Tag: 2.01

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

Welcome back to another season of American Crime Story. Last time we met, I was regaling you with tales of being a youthful college student in my native Los Angeles as OJ Simpson was tried and acquitted for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, and we all fell profoundly and deeply in love with Sterling K. Brown. Today, we reconvene to discuss the murder of Gianni Versace — the 20th anniversary of which was just this last July — at the hands of serial killer and pathological liar Andrew Cunanan, in Miami. I was a youthful Los Angeleno just out of college when this happened, and I do not, therefore, have great personal insight to this specific milieu, beyond being alive and alert in 1997.

I can say, though, that as someone who remembers the summer of 1997 well: It was a weird summer. Versace was gunned down on the steps of his house, and six weeks later, Princess Diana died in a car accident. Mother Theresa died less than a week after that. The Heaven’s Gate mass suicide had happened in March and was still getting a lot of news play (related, we had a giant comet hanging over us that year, which I personally think scrambled people’s brains a little, even though if you asked me the direct question, I would tell you that I don’t believe in that). And I was newly out of college and had no idea what I was doing with my life, which certainly wasn’t globally noteworthy, but made me personally feel strange.

It is so interesting to be watching this story play out and remember the way it unfolded in a time without real internet. The internet existed, but not in the way it does today. If a major fashion designer were murdered on the steps of his house today, I assume we’d all be on Twitter for 72 hours straight. As it was, I mostly found out what was happening by opening the Los Angeles Times (which makes a cameo in this episode, which amused me; surely what most people in Miami were reading was the Miami Herald). Things change so quickly in our lifetimes.

But let’s discuss the episode! I’m not going to recap it blow-by-blow, but instead, thought we could talk about it in general here, before zipping through its amazing sets and wardrobe in the slideshow.

1. My god, EVERYONE is in this: Dascha Polanco! Will Chase! Stan from Mad Men! Schmidt from New Girl! Ricky Martin! Darren Criss, obviously. Penelope Cruz! Annaleigh Ashford, looking so plain-faced that it took me forever to place her! CATHY MORIARTY, popping up for me at basically the same time she popped up for Heather on This Is Us, leading to us wondering what is going on in the universe to lead Cathy Moriarty to appear simultaneously on both of our TVs. (It seems like a good omen.) Judith Light is going to appear later. It’s exciting!

2. Overall, I thought the pilot was very good. I didn’t read any reviews prior to watching it, but I saw a lot of tweets indicating that several TV critics thought it was very different than The People vs. OJ, and people who want what they got from OJ might be taken aback. Personally, I didn’t expect them to be particularly similar, but that is perhaps because I knew I wouldn’t have the same personal connection regardless. I think it was very well-acted — Darren Criss is great; it’s too soon to tell how Penelope Cruz is, as Donatella, but (a) even mediocre Penelope Cruz is probably gonna be pretty good, and (b) Donatella is a tough role to shoulder thanks to SNL.

2b. I did think there was one false note — and I am interested to hear from those of you who lived in Miami and/or followed this more closely than I did about others. When Detective Will Chase is questioning Ricky Martin, Det. Will Chase seems perplexed by the idea that Ricky Martin and Versace are romantic partners whose relationship is sexually non-monogamous. It’s 1997 Miami: There is no way he hasn’t come across that scenario before. I would not have been particularly phased by that at the time if I stumbled across it in the lives of some extremely rich adults, and I was a 22 year old with very little life experience. (I did read a lot of books, though.)

3. The tile in this thing is EXCEPTIONAL.

What did you think? As ever, I also recommend reading the coverage at Vanity Fair, which obviously covered this AT LENGTH when it happened, as Terrible Things Happening To Rich People is right in their wheelhouse.

(PS: There is one slide within that is potentially NSFW.)

And very familiar underpants for anyone who ever read a fashion magazine in the mid-90s. (Also: the ceiling in this bathroom! Amazing! This entire pilot was like, LOOK AT THIS ROOOOM!!)

Something I didn’t know, which I found really interesting, was how close Versace’s house was to the main drag there in Miami. He literally walked out the front gate and was on the street, free to be molested by looky-loos, or, tragically, shot. Obviously, this is the case for famous people in MANY cities in the world – New York, London – but I always think of Miami as being like Los Angeles, in that many if not all of the more overwhelmingly grand homes are set further back from the street. I say this with the expertise of someone who has only flown through the Miami airport and knows it from The Golden Girls, so. You know. Expertise!!

Andrew Cunanun had this in his bag along with his gun and I swear to god I checked this book out of the library once myself. (It is out of print now.)

This mansion has so many frescos. SO MANY. (I enjoy a good mural/fresco, as you know. Basically, I hate a bare wall.)

The floors are ALSO dramatic. Mr Versace was a maximalist and I am here for it.

This is basically like a tiny, Miami Hearst castle.

A little sad foreshadowing here. (Diana wore a lot of Versace; including, if I recall correctly, in the editorial in this issue of VF.)

Raise your hand if you knew a dude who owned this shirt. (I certainly did.) The late 90s were replete with Versace knock-offs for dudes.

I thought it was interesting how much this episode focused on the way Andrew changed his clothing to suit wherever he was going – from borrowing his brother-in-law’s conservative Armani-ish suits for the opera, to literally wearing an ascot and cordoroy blazer to Cal, where he is (preending to be) a student. (He lies a lot, about everything, and people can tell.) 

This poor child, on the other hand, is NOT true to my memory of being part of the UC system in the mid-90s. Sweet summer lover, wander over to a group of kindly girls and let them fix you a bit. You’re in the English department! WE LOVED TO MAKE PEOPLE OVER.  Anyhoods, I hope this sad noodle with the terrible sweater who loves Andrew does not die.

It’s possible I have done this myself and I’m concerned about what that means for me.

I was not going to deny you Darren Criss’s butt, even though he is playing a sociopath.

This gown is quite stunning.

Is it a successful date if there is no harp? Asking for a friend.

I just wanted to note that, so far, Ricky Martin is very good in this part and that, in general, I am ready for Ricky Martin to be very famous again. You young people don’t even know how EXCITING it was when those of us who didn’t know about rocky Martin were introduced to him at the Grammys in 1999, when he sang Cup of Life in leather pants.

Will Chase, however, looks vaguely absurd in these glasses and that stache. He looks like he’s an actor playing an actor playing a cop.

I am here for this, however.

THESE WALLS ARE AMAZING. I CAN’T STOP SCREAMING ABOUT THEM.

I will note that I felt as if some of the blah blah about the Versace business felt a bit tonally out of place in this episode; in a sense, I think it worked well to establish that Donatella is a smart woman in her own right, but I’m not sure if the audience totally cares about stock options at this moment?

Ryan Murphy directed this episode and I forgot how much he loves an overhead shot. (It was well – and very dramatically – directed, because Ryan Murphy is a much better director than he is a writer. I don’t believe he wrote any of these episodes, which bodes well for the show.)

I TOLD YOU Cathy Moriarty would show up!

I know shit is bad right now, Donatella, but you look very glamorous whilst in mourning.

Schmidt, on the other hand, has looked MUCH BETTER.

American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

American Crime Story – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: S02E01: The Man Who Would Be Vogue

AN IMPRESSIVE PREMIERE SETS THE SCENE FOR A VERY DIFFERENT CRIME

How do you follow the crime of the century? That’s the question Ryan Murphy and FX must have been asking after the monumental success of American Crime Story’s first season. Brushing off charges of exploitation and insensitivity, The People v O.J.  Simpson was a surprisingly detailed and compassionate tale with the racial politics of the early 90s and 2016, and how they mirrored each other through the filter of the O.J. Simpson murder trial. It topped many best of year lists, won a ton of awards, and briefly put Cuba Gooding Jr on the map again. The question must be asked again: how do you follow it?

The Assassination of Gianni Versace has a lot to live up to, and by the basis of The Man Who Would be Vogue it’s safe to say that Ryan Murphy has another hit on his hands. In many ways, season two of American Crime Story is completely different than season one. Sure, there are lots of similarities: it’s 90s setting, the crime featuring a number of famous faces, actors from Ryan Murphy’s previous projects, but The Assassination of Gianni Versace has a completely different feel than its predecessor.

One of the most important differences is the cut and dry nature of the crime itself. There is absolutely no ambiguity about who murdered Gianni Versace: that would be serial killer Andrew Cunanan, played by Darren Criss. Also, if you think that season two will have the same structure of the first season, which isn’t unusual if you aren’t familiar with the crime, don’t get your hopes up. There will be no trial, instead there will be what the author of the book this season is based on Maureen Orth called “the largest failed manhunt in U.S. history.”

If the crime seems straightforward, the lead up, and consequences of it are anything but. The Man Who Would be Vogue spends its first ten minutes showing the contrasting circumstances of victim and killer. Ryan Murphy’s camera follows Versace (Edgar Ramirez) through his palatial mansion much like a king wander around his castle. As he makes his way through his morning routine, we are shown the same time frame from Andrew Cunanan’s perspective. It’s here that the contrast becomes so effective. As Versace is calmly waking up for what might be an unremarkable day, Cunanan is on the beach, which is stained red in many places, preparing for the act that will make him as famous as the man he is about to kill.

I didn’t like Glee so I wasn’t that aware of Darren Criss until he started popping up in some predictable places: as a dead hipster in American Horror Story: Hotel, and some unpredictable places: as the Music Meister in the Supergirl/Flash musical crossover. None of these roles prepared me for his magnetic performance as Andrew Cunanan. Clearly the most eye-catching part of this premiere, at least until Penelope Cruz turns up, Criss, along with Murphy, and head writer Tom Robbin Smith, have crafted a captivating sociopath who, if he wasn’t a real person, I would have called a larger than life imitation of Tom Ripley.

With this season placing such importance on circumstances leading to the murder, going as far back as 1990 when Cunanan allegedly met Versace, Criss has to craft a character in which the lengths of his insanity went to make narrative sense. This is harder than you would think as real-life people don’t tend to stick to character architypes, or act in ways that make logical sense within a story. The advantage of Cunanan is that he is constantly inventing himself over and over again in every situation he finds himself in. This is shown effectively through his accounts of that possibly made-up meeting with Versace. We first see it as it supposedly happened: with Cunanan sensing an opening that frequently closes only for him to rip it open again. It’s this persistence, and a story about his family ties to Italy, that helps him connect to Versace enough that the designer invites him to the opera. From here we hear two alternative versions of this story from Cunanan’s point of view that put him in a more cool and favourable light. He’s a pathological liar that creates himself anew over and over again: symbolised by his nearly empty wardrobe and his confession (even if it is superficial) that he has nothing.

The best scene of the episode is a culmination of all of Cunanan’s skills. In a borrowed suit, he improvises a privileged history of himself to put him on somewhat equal footing to Versace. The way Criss moves around the stage is almost comically that of an actor putting on a performance, which is exactly what he is doing. This is complicated further by the niggling thought that this entire scene could be a fiction as well. What is real though, is Cunanan’s crimes, which turn out to be more serious than just Versace.

Apart from the meat of the episode between Ramirez and Criss, The Man Who Would be Vogue has got some season-long plots to set up. It’s here where American Crime Story feels the most familiar. Not only is law enforcement involved, including Miami PD and the FBI, there is also the media, and bystanders that are on hand to hustle for profit or souvenirs.

8/10 – The pieces have been put in place, the big players introduced, and the story set in motion. American Crime Story has figured out how to follow its first season: go bigger.

American Crime Story – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: S02E01: The Man Who Would Be Vogue

https://ia601502.us.archive.org/8/items/PVRMACSS02E01/PVRM_ACS_S02E01.mp3?plead=please-dont-download-this-or-our-lawyers-wont-let-us-host-audio
https://acsversace-news.tumblr.com/post/169900764304/audio_player_iframe/acsversace-news/tumblr_p2tsgw00Fa1wcyxsb?audio_file=https%3A%2F%2Fia601502.us.archive.org%2F8%2Fitems%2FPVRMACSS02E01%2FPVRM_ACS_S02E01.mp3

ACS S2E1 – “The Man Who Would Be Vogue”

The People are … on board for “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.” The mansion! The slow pan shots! Miami! 1997! It may be too soon to tell if we love it, but one thing’s for sure – It’s a BEAUTIFUL show. Natalie and Maren are reading your feelings about the first episode, dissecting Penelope Cruz’s “Donatella” accent, and breaking down fact from fiction of the murder scene.

TV Recap: Gay Clubbing And Murder In Debut of ‘American Crime Story’ Season 2

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” has been hotly anticipated ever since its announcement. Mired in controversy from the very start, the Versace family denounced the Ryan Murphy-helmed FX show, despite Donatella’s affection for leading lady Penelope Cruz. Dropping earlier this week, the new program has some critics disappointed, while others eagerly await more.

The series opens in Miami Beach, Florida in 1995. A swelling orchestra and painted clouds in garish colors gives way to a room lit in neon undertones, where we are introduced to our main character: the eponymous Gianni. In designer boxers and a plush robe, he takes to a balcony where he watches a boy on a beach. That boy is Andrew Cunanan, who will go on to kill Gianni.

Cunanan ruffles through his bag to find a book about Vogue magazine and a gun. Lesions on his leg hint at a disease festering in his body (already Murphy’s series is not shying away from discussing AIDS). He walks into the water and screams. Gianni dines on fresh fruit.

While Gianni denies a couple an autograph, Cunanan vomits into a toilet, noting graffiti scrawled in the toilet stall denigrates queers. After running some banal errands, Versace returns home, where he is shot to death by Cunanan.

In 1990, Cunanan is shown partying at a gay club (Murphy’s signature display of excess continues here), where a friend gets him into a VIP section. He weasels his way into a conversation with a slightly younger Versace. Cunanan is shown lying about the encounter later, over-exaggerating his social prowess and similarly denigrating queer people.

In another passing conversation, Criss’ character is shown to be somewhat of a pathological liar with a handful of (sexual) traumas in his past. Darren Criss’ ability to accurately and sensitively play a gay man will surely be the topic of considerable debate as the series progresses, but already his purposefully effeminate mannerisms are a bit, well, questionable, to say the least. (He’s trying, that’s for sure.)

Cunanan somehow manages a date with Versace at an opera the designer created costumes for. Cunanan tells a tall tale about his origin — obviously suspect at this point. Clearly he’s attempting to seduce Versace.

Back to 1995, Versace’s body lies on the steps of his palace. A butler or servant of Versace’s goes after Cunanan, but he escapes after threatening the employee with a gun. Ambulances rush to the mansion while Cunanan attempts to calm himself after the killing.

Paparazzi and camera crews rush to cover the killing while police pursue Cunanan. Attempts are made to revive Versace, but to no avail.

Teasers leading up to “ACS” showed characters bathed in tawdry neons, making many wonder what the series was aiming for in its tone. At this point, it’s clear Murphy is taking a step back from the campy, over-the-top vibe of “American Horror Story.” He’s trying to take this story seriously, and he perhaps imagines the events themselves as a kind of lavish opera, although tacky flourishes betray those intentions (perhaps intentional, perhaps accidental).

The death of Versace has attracted some eccentric people, including a tourist who sneaks into the crime scene to drench a Versace ad in the creator’s blood, and an aspiring model who vamps in the background of news reports on the murder. Cunanan is shown mimicking the shocked reactions of those learning the news. It’s not exactly subtle (Murphy has no ability to do anything with subtlety), but the shot of Criss covering his mouth with his hand shortly after seeing a nearby woman doing the same shows Cunanan’s attempts at parroting normal human behavior.

Donatella (Cruz) arrives in Miami while police interrogate Versace’s partner, Antonio D’Amico (Martin), with some sadistic cruelty, accusing him of pimping boys and men for Versace’s pleasure. Martin admits to bringing men home for sexual encounters, but police mistake the complexities of gay relationships as some kind of perverse or evil behavior. D’Amico has no ability to explain his love for Versace to these people; they have no desire to understand. Donatella forbids Martin from speaking to anyone else on the matter.

Martin is already the standout actor in the show. Covered in blood and crying for his lover, he’s clearly attempting to prove his chops — and definitely succeeding. Cruz and Criss are doing their best, but they can’t seem to shake the inherent campiness of their characters. Cruz in particular is trying to treat Donatella with decency, but her commitment to seriousness makes her depiction feel wooden. It feels like she fears making Donatella too silly, and the character’s depth suffers as a result.

Murphy here is clearly attempting to use Versace’s murder to discuss a handful of LGBTQ+ social issues ranging from HIV/AIDS to the lack of acceptance of non-traditonal queer relationships. Whether he’ll be able to tackle these subjects with clarity or nuance remains to be seen.

TV Recap: Gay Clubbing And Murder In Debut of ‘American Crime Story’ Season 2

AMERICAN CRIME STORY Review: “The Man Who Would Be Vogue”

American Crime Story is back with its second season, its first being the fantastic and critically acclaimed The People vs. O.J. Simpson. This time showrunner Ryan Murphy is covering another high profile 90’s murder case in The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Looking back at last season, I remember going into it skeptically, thinking it was going to be campy but fun (David Schwimmer as Rob Kardashian? John Travolta as Robert Shapiro?) and ended up quickly realizing that this was beyond camp. It was great, filled with memorable performances (some Emmy winning) and did not just simply recount the events of that time methodically from start to finish; it gave us fresh perspective on these faces involved in the trial that became iconic, and with it good reason to find a new sympathy for them. Even more impressively, this FX series forced us to look back at who we were as a culture and society through our present eyes and see how far we’ve come, even from a time that for many of us does not seem all that long ago (that episode where Marcia Clark got a new haircut and was lambasted by the press, the defense team, and Judge Ito still makes me feel bad feelings inside).

All that to say: whereas I came in to American Crime Story‘s first season with low expectations, I could not have higher expectations now for this one. And perhaps that is why I am off the bat not digging it as much as I did last season. Admittedly, I know less about the Versace murder and the people involved in it than I did about O.J Simpson’s trial. But I am also of the thinking that series can not fairly be judged upon their first episodes so I remain hopeful.

It certainly looks nice, I’ll give it that. We open on a morning in 1997 in Versace’s Miami Beach home that looks like it could be an exact replica of an Italian palazzo. The entire opening before the title is just intercut moments between Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) and his eventual killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss). Gianni breakfasts surrounded by servants, then walks down the street to pick up some magazines. Andrew sits on a beach holding a book on Conde Nast, glimpsing at a gun in his backpack, and screaming into the ocean. It culminates in Andrew walking right up to Versace as he’s returning to his home and shooting him in the head.

We then flash back to October 1990 and get a glimpse of the first time Andrew and Versace met. At a night club in San Francisco, Andrew pretty much forced himself into Versace’s attention, eventually getting the designer to sit and talk with him. This results in Versace inviting him to the opera, in which he designed all the costumes. Andrew brags to his friends Elizabeth and Phil, who he appears to be living with. They keep shooting skeptical glances at one another. Later, we get that Andrew is a sort of serial liar–he lies about his religion, his sexuality, his past, depending on what company he is currently in the present of. After the opera he and Versace seem to connect even further, but we don’t see anything outwardly romantic, or sexual, happen just yet.

So I imagine much of the series will be flashing back to Andrew’s past to flesh out his and Gianni’s relationship, or at least Andrew’s growing obsession with him. As it turns out, Andrew was already wanted for the potential murders of several other wealthy gay men. By the end of this episode, the authorities still don’t have him. While they are investigating we get to meet Versace’s partner of fifteen years Antonia D’amico. He lived with Versace and made sure he was happy–which included finding him men to sleep with, sometimes paid for. The two were in love and Antonio is devastated and played effectively by… Ricky Martin?! I realized it like halfway through the episode. I haven’t seen him since the mid-2000’s probably. But he does well here, I must say.

And of course, though her role was introduced late in this episode, Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace is sure to steal future episodes. Donatella, the sister of Gianni, is beautiful, stylish, and has just arrived from Italy to deal with the business. Her main concern is making sure that the empire her brother began with one rack of clothes in Milan is preserved. “I will not let him be killed twice,” she says. As I said, I do not know how this all plays out at all. The most I knew about the Versace murder was from an Eminem lyric from 2000. I think it’s good for my viewing experience; I won’t be waiting for landmark moments and will hopefully be surprised with certain turns. As of right now, the first episode lays solid groundwork, but feels just like that–a foundation without even a first floor to admire yet. It remains to be seen whether my high expectations are met.

TB gives it: B+

AMERICAN CRIME STORY Review: “The Man Who Would Be Vogue”

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ Episode 1 Recap: This Man, This Monster

Can Ryan Murphy return to the scene of the crime and get away with it?

At least as much as any mystery behind the titular slaying, this creative question is what The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story must solve. The Gleemastermind and workaholic TV creator/producer/director’s work is as wide-ranging as it is prolific, with ACS in production at the same time as his other series American Horror Story, FEUD, 9-1-1, the now-canceled Scream Queens, and the forthcoming Pose, Ratched, and ACS‘s third season, Katrina, which may as well be a whole different series.

But however you feel about his other projects, ACS‘s debut season, The People v. O.J. Simpson, is unquestionably his apotheosis. In conjunction with writer-creators Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, Murphy revisited a media-circus murder case nearly everyone thought had been exhausted of any creative or sociopolitical potential, and the result was a kaleidoscopic, knockout-powerful examination of racism, sexism, celebrity culture, journalism, the judicial system, the rise of reality TV, domestic violence, police misconduct, and the whole goddamn human condition. It was one of the best television shows of all time, full stop. Can Murphy, now working with writer Tom Rob Smith and adapting journalist Maureen Orth’s book on the case Vulgar Favors, draw water from that same dark well a second time?

Yes.

“The Man Who Would Be Vogue,” the premiere episode of ACS Versace, is every bit as gripping and impressive as its predecessor, but with two major structural differences. The first is that there’s not even a shadow of a doubt as to whodunnit, and no trial to determine the suspect’s guilt on the horizon. Andrew Cunanan, a handsome young social-climbing sociopath who’d crossed paths with Versace and become obsessed, killed the great Italian fashion designer at the tail-end of a cross-country murder spree; it’s his story as much as the title character’s, if not more so. From the start, this gives Versace a tighter focus, with a tone more in keeping with a serial-killer biopic or a dark Coen Brothers murder-morality play (I honestly catch major Barton Fink/Fargo/No Country/Blood Simple vibes from this thing) than O.J.‘s sprawling canvas.

The second structural change is that while Versace, too, centers on a high-profile crime involving a wealthy ’90s celebrity, it appears poised to tackle virtually the only hot-button issue O.J. didn’t: homophobia. From Cunanan’s quasi-closeted status and resentment of a man able to live more freely on his own terms, to the culture clash between Miami’s thriving gay scene and its reflexively bigoted cops, the era’s prejudices come across like unindicted co-conspirators.

This gives the assassination a truly tragic air. After all, the show’s approach to Versace himself, per writer Smith’s own characterization of it, is one of straight-up celebration. In this episode he emerges as the opposite of what you might expect from his almost grotesquely lavish, Young Pope-esque taste in furnishings and home design: a real man of the people, a guy who’s kind to his employees, who’s friendly to the neighbors, who (as he tells Andrew) wants nothing more than for his “love for life” to shine through in the clothes he designs. He and his partner Antonio (Ricky Martin, restrained and heartbreaking) have an open relationship, but it’s an openness they share together — an “if you’re happy and feeling good, I’m happy and feeling good” kind of deal that the tawdry imaginings of the local cops can’t even begin to encompass.

He’s also a family man. To the extent that there’s any strife in Versaceland at all, it’s because his partner Antonio and his sister-slash-heir apparent, Donatella, are basically locked in a contest over who loves the guy more. As he tells Andrew, his sister is his muse, and their childhood adventures together exploring the local ancient ruins inspired the Versace brand’s legendary Medusa logo. (“I know that many people call it pretentious, but I don’t care. How could my childhood be pretentious?”) For pete’s sake, the thing that wins him over to Andrew is when the young man tells a story about his beloved Italian mother! More than a fashion designer or a gay icon, the Gianni Versace of ACS is a secular saint.

And if you’re going to kill an angel, you need a demon. That role falls to Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan, a performance that in this hour alone looks headed for cinematic serial-killer hall of fame. It’s not too soon, I think, to compare Criss’s work as Cunanan — a straight man playing a gay predator — to Psycho‘s Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates — a gay man playing a straight predator. Physically and verbally they’re not so far apart: lean physiques, softly handsome features, gentle voices, a tone of good cheer that sits atop a wellspring of hatred, resentment, self-loathing, and violence like the lid of a pressure cooker. Cunanan’s love of the finer things, his ability to convincingly portray himself as a “normal” young upper-class up-and-comer, and his penchant for creeping around bare-chested and bikini-briefed will also call to mind Christian Bale’s iconic Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Indeed there are several times throughout the episode — most notably the moment where Andrew sees a news report on the murder he’s just committed and literally mimics the shocked reaction of a nearby onlooker — where you can see Cunanan physically applying Bateman’s “mask of sanity.”

The difference between this killer that one, the thing that makes him closer to the original Psycho than its American descendent, is the sense that underneath that mask of sanity there really is something, someone. The show isn’t above portraying Andrew’s personality in a comical way to make that point, either. With his hoity-toity manner of speech, his compulsive social climbing, and his constant stream of impressive names to drop, places he’s gone, things he’s done, et cetera an ad nauseam, he often comes across like David Hyde Pierce on Frasier, if Dr. Niles Crane had happened to be a murderer.

But there’s pain in Andrew, too. Recall how he screams into the ocean water during his pre-slaying swim, how he vomits into a public toilet as he works up the nerve to pull the trigger. When he bullshits his way into Versace’s presence and winds up attending the opera for which he’s the costume designer, the music moves him to tears. After the show, he clearly wants to believe all the kind, supportive things Gianni is saying about him as they hang out on stage together. (And there’s every reason to believe Gianni means every word, him being such a mensch.) Andrew sucks people in with lies and sucks life out of his resulting proximity to wealth, glamour, sex, and power to fill a hole in his heart, yes, but his heart really does exist. He’s a vacuum, not a void. It’s a subtle distinction, but so far it seems to be a crucial one.

There’s so much more to talk about here: the gauzily gaudy cinematography by Nelson Cragg, capturing the splendor of Versace’s Miami mansion with a lens so wide it’s almost fish-eyed; memorable cameos by Mad Men‘s Jay R. Ferguson and Raging Bull‘s Cathy Moriarty; Edgar Ramírez’s instant likability as the powerful but kindly designer; Penelope Cruz’s appropriately mush-mouthed but resolutely non-caricatured turn as the larger-than-life Donatella; all the stranger-than-fiction touches, like Antonio’s blood-spattered tennis whites, the wannabe model striking poses in front of news cameras at the crime scene, the cops and FBI’s multiple blown chances and near misses in their pursuit of the killer, the bird that got caught in the crossfire when Cunanan made his move. Between the subject matter’s milieu and the swirlingly stylized approach the show takes to it, you may be tempted to describe the result as camp. To do so is to deny the depth of what’s happening here, and the moral seriousness with which Murphy, Smith, Criss, and company are depicting it. Until it all wraps up eight weeks from now, a killer walks among us.

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ Episode 1 Recap: This Man, This Monster

The Beautiful, Bloody World of ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: ACS’ – Premiere RECAP – Towleroad

Ryan Murphy and company are back with a new installment of their ever-expanding collection of anthology series. The second season of American Crime Story debuted last night dripping with opulence and the warm blood of the titular slain fashion icon.

Murphy’s series excel when they’re given permission to indulge. Regardless of your opinion on American Horror Story: Coven and Hotel, the lavish sets were a wonder to behold. Here too, Versace’s palatial estate and signature extravagance radiates off the screen.

The story’s basics are well-known, so the series appears to be taking some liberties with timeline and specifics in an effort to refocus the crime on what it says about society at the time. Whereas last season’s The People v. O.J. Simpson explored the complex (and widely discussed) racial component to Simpson’s trial and cultural impact, Versace aims to contextualize the Versace murder and the manhunt that followed within American culture’s understand/acceptance of gay men in the ‘90s.

How’d it do? Let’s discuss in our recap below.

1990:
Andrew Cunanan and a friend enter a San Francisco nightclub. Cunanan (played with chilling intensity by Glee’s Darren Criss) zeroes in on Versace in the VIP area. Immediately, he breaks through Versace’s disinterest with a just-believable-enough story about how they had met once before and his own family’s Italian heritage.

The ease with which Cunanan is able to ingratiate himself with the famed fashion designer is key to his psychopathy. As he recounts the encounter to friends later, each telling gets a little twist. When discussing their meeting with the straight couple he lives with, he calls Versace a ‘faggot’ with disgust. However, when retelling the story about how Versace invited him to an opera to a gay friend, it’s a date. The friend is already onto Cunanan’s dishonesty: He tells gay people he’s gay and straight people he’s straight. “I tell people what they need to hear,” he responds coolly.

The night of the opera ends with Versace and Cunanan chatting on the stage of the empty theater. Cunanan spins a tale about his upbringing — raised by a pineapple farmer that moonlighted as Imelda Marco’s private pilot. According to Cunanan, his father ran away with a man that worked on his pineapple plantation.

The entire exchange feels like another one of Cunanan’s elaborate tales, but the entire nature of his relationship to Versace before the murder is a matter of speculation. Little is confirmed when it comes to if — and how much — they ever interacted before the shooting, so these scenes liberally apply some poetic license.

Still, Criss does an incredible job as Cunanan. He’s got the natural charm and charisma to believably sell this compulsive liar, but he’s also got the intensity to bring some menace to the performance. This is not the Dalton Warbler we once knew, that’s for sure.

1997:
Gianni awakes in his luxurious compound, surround by the gilded gold trimmings, terrazzo floors and marble sculptures. It looks as if he’s living in a Versace ad in Italian Vogue.

Elsewhere, Cunanan wades into the ocean fully clothed and screams out over the horizon.

Versace makes the trip to the newsstand, returns home and Cunanan guns him down at point-blank range. An unlucky dove is also struck and falls dead beside him. Of course, I initially assumed this was more of Ryan Murphy’s typical ham-fisted metaphor at play, but, turns out, there really was a dove struck when Versace was killed. How ‘bout that!

Cunanan flees the scene, racing to a pickup truck to change into clean clothes. He evades chase, and, in one expertly acted scene, mimics the shock of a woman he observes watching the news of Versace’s murder.

Police are able to identify Cunanan by tracing the stolen pickup to the original murdered owner. Cunanan was already wanted for four other murders by the F.B.I. before shooting Versace. Authorities had done an awful job finding him, failing to flyer neighborhoods with his picture and ignoring a reported sighting from a pawn shop owner days before the killing.

They’re not doing a better job now. Questioning Versace’s longtime partner Antonio D’Amico (played by Ricky Martin, doing a serviceable job portraying the grieving partner), the cops are confounded by the couple’s sexual escapades, including three-ways and what Dan Savage might call “monogamish” behavior.

If the cops were insensitive to D’Amico’s loss, Versace’s sister Donatella (Penelope Cruz) was savage. She bans him from talking further to the public without her consent (“I won’t allow that nobody to kill my brother twice”). She also admonishes him as he weeps, telling him “That’s not what I need from you right now.” She rejects his hand when he reaches for him and later closes a door in his face. (There’s that signature Ryan Murphy on-the-nose metaphor.) Cruz’s heavy Spanish accent doesn’t quite fit Donatella, but her expressive face and unparalleled screen presence elevate the performance beyond the delivery.

As we wrap the first episode, Donatella is halting Gianni’s plan to take Versace public and Cunanan is still on the loose. The authorities’ chase a lead to a motel only to find a strung out junkie, Ronnie (New Girl’s Max Greenfield).

Cunanan, meanwhile, is buying up all the newspapers covering the Versace murder.

Finally, he’s got a story even grander than even he could imagine.

What did you think of the first episode?

The Beautiful, Bloody World of ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: ACS’ – Premiere RECAP – Towleroad

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Premiere Review: Can it Compare to OJ?

FX’s ‘American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ from creator Ryan Murphy premiered last night starring Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, Darren Criss and Ricky Martin. This is Murphy’s second foray into a true crime story fresh on the heels of the success of ‘American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson’. The show focuses on the murder of Gianni Versace as it turns the eyes of the world onto Miami Beach.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ Episode 1 Review – Horror News Network – Complete Coverage of all Things Horror!

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story continues the series’ track record of being Ryan Murphy’s best show on television. Two years ago, The People v. O.J. Simpson was a surprise hit for a variety of reasons. It featured excellent actors in amazing roles and the season maintained its thrilling momentum, even while exploring the minute details of the Simpson case. The show was engaging and thoughtfully delivered throughout. My thesis at the time was that the show’s secret weapon was that it was based on a book by Jeffrey Toobin, and that’s what forced Murphy and company to keep the production on its tracks from start to finish. A common complaint about American Horror Story is that every season tends to go off the rails after a few episodes. Because American Crime Story has been based on thoroughly-researched texts about real-life events, there aren’t as many opportunities to embellish or stray into territory which might lose an audience.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace benefits by having a source text in the same way that The People v. O.J. Simpson did. This time around, the source text is Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History by Maureen Orth. The book largely follows serial killer Andrew Cunanan, whom Orth had been investigating while writing for Vanity Fair before Cunanan took the life of his most famous victim. Cunanan and Simpson make for two very different real-life suspects for the series, but Assassination builds on many of The People v. O.J.’s strongest storytelling elements.

In the first episode, the camera rarely sits in one place for long. Viewers are treated to gorgeous sweeping shots of Versase (played perfectly by Edgar Ramirez), his servants, and his incredible Miami mansion. Care is taken to avoid a focus on Verace’s face in all scenes taking place in present day. We view him from behind or afar, which further elevates his celebrity status and untouchable allure. It is only in flashbacks or when the camera dwells on the horrific aftermath of his senseless murder that the camera rests on his face. The cinematography is handled elegantly and with precision throughout the entire episode, and it makes the whole production feel more cinematic than what’s usually available on cable television.

The performers of The Assassination of Gianni Versace are all acting at the top of their game. Just like how The People v. O.J. showed us actors and actresses in a new and interesting light, Assassination captures the spirit of Versace’s loving sister and business partner, Donatella, through a strong performance by Penelope Cruz. Musician Ricky Martin acted in Argentinian television programs at the start of his career, and his appearance in Assassination is enough to make you think he never left the craft. Darren Criss is versatile in his intense portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan. The first episode shifts between a couple of different moments in time, and Criss’ Cunanan is sometimes enigmatic, sometimes detestable, and always engaging. In one moment he shares with Ramirez’ Versace, I could have sworn he was channeling Christian Bale’s portrayal of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. And that’s one of the major things that sets Assassination apart from O.J.: it’s clear that Assassination will be spending much more time inside of the suspect’s head. In O.J. there were so many fascinating characters and so many unusual things going on that we often only viewed Cuba Gooding Jr.’s O.J. from other characters’ perspectives. Trust me: Assassination is not lacking in fascinating characters, but it does seem to be taking much more time to dwell on the actions of Cunanan than O.J. ever did with, well, O.J..

Beyond the simply gorgeous set pieces and strong performances, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story seems eager to explore the various social issues and complexities of this tragic historical event. The first episode doesn’t feel rushed, and it seems to be suggesting that the series plans to take its time with the way in which its events will unfold. We still know very little about all of the key players in this story, and it appears clear that the details will be unveiled through a series of flashbacks alongside present-day events. One thing’s for sure: The Assassination of Gianni Versase: American Crime Story is off to a tremendous start, and I look forward to tuning in for future installments! Should it continue the first season’s trend of faithfully sticking to the source material with restraint and artistry, true crime aficionados and Ryan Murphy fans will be in for a treat!

Stay tuned to Horror News Network for more reviews of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as new episodes hit the airwaves!

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ Episode 1 Review – Horror News Network – Complete Coverage of all Things Horror!