Every year during awards
season, several indie films fall
under the radar. This year,
“The Florida Project,” “A Ghost
Story,” “Good Time” and many
more did not receive the praise
they deserved from the Academy
Awards
or
Golden
Globes.
Instead, the same formula of
period pieces matched with
high caliber Hollywood names
make the ballot. One of those
films worthy of a nod is “Beach
Rats,” a movie that draws many
parallels to the nominated “Call
Me By Your Name.” Even crabby
critic Richard Brody of The New
Yorker agrees, placing “Beach
Rats” on his Oscar nominations
wishlist for Best Actor and Best
Cinematography.
“Beach Rats” tackles the same
subject matter as “Call Me By
Your Name.” A teen boy, Frankie
(newcomer Harris Dickinson),
tries to figure out his sexuality.
However, unlike the idealistic
approach of “Call Me By Your
Name,” “Beach Rats” embraces
a grungier, more cynical take.
Frankie spends his time with
a group of derelict boys who
mostly use him for access to
drugs. Their macho attitude
clouds his view of the world and
increases his shame towards his
sexuality. As Frankie deals with
family tragedy and addiction,
he ventures into the dangerous
world of online chat rooms. His
fear of being discovered leads
to secret encounters with older
men in the shady corners of
Coney Island.
The dream-like atmosphere
of “Call Me By Your Name”
makes it a more digestible film.
Set in a romanticized Italy in
the 1980s when online predators
did not yet exist, Director Luca
Guadagnino created a movie
about the pureness of love.
Elio
(Timothee
Chalamet,
“Lady
Bird”)
and
Oliver
(Armie Hammer, “The Social
Network”) treat each other with
tenderness. Elio’s parents offer
him emotional support, and his
circumstances are those of a
rich teenager with little to rebel
against. Although still risque,
“Call Me By Your Name” is a
film that a wider audience can
enjoy.
In contrast, “Beach Rats”
emphasizes exploitation, most
notably that of its actors’ bodies.
Guadagnino cut moments of
nudity from the original script
of “Call Me By Your Name,”
and
the
camera
noticeably
pans away from such scenes.
Writer-director Eliza Hittman
of “Beach Rats” lets the full-
frontal nudity of male characters
pervade the screen (though
she leaves the female body
more concealed). “Beach Rats”
shatters any romantic notions
of young love — pairing a tough
story with cinematography that
stresses harsh lighting and the
bright colors of Coney Island’s
rides, arcades and fireworks.
As Frankie walks along the
beach, a sharp spotlight follows
him, giving little depth of field
and only a cold, judgemental
illumination.
The two films broach the
same difficult topic, but one
has risen to prominence and
popular discourse while the
other has fallen into obscurity.
“Beach Rats” has rougher edges
and less star power (most of
the cast are first-timers), yet
it
accomplishes
something
beautiful. Its rawness is what
packs the real punch. Hittman
is not interested in crafting a
love story, she instead exposes
the dangers of toxic masculinity
and the various pressures that
prey on the psyche of a young
man. Dickinson holds up his
end of the bargain, showing
Frankie’s inner conflict with
every chippy response, avoided
glance and general air of self-
denial. The Oscars may have
ignored this quiet masterpiece,
but the rest of the world should
give “Beach Rats” the applause
it deserves.
Oscar Snubs: ‘Beach Rats’
deserves more recognition
MEGHAN CHOU
Daily Arts Writer
FILM NOTEBOOK
TV REVIEW
NEON
MUSIC REVIEW
ATLANTIC RECORDS
If the music of Rae Morris
could be described in one
word, it would undoubtedly
be haunting. Not in a spooky,
or even uncanny way — her
songs stick in the back of your
mind for weeks at a time, the
melodies high and memorable,
ethereal
even.
Her
first
album, 2015’s Unguarded, was
a stepping point for Morris
into the world of synthesized
music
from
her
previous
stripped-back
EPs,
while
maintaining
this
haunting
quality all the while. She found
some success in this. Her
song “Don’t Go” was featured
on the UK television series
“Skins” — a point from which
her career broke out. Now,
with her sophomore effort,
Someone Out There, Morris
has
successfully
translated
the emotional poignancy of
her originally simple style into
the dance sphere, creating an
album which merges electronic
production and her talent for
songwriting which pierces to
the core.
Someone Out There is a
well-balanced
mix
of
this
songwriting
with
new
techniques
for
Morris,
featuring shorter, more hook-
centered tunes than in the past.
Despite these changes, her elfin
voice and knack for writing
cohesive and interesting songs
still shine through, arguably
even more than in her previous
releases.
The
album
opens
CLARA SCOTT
Daily Arts Writer
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All
Stars 3’ is still necessary
VH1
Even though “RuPaul’s Drag
Race” has been airing since
2010, the series has only broken
into the public consciousness
recently.
Features
in
major
publications like The New York
Times Magazine, Entertainment
Magazine, Paper Magazine and
Time Magazine have ushered
in a newfound fame for host
RuPaul Charles (“Broad City”).
After taking cues from other
entertainment reality programs,
like
“Project
Runway”
and
“America’s Next Top Model,”
RuPaul created “Drag Race” for
Logo TV — bringing the show
to the more accessible channel
VH1 in only seven years. All
in all, the story of “Drag Race”
is a story of finding a popular
audience. There may be little
surprise, then, when I tell you
that the third season premiere
of “RuPaul’s Drag Race All
Stars” is as good as the attention
it’s getting.
After 11 seasons in total, the
series has gotten comfortable in
its own shoes, and the premiere
reflects it perfectly. For those
that are unfamiliar, “RuPaul’s
Drag Race All Stars” is a reality
competition
program
where
a handful of drag queens are
brought in to perform for a panel
of judges. Challenges vary from
the direct (a stand-up comedy
show, “Revenge of the Queens,”
All Stars Two) to the very
convoluted (write, produce and
act in a scripted television pilot,
“Your Pilot’s on Fire,” season
nine), but all fall under the
umbrella of drag. For “All Stars,”
the producers bring back queens
from older seasons for one more
shot at the crown.
The
12th
time
around,
the
show
knows
what
it’s
doing. There is little need for
introduction
to
the
format
or
any
of
the
competing
queens; each of them enters
the workroom in their first
look, in what is their official
reintroduction to the public
eye. The cast draws mostly from
later
seasons
(Bendelacreme
and Milk from season six, Trixie
Mattel and Kennedy Davenport
from season seven) but feature
a few from earlier seasons, and
even one past winner — Bebe
Zahara
Benet
from
season
one. Her appearance may be a
sort of second shot, since the
progression of the series has led
to massive upticks in budget and
quality.
The
main
challenge
for
the season opener is a variety
show — the same challenge
in the first episode of “All
Stars 2.” From the looks of it,
“All Stars 3” is ramping up to
mimic the challenge arc from
its predecessor, providing a
predictability that the show
can rely on. With the variety of
talent — from the passionate and
explosive dancers to the more
mellow and restrained musical
performers — a set format
provides stability in a show that
can come off the rails at times.
While it is true that some of
the best moments on “RuPaul’s
Drag Race” are when the queens
take total control of a brand new
challenge (“Totally Leotarded”
from season three, “Wrestling’s
Trashiest Fighters” from season
four), others fall completely flat
(“RuPaul’s Gaff-In” from “All
Stars 1,” “She Done Already
Done Brought It On” from
season nine).
While I won’t reveal the
winner or eliminee of the first
episode, I will tell you that
the season premiere shows a
breadth of talent that many
other reality shows are lacking.
You’ve
got
comedy,
dance,
music and of course a killer
lip-sync performance at the
end of the episode — but you
know that already! “RuPaul’s
Drag Race All Stars” continues
to be on the cutting-edge of
reality programming, launching
the careers of over a hundred
entertainers and providing a
real, honest platform for the
gay
community.
While
its
integration into the mainstream
may have led to some erasure
of
the
grittier,
true-to-life
elements of drag performance,
the show elevates drag to a
higher art form, giving an
occasionally
unsuspecting
audience the experience of the
finest queer performers. There
is little on television as vital as
“RuPaul’s Drag Race.”
JACK BRANDON
Daily Film Editor
“RuPaul’s Drag
Race All Stars 3”
VH1
Thursdays at 8:00 p.m.
Rae Morris is haunting
on ‘Someone Out There’
on
a
reflective
and,
well,
haunting
note
with
“Push
Me to my Limit,” its droning,
synthy beginning reminiscent
of an orchestra tuning which
tumbles
into
a
reflective
meditation
on
relationships
which challenge and fulfill.
She experiments with unique
vocals in “Wait for the Rain,”
similar
to
groundbreaking
artists
like
Aphex
Twin.
“Push” is not the only slower,
somber addition to Someone
Out There, but the highlights
of the record fall with her
more upbeat compositions, like
“Atletico (The Only One)” and
“Dip My Toe,” which explore
the
dynamics
of
sex
and
compatibility with lyrics that
expand on Morris’s interesting
artistic perspective.
Out of every song on the new
album, the standout is definitely
dance anthem “Do It” — the
first single from Someone Out
There and arguably Morris’s
most popular tune to date. It
manages to meld her trademark
emotional affect with a typical
repetitive
electronica
hook,
an incredibly catchy refrain
which makes it hard not to start
dancing whenever a listener
hears it. “Do It” is a perfect
example of how an artist
can change and still retain
their core sensibility while
improving, using production to
only enhance what was there
before. If there is anything that
could be recommended from
this album, it would be that
song — it serves as a poster child
for Morris’s talent and bravado,
a tipping point towards the
celebration her work deserves.
Someone Out
There
Rae Morris
Atlantic Records
6A — Monday, February 5, 2018
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com