Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
LGBT
Related: About this forumThe quiet provocations of “Looking”; “Episodes.''
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/television/2014/01/20/140120crte_television_nussbaumLooking treats its highly specific circle of gay men with warmth and playfulness. Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham.
IIn the British director Andrew Haighs first movie, Weekend, from 2011, two strangers have a one-night stand that promises to last forever. They collide like pool balls, in bars and beds and kitchens, for days. In many ways, the film is a classical indie romance, with two opposites talking themselves into love. Theres even a kiss by train tracks. But, because theyre both men, a stranger wolf-whistles and yells out a slur, and the more guarded of the two finds himself nearly lunging toward the voice. It was a moment that felt at once discreet and defiantly political.
Now Haigh is directing a TV show called Looking, for HBO, written by Michael Lannan, and based on Lannans short film Lorimer, from 2011. Their collaboration is a real beauty, the standout among several smart series launching in January. (Remember when the big TV season started in September? Not anymore.) In contrast to Weekend, which was set in a grimy, depressing city in the Midlands, Looking takes place in that Emerald City modern San Francisco, where same-sex marriage is legal and older definitions of gay identityrebel, outsider, artisthave begun to curl with age. With its unglamorous sex scenes, the show will inevitably be compared to Girls, but Looking has far more in common with Nicole Holofceners sweet-and-sour ensembles, or the eighties film Parting Glancesunhurried portraits of sprawling social worlds. Some critics will surely find the show insufficiently transgressive, or slight, that code word which is often applied to stories about love and dating. But Looking is a stealth breakthrough, if only because it treats its highly specific circle of gay men with warmth and playfulness, viewing their struggles as ordinary, not outrageous.
At the shows center is a youngish man in flux: twenty-nine-year-old Patrick (the pretty-faced Jonathan Groff). A Colorado transplant, Paddy works as a video-game designer. Hes stinging from two bits of news: his ex-boyfriend has got engaged, and his best friend and roommate, Agustínthe excellent Frankie J. Alvarezis moving in with his own boyfriend, Frank (O. T. Fagbenle). As Paddy tries to kick his life into gear, he stumbles into various humiliating traps: an OkCupid date peppers him with questions, then rejects him as a low-calibre prospect; at a work party, he hits on a man who turns out to be his new boss (Russell Tovey); and he gets truly terrible advice from Agustín, an upper-class Cuban-American, on how white-boy Paddy should prepare for a date with a cholo. The result is one of the most gruesome hookups in recent history, and thats saying something, considering whats on cable.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 935 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The quiet provocations of “Looking”; “Episodes.'' (Original Post)
xchrom
Jan 2014
OP
CurtEastPoint
(18,680 posts)1. Wrong link, no?
xchrom
(108,903 posts)2. thanks! nt
CurtEastPoint
(18,680 posts)3. Sure! Easy to do...