Tag: tell tale tv
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: Alone (Season 2 Episode 9)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 9 “Alone” is still compelling to watch but falls a little flat. “Alone” was always going to be a hard sell because much of the episode, Andrew is, well, alone and he is more dynamic when he is with other people.
We have seen Andrew in all sorts of forms—charming, predatory, menacing, confident—but when he’s by himself, he is just kind of blah.
In the days after Andrew killed Versace and there was a stepped-up manhunt in Miami, Andrew was in hiding. He could no longer afford to be out in public or else he risked capture.
So, much of the episode is Andrew trapped in a houseboat.
A highlight of “Alone” is seeing Judith Light as Marilyn Miglin again. She steals every scene she’s in and damn it, when Marilyn is on the verge of tears, I’m on the verge of tears too.
The story she tells about how she wanted to make a perfume that her mother would have worn is such a great story and evokes so much emotion.
Even Andrew is in awe of her. But there is no glimmer of remorse.
It’s interesting to see how when Andrew first breaks into the houseboat, he’s still giddy from killing Versace and to see his name paired forever with Gianni’s. The houseboat isn’t exactly lavish, but Andrew enjoys a bottle of champagne to celebrate his latest murder.
But then, food runs out. He eyes a can of dog food attempts to eat it and then vomits.
No, he is not that desperate–yet.
After seeing David Madson’s father on TV (which Andrew seems to be a little obsessed with the coverage of himself), he calls his father.
I wasn’t expecting to see Modesto again but even watching Andrew and Modesto talk on the phone elevated the excitement of the episode.
After seeing how things ended with Modesto on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 “Creator/Destroyer,” I’m surprised that Andrew reached out to him.
I never thought for a minute though that Modesto was going to help him. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising if he had ratted out Andrew for financial gain.
As the days go on, we see that the rest of the dog food has been eaten. Modesto has not come to save Andrew and he has become the cockroach he trapped under glass.
Without much fanfare, Andrew is discovered at the houseboat and it is there, that he puts a gun in his mouth and pulls the trigger.
We’re then taken to the scene from the first episode where Gianni and Andrew are backstage at the opera. Andrew tells Gianni that he wants to be special and he’ll convince the world that he is.
Gianni: It’s not about persuading people you’re going to do something great—it’s about doing it.
And there we have it summed up in one line how completely different these two men are, no matter how they are forever connected.
“Alone” did show Donatella and Antonio briefly although it’s just plain sad to see how Antonio was treated. He isn’t acknowledged and is shunned at Gianni’s funeral and then is told that he may not have anywhere to go as the property Gianni promised him is controlled by the label’s board.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’s biggest failure is the time jumps and the way the season is structured. “Alone” is the finale, however, there just isn’t enough to it to really pack a punch.
I think it would have been better if throughout the season we saw the aftermath of Versace’s murder intercut with Andrew’s previous murders. There isn’t much of a build-up to when Andrew is discovered and when he commits suicide.
By breaking up the manhunt, this final episode may have had more energy. I just feel like I watched an episode of Andrew watching TV.
That being said, I still enjoyed the whole season of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. There were so many brilliant performances, but Darren Criss takes the cake.
He is amazing on every episode and plays so many versions of Andrew. It’s exciting to watch.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is also very sad because I kept wanting the victims to survive.
The characters may not reflect their real-life counterparts one hundred percent, but I was invested in each and every one of them. There are lots of memorable moments throughout the season, but none of them felt sensationalized. And even though Andrew was humanized, his actions were never excused.
It’s disappointing that “Alone” is the weakest episode, but it doesn’t diminish the excellence of the episodes that came previously.
Rating: 3.5/5
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: Alone (Season 2 Episode 9)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: Creator/Destroyer (Season 2 Episode 8)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 8 “Creator/Destroyer” shows both Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan as children and for the first time makes us feel just a tad bit sad for Andrew.
The episode is a little too long and delves further into Andrew’s past while only showing Gianni before the cold open.
Gianni and Andrew had very different childhoods.
“Creator/Destroyer” shows Gianni as being very close to his mother and being encouraged at a young age to do what he loves as his mother did. She tells Gianni that success only comes from hard work. It’s not easy but it’s worth it.
How funny that for Andrew, he is told the exact opposite. Andrew expects everything without hard work because he is “special.”
Andrew’s father, Modesto “Pete” Cunanan, is doting but in an over-the-top and threatening way. He is certainly an interesting character played amazingly well by Jon Jon Briones. We get a glimpse into perhaps why Andrew became the person he did.
For one, Andrew is completely spoiled by Modesto and even his siblings call him “Prince Andrew.” While they all suffer in a small, shared bedroom, Andrew gets the master suite to himself.
After Andrew gets accepted into an elite private school, Modesto buys young Andrew a car, which is utterly ridiculous. He’s about twelve.
Modesto often calls Maryanne, his wife, weak and abuses her verbally and physically. From previous episodes, Maryanne seems unstable, but from “Creator/Destroyer,” I definitely feel a little sorry for her.
Modesto also turns Andrew against her–or he at least shuts her out.
Modesto is a wheeler and dealer who spins lies and who wants the most from his American Dream. After beating out hundreds of Ivy-leaguers for a job at Merrill Lynch, we see Modesto isn’t quite as good as finding clients to invest as he once bragged.
He’s a liar and ultimately a con-man who leaves his family broke as he runs off to the Philippines.
Andrew is distraught when his father leaves but still believes that Modesto has money and that he’s just in hiding from the FBI. So, he goes to Manila to find him.
The confrontation between Modesto and Andrew is the highlight of the episode and showcases the acting talents of both Jon Jon Briones and Darren Criss. The whole scene between them is utterly mesmerizing and difficult to watch.
Modesto berates Andrew and says that he’s just like Maryanne—weak. He spits on Andrew and for a moment, as Andrew holds a knife in his hand, it seems plausible that Andrew could begin his spree of violence here.
Instead, Andrew presses the knife in his hand and cries.
Andrew returns to the US and nearly shrinks in embarrassment as neighbors watch them move out of their grand home. He’s broken.
Andrew reluctantly goes to his local pharmacy to apply for a job. The pharmacist is a Filipino man and presses Andrew about his father.
It is there where Andrew begins the big lie—he says that his father owns pineapple plantations:
Andrew: As far as the eye can see.
And this is the Andrew we know.
“Creator/Destroyer” shows us that Andrew had seen violence in his home and that he was taught that things should be given to him without actually putting the work in. It’s also alluded to that Andrew was sexually abused by his father.
There are moments throughout the episode where I feel for Andrew, however, I’m impressed that The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story still does not make excuses for Andrew.
We can see why Andrew is obsessed with portraying a certain image, but his childhood does not give absolve him for the brutal murders. Andrew could have taken the Gianni route by working hard to earn money, but instead chose the wrong path.
“Creator/Destroyer” is the penultimate episode of the series, so we should see Andrew’s demise on the last episode. Just like Modesto, he will be hunted down by the FBI.
Overall, “Creator/Destroyer” is an insightful episode with some great scenes (including Andrew owning the dance floor to “Whip It”) but it’s not the most compelling. I do appreciate though, that we see Andrew before he sets out on his path of lies.
Just like the rest of the stories on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, I can’t help but feel sad for everyone involved, except for Modesto.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (Season 2 Episode 5)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Season Season 2 Episode 5 “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is another heartbreaking episode which showcases the homophobia of the 1990s which had been in the background on previous episodes, but is now front and center.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is impeccably acted as always and it is interesting to see how Jeff Trail and Andrew Cunanan meet. We only saw Finn Wittrock as Jeff Trail very briefly in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 4 “The House by the Lake,” before Andrew brutally hammered him to death.
However, the timeline is still not working as well as it should. When the episode opens in 1995 with Versace telling Donatella he is going to come out, I was glad that we were getting back to the Versace storyline.
Any scene with Donatella is mesmerizing.
The scene illuminates the stigma of being gay and what it can do to a business, even in fashion, which now, we would see as an accepting industry. Donatella assumes that Antonio wants the fame of being recognized as Gianni’s boyfriend.
But Gianni insists that it is his idea. He almost died and now he wants to share his story.
It’s something he must do.
Versace is only present at the beginning of the episode and then at the end when we see how very different Gianni and Jeff’s stories are told to the press.
It is so sweet when Gianni calls Antonio over and introduces him to the journalist as his partner for the past thirteen years. I love Ricky Martin more and more with each episode he’s on.
Jeff Trail’s conversation with a CBS camera crew is in a dingy hotel compared to the beautiful hotel suite Gianni meets Advocate magazine in. Gianni will be on the cover of the magazine, whereas Jeff will be in shadows and his voice masked like “a criminal.”
Jeff Trail came from a military family and was serving in the Navy under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy which prohibited the military from discriminating against closeted homosexuals, but at the same time banned openly gay and bisexual people from joining the military.
As we see Gianni and Antonio walk the hotel hallways on the way to the interview intercut with Jeff meeting journalists in secret, I had kind of forgotten that Versace had even been a part of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The episode largely belongs to Jeff, but after Versace’s intro, we’re back to Andrew’s point of view, four days before the start of his murder spree.
Oh, and Andrew’s also injecting heroin.
As Andrew prepares to leave his life in San Diego, we see a typical serial killer shrine with images of Versace (including the Advocate cover) which shows that Versace was always a target. We also see that Andrew lives in a small room with very little possessions and a closet full of blazers.
He must keep up appearances.
The episode continues to jump between the fateful weekend Andrew comes to Minneapolis, the first time Andrew and Jeff meet, and Jeff’s time in the Navy.
I wish that we would have seen more of Andrew and Jeff’s relationship and how Jeff discovered that Andrew was a fraud.
The interview Jeff gives is a big moment on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” however, we see it three times. First, we actually see the incident Jeff talks about where he came to the aid of a fellow sailor who was getting beat up for being gay.
Then, Andrew watches the CBS tape where Jeff confides that he wishes he hadn’t saved the sailor’s life because it ended his military career.
And then, we hear the story again in the motel room with Jeff and the journalists.
It’s too repetitive and when we see Jeff tell the TV crew about the incident at the same time as Versace comes out to the world, Jeff’s story doesn’t make as big as an impact as it should.
What does make an impact is when Jeff tells Andrew that he has no honor.
The look on Andrew’s face is murderous.
Even more so when Jeff says, “No one wants your love.”
We don’t know why Andrew is the way he is but his motivation for murder is somewhat clear. He kills men who he either wanted to out, who he envied, or who he thought wronged him.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is a good episode because of the way it handles the subject matter. The execution, however, however, is too clunky. It is too repetitive at times and Jeff and Andrew’s relationship could have been explored a little further.
Reviewer Rating: 3½ / 5 stars
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: The House by the Lake (Season 2 Episode 4)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 4 “The House by the Lake” takes us to the very beginning of Andrew Cunanan’s killing spree. It’s another well-acted but upsetting episode which shows Andrew murdering two unsuspecting men.
Each time I watch The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, I am saddened by the lives cut short by a manipulative man with murderous intentions. “The House by the Lake” is no exception.
The episode starts a week before the murder of Lee Miglin, in Minneapolis. Andrew is staying with David Madson, a successful architect and the man who he just proposed to.
Things are obviously tense between David and Andrew. David tells Andrew that they both said things over the weekend that they regret.
Andrew tells him he regrets nothing. They are also not engaged.
At this point, Andrew has not killed anyone, but that changes very quickly. We already know what Andrew is capable of, so from the very start, his very presence is menacing.
Finn Wittrock makes a very quick guest appearance as Jeff Trail, a mutual friend (and supposed secret lover of David) before he is promptly and viciously murdered by Andrew.
It’s interesting to see how Andrew’s murders become less and less intimate or involved as his spree continues. Considering how Jeff Trail’s murder is a crime of passion, where Andrew is out of control and covered in blood, Versace’s assassination almost seems impersonal.
Where is Versace by the way? By traveling back in time to see Andrew’s previous murders, we miss out on the Miami storyline and the aftermath of Gianni Versace’s death.
The murders of William Reese, Lee Miglin, David Madson, and Jeff Trail could have been intercut with the investigation surrounding Versace’s death in Miami. We didn’t need two whole episodes without the Versace storyline.
However, I appreciate the Versace-less episodes. Gianni may have been the most famous of the victims, but that doesn’t mean the other four men weren’t as important or as loved.
“The House by the Lake” is a little clunky with David’s flashbacks of hunting with his father and then coming out to him.
But, the final scene with David as he imagines he makes it into the house by the lake and sits down to have coffee with his father is just so heart-breaking that it really packs a punch.
Although Andrew has been the predominant character in each episode, I’m glad that we’re no closer to knowing the real Andrew. The writers aren’t trying to find reasons as to why he is the way he is, nor are they trying to make him relatable.
“The House by the Lake” shows Andrew in a slightly different light—he’s still threatening (even singing “Pump Up the Jams”) and a master manipulator, but he shows some tenderness and emotion towards David.
That still doesn’t make us feel for Andrew, though.
The murder of Jeff Trail seems to be premeditated, although Andrew says it wasn’t. Whether or not it was, Andrew still saw that he would be able to confuse law enforcement. By putting out David’s pornography on his bed, the cops thought that it was a hook-up that went wrong.
They also thought David was the murderer for a short time.
It really is fascinating to see how Andrew was able to commit the murders he did and be on the run for more than two months in plain sight.
Overall, “The House by the Lake” is a sad chapter that starts off Andrew Cunanan’s murderous spree that leads him to the assassination of Gianni Versace. Darren Criss impresses again as does Cody Fern who plays David Madson.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is compelling TV and even though I already know the story, I can’t wait to watch the next chapter.
Reviewer Rating: ★★★★☆
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: A Random Killing (Season 2 Episode 3)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 3, “A Random Killing,” is not as flashy as previous episodes, but it is a necessary episode and a brutal one.
There are no oddly disturbing upbeat songs to go with arresting images on this episode and the whole thing feels cold and subdued.
But that’s not a bad thing.
“A Random Killing” begins with Marilyn Miglin, a Home Shopping Network star, as she phones her husband who didn’t pick her up from the airport like he was supposed to.
Gone are the bright colors and sunshine of Miami Beach. There is a sense of dread as Marilyn pulls up to her Chicago Gold Coast home. Her husband, Lee, doesn’t answer as she calls out to him. She sees a pint of melted ice cream on the kitchen bench and knows something is terribly wrong.
Only The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story make a pint of ice cream look so ominous.
Lee’s tortured body is found in the garage.
The time changes have been distracting on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, however, this episode is almost linear. It begins with the discovery of Lee’s body and then goes back to the week leading up to the murder before showing us about a week after it.
Gianni Versace is missing from this episode, but Andrew does visit the Versace store in New York, perhaps to show us that Versace is very much on Andrew’s mind even two months prior to the assassination.
“A Random Killing” mostly takes place in Chicago. Although the Miglin family claim there is no connection between Lee Miglin and Cunanan or Duke Miglin, the couple’s son, Lee certainly fits in Andrew’s MO.
Lee’s an older, closeted male with a ton of money, not unlike the john we saw on The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 2 “Manhunt.”
Marilyn Miglin is a fascinating character and Judith Light owns the episode with her fantastic performance. Marilyn knows that she doesn’t have a conventional marriage, but that doesn’t mean Lee doesn’t matter to her.
The end of the episode is heart-breaking as Marilyn’s brave façade crumbles.
We’ve seen all sorts of Andrews on the past two episodes, but on “A Random Killing,” we truly see him as a cold and calculated killer. He even brags to Miglin that he has already murdered two people.
Cunanan is a chameleon and therefore, we have seen him pretend to be all sorts of people. But “A Random Killing” shows him as someone who enjoys killing and who is not affected by it.
The way Cunanan kills Miglin is particularly vicious. At one point, he considers shooting him but decides to draw it out a little more. He binds his face with masking tape, just like he did in Miami on “American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 2, “Manhunt.”
But Andrew doesn’t let Miglin survive. Instead, he attacks him and then says that he is going to put women’s underwear on him and surround him with pornographic magazines.
He asks him, what’s Lee more afraid of death or being disgraced?
Marilyn is adamant with the police that Lee didn’t know his killer although evidence would suggest otherwise. I like that when Marilyn rattles off a list of things stolen from the house, she mentions a gold coin which she says will be immediately traced back to Lee.
It’s funny because we know that Cunanan pawns off the gold coin but because the FBI didn’t distribute any flyers of Cunanan, the pawn shop owner didn’t identify Cunanan until after Versace was murdered.
Another fumble for the authorities is when it’s leaked that Cunanan is being tracked by the phone in Lee’s stolen car.
Of course, Cunanan hears that information and throws the phone out the window—but he also needs a new car.
And so here comes the title of the episode, “A Random Killing.”
Andrew is about to carjack a woman and then sees a man in a truck drive away. Why does Andrew want this truck instead? We don’t know. Andrew could have easily taken the keys to the truck and could have spared William Reese’s life.
As Reese starts to tell Cunanan that he had a wife and child, Andrew shoots him point blank.
It’s a cold-blooded act and hits hard.
Overall, “A Random Killing” is an upsetting episode with touching and powerful performances and heart-wrenching murders. We’re starting to see Andrew Cunanan as a true predator and it’s only going to go downhill from here.
What did you think of this episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Reviewer Rating: ★★★★☆
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: Manhunt (Season 2 Episode 2)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Season 2 Episode 2 “Manhunt” is disturbing, emotional, and compelling. It still is struggling with time jumps, but overall, “Manhunt” is really starting to show us who these characters are—for better or for worse.
On the premiere episode, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story “The Man Who Would be Vogue” (Season 2 Episode 1), I didn’t feel much of a connection with Donatella. However, on “Manhunt,” we see their close bond as well as some points of contention.
Donatella: What is Versace without you?
Gianni: It is you.
Donatella: And what am I without you?
Gianni: You will find out.
The look on Donatella’s face as she sees Gianni in the casket—wow. Seeing Donatella lose her composure is just heartbreaking.
On “Manhunt,” we get a glimpse into Gianni and Antonio’s relationship and see that American Crime Story is going with the theory that Gianni was HIV Positive. Donatella thinks that Antonio is to blame for her brother’s illness. These scenes provide more insight as to why Donatella has been so dismissive of him after Gianni’s death.
As Antonio points out, Gianni is not a saint. However, Antonio is enough for Gianni but is Gianni enough for Antonio?
The question is answered with a particularly sweet moment at the end of the episode where Gianni and Antonio kiss outside the nightclub and go home together. It’s also bittersweet because it won’t be long before Gianni is gunned down.
Meanwhile, we see Andrew in May 1997 as he hits the road towards Miami after stealing license plates in South Carolina. He is jubilant as he sings to “Gloria” and it’s hard to imagine that he has already killed four men.
In Miami, Andrew’s lies continue, and he makes a friend in Ronnie, an HIV positive addict who is also staying at the Normandy Hotel.
I find the scenes between Ronnie and Andrew to be really interesting. Andrew loves an audience and spinning tales of his life but Ronnie doesn’t completely buy it.
I also may have a tiny crush on Max Greenfield with his handlebar mustache.
There are a few scenes with Miami detectives and the FBI and we see how the FBI has already bungled up the investigation of Cunanan in Miami. They don’t distribute flyers, which is a huge mistake as pointed out when Andrew goes to the pawn shop and uses his own identification.
The pawn shop owner actually looks at a bulletin board of wanted men in the area.
Andrew Cunanan is not one of them.
They also don’t listen to Detective Lori Wieder who says that they should look at all the gay nightclubs, including Twist, which is where Andy ends up at the end of the episode. The FBI say that Andrew is probably hitting up old men in Fort Lauderdale.
That isn’t entirely inaccurate as Andrew goes back to an older man’s hotel room after meeting him on the beach. He’s a married CEO of a company and tells Andrew he can be submissive.
The following scene is incredibly disturbing as Andrew wraps the man’s face with duct tape and restricts his breathing and then dances around in the hotel room before straddling the man with a pair of scissors.
Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan continues to amaze me.
The weakest part of “Manhunt” is the time jumps. The episode starts in 1994 with Versace being very sick. I didn’t mind this flashback because it shows the close relationship between Donatella and Gianni and then explains why Donatella doesn’t like Antonio.
It also shows that Gianni was once close to death but then managed to survive. It’s sad to know that he’ll be dead only a few years later.
The episode then jumps to May 1997, the day after Gianni’s murder in July 1997, a fashion show a few weeks before his death, and then some time in the months/weeks leading up to the murder while Andrew’s in Miami.
What was the point of seeing Andrew in South Carolina? It only showed us how strangely calm he is after he’s already committed a few murders.
And the Versace fashion show? It does show Donatella and Gianni butting heads, but I kind of think it’s purely so Gianni can talk about how life is beautiful.
It makes it all the sadder when his life ends so violently.
Overall, “Manhunt” is a riveting episode and I can tell how much I enjoyed it because I simply didn’t want it to end. The acting is incredible, the music is upbeat but oddly unsettling, and the subject matter is compelling.
Now, if The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story could only get their act together when it comes to timelines and flashbacks.
Reviewer Rating: 4½ / 5 Stars
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Review: Manhunt (Season 2 Episode 2)
ACS news 