6A — Monday, December 4, 2017
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
RCA/BYSTORM
Miguel makes everything sexy
On ‘War & Leisure’ Miguel
makes social critique sexy
In his latest release, Miguel adds another dimension to his music
In 2017 America, there seems
to exist very few moments of
pure happiness. You could have
just aced the exam that had a 56
percent class average, landed
your dream job, gotten asked
out by that guy / girl you always
thought was out of your league
and be surrounded by a litter
of golden retriever puppies and
still be weighed on by a headline
you read that morning.
LA-based R&B artist Miguel
is painfully aware of this tainted
happiness on his new album War
& Leisure. While the artist’s past
discography
relies
primarily
on eroticism, Miguel adds a
new social dimension on his
latest release, painting sexual
experiences
with
political
metaphors and evoking the
stark juxtaposition suggested by
the album’s title.
Rick
Ross
collaboration
“Criminal” starts off the album
with a refrain that exemplifies
this duality: “It’s so good it
feels
criminal.”
Similarly,
promotional single “Told You
So” straightforwardly preaches
“every pleasure you taste has
its price, babe.” While not
particularly
profound,
both
lines set a clear precedent for the
“nothing good comes without
something bad” message that
is splattered across the entire
album.
With this in mind, the album’s
lyrics take a turn toward social
commentary,
implicitly
and
explicitly referencing a number
of
headline-worthy
names
and issues. Among the most
referenced
are
controversial
figures
President
Donald
Trump and professional football
player Colin Kaepernick. On
“Come Through and Chill,”
collaborator J. Cole finds a way
to mention both in a single
flow — “Know you’ve been
on my mind like Kaepernick
kneelin’ / Or police killings, or
Trump sayin’ slick shit” — while
comparing the preoccupation
with these current events to the
sexually entrancing quality of a
woman.
A number of other social
references,
particularly
references to war, are made
in erotic contexts. In “Banana
Clip,” Miguel blatantly refers
to a boner as a machine gun
clip and later proclaims “I put
the D in defender / You know I
never surrender.” In “Anointed,”
he sings “your body’s ready
for war and my body’s built to
endure.” Alluding to war in
describing such sexual scenes
further underlines how anxiety
prompted by current events
has come to pollute life’s good
moments.
The album’s grave aura lets
up on “Pineapple Skies” — a
synth,
autotune
experience
with a refrain that somewhat
convincingly
proclaims
“promise everything’s gonna be
alright” — immediately followed
by “Sky Walker,” a Travis Scott
collaboration and the album’s
lead single. The latter feels out
of place on the album, shirking
political drive in favor of what
seems like a playful competition
for most clever flow. No matter
the best line (it has to be either
Miguel’s “I’m Luke Skywalkin’
on these haters’’ or Scott’s
“In my 23s, havin’ a Jordan
moment” in my opinion), the
song feels forced onto the
album for radioplay purposes
and strays from the album’s
otherwise succinct concept.
Album
closer,
“Now,”
is
unique, given it’s the only song
on the album that focuses
directly on social issues rather
than
contributing
social
commentary masked by sexual
metaphor. Lyrics “Is that the
look of freedom, now? / Is that
the sound of freedom, now?”
raise the question that we’ve all
asked ourselves: Can we really
call today’s America the “free
world”? Miguel goes further
to assert “‘Cause it’s plain to
see a man’s integrity by the
way he treats those he does
not need,” perhaps referencing
President Donald Trump’s less
than merciful actions toward
minorities,
or
otherwise
drawing focus on the general
population
growing
selfish
sentiment.
This track, and therefore the
album, concludes with “We are
the look of freedom / We are
the sound of freedom” — a call
to action to remedy the pains
underlying the body of the
album.
Having proven his masterful
songwriting
and
production
ability on past releases, Miguel
continues to flex these talents on
War & Leisure. Still, he evolves
from past works by adding a
new socially conscious layer
without losing the sexual and
emotional edge that launched
his career. Miguel gives us a new
interpretation of the current
tumultuous
social
climate.
While this interpretation may
seem dire, he also reassures us
that we have the power to love
and change the world for the
better.
JESS ZEISLOFT
Daily Arts Writer
ALBUM REVIEW
War & Leisure
Miguel
Bystorm, RCA
NETFLIX
A man finding God in a godless place, just like how Rihanna found love
Netflix’s new ‘Godless’ is
a widely likeable Western
The series is a visually stunning epic with a well-curated cast
The
tropes
are
ingrained
in all of our minds: the lone
cowboy riding through a harsh
yet beautiful land, the town
saloon, the ever-present threat of
robbery, the pure, unadulterated
feeling of adventure and promise.
Yet Westerns are usually just a
thing of the past, a neat antiquity
of a different age. Nonetheless,
Netflix’s new series “Godless”
revives the genre for a modern
TV
audience,
combining
gorgeous production with a
brutal story.
In the first episode “An
Incident
at
Creede,”
Frank
Griffin
(Jeff
Daniels,
“The
Newsroom”), a notorious and
terrifying outlaw, searches for a
former protégé Roy Goode (Jack
O’Connell, “Money Monster”)
after the latter betrays the group
of outlaws that robs mines around
Colorado and Wyoming. Goode
arrives in a town called La Belle,
where he is welcomed (by being
shot) by Alice Fletcher (Michelle
Dockery,
“Downton
Abbey”),
who also nurses him back to
health. Meanwhile, Sheriff Bill
McNue (Scoot McNairy, “War
Machine”), a depressed widower,
investigates the whole affair
after the small town of Creede is
savagely brutalized and burned
to the ground.
Jeff Daniels, in what is a rather
unusual role for him, provides
a
stunning
performance
as
Griffin. In Griffin’s first few
scenes, his arm is amputated
due to a gunshot wound, but the
procedure and the aftermath
do not seem to faze him at all,
in opposition to his consuming
desire for revenge. He notes to
his surgeon, “I’ve seen my death,
this ain’t it.” He interrupts a
church service in a memorable
scene,
warning
terrified
churchgoers that they will all
suffer like their lord if they
help Roy Goode. His presence
throughout feels larger than
life, more force of nature than
petty criminal, a performance
reminiscent of Javier Bardem’s
Anton Chigurh in “No Country
for Old Men.”
Despite the main conflict being
between Goode and Griffin, the
true protagonists of the show
are the women. Fletcher, and
McNue’s
sister
Mary
Agnes
(Merritt Wever, “The Walking
Dead”) are complex, strong and
independent in their own distinct
ways and don’t play into clichés
of such personalities. Fletcher is
calm and practical, while Agnes
is
confident
and
completely
self-assured as a leader. In
addition, the town of La Belle is
completely populated by women.
Later episodes introduce viewers
to the women and explore the
dynamics between them. The
new characters are surprisingly
all fleshed out and complex, and
the show reveals an emotional
and compelling backstory that
explains just how this group of
women came to govern La Belle.
Although
long,
drawn-out
shots do slow down the pace
at times to a languid crawl, the
cinematography
and
visual
production conveys a sense of
grandeur, mystery and danger in
the landscape. The land is sparse
and unforgiving, and it gives the
sense that man is truly alone, no
matter how many prayers are
recited. The production feels
movie-like as opposed to what
we expect from TV budgets,
despite some rather amateurish
CGI scattered throughout the
first episode.
Right off the bat, “Godless”
feels like an epic. With a
large cast of well-developed,
interesting
characters
and
cinematic production, it is sure
to entertain anyone, regardless
of their previous affinity for the
genre.
SAYAN GHOSH
Daily Arts Writer
“Godless”
Full Series
Netflix
TV REVIEW
COLUMBIA PICTURES
Denzel stuns and soars
‘Roman J. Israel Esq.’ has
Denzel, but not much else
Dan Gilroy’s new film fails to deliver anything but the actor
Writer-director Dan Gilroy
began
making
waves
in
Hollywood following his 2014
directorial debut “Nightcrawler,”
a dark, thought-provoking film
that was met with significant
critical and popular acclaim.
Naturally,
anticipation
built
up surrounding the release of
Gilroy’s second project, “Roman
J. Israel, Esq.,” a film about an
awkward, brash and idealistic
civil rights defense attorney
struggling to make a difference in
a society dominated by corporate
interests.
Denzel
Washington
(“Fences”) plays the eponymous
Roman J. Israel in a performance
that serves as a central strength
of the film. Roman is, above all
else, out of place. The struggle
most central to the character is
his inability to fit into a certain
time, place or group of people.
Washington
portrays
this
inability wonderfully, capturing
the grandiose oddities of Roman’s
personality all the way down to
his microscopic idiosyncrasies.
Set in the modern day, Roman
arrives at work every day in the
same baggy suits he’s owned
since the ’70s. In one particularly
poignant scene, Roman is invited
to speak to a group of young
activists and is lampooned as a
sexist after asking why men are
not acting chivalrously when
they are sitting while women are
standing in the back. This causes
one of the women to remind
him: “This isn’t 40 years ago,
asshole.” The film communicates
Roman’s anachronism well with
a soundtrack that ranges from
’70s funk to Childish Gambino,
mixing the old and the new in a
way that parallels the film’s main
character.
Unfortunately,
it’s
also
Washington’s
performance
as
the
awkward,
idiosyncratic
attorney that serves as one of
the film’s greatest hindrances
by completely outshining every
other member of the cast. The
film’s
supporting
roles
are
practically nonexistent; whatever
traits the other characters in the
film possess seem to be present
only to act as a foil to Roman. As
a result, the film feels like a one-
man show that, for all the talent
Washington brings to the table,
can’t seem to create a world that’s
interesting and genuine enough to
hold the attention of audiences.
If this weren’t enough to cause
audiences to lose interest, the film
suffers from dreadful pacing that
will test even patient moviegoers.
The first 45 minutes of the film
are more or less insubstantial,
giving audiences a look at Roman
going about his day to day life.
Once audiences have endured a
patience-testing first act, they’re
rewarded with a film that is
otherwise entertaining. However,
entertaining and substantial are
not the same thing.
A film like “Roman J. Israel
Esq.” inherently carries with it a
goal of some kind of greater social
commentary; Roman’s struggle
to help those disenfranchised
by the criminal justice system
brings forth difficult questions
about activism and civil rights
in a society that treats prisoners
and criminals like commodities.
However, the film skirts around
directing these questions head-on
and instead chooses to fall back
on the same few heavy-handed
talking points about the American
legal system. By the end of the
film it’s as if it’s stopped trying
to answer these questions at all,
opting instead to wax poetic on
a tangent of disillusionment and
atonement that feels decidedly
irrelevant from the social issues
that the film sets up to be its
cornerstone.
In the end, “Roman J. Israel,
Esq.” is just as conflicted and
awkward as its main character.
It’s a film that appears to have had
all the makings of an extremely
compelling experience — from
the talent to the content to the
direction — but lacked the focus
to be anything more than a
forgettable experience.
“Roman J.
Israel Esq.”
Columbia
Pictures
Quality 16,
Rave Cinemas
MAX MICHALSKY
Daily Arts Writer
FILM REVIEW