arts & entertainment A Cross-Cultural Sex Comedy Jewish milieu, characters infuse Fading Gigolo. Michael Fox Special to the Jewish News M y big thing was to not have him wear khaki pants and an Army coat:' John Turturro says with a broad smile. "And I got him out of that. I said, 'That's not in my color scheme. I'm an Italian director:" This dash of bravado might sound pretentious, or even ludicrous, on paper. But when it comes from a tall, impeccably groomed man in an elegant blue velvet suit (double-breasted, shirt buttoned to the top, no tie), it seems perfectly reason- able. For his fifth feature behind the camera, Fading Gigolo, the renowned actor and filmmaker solicited ongoing (and ruthless) feedback from another New York icon, Woody Allen, during the lengthy screen- writing process. Allen accepted a rare acting assignment in the film, hence the discussion of his costume. Allen plays a newly retired Manhattan bookstore owner who, in need of money, convinces his friend, floral arranger Fioravante (Turturro), to provide sexual services to affluent women. Murray claims a fee for arranging the liaisons, which take Fioravante in an unexpected and ultimate- ly poignant direction. Fading Gigolo starts out as a slightly absurd sex comedy and deepens into a mature, empathetic study of big-city lone- liness against a backdrop of cross-cultural and ethnic identity. The crucial relationship in Fading Gigolo is between Fioravante and Avigal (French actress Vanessa Paradis), an astute mother of six and the widow of a Chasidic rabbi. Sex isn't part of the equation, but Dovi, a protective and covetous neighbor- hood Satmar watchman (a touching Liev Schreiber), can't know that. "I met all these people who've left the [Satmar] community" in the course of research, Turturro says in a recent inter- view in a San Francisco hotel. "They're like the strays of the commu- nity. They gather in this place, people who left, and people who hadn't left who just went there to see what was going on:' Paradis got to know one woman in par- ticular who had left the Satmar commu- nity and explained the various directives, such as keeping her hair concealed under a wig. "All these things are made up by men:' Turturro declares. "Women didn't make these rules. And to me, that says it all:' Fading Gigolo is unambiguously respect- ful toward observant Jewish practice while inviting us to empathize with a woman trying to reconcile autonomy and confor- mity. "Avigal's not looking to escape Turturro explains. "She's just looking to receive:' Fading Gigolo climaxes with a religious trial, where Murray is confronted with the query, "Are you proud to be a Jew?" It's the question we've long wanted Woody Allen to answer onscreen, and at that moment, it's difficult not to conflate the character and the actor. Turturro's experience of Judaism goes well beyond growing up in New York and now living in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. His wife is Jewish, his son went to Hebrew school and Turturro con- fides that he's spent a fair amount of time in Reform synagogues. He has played several Jewish characters onscreen, most famously in the Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing and Barton Fink, and immersed himself in the life of Primo Levi to portray the Italian-Jewish Filmmaker-actor John Turturro, right, directs Woody Allen, left, in Fading Gigolo. Holocaust survivor in Francesco Rosi's The Truce (1997). "If you're raised a Catholic, you realize there's not a debate that goes on:' Turturro says. "And if you're raised a Jew, there's a debate that goes on. And I really like that. Therein lies one of the greatnesses of Judaism7 At Allen's behest, Turturro brushed up on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short stories while he wrote the Fading Gigolo screen- play. But after all his various and diligent research, certain things came down to intuition — and style. "I only chose Satmar because I liked the hats the best:' Turturro says. "I don't want the Borsalino. I'm Italian. It's an aesthetic choice, understand. That's how it goes with me. The hat dictates. That's it:' ❑ As of press time, Fading Gigolo, rated R, is scheduled to open Friday, May 9, in Detroit. Check your local listings. Michigan Horror Story "I'm almost constantly writing books." Local musician celebrates first novel. Suzanne Chessler Contributing Writer osh Malerman and his band, the High Strung, have entertained in libraries to draw young people to books. Soon, the musicians will be entertain- ing in bookstores and other spots to draw a wide range of readers to Malerman's just-released novel: Bird Box: Don't Open Your Eyes (Ecco). The horror tale, about a destructive presence that must not be seen, will be introduced with the group acting out a segment using a format similar to a radio play. Based in Michigan, with settings close to the author's Ferndale home, the novel will be discussed during sessions in Ferndale, Ann Arbor, Lansing and other cities. 58 May 8 • 2014 "The horror genre is so ripe for imagi- nation:' says Malerman, 38, whose pre- sentations will include his fiancee, Allison Laakko, an artist and classical guitarist portraying Malorie, the main character, who boats down a river with two children, all of them blindfolded, to find sanctuary. "A genre that enables writers to express whatever they want fits right in with my per- sonality, which is free to imagine:' Malerman, whose book has been adapted into a movie script for production by Universal Studios, recently appeared at a convention of librarians in San Antonio. He gave a speech as part of a panel on horror tales. "In my younger years, I tried to write songs with messages, and they'd come off sort of preachy:' explains Malerman, a guitarist-vocalist who performs with Derek Berk on drums, Chad Stocker on bass and Stephen Palmer on guitar. "If I don't try to have a mes- sage, my songs come off with more meaning to them, and I think the same thing happened with the book:' Malerman, who describes his work of fiction as having "a Twilight Zone feel," connected with Berk and Stocker in seventh grade at Orchard Lake Middle School in West Bloomfield. The friendship and performing con- tinued through West Bloomfield High School and while he majored in English at Michigan State University. The quartet's latest release is I, Anybody on New Fortune Records. Malerman, who had his bar mitzvah at Temple Israel, hosted a recent seder in his home, with dad Stephen Malerman of West Bloomfield leading the service. His mom is Debbie Sullivan of Eastpointe. "I've been enamored with the horror genre my entire life:' says Malerman, a steady read- er whose favorite author is Stephen King. "I like the fun, the color and the ideas. — Josh Malerman "I went on a kick when I only read clas- sic novels. That lasted a couple of years and dropped me off at Dracula. I realized that someone can write a horror novel and be part of high art, and that's what I'm after." ❑ Josh Malerman appears in support of Bird Box at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the New Way Bar, 23130 Woodward, Ferndale, (248) 541- 9870); 7 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at Schuler's, 2820 Towne Centre Blvd., Lansing, (517) 316-7495; 9 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at Mac's Bar, 2700 E. Michigan, Lansing, (517) 484-6795; and 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 20, at Nicola's Books, 2513 Jackson, Ann Arbor, (734) 662-0600.