The Pillowman: A Proper Review

The Pillowman
(2003)
Written by Martin McDonagh

My last review of The Pillowman was effective enough in describing my praise, but I think it did a lousy job getting across my deeper appreciations, and I would to redress the work, if I may, and do it right this time.

The Pillowman, on the surface, is about the interrogation of Katurian, a writer suspected of killing several children. He is questioned by Tupolski and Ariel, two policemen working for a totalitarian regime. To reveal much more of the plot would be to do it a disservice, as always seems to be the case with McDonagh. His stories simply go somewhere new, and finding out where is half the joy of experiencing his work for the first time.

The Pillowman is also the story of Katurian's stories, several of which are meted out to the audience. The occasions where Katurian addresses the audience directly, narrating as one of his stories is acted out behind him, are hypnotizing. The stories are simple, but the language with which McDonagh conveys them is magical; there isn't a better word than hypnotizing, I don't think, to adequately convey their quality. All of them sound somehow vaguely familiar, yet manage to stay engaging and even exhilirating.

The conclusion of the play, once it happens, seems inevitable; Of course, you'll say to yourself, there wasn't really any other choice. It had to happen this way. But that makes the getting there all the more entrancing, knowing that the ending is coming, is charging, straight for you, and there's no way to get out of its path.

Grade: A+

The Greats, Volume 1: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The finest compliment you can ever pay a band is to say that they constantly change their sound without ever losing the qualities that make them unique. It is indicative both of musical ambition, because the group in question is unwilling to stay still, and true musical gifts, because they are unable to. Few bands of the modern era do it so well as Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In three albums and six years, they have gone from riff monsters to peddlers of synth, from dangerously to curiously thrilling. And they're always alluring, which can be put down to Karen O's magnificent voice. No one else in rock can go from stripping paint off the walls to causing tears as quickly, as effectively, and, most importanly, as sincerely as she does.

The Essential Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Fever to Tell
(2003)
Grade: A
The opening salvo was a fierce one. This is an album packed with heavy, heavy riffs and brilliant drumming, and then there are the vocals. The highlight is "Maps," and "Maps" is the most indicative of their future directions, but the whole thing is stunning. Nick Zinner really does have access to more riffs than any man has a right to, and he plays them in such a fashion that the history of rock seems to fall apart at his command. Honestly, it's that good. You won't even notice there isn't a bass player, unless you're a stickler for that kind of thing.

Show Your Bones
(2006)
Grade: A+

There is a Wednesday Classics article coming in the next month or two on this album, so I'll be brief. Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a statement here that they are an album band. While a few songs are stunning on their own, particularly "Cheated Hearts" and the magnificent "Turn Into," the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is not an album made for the age of shuffle, and the impact of the whole album defies explanation. There aren't a lot of heavy riffs, and the melodies are more delicate, but it's the sound of a band maturing into something rare, something to be treasured. It was better than what they were supposed to be capable of when it came out. It's still better than 98% of what's out there. By no means perfect, that's its strongest point.

It's Blitz!
(2009)
Grade: A
The strength of the debut lies in how full-tilt it approaches guitar rock. The glory of Show Your Bones lies in its hesitancies. It's Blitz! shows them trying out newer territory still, but this time they did it with the confidence of their first album. A record that demands your attention, It's Blitz! quietly proves itself to be every bit as strong as either of the albums before. Karen O famously ordered "No guitars for Nick!" for this album, having him work with synths instead. It was a brilliant decision, all the more so because Nick has his moment on "Dull Life," a riff-riding treat made all the more impacting for its individuality in context. He doesn't completely ditch guitars on the album, using them instead to add to the tapestries of the tracks. Listen to his playing in the back on "Runaway;" it's beautiful, touching, and unique. This is truly a formidable band. Also, get the acoustic EP attached if you can. It's well worth it, and shows how formidable they are even in an acoustic setting. The acoustic "Soft Shock" is the most beautiful and touching thing I've heard in the last few years.

There aren't many occasions where they've stepped wrong, so, really, if it bears the Yeah Yeah Yeahs mantle, it's worth picking up. And if you don't like Fever to Tell, or Show Your Bones, or It's Blitz!, whichever one you start with, try another one. You might surprise yourself. They're a restless lot.

The Blair Trilogy, Part 1

The Deal
(2003)
Directed by Stephen Frears
Screenplay by Peter Morgan

In 1997, when Tony Blair was elected Prime Minister of Great Britain in a landslide, there was shady business afoot. A year earlier, when popular Labour Party leader John Smith died of an unexpected heart attack, Gordon Brown was tagged as Smith's successor, and he was the politically dominant force. But Tony Blair was the poster child for the party, and any challenge by Brown for the leadership would only serve to damage New Labour in the coming election for Prime Minister. Over an impromptu lunch one afternoon, Brown agrees to step aside, but with certain conditions. Brown is clearly the superior choice, but Blair is in the right place at all the right times.

The Deal encompasses the fifteen years leading up to the 1997 election, and follows the friendship of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as they rise from new members of their party to become its figureheads, and how pursuing "the big job" gets between them. Both David Morrissey and Michael Sheen, as Brown and Blair respectively, are on excellent form, and the movie makes the whole story captivating and interesting. The only thing I can disagree with here, in retrospect, is Blair's portrayal in the writing. Peter Morgan makes it a bit too clear that we're meant to like Brown and dislike Blair, that Brown has worked for this his whole life and Blair is opportunistic. Which would be fine if I hadn't already seen The Queen, the second part of the Blair trilogy, in which Blair is a more balanced creation. This is not surprising, as The Deal is one of Morgan's first published screenplays, and subtly comes to those who wait.

You might find it a bit dry, as it's all based on the dialogue, but that's my favourite kind of entertainment. I like words.

Grade: B+