Monday, February 16, 2015

This Is A Template For "The Witching Hour!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"



                               Oh, my God, darlings, let me tell you, it took me over twenty four hours to process "American Horror Story--Coven."  There is so much to talk about here--the acting, the gorgeous visuals, the costumes, the hair, the shots--that I don't know where to begin.  Let me start by saying that, in doing this, Ryan Murphy and Brad  Falchuk, through this, have found a way to film Anne Rice's masterwork--and my personal favorite of her books--"The Witching Hour!"  And they have most of the cast, already here!!!!!!!!

                              I mean, wouldn't Lily Rabe make a fabulous Antha?  And how about Kathy Bates, as Carlotta?  Then there is Emma Roberts, who is so good at being trampy, she would make a wonderful Stella!!!!!   And how about Sarah Paulson, as the tragic Deirdre?  Of course, how about Jessica Lange, as Suzanne Mayfair, who is burned at the stake, and is the first to call forth Lasher?  And I think we can get Frances Conroy in there, as Mary Beth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                               The best way to start talking about "Coven" is to first discuss its overall assets.  So, I will make only sporadic comments about the cast and characters here, as some will be dealt with, individually, in other posts.

                                 Let's start with New Orleans.  Just like David Lean made Venice, Italy one of the stars of  "Summertime," the creators of  "Coven" have done the same thing with the Crescent City.  But it is also an occult one, full of witchcraft, voodoo, and other forms of the supernatural.  And anyone with an affinity to the paranormal will most definitely have experiences here.  I am living proof of that.  In 1996, while standing in front of Anne Rice's house, setting of "The Witching Hour," in the Garden District--you know I just love it THERE, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!--I saw a bearded man sitting on the very porch rocking chair Deirdre is seated on, at the start of the novel.  Though I was standing outside the gate, he called me up to the porch, and, as though in a hypnotic trance, I obeyed his command.  I stood before him, as he touched my cheek, and he said, in a Southern drawl...."You know why you are  lucky?  "Cause you woke up, this mornin', that's why."
Then, he delivered a parting gesture, and I left.  I never saw him again.  To this day, I am convinced this was the spirit of Julien Mayfair, and no one can tell me different.  I don't know what I have been marked for, but I have been singled out by The Mayfair Witches!  Who knows?   Then, in 2011, fifteen years later, while in the the hallway of the Monteleone Hotel, in the French Quarter, I saw the ghost of a woman, in 19th Century garb, float past me, down the way a bit.  When I got to where I saw her, there was nothing.  And, while visiting Voodoo Priest, Doctor John, I held a voodoo snake--and holding a snake was something I thought I would never do.  It seemed so sweet and gentle.  And not to forget the swamp trips, and our friend, Fancy, The Alligator!

                              So, I have  had my experiences with this city, which is one reason I connected to this show.  But Ryan and Brad, as they did in other entries, create a constellation of refernces, that points its way on the journey.  For starters, they reference real life New Orleans figures, like Madame Delphine Lalaurie, whose house, on the evening ghost tour, I saw on Royal Street, and heard the story of how she dealt with the servant problem--by concocting a Chamber Of Horrors upstairs, where the misbehaved slaves were deprived of food, sunlight, and eventually life, after grotesque physical torture.  Which makes for great Gothic gossip, and we just love Madame Delphine Lalaurie for it; however, as a Plantation Princess, myself, and knowing how to deal with servants, myself, I advocate being firm, but not THIS!!!!!!!!!  I just simply tell them to walk in only through the back door, and everything is fine!  Then, there is the New Orleans Axeman, the serial killer of 1918-19, who gets a mention, in this, with a brilliant turn by Danny Huston in the role.

                               My one regret is that they did not reference the story of  Zack Bowen and Addie Hall, the New Orleans lovers, whose French Quarter relationship degenerated into a horror show, when, after acting as humanitarians during Katrina, Zack killed Addie, cooked her remains--and then, in late October 2006, threw himself from the roof of the Omni Hotel.  It really belonged here!

                               But I want to talk about, and show some other visual references, which are so brilliant, I could not tell if they were conscious or not.  Considering that Stevie Nicks--yes, girls!!!!--actually makes an appearance on this, it is no coincidence that Lily Rabe's character, Misty Day, is made up to look like a younger version of the singer.  Don't worry, not to fear; there will be  more on Lily, and Misty, later!

                                Then, there is Frances Conroy, brilliant, as always, cast here as  Myrtle Snow, a member of the Council of Witches, and the show's leading gay icon, being very fashion conscious herself. I mean, anyone who says lines like, "Look at me; I'm fabulous!" or "Your fashion faux pas give me nightmares," is pure gold, in my book.  This is one tough cookie of a witch, getting burned at the stake twice, and, on the final burn, her last word is...."Balenciaga!"  Talk about a flaming exit!  I just love her!

                                  But, wait!  Look at this!
           
                                 Now, I don't know, if this was conscious on Ryan's and Brad's parts, but I would say, that, with her haute couture look and hair style, Myrtle is referencing Grace Coddington!!!!!!!!!!  Wouldn't you agree with me, girls!!!!!!!!!!!  I wonder what Grace thinks?????????????????

                                  Obviously, the set, costume, and hair stylists had as much of a field day on this show as the actors.  "Coven" not only has a distinctly New Orleans look, it is also, amazingly Felliniesque.  Again, I do not know if this was conscious or not, but in several shots,  which I will try and show you, I was certain they were referencing my favorite of the director's films, "Juliet Of The Spirits."  Look!


I mean, isn't this all simply brilliant?????????????

And wait till you see Kathy Bates, as a talking head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

           

2 comments:

  1. I've heard of binge watching, but you really take it to the extreme, RQ! I mean, really now: 3 seasons of AHS in three weeks?!?! Yikes. Talk about sensory overload.

    I do like Coven as much as you, its my favorite season after Ayslum, followed closely by Murder House and then Freak Show falling a bit further behind.

    You will find, if you cast about the interwebs, that you are a fairly isolated voice in praising "Coven." I don't think I've ever seen as much contempt and loathing heaped on TV series to the extent "Coven" has been vilified. Much of it seems to come from the "straight male under 30" contingent, which one can always rely upon for inane commentary. They were all distinctly repulsed and disturbed by the innate campiness of "Coven," which they sneering ascribe to "pandering to the gays and the females who love gays."

    To which the only appropriate rejoinder is "of course it was, duh" and "why the hell does that bother you so much, dingus?" It certainly isn't a secret that FX network and Murphy/Falchuk went into a panicked tailspin when ratings for "Asylum" plummeted to less than half of season one "Murder House." They made a conscious decision that season three would need to overcompensate for the darkness of "Asylum" by being even lighter in tone than season one.

    The tactic worked: ratings for "Coven" skyrocketed past "Murder House" and firmly established the franchise. It was and remains the most popular AHS season by far with general audiences, although one would never know this from all the vitriol spewed among the online troll community (and misguided mainstream critics).

    Nothing amused me more than watching these same trolls get their panties more and more twisted as ratings for this years "Freak Show" (which pandered back to them) fell off a cliff after the first episode, and declined further with each succeeding episode, averaging about the same as "Asylum" overall. The straight boys went into paroxysms of unhinged anger, blaming all the "gays and whimpering women" for tuning out.

    It never occurs to these obsessive-compulsives that as high-concept anthology series, each season of AHS can and will be pitched to appeal to different audience segments. I can't wait to see their reaction next season, when the series purportedly will be "completely reinvented" according to FX.

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  2. I ask you, WTF would straight know from "Juliet Of The Spirits." And don't think I have forgotten that Emma Roberts is sort of playing Lindsay Lohan!

    As for me, I have mastered two of the Seven Wonders--telekinesis, and mind control. I am working up to pyrokinesis next! It could make for some great Baked ALaska!

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