that should be up in a week or so.

Also a shoutout to @musexmoirai for her encyclopedic knowledge on the case and who’s been a great help in running this blog!

American Crime Story: Versace Is A Much-Needed Lesson In Empathy

On Wednesday night (March 21), the Season 2 finale of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story placed the final puzzle piece in the jigsaw of Andrew Cunanan’s story.

The twisted narrative that spanned his 27 years and pushed further back in time with each new episode ultimately led us right back to where we started in the premiere: to the days after Gianni Versace’s murder. But the feelings toward Cunanan (Darren Criss) that we were left with as he took the life of his final victim — himself — are markedly different than those we felt as we watched him approach the gates of Versace’s (Édgar Ramírez) mansion and murder the celebrated fashion designer in cold blood.

But contrary to our usual feelings toward a central character, it’s not sympathy that we’re feeling. It’s empathy.

“When people say, ‘How can you humanize somebody like this?’ I say because he’s a human being. Everyone is human. Although, unfortunately, he’s famous for horrible things that I am not exonerating him for – they are deplorable and a tragedy and unforgivable,” Darren Criss told MTV News. “I’m not playing a killer; I’m playing a person.”

Starting with the one point of familiarity in Cunanan’s story — Versace’s murder — it felt like the only way forward was to go backwards, building a visual of the spree killer’s history with each episode and introducing us to him as a gay man in the throes of unrequited love, and before that as an escort for older men, and before that as the prized son of an immigrant who tangos with federal law and ultimately flees the country, leaving his family behind.

All the while, we have a constant reminder of who he ultimately becomes as we watch him pick off his five known victims: Jeff Trail, David Madson, Lee Miglin, William Reese, and Gianni Versace.

“We start with him as this absolute monster who is doing the worst crimes, and so up front we’re saying, ‘This is who he is.’ And then we’re saying, ‘How’d he become like that?’” writer and executive producer Tom Rob Smith said. “One of the advantages of the backwards narrative is you’re very clearly telling the audience, ‘This is someone who’s done these absolutely terrible things,’ so when you get into that stuff, you’re not trying to say that forgives him. That’s just to say where he comes from.”

Executive producer Brad Simpson agreed, “It doesn’t excuse what Andrew has done, but it explains it.”

This ability to understand a person, regardless of whether they were right or wrong, is empathy in its most pure, unaffected form, and being able to empathize with someone who confidently and consistently makes bad decisions helps us identify those turning points in which they begin to lose their sense of morality. In watching Cunanan’s early missteps, one can’t help but feel that this spiral was “preventable,” said Simpson.

“When you go back to his childhood, you see that this is a kid who wasn’t born to be a murderer. He’s somebody who might’ve been a little unstable, but he was talented. He was somebody you and I might’ve been friends with in high school because he was extroverted and interesting, and something went wrong,” Simpson added. “Here’s a kid who was the product of some sort of bad childhood situation and at some point, somebody could’ve helped him and they didn’t.”

Interwoven in that dialogue is an exploration of LGBTQ culture in the ’90s, a time when Don’t Ask Don’t Tell seemed more like a blanket rule than a military creed and the AIDS epidemic incited fear and prejudice toward the gay community. Versace navigated that feeling of shame that often comes with rampant homophobia and the lingering effects of it, as told through the dual narratives of Versace and Cunanan, two charismatic men who took drastically different paths.

“It was such a lonely period of time,” described Max Greenfield, who played Ronnie, a struggling HIV positive gay man in Miami and the closest Cunanan had to a friend in the two months before he murdered Versace.

In the finale, Ronnie poignantly stands up for his marginalized sect of society while being questioned by the FBI, asserting that the authorities failed to locate Cunanan because they “were disgusted by him long before he became disgusting.” He evokes the empathy that was built upon throughout the season, adding that Cunanan was never hiding; “he was trying to be seen.”

“One of the things that we’ve talked about is how dangerous it is … when you tell people that their voices don’t matter,” Greenfield said.

“When you do it from such an early age, when you’re sending that message to a young person who then thinks without even being told that their voice doesn’t matter or that they should be ashamed of who they are and ashamed of what they think and what they believe and their voice – it’s heartbreaking, and, really, the result of it can go in any different kind of way. That’s what the story is. It can result in beauty in Gianni Versace’s case, and it can result in real chaos and terror in Cunanan’s case.”

American Crime Story: Versace Is A Much-Needed Lesson In Empathy

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season Finale – Reel Talk

Nine weeks ago, FX premiered the second season of their anthology crime series, American Crime Story.The first season touched upon the sensationalized O.J. Simpson trial and it lured in millions of viewers who are still fascinated by that media circus some 20+years later. While the first season was compelling television, the element of surprise was missing. Anyone with an iota of memories has some knowledge of the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman and the subsequent trial that interrupted regularly scheduled programming for weeks. Ryan Murphy, the mastermind behind this series, is at his best when making television based on salacious headlines and his attention to detail did not disappoint. That being said, Murphy and his team could only do so much to tell us things we didn’t already know and that element always made it seem like the show was recreating acts we have already seen so many times before.

The second season of American Crime Story took a different approach. The crime in question dominated headlines in 1997 but unless you are a true crime junkie, it’s one of those stories that faded into the background. The July 15, 1997, murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace shocked the nation at the time because it was so brutal and so sudden. Soon the world knew that the man who took his life was 27 year-old Andrew Cunanan and so many theories abounded as to why he did it. Was it random? Was he an obsessed fan? A case of mistaken identity? These were questions taken to Cunanan’s grave when he committed suicide on July 23.

Or so that’s how it seemed to the general public. Bits and pieces of Cunanan’s road to murder were revealed on news outlets but the FBI knew so much more about Cunanan’s journey. Versace wasn’t his first murder, in fact over a three month period, Cunanan took the lives of four other people: naval officer Jeffrey Trail, lover David Madson, Chicago real estate developer Lee Miglin, and caretaker William Reese. The beginning of these murders put Cunanan on the FBI’s Most Wanted List (in fact he was the first person to be put on the list as the Internet became a more significant tool to utilize this method) but Cunanan didn’t achieve the headlines he longed for until he gunned down Versace and the world really wouldn’t know anything about his prior victims until various documentaries and news programs decided to fully delve into the case.

The sense of mystery surrounding Cunanan and his motives is why the second season of American Crime Story has been compelling television from start to finish. The season began with the murder of Versace but subsequent episodes worked in reverse and essentially explained how we got to that pivotal moment on the steps outside of Versace’s Miami mansion. Because Cunanan was known to present a different version of himself to those who knew him, a lot of the series is based on speculation and tidbits from those who crossed his path throughout his life. A lot of what we saw over nine weeks is largely fictionalized but the heart of the story has an undeniable ring of truth.

The biggest complaint by most watching the series as we headed to the finale, which aired last night, was that for a show called The Assassination of Gianni Versace, there was very little about Versace or his inner circle. This was clearly Cunanan’s story but as a viewer, I can understand the slight misdirection. Versace is the name the public knows and his murder is the crime that most remember. This is the name that will make people watch. Ryan Murphy has also said that it was heavily considered to put Cunanan’s name in the title but it was ultimately decided that this would glamorize him and that’s something they did not want. For me, the most significant reason to use the Versace name and then tell a larger story beyond the fashion designer’s life and murder is that it brings awareness to the victims that didn’t make all the headlines. The episodes detailing naval officer Jeffrey Trail and David Madson and their fatal encounters with Cunanan were the best the series had to offer because it finally humanized these two men who simply were an afterthought in the media coverage. The episodes went into more than how they met Cunanan and how they were murdered, they made the people you cared about and that made their demise at his hands all the more tragic. You felt as you watched their episodes, which spanned more than a single arc, that these guys finally got their voice. The depiction of their murders was brutal but more poignant and memorable was the depiction of how they lived.

The Versace aspect was never frivolous, however. There were a few times that the Versace story would run parallel with Cunanan’s journey. One episode dealt With Donatella Versace’s unease and rise in her brother’s industry as it explored Cunanan’s rise as a kept man in the world of rich men. Cunanan came from money but his father ultimately abandoned the family, leaving his kids with their mother in less than favorable conditions. Versace’s story showed how he got to where he was based on hard work while Cunanan’s showed that he wanted the things Versace had but didn’t feel like he had to put in the work to do so. This is a man who thought something was owed to him and his descent into madness escalated as the world and character he created for himself began to fade away.

For those who wanted more Versace, the season finale took us back to the events of July 15, 1997. Having explored Cunanan’s road to murder, the finale deals with the manhunt for Cunanan and the eight days he spent in hiding as the media firestorm erupted from his murder of Gianni Versace. The frantic final days of Cunanan’s life, again, are largely fictionalized because the one person who knows how they were exactly spent was Cunanan and he subsequently took his life alone on a houseboat and with that act, achieved the infamy he so desired.

Much of the episode dealt with Cunanan becoming increasingly more emotional and hopeless as he took shelter in a houseboat, watching Versace’s larger than life Italian funeral on television and reminiscing about his time with the designer. This is another bone of contention, especially with the Versace family. They vehemently deny that Versace knew Cunanan at all while others who had some knowledge of Cunanan’s life, believe they crossed paths at some point. One motive for Cunanan’s rage against the designer was that maybe he tried to get into Versace’s inner circle at some point and was denied. Cunanan apparently held on to grudges when it came to those who wronged him on some level and that makes this Versace speculation have some air of truth.

Another interesting aspect of the episode had nothing to do with Cunanan. The relationship between Versace’s grieving sister Donatella and his lover, Antonio D’Amico has been explored sparingly throughout the series and what we gathered is that these two didn’t like each other. This seems to be more on the end of Donatella who circled the wagons and ultimately pushed D’Amico out. He was promised the Lake Como property by Versace himself but Donatella and the board don’t allow this to happen. The scenes are played to emotional perfection by Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin and while both performers were a bit underused over the nine episodes, they did get a few moments to shine and I think they will ultimately be remembered come award’s season. To do what they did with so little by giving so much is a testament to their talent.

Before we get to how this story ends, it’s important to touch on the cultural significance of this story and its views on society as a whole. The People v. O.J. Simpson dealt with race relations and its impact on the trial during season one, while this season zeroed in on the complexities that the gay community weathered in the late ’90s, and how homophobia continues to pervade society. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the pointed speech delivered by Ronnie (Max Greenfield) to the Feds after they bring him in for questioning over Cunanan’s whereabouts. Wiry and HIV-positive, Ronnie berates them for their insensitivity and idiocy in not catching Cunanan sooner while he was in plain sight in Miami. The one thing that most know who followed this story is that it’s largely believed to be one of the biggest FBI fails of all time and a lot of it has to do with how they perceived the murders before it was too late. This was a gay man killing other gay men and that became the narrative rather than simply finding a growing spree killer before he took more lives. Ronnie’s line in last night’s episode sums up their approach best:

“The other cops here, they weren’t searching so hard were they, why is that? Because he killed a bunch of nobody gays?…You know what the truth is, you were disgusted by him, long before he became disgusting. You’re so used to us lurking in the shadows. Ya know, most of us, we’re obliged! People like me, we just drift away, we get sick, nobody cares, but Andrew was vain. He wanted you to know about his pain, he wanted you to hear, he wanted you …he wanted you to know about being born a lie. Andrew is not hiding. He’s trying to be seen.”

Throughout the series, we have seen some compelling performances. Finn Wittrock gave humanity to naval officer Jeffrey Trail that would likely make those who knew him proud, while Cody Fern gave you poignant insight into Cunanan’s most personal victim, David Madson. The namesake of this series can’t be ignored either. Edgar Ramirez has turned in fine work as Gianni Versace, portraying him as driven but ultimately a sensitive soul who was proud of his accomplishments. Whether it was pushing his sister Donatella, or tender moments with Antonio, Ramirez hit all the right notes in the role and gave the character much more depth than was probably on the page.

That being said, the real MVP here is Darren Criss. From start to finish he has delivered on all fronts as Andrew Cunanan. This isn’t an easy role to portray. Cunanan was a known liar and manipulator but for awhile he was able to get people to buy what he was selling. He was charming but, as we know now, largely unhinged. Criss balances all of these aspects of his personality with the greatest of ease and he makes it so seamless that it’s pretty scary to watch. To be likable on one level and out of your mind insane is no easy feat, but Criss makes it look effortless. Glee made Criss a household name but this is the kind of role that makes you a star. If he doesn’t sweep all the awards for his portrayal here, it would be a travesty of epic proportions.

As we reach our conclusion, the series ends with one of those parallels I touched on earlier. Cunanan ultimately shoots himself and, after the events take place, a final scene juxtaposing Cunanan’s unremarkable final resting place and lack of mourners with Versace’s opulent mausoleum and Donatella’s palpable grief is a tragic but fitting into the themes that the series explored. Cunanan wanted the things Versace had but couldn’t obtain them. Whether it was love, wealth, fame or admiration, Versace earned those things based on his character and the world mourned him. Cunanan tried to achieve these things based on lies and deception and he ended up dying alone. Cunanan was voted in high school to be “most likely to be remembered” and in a way he was, but that final image of him, with a self-inflicted gunshot wound through his mouth as he laid there a former shell of himself, is probably the last way he wanted to be seen.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season Finale – Reel Talk

Darren Criss Delivers Performance of The Year in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Review)

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story explores the murder of designer Gianni Versace by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, based on Maureen Orth‘s book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History.

I was not familiar with the details surrounding the mid-90’s murder of Gianni Versace and I did not fact check ANYTHING while watching ACS Versace. Much to my surprise – this story was INSANE. Literally one of the most impressive and profound true stories about a man’s descent into madness. Darren Criss’ performance as spree killer Andrew Cunanan is legendary. Think American Psycho meets Taxi Driver and we’re starting to get the whole picture here. Criss deserves every single acting award coming his way. There will not be a better acting performance in 2018 or maybe even years from now that can match the intensity and sadness that Criss has put on display here in these nine incredible episodes.

I know that the title of the series has Versace in it, but American Crime Story is all about Andrew Cunanan. We dive deep into the psyche of a killer and although we will never know WHY he did what he did, you will damn sure have a better understanding what led Cunanan down this path of death. Writer Tom Rob Smith doesn’t sympathise with Cunanan so much as peel back the layers of mystery of his life, so that viewers get the entire story, including that of his victims who all deserved to have their stories told in a profound way. Cody Fern for example — is a future star. Watch for that kid to do some amazing things down the road. Ryan Murphy stuck to his guns by casting Criss, known for Glee and his work in music and that decision turned out to be one of the best casting decisions of all time for the smallscreen. Hell – Ricky Martin could get an award too for playing Versace’s lover – those scenes in the finale – in the church? Unreal.

Following up the OJ Simpson mini-series was a huge undertaking, but I honestly think that ACS Versace was a sprawling and epic drama that did a better job getting into the mindset of everyone involved in this sweeping tragedy. Edgar Ramirez and Penelope Cruz literally BECAME Gianni and Donatella Versace, not only in their physical appearances, but the accent and essence of these fashion icons. We do delve into the Versace family for a while and it’s very intriguing, but the split of the show does feel like a 90-10% split with Cunanan and his other victims’ storylines taking up most of the screentime. I’m not complaining though – I’m obsessed with true crime and serial killers (last year’s Mindhunter was made for me), so having more time dedicated to understanding what may have drove Cunanan to murder was the right choice.

From the opening episode which shows the murder of Versace, to the final episode which wraps up all the loose ends in devastating fashion, ACS Versace might be the best mini-series yet from Ryan Murphy. And I’m including American Horror Story in that declaration. Darren Criss BECAME Andrew Cunanan for this role. You will not see a better character study of a serial killer than you will here. These nine episodes are constantly jumping back and forth in time (which I’m told may have turned off some viewers with its sporadic story structure) but I think that was the correct choice to take people on a better emotional journey. If we were to have told this story chronologically — I don’t think it would have captured our attention. The sporadic narrative was a necessary evil in order to uncover the essence of Cunanan’s insanity. There’s a monologue in the finale where Max Greenfield tells the police that Andrew isn’t hiding – he’s wanting to be seen and it really does sum up what happened with the botched investigation and pursuit of Cunanan in general. He was a gay man, killing other gay men — so law enforcement didn’t give a shit back then. Plain and simple – sad but true.

The glorification of serial killers isn’t what we were going for here and by the end of the series — Cunanan is most certainly not celebrated in any way whatsoever, but I do feel like Criss’ performance is culturally one of the most significant and impressive acting performances of our time. Whether he’s seducing older men with his IDGAF dance moves in a speedo, or when he’s wrapping tape around his face while having a shower – Criss is doing something unlike any other character in years. He’s bizarre, scary and at times – enigmatic. The episode in which he shows up to a party, rips off his trenchcoat to reveal that red leather suit and struts right into that house like a boss – is one of the best scenes of 2018. Andrew just wanted to be remembered and although the murderer will likely fade into obscurity, I hope that Criss’ iconic performance stands the test of time. It’s that good.

Rating: ★★★★★

Darren Criss Delivers Performance of The Year in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (Review)