Tag: review

American Crime Story Returns: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

American Crime Story comes back with a new version of a criminal’s story that distressed America two decades ago. Series One, The People V. O.J. Simpson, was based on the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman and America’s speculation of OJ Simpson being the culprit. But this Series Two has to do with the icon Gianni Versace and his untimely murder by Andrew Cunanan in The Assassination of Gianni Versace.  

The series is directed by Ryan Murphy and produced by Larry Karaszewski. They interpreted the book, Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History by Maureen Orth into a 9-part television season set around 1997 in Miami, Florida. This series stars Edgar Ramirez, Darren Criss, Ricky Martin, and Penelope Cruz, all of whom have the challenge of bringing their characters’ crazy lives to the screen.

Ramirez plays Versace, the famous designer, who sadly gets assassinated on his front porch; Criss plays Anthony Cunanan, the skilled psychopath who hunted down Versace; and Martin and Cruz plays Versace’s loving boyfriend and sister, respectively, both of whom give support before Versace dies and tie up loose ends after.  

Although there is a lot of heavy and emotional events going on in the plot, the show is still able to create a sense of beauty and an authentic Miami-vibe in style. There are many 90’s patterns and pastel greens and pinks to make the audience believe that they are watching a show filmed 2 decades ago.  

Being in a believable setting and having these characters based on real people lets actors portray their characters in a scarily-realistic way. A memorable scene occurs right after the crime was committed. Criss walks into a hotel bar and watches the citizens react to his work. The way that he watches and mimics their response, in order to fit in, is chilling. But the show doesn’t always create a stressful atmosphere–sometimes it is targeted at the viewers’ waterworks. With an obvious chemistry between Ramirez and Cruz, during a heart-breaking scene, Cruz voiced her love for her brother after the incident in a way that was extremely heartwarming but painful.

On the other hand, there are some problems with the show. The main issue is, at times, it is confusing to follow. Since the show jumps from their current time, time of the kill, and years, before it is hard to keep the order of events straight. There are dates that help keep things in order, but a lot of attention is necessary, so this isn’t one to watch when you’re falling asleep.

Overall, this show has a lot going for it. It has a good balance of telling an entertaining story while also keeping it factual and believable–since it is a true story. If you only watch TV when you’re about to go to sleep or just after a long day, this show may be a little too confusing. The actors bring their all and make you feel like you’re part of the mystery.

American Crime Story Returns: The Assassination of Gianni Versace

Recapping ‘Versace’: Episode 6, ‘Descent’

**MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EPISDOE 6**

As we enter the back half of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” it’s becoming clear that this is the Andrew Cunanan story. The show is less an examination of how the fashion designer was murdered but why he was murdered, putting the spotlight on his killer, marvelously portrayed by the dynamic Darren Criss. This is another week where we don’t see the Versace crew, including Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez (Ramirez’s Gianni does appear in one scene but as a figment of Andrew’s imagination) and Ricky Martin.

In the sixth episode of the season “Descent,” directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton and written by Tom Rob Smith, the show travels further back in time – a year before Andrew went on his cross-country murdering spree. The episode opens with Andrew celebrating his birthday in San Diego where he’s living with an older, wealthy man named Norman (Michael Nouri) in a fabulous seaside house. But it’s all a show, an attempt to woo and impress David Madson (Cody Fern). Andrew explains to his best friend Elizabeth Cote (the wonderful Annaleigh Ashford), that he’s staying with Norma “curating” his home and designing its decor. Andrew goes on to say he sees a “future” with David and that he’s trying to be “someone he can love.”

Also at the birthday party is Jeff Trail (Finn Wittrock), dressed in blue jeans and sneakers. Andrew hands Jeff a pair of fancy loafers to wear for the party. Jeff has brought a gift for Andrew, but Andrew gives him another gift to pass him in its place.

“I want [David] to see I have really good friends,” Andrew tells Jeff. “…I need you to look the part.”

“What does a good friend look like?” Jeff asks. “How is this going to help?”

“I need him to know [that you love me],” Andrew says.

Jeff finally agrees but before Andrew tells him that he told David he is still serving in the Navy. He reluctantly agrees.

As the episode goes on, it continues to dig into Andrew’s compulsive lying as well as his drug addiction. Not only does he lead David to believe Norman’s house is actually his, but he tells him he used to design clothes with Gianni Versace. Later in the episode, we see Andrew doing hard drugs.

“We’ll have a house like this one day. Maybe this very one,” he tells David. Shortly after, Jeff hands Andrew the gift Andrew gave him, which turn out to be a pair of Ferragamo shoes.

That’s when Jeff and David meet for the first time – and seemingly make a connection, upsetting Andrew.

“Descent” also features one of the few characters in the series who acts as a direct foil to Andrew. One of Norman’s friends, played by “Saturday Night Live” alum Terry Sweeney, is fully aware of Andrew’s lies and act, giving him a hard time throughout the episode, letting Andrew know he’s on to him.

“I have a birthday present for you, it’s a piece of advice. You think Norman is the lucky one. You’re wrong, you’re the lucky one,” he tells Andrew. “Norman is a conservative old queer… most men would make it clear you’re an employee, but he wants you to feel like you’re an equal. But you’re not an equal.”

He goes on to say Norman was vulnerable when he met Andrew and that his partner died of AIDS, suggesting Andrew preyed on his friend during a difficult time.

“What a mix you are,” he tells Andrew. “Too lazy to work, too proud to be kept.”

“I need to get back to my party that room is full of people who love me,” Andrew says.

“Then that room is full of people who don’t know you,” Norman’s friend responds.

As the party continues, Andrew grows more concerned about Jeff and David getting closer and he attempts to balance out his lies. Later on, Lee Miglin (Mike Farrell) shows up at the party, adding to the episode’s fever dream quality – like at the end of “Alice in Wonderland,” where Alice confronts all the characters she’s met throughout her bizarre journey.

After the party, Norman confronts Andrew about his lies, his past, and his current behavior. He says he won’t be taken for a fool, and if Andrew can’t share his life with him then he has to leave Norman’s multi-million-dollar home. This upsets Andrew, who smashes Norman’s glass table with a chair and announces he’s leaving but “expect[s Norman] to call me.”

Andrew indeed leaves, moving into a crummy studio apartment. Jeff then visits Andrew, and the two fight about Andrew sending Jeff’s father a postcard that suggested Jeff is gay. During their argument, Jeff tells Andrew he’s moving because he’s unhappy, and Andrew contributed to that unhappiness.

Andrew then invites David to Los Angeles, where he arranges a five-star hotel stay, rents a sports car and wines and dines David, continuing his unhealthy, lying lifestyle. Despite all his attempts to impress David, which includes buying him a new suit, David still isn’t connecting with Andrew and tells him so.

A desperate Andrew tries to impress David even more but it doesn’t work and David says the two can’t take the next step in their relationship. He says he wants to get to know the real Andrew and get to the truth. But Andrew can’t help himself and he continues to lie about his family, saying his dad was a wealthy stockbroker and his mother ran a successful publishing house. David, however, sees through Andrew’s lies; an excellent Cody Fern plays the moment so well you can see David’s face drooping in disappointment.

“David, I’m a good person, who wants to be good to you,” Andrew says.

“One day you’re going to make someone very happy. I know you will,” David responds.

After things dissolve with David, Andrew is left feeling helpless and spiraling out of control. Parts of “The Assassination of Versace” have had a dreamlike quality, as writer Tom Rob Smith had to create a number of moments. “Descent” features one of the most vibrant and creepy scenes in the series, where a drugged-out Andrew envisions himself meeting Gianni Versace; the scene is cloaked in a crimson red glow as Andrew debates with Gianni about the life he should have had and that Gianni stole it from him.

“People have taken from me and taken from me… now I’m spent,” he tells Gianni, as he measures him for a suit. “This world has wasted me while it has turned you, Mr. Versace, into a star.”

“You think you’re better than me? You’re not better than me. We’re the same – the only difference is you got lucky,” Andrew adds.

“It’s not the only difference, sir,” Gianni says.

“What else you got?” Andrew asks.

“I have love,” the designer responds.

After the nightmare, Andrew, disheveled, high and desperate, tries to break into Norman’s house late at night, pleading with him to take him back. Of course, Norman doesn’t and threatens to call the police.

The next morning, Andrew goes to his mother’s home, who lives in a sad one-bedroom apartment. The end of “Decent” is completely devastating, as it’s the first time we see Mary Ann Cunanan (Joanna P. Adler), who is a sad and unhinged woman.

“I’m unhappy,” Andrew tells his mother, who ignores him and launches into a story about how she ran into a friend and bragged about Andrew working with Versace, traveling the world – of course, none of this is true and only adds to Andrew’s self-hate in the moment.

“I wish you could stay with me,” Andrew’s mother says, holding her son. “But I have to share you with the world.”

As Andrew leaves, he tells his mother he is going to visit Minneapolis – where David lives and where Jeff eventually moves.

“Descent” gives more context to Andrew and why he is the way he is, but it’s only scratching the surface of what’s to come.

Recapping ‘Versace’: Episode 6, ‘Descent’

The Bay Area Reporter Online | Gay heroism on & off the ice

We forget from the vantage point of 2018 what 1995 was like. We forget how hard it was to be gay and out. We took our eyes off the Olympics briefly this week to watch the latest episode of “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” and the counterpoint of what Ryan Murphy is doing with this deeply incendiary and political series to the extraordinary presence of Adam Rippon and Johnny Weir at the Olympics. (We haven’t forgotten you, Gus Kenworthy, you just aren’t flaming for us like they are.) Murphy took us back to 1995. To Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. To the simmering violence always just below the surface, waiting to erupt against us.

In 1995, Adam Rippon was six years old. Johnny Weir was 11. Jeff Trail was 28. Gianni Versace was 48. In 1995, no one was imagining an out gay star at the Olympics or even the end to DADT, which itself was a net-positive to what had come before. In 1995, when Andrew Cunanan met his first victim, Jeff Trail, and Gianni Versace came out on the pages of The Advocate, the fight for our rights was still a nascent movement despite a quarter-century since Stonewall, despite the impact of the AIDS pandemic, despite the work we had done collectively to get Bill Clinton elected and how visible David Mixner was.

Murphy, who was just 29 in 1995, does a masterful job of positioning Andrew Cunanan at the epicenter of the fear of coming out for gay men who had survived the AIDS crisis. When Andrew meets naval officer Jeff Trail on his first time in a gay bar, Trail’s just come off saving the life of a fellow sailor who was nearly beaten to death by other sailors. His career in the Navy is threatened, but his own desire to be in the company of other men propels him into that bar and into a relationship with the then-fabulist, soon-to-be serial killer.

There are so many things happening in this series that we expect thesis papers will be written about it in the future. Each scene has its own trajectory, and the non-linear telling of the tale makes it all the more disturbing to watch. The foreshadowing has been removed: we already know the outcome beforehand. Yet that seems to make the impending tragedy in these men’s lives all the more real.

The most chilling juxtaposition for us was between Trail speaking to CBS “48 Hours” reporter Richard Schlesinger about his experience as a gay naval officer, and Versace talking with The Advocate.

The “48 Hours” interview was real. In late 1993 DADT is about to become law, and Trail decides to speak out about his own experience as a gay man in the military. The episode of “ACS: Versace” begins with an out-take from that episode in which a group of Navy men talk about what they would do if a gay sailor were onboard with them. It foreshadows the violent beatings we see later.

In “ACS: Versace,” the back-and-forth between the two scenes (both Trail and Versace were being interviewed in hotel rooms, where no one else would see them) borders on being heavy-handed, yet overcomes that because each new reveal elevates this from easy comparison to heartbreaking reality.

As Trail relates what he’s going to do to Cunanan as they sit in the bar together, Cunanan warns him against doing it. He says Trail is being hidden in silhouette, like a criminal, while the real criminals, the Navy men who are beating fellow sailors within an inch of their lives, are being shown without masking, because the world still views gay men as criminals, and those who would kill them if given the chance as normal. It’s stark, because we know that soon Cunanan will kill Trail.

Prior to doing The Advocate interview, Versace has a conversation with his sister, Donatella. She is horrified that he’s contemplating this option. She reminds him that when designer Perry Ellis, who was then dying of AIDS, did his final show just weeks before his death, he had to be supported by two assistants on the runway. Versace tells her that was Ellis’ greatest show, and she says no one bought his clothes after that. But he explains to her, “I was sick, and I did not die. And I have been asking myself, what have I done to deserve it?” So he’s doing this: he’s coming out. He’s hoping to make a difference.

One of the most heartbreaking elements of “ACS: Versace” is, we love Versace from the outset. He’s a kind and generous man, a caring lover, a great designer, a humble visionary. Even as we know Cunanan will murder him because we’ve seen the killing in the first episode, we hope somehow he will survive.

We feel equally for Trail, who risks everything to save another Navy man’s life and to tell the story of how hard it is to live under DADT. We’re heartbroken for his family that as his sister is giving birth, he is already dead, his body in a rolled-up rug, bludgeoned to death by Cunanan.

The Bay Area Reporter Online | Gay heroism on & off the ice

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ Is Subversively Brilliant

Halfway through its run, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” — the second installment of the “American Crime Story” series on FX — is arguably the most important show on television right now. The title suggests that the series will focus on Versace’s murder. Instead, esteemed producer/creator Ryan Murphy uses the assassination as a starting point and framework to showcase the other men that Cunanan killed before Versace and, by doing so, manages to capture the degradation that a generation of gay men had to endure during the intensely homophobic 1990s.

Murphy has already proved his mastery at using a particular episode in recent U.S. history to dissect a culture with “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” the first installment in the “American Crime” series. The show, which garnered a staggering 22 Emmy nominations (and nine wins), searingly contextualized the issues of racism, class, and sexism, which surrounded the Simpson case, all while offering us fresh perspectives on the trial that an entire country tuned into and obsessed over.

With his latest effort, Murphy continues to hold up a mirror to society.

Toward the end of the most recent episode of the series — and warning, there are some spoilers ahead — a lovelorn Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) is arguing with former Navy officer Jeffrey Trail (Finn Wittrock), a man he befriended at a gay bar and who will soon become one of his victims. Trail is despondent and lost. He was forced to give up his career in the armed forces after saving a fellow officer from being beaten to death for being gay. This show of compassion is enough for his fellow officers to label him gay as well and to prevent him from ever being promoted even if, under “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” he can no longer be summarily dismissed. He decides to give an interview with CBS News, his outline against a backdrop and his voice altered, and tell his story. The military, he says, is “all he’s ever done, all he’s ever dreamed of doing,” so much so that he dreams “he can take the moment back, and let that man die.”

At Trail’s apartment, Cunanan is perplexed that Trail cannot accept how much the military has wronged him. Trail tells Cunanan he wishes he never walked into the bar and met him. “You’re confused,” Cunanan says, “And you don’t even see it.”

“I see it,” Trail responds. “I feel it. And I hate it.”

Cunanan reaches for Trail’s face: “I’ve always loved you.”

“No one wants your love,” Trail screams, breaking free. We watch as Cunanan takes this in, his eyes filling with the realization that no matter how hard he tries, the world will never grant him the love he’s seeking.

So many traumas are highlighted in this series, first and foremost the suffocating fear that kept so many in the closet, including successful real estate tycoon Lee Miglin, whose wife managed to convince the police to label his murder a “random killing,” to Versace (Edgar Ramirez) himself, who kept his decade-plus relationship with Antonio D’amico (Ricky Martin) a secret. But the indecencies hardly end there. We witness an FBI that seems indifferent to the murder of gay men. Words like “fag” and “queer” are used casually in everyday conversation. Men are gay-bashed, refusing to report their abuse for fear of being fired. The nonexistence of civil rights whatsoever, much less marriage equality. Together these elements contribute to a culture of hostility and fear that makes gay people feel not just like second-class citizens, but less than human.

Palpable in almost every scene is the rage Murphy and writer Tom Rob Smith feel about this history. That the events we’re witnessing happened only some 20-odd years ago seems almost surreal.

I empathize with this rage.

Watching the show has triggered me, as I’m once again confronted with just how much shame and discomfort I was suppressing in my mid-20s. Now, looking back from the relative comfort of 2018, I can see just how much was stolen from us. Popular culture has predominantly chosen to frame the LGBT rights movement as a cheery march of progress toward acceptance. Here, Murphy chooses to remind us, much as he did with his adaptation of “The Normal Heart” for HBO — Larry Kramer’s harrowing play about our government’s silence (and our nation’s indifference) to the AIDS crisis — of just how awful things once were.

What makes the show so brilliant, and subversive, is how Murphy conveys his moral outrage through the sadistic exploits of Cunanan. Here is where Criss is shockingly effective: simultaneously disturbing and charming, arrogant and desperate for love, his Cunanan is a pathological liar, a status seeker, a sad and dangerous human being. But he’s also the one who seems least troubled by his sexuality, someone willing to be open about being gay and to want, even demand, to be loved. By having Cunanan consistently shunned by men who are less comfortable with their sexuality than he is, Murphy seems to suggest that the brutality of the late ‘90s was bound to create a monster like Cunanan — evil, no doubt, but also a byproduct of a society that deliberately refused to allow gay men to self-actualize and live normal lives.

With “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” Murphy has taken on something more personal, and the effect is both chilling and prescient: He dares us to look and then not look away.

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’ Is Subversively Brilliant

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’: The Horror News Network Mid-Season Review

Halfway through its intense and diverse season, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story manages to out-“American horror” American Horror Story and claim the prize as one of the most engaging shows on television. Between its expert storytelling, its incredible actors, and its flawless delivery of social commentary, the series manages to exceed expectations each and every night.

The title, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, can be misleading at first glace. In Season One, we knew The People v. O.J. Simpson would primarily focus on the Simpson trial… and that’s exactly what we got. Assassination tells a much more complex story. Based on Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History by Maureen Orth, the season spends significantly more time on Darren Criss’ serial killer Cunanan and his other victims than the time it dwells on the inner-workings of the Versace clan. That isn’t to say that Edgar Ramirez, Penelope Cruz, and Ricky Martin aren’t completely magnetic on screen- because they’re incredible- but the structure of the storytelling allows for breathing room as the viewer takes in the scope of Cunanan’s actions.

What’s even more impressive is the filmmakers’ tendency to explore the nuances of Cunanan’s victims in favor of constant exploration of Cunanan himself. The last couple of episodes focus entirely on Cunanan’s non-famous victims, and they explore their circumstances with an empathetic and engaging retelling of events. Criss is incredible in his American Psycho-esque delivery of a performance no one is likely ever to forget, but Assassination is careful to always keep in mind that Cunanan is the villain of this story. While we get inside of his head from time to time- not unlike Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer– Cunanan is never glorified or portrayed as anything but a depraved monster. This process allows the audience to truly understand the circumstances of the victims of these senseless crimes and to never root for Cunanan as one might for a fictional “heroic” killer like in Dexter. Showrunner Ryan Murphy and company have an obligation to the victims of this real-life story not to sensationalize a tragic event, and it is clear that they have approached this responsibility with care.

Ryan Murphy’s other series, American Horror Story, struggled to deliver the social commentary it strived to achieve with this fall’s Cult, primarily due to the fact that its often ham-fisted delivery of ideas were completely overshadowed by larger-than-life characters and outrageous plot scenarios. The People v. O.J. Simpson first demonstrated Murphy’s strength in restraint when working with a fixed storyline, and this trend continues with Assassination. Because these characters are based on real people who lived through real events, the series delivers its social commentary naturally, in ways which resonate with the viewer. This show is flat-out scary at times. Criss plays a convincing and terrifying killer, and viewers can’t help but cringe when we know where a certain scene is headed. And because we’re spared the over-the-top cartoon-style gore which always causes American Horror Story to jump the shark each and every season, we’re left with chillingly practical scenes of violence which are far more frightening than anything Cult could cook up. This level of terror carries over into other scenes which heighten the realism of the series’ exploration of the social implications of Cunanan’s crimes. In Episode Five, Versace’s public announcement that he is gay is juxtaposed against another of Cunanan’s victims speaking on camera with his face shadowed out about the horrors of working in the military under the “liberal for it’s time” Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy. Murphy is clearly demonstrating just how deeply privilege and wealth impacted one’s ability to live an open lifestyle, free of physical harm and harassment; and the most horrific scene of the episode culminates in the man forcibly trying to remove a tattoo with a knife to avoid being identified as gay by his superiors. It is scenes like this which truly have the power to inspire debate and engage viewers in serious thought in ways that Murphy’s other works have yet to achieve.

Assassination is not completely without its faults, but its missteps are minor and easy to overlook given its incredible writing, directing, and performances night after night. Because the series is retelling events which no participants survived, the show sometimes goes too far in dramatizing some of its scenes. The results are often well-intended, but unverifiable as to whether such liberties in storytelling are fact or fiction. One such scene reveals Cunanan’s victim finding peace with his father, in his mind, moments before dying. While its clear these decisions were made with the best of intentions, the show might have been able to treat the victims with just as much respect by sticking to the hard facts. Of course, the filmmakers need to develop a coherent storyline, so some liberties had to be taken in order to present the story in the television format. What’s important is that they ultimately deliver a thoughtful and reflective program despite these necessary adjustments.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story successfully juggles a variety of haunting storylines and ideas in a way that’s sure to please fans of Murphy’s other works and to engage horror fans in a killer’s story in ways that many of its contemporaries could only dream of doing. The show represents modern television at its finest, and viewers are in for a treat if its second half is as incredible as its first!

‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’: The Horror News Network Mid-Season Review

Is The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story new tonight, Feb. 21?

Every week, we’re obsessed with The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Unfortunately for us all, we don’t get our fix this week. The show, which has been focusing on the previous murders of Andrew Cunanan the last few weeks, is taking some time off.

Maybe that’s for the better. I know in the beginning, I was obsessed with the show and everything it represented. But as the weeks have gone on, it is almost a chore to keep up with. To be fair, that’s not because the show isn’t good.

On the contrary, it is one of the best shows out right now. The problem is that it isn’t what we were promised. I’ve said it before, but I tuned in thinking I was going to get a show about Gianni Versace. Instead, it is the life and crimes of Andrew Cunanan with a side dish of the famous Italian designer.

Penelope Cruz has barely been in the show. But then again, what else is there to tell about Gianni that isn’t already known? We don’t know much about Andrew Cunanan, so it is a little bit of information (or at least one story about) into the man who shot Versace dead on the street.

Still, I wish it was less about Andrew and more about the actual crime. But we’ll have to wait until next week to see what the show is going to do since we don’t have any new episodes on tonight. Maybe then next week, we’ll be ready for a new story.

Is The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story new tonight, Feb. 21?

Cunanan, Portrait of a Serial Killer: “American Crime Story” Details Real Life Horrors – Bloody Disgusting

On July 15th, 1997, famed fashion designer Gianni Versace was gunned down outside of his opulent Miami home by 27-year-old Andrew Cunanan. Versace’s death swept through the media like a wildfire. I was eleven at the time, and while I didn’t pay attention to the specifics of the case, I remember the incessant news coverage playing out in my periphery. A crazed fan murdering a celebrity? That was a straightforward narrative I was familiar with due to trashy talk shows and scandalous entertainment news programs. Such a simple rationale was all the thought I’d put towards what turns out to be a much deeper and more horrific tale of a sociopathic young man intent on being a “somebody,” even if that person were falsely manufactured of his own corrupt invention. All of those in his life would each fall victim to his destructive nature and pay emotionally, if not, ultimately, with their own blood. His story would become a mirror for the rampant homophobia of the 90s in America and an antecedent for the celebrity-obsessed culture we find ourselves in today. At least, that’s the truth as presented by season 2 of Ryan Murphy Hit #125, better known as “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”

To follow up the massive success of season 1 (“The People vs OJ Simpson”), Murphy along with screenwriter Tom Rob Smith turned to a true crime novel entitled Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History written by Maureen Orth. “The Assassination…” premiered its first episode on January 17th and has already raised the ire of the Versace estate who protest numerous details as presented in the series. They’ve labeled the show as being riddled with fabrications based on vicious gossip. Speaking with EW, Murphy had this to say in the show’s defense:

“[The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story] was based on a non-fiction book by Jeffrey Toobin. Versace is based on a non-fiction book by Maureen Orth that has been discussed and dissected and vetted for close to 20 years. She worked for Vanity Fair. Maureen Orth is an impeccable reporter and we stand by her reporting. Our show is based on her reporting so, in that way, it is not a work of fiction, it’s a work of non-fiction obviously with docudrama elements. We’re not making a documentary.”

Their main beef concerns whether or not Gianni ever actually came into direct contact with his killer, Andrew Cunanan. Orth who was following the murderer’s trail prior to the death of Versace, claims it’s “on the-record reporting.” The two men existed within similar social circles, that of the gay nightlife and a seedy subset – male escorts. Versace and longtime partner Antonio D’Amico were known to hire third-parties to join them in their bedroom on occasion, and Cunanan had an intense drug habit which was supplemented by often selling his body. No matter what the stone-cold truth may be, Murphy and co are crafting undeniably captivating television by using the sordid details of a star-studded murder case to spin off into alternating moments of emotional pathos, timely social commentary, and suspense-filled horror.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” is a bit of a bait and switch. The advertising lured viewers in with the promise of Penelope Cruz as Donatella Versace in a fierce (likely memeable) performance as the grieving sister to Edgar Ramirez’s Gianni. We also got to see a dusted off Ricky Martin proving that he still has what it takes to shake his bon-bon. The down-south neon Miami glitz was placed front and center in what looked to be a stylish, sexy, sensationalized telling of the true story. And, that is basically what the premiere episode delivered. Of course, there was also Darren Criss as the charmingly deceptive dandy, Andrew Cunanan. The brilliance of the show so far is that, after that first episode, each hour has focused more on Cunanan and the months leading up to Gianni’s death. This isn’t the Versace story, it’s the Cunanan story. The narrative weaves in and out of the events immediately following Versace’s death as the cops continuously bungle the investigation, mostly due to ignorance of the homosexual lifestyle they refuse to understand, and the exploits of Cunanan.

On “Glee,” Criss showed a lovable charisma as “the boy next door.” Here, he takes that built-in expectation and flips it on its head. Criss’s Cunanan can walk into a room and captivate an entire crowd as he weaves one unbelievable tale after another. From stories of building sets in Mexico for the upcoming film Titanic to loving recollections of his time spent in the Philippines working at his millionaire father’s pineapple plantation, Andrew has never met an alternative fact he didn’t like. But underneath his pearly white smile lies a soulless snake ready to poison those whose company he’s tired of. It’s a complex character whose murderous inclinations, as of so far, haven’t fully been explained. Nonetheless, it’s Criss’s portrayal that makes it seem believable even if the motivations has yet to crystallize.

One moment we may see Andrew’s jealousy leading to the death of a victim. The next corpse might be due to a sense of betrayal. Cunanan is constantly a threat to those around him, and any moment a potential danger. The highlight so far, though, comes in the third hour when he visits Chicago to spend the weekend with a frequent john, Lee Miglin. Miglin was a real estate tycoon married to an equally savvy businesswoman in her own right, Marilyn (played by an award-worthy Judith Light). The episode begins as she comes home to find the front door ajar, a baked ham left out on the counter, and a deadly silence greeting the calls for her husband. Instinctively, she knows something is wrong. What follows is an intense back and forth as we follow Cunanan greeting the elderly, closeted man for a weekend while Marilyn is out of town, intercut with Marilyn relying on local police and a friendly neighbor to search her home for any sign of her husband. We know at some point they will find his body and we know at some point Andrew will be the one to kill him. It’s a fine display of Hitchcockian suspense that proves this “Crime” story isn’t afraid to go for the “Horror” prevalent in that other Ryan Murphy show.

The climactic moment of brutality is all the more upsetting for the reasoning Andrew provides. He isn’t content just to kill Lee Miglin, he needs to destroy his legacy. An upstanding “pillar of the community” is to be found dead with sex toys and gay porn scattered around his body, skull crushed from a bag of cement and stab wounds all over his chest. In this period of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (also dealt with devastatingly in a later ep) and a general stigma of depravity associated with homosexuals, the idea of being “outed” is more terrifying than death itself. Marilyn copes with the discovery with a sense of denial even if she knows the truth. That truth, she fears would destroy everything she’s built with Lee over the years.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” is powerful television that brings to mind the gut punch psycho-thrillers of the 80’s such as Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer and Maniac. Much like those films placed their psychotic villains as central characters in order to reflect the societal temperament of the time, so too does this season’s “American Crime Story.” And, while Ryan Murphy might exist as a polarizing storyteller who often allows excess of style to outweigh his narratives, “The Assassination…” just might be the perfect marriage of his trademarks. Awash in sex and violence but with a greater commentary at play, this is one serial killer thriller you don’t want to miss.

Cunanan, Portrait of a Serial Killer: “American Crime Story” Details Real Life Horrors – Bloody Disgusting

‘American Crime Story: Versace’ recap: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ – TheCelebrityCafe.com

The bad news: there’s no new episode of American Crime Story: Versace this week. Good news: we still have episode five, entitled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to talk about.

More good news: Gianni Versace is finally back, even if most of the episode takes place even further back in the past. Seriously, I was under the impression that most of this season was going to be about the relationship between Versace and Andrew, but that doesn’t look to be the case anymore. Oh, well.

The message that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” hits the audience with relates back to the idea of homosexuality — what does it mean to come out as gay? Is it easier for some people? Harder? Or is it just different?

We start with Versace arguing with Donatella about coming out. Versace’s scheduled an interview with Advocate magazine in which he plans to reveal his secret, which Donatella says is a bad idea. It’ll hurt their brand, after all, and the world isn’t ready for this kind of announcement.

Versace, with Antonio at his side (who may or may not have his own motives here, as he’s been called Gianni’s assistant for the past 13 years and wants to make a name for himself), still plans to go forward with it though, despite Donatella’s dissatisfaction.

Then we go back in time, before the murder of Jeff Trail — a move that seems odd at the time, but eventually makes sense by the end of the episode.

Andrew is booking a flight to Minneapolis to see his two best friends — Jeff and David. He’s low on money, injecting heroin into his toes and lives in a pretty empty and sad living space. But we do see an important, albeit, hidden image: a collage of Gianni Versace, with the Advocate interview at the heart of it.

At the airport, David and Jeff are reluctantly waiting for him. Neither of them is particularly happy to see Andrew — especially Jeff, who thinks Andrew is a creep after he “accidentally” sent a postcard to Jeff’s dad that tried to out him as gay. Yet, both of them owe Andrew in some way, so they’re more or less forced to show up.

That doesn’t mean they plan to be around the whole weekend, though. Jeff is letting Andrew stay in his apartment, while he plans to stay at his sister’s (who is pregnant and due any day now). The less he has to interact with Andrew the better.

Instead, Andrew goes home with David. David doesn’t particularly care for Andrew either, but he’s at least sympathetic towards him. At least, he is initially. That feeling doesn’t last too long when Andrew to gives him a $10,000 watch and proposes — something David has no interest in accepting. To make matters worse, Andrew won’t even take no for an answer. He tells him to think it over for the weekend, assuming David will change his mind in that time.

The situation goes downhill from there. David takes Andrew along with him to a polka club that night to meet up with one of his co-workers. David introduces Andrew as a friend, only for Andrew to get offended and re-introduce himself as a lover. After hearing Andrew make up a bunch of lies about what he does for a living, David can’t take it anymore: he tells him flat-out that he will never marry him.

Andrew heads back to Jeff’s house in a saddened glaze, unsure of how to react or what he’ll do next. He starts poking around Jeff’s belongings, only to find his Navy uniform. He takes it out, puts on the hat and then finds a hidden VHS tape at the bottom of it.

Putting it in, we see a news report that’s covering the topic of homosexuals in the military. All of the witnesses are anonymous, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the blackened shadow we hear speaking in the video is Jeff.

Then we go to ANOTHER flashback, two years earlier when Jeff is in the Navy. We first see Jeff break up a fight in which a sailor is being mercilessly beaten for being gay. Later that night the same thing happens again — the sailor is being attacked, and Jeff saves his life.

Jeff brings the sailor into the bathroom to look at his injuries. He tries to offer him some advice (just leave, he says), but winds up just silently comforting him. And, of course, that’s right when someone walks into the room and sees him.

The two aren’t beaten to death right there, thankfully. Instead, the man that saw him tries to intimidate Jeff the next day. He says that a gay sailor is going to identify all the other homosexuals on board by revealing what tattoos they have (the sailor doesn’t actually know their names, in this story).

Jeff just so happens to have a tattoo on his leg. After unsuccessfully trying to remove it with a knife (a scene that made me want to vomit), Jeff decides to give up and hang himself in the bathroom.

After gasping for air for a few minutes, he changes his mind just in time. Instead, he decides to try something else — he’ll embrace it.

He heads off to a gay bar, clearly out-of-place and uncomfortable. Yet, that’s where he happens to run into Andrew, and suddenly we realize what Jeff meant when he said he owed Andrew. The two hit it off that night (Andrew once again proves he’s perfectly capable of being friendly and charming when he so pleases), and Jeff suddenly feels a lot better about himself.

Better enough to where he agrees to do this anonymous interview for CBS, talking about his experiences as a gay man in the military. We then cut back-and-forth between the Jeff interview and the Versace interview with Advocate, showing the difficulty that different figures in different lines of work have in coming out as gay.

Cut back to the day of Jeff’s murder. Jeff walks in on Andrew, still in his apartment. It doesn’t take him long to figure out that Andrew touched his uniform, and Jeff rightfully freaks out. After arguing for a bit, which ends with Jeff saying “No one wants your love,” Andrew leaves to head back to David’s place.

We know the rest from there, seen in the previous episode. However, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” hits us with one last heartbreaking moment. We end this week’s edition of Versace in Jeff’s house, seeing his Navy uniform laying out on the bed. We hear the phone ringing again and again — his sister has gone into labor, and his parents are calling to tell him to come on down to the hospital.

Too bad the apartment is empty and we know the truth: Jeff (and David) are dead.

‘American Crime Story: Versace’ recap: ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ – TheCelebrityCafe.com

What Did Versace’s Lifestyle Provoke In His Killer?

In 1999, just two years after Andrew Cunanan’s cross-country killing spree, a cartoon spot ran regularly in between the videos on MTV. The spot showed Ricky Martin walking down the street, and every woman fainting at his feet. This was the summer of “La Vida Loca,” when the public had agreed to enter into a collective sexual delusion, a la Wham, about the pretty and flamboyant Latin singer and his perfect leather pants—never mind that no straight man had ever made a hot relationship with a daring woman sound so dreadful or exhausting, or so apt to end in copious jail time. The cartoon’s punch line is that one girl doesn’t faint at all: she shrugs. We see a frightened Ricky Martin, soaked in sweat, sit up in bed and scream. The whole scenario was, for the “definitely-heterosexual” pop lothario, a bad dream.

Even aged eleven, I remember thinking something seemed a little off; which is perhaps the reason why the spot has stuck with me since then, and why, when Martin finally came out more than ten years later, happy and a father to two children, I remember also thinking that it seemed like the end of a real-life nightmare. It seemed like a realized dream. This, and not the adulation of the women of the world, was what the private Martin had desired all those years: to be himself, and to be loved for being himself, and to be given full permission to love anybody that he felt like loving. It is funny to be waxing serious and thoughtful, now, about a man who once released a single with the lyric “up in the Himalaya/you know I wanna lay la”—but this is a year of curious turns. If you had said to me six months ago that in this, The Year of Our Lord Disick 2018, I would find myself in tears at a scene from a TV drama starring Ricky Martin, I would not have bought it. Times, as well as being full of change, are strange. Thank God there is a little wonder left in all this chaos. I am, frankly, ready for the Martinaissance.

Despite Gianni’s status as the victim of the series’ title, he seems happier, more at peace, than any other character.

The scene in question is a recreation of Gianni’s interview with the gay magazine Advocate in 1995, and is the lynchpin of the episode—emotionally, and perhaps conceptually—despite being fairly brief. At this point, Gianni and Antonio have been together thirteen years (as famous and unfamous couplings go, this is no minor innings). Ricky Martin, as Antonio, is patient and devoted, and heartbroken by the fact that he’s usually mistaken for Gianni’s personal assistant. Gianni, clearly smitten with Antonio, is keen to right this wrong. He asks the journalist if they can do the interview together, a united front; and the look the two men give each other is a look of such excruciating tenderness that it can’t help but be informed by something real. “The ups and downs,” said Martin in an interview in January with US Weekly, “the frustrations, the uncertainty, the fear of losing your career because you’re gay is something that is there… I’m a gay man that lived in the closet for many years. To see the process of Gianni actually coming out and sitting down in front of a journalist to talk about his reality is something that moved me in many ways.”

It moved me, too. This week, it struck me that despite Gianni’s status as the victim of the series’ title, he seems happier, more at peace, than any other character; he is beloved by both his lover and his (terrier-like, but basically protective) sister, and does not appear to feel the least discomfort over who he is. Unlike Jeff Trail, whose shame at being forced to leave the military under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is revealed to have informed his feelings on his sexuality, or David Madson, who obsessed over his father being disappointed in him for the fact that he was gay, Gianni says the phrase “I am a gay man” with about the same inflection as he might say “I was born in Reggio Calabria,” or “I adore a Greek Key trim.”

Every episode so far of The Assassination of Gianni Versace has been more unpleasant, and moreover more violent, than the last. This week, an ugly exploration of individual, internalized and institutionalized homophobia, is grimmer still. “You live in isolation, surrounded by beauty and kindness,” Penelope Cruz’s perfectly extraordinary-looking Donatella tells Gianni. “You have forgotten how ugly the world can be.” When she worries that his coming out as gay might cost the brand endorsements, he says—wryly and delightfully—“we’ll still have Elton.” Andrew Cunanan’s first victims have been closeted or down-low: we have yet to see what Gianni’s open lifestyle, opulent and unashamed, provokes in him. One has to guess it might be envy. Seeing Gianni and Antonio, in love and in the public eye, one cannot help but almost feel a pang of loss on Cunanan’s behalf—they make a then-brave thing look easy.

What Did Versace’s Lifestyle Provoke In His Killer?