I am completely hooked on a bingefest right now and this limited series on Netflix has sent me into an obsession over Mike Flanagan. We have been bombarded by mediocre works of film and television that when a genius piece of art like this comes along, it is rarely noticed for being the odd one. I'm not gonna lie, until now, I still have not gotten through Flanagan's 2018 adaptation of The Haunting of House Hill because I always doze off waiting for the promised jump scare. After watching Midnight Mass, my sensibilities were able to get it: Flanagan is not about the jump scare, he works in layers and dimensions: the build up of the terror; painting the picture as a complete story; a fleshed out mythology with great room for the audience's imagination to run wild. A freaking genius.
What really brought Midnight Mass to perfection is the amazing cast. Diverse in every sense of the word, the actors blended into the muted colors of Crockett Island and presented the sense of isolated life you are bound to live in such circumstances. Led by Hamish Linklater who not only made a complete 180 from the wise-cracking, womanizing deadbeat brother of Julia Louis Dreyfus in The New Adventures of the Old Christine, but as well showed the balance of complex wisdom and mystery of the character. Flanagan's words uttered by Linklater's Fr. Paul Hill—at times appearing to stutter and question his own convictions, and then the next shouting on the pulpit with a slight smile and stupendous charm—that is something I have honestly not seen in a very long time. I hope he gets more recognition because of his work in this series. And then there's Samantha Sloyan as the quintessential Mrs. Carmody archetype. Sloyan slayed this role into perfection it's actually hard to feel sorry when she met her tragic ending: a hallmark of a good villain.
Promotions do not do justice for the unsung heroes of this miniseries, namely Annabeth Gish as Sarah Gunning, Rahul Kohli as the sheriff, and Kristin Lehman as the side character-turned-favorite Annie Flynn. One undeniably admirable aspect of Gish's role was that she was an out lesbian and successful medical doctor but a most of all a multilayered character. Yes! A lesbian character where her sexuality is not a central plot of her story arc? That's the dream! With an unexpected twist about her mother, Sarah Gunning is a wonderfully written character brought to justice by Gish's strong performance. For Kohli, I think there is no denial the role was written for him. The Muslim sheriff, obviously created to create some tension in the overtly Catholic town becomes a hero in his own right and breaks stereotypes left and right as a man principle, faith, and of family. Kohli is definitely on my radar from now on. Every word and mannerism he made as the sheriff is so transcendent in building the character that his ending became an integral part of why the ending had such an impact. Kristin Lehman singing the Titanic swan song Nearer My God, To Thee is simply memorable. Lehman played Annie just like how our mothers played a role in our lives, in the background, in silence, and all the while supporting the bigger picture as an unsung hero.
A complete bonus was featuring one of the greatest songs ever made by man, Somewhere Only We Know by Keane in one of the trailers. It's a completely odd choice given the genre of the material but it simply works, in my honest opinion.
Comments