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Oblivion is scary. We dread it, run from it but death still arrives. Our demise could represent the end of our family's surname or simply the end of our existence. Just a few people will remember us but time is cruel and it's hard not to become a spec in the stream of time. This issue has been torning our species since the down of time. Art is used to perpetuate the idea and the memory of something or someone. We came from caves painting to what is, in my opinion, the apotheosis of art: cinema. Like fashion.
PLOT
"The story of a man who leverages his single, invented name into a worldwide fashion empire that's synonymous with luxury, sex, status and fame, literally defining the era" or "The usual story of rise and fall of a famous individual".
SCRIPT
As a miniseries it takes its time to develop and make you care about the protagonist. I find the way the story is told pretty effective but a bit biased, as every biopic. I liked how the series opened and how the first scene defined the main traits of Halston. The character's journey is defined by the people who meets, especially Liza Minelli and his lovers. In the first episodes his growing is represented by a different haircut, which is a cliche and I think that it could've been cut out. His struggles are interesting, because he's an homosexual in a period of strong homophobia. The point is that the show falls in the same tropes and cliches which are common in every biopic, and the most prevalent is the structure of the script, which is a reharsed style used by every contents of the genre: rise, fall and rise again. I didn't like how has been handled the South American lover of the protagonist because he's reduced to a stereotyped spoiled man and we're not able to see why he's like that. There seems to be a little of political agenda behind this series and, sometimes, is prevalent. Unfortunately Ryan Murphy's series aren't subtle and likes to shove the concept of homophobia right in your face. This is why this series is good but it falls belove average level for tropes and cliches which are too common in the genre.
Script: 6/10
ACTING
Ewan McGregor and Krysta Rodriguez shines in their roles. The first seems to having the time of his life, by playing his character with depth and charisma, and the second is able to imitate to perfection an eccentric artist like Liza Minelli. I liked Rodriguez a lot because she's able to dance, sing and act with such an ease and naturalness, almost stealing the show. The other actors do a good job but I didn't like the acting of the one who portrayed the lover Victor Hugo. Sometimes he overacted and sometimes he underacted, just a few times he was able to feel like a real person. Overall we get performances which span between exceptional and mediocre.
Acting: 7/10
PHOTOGRAPHY
I expected more from a show about fashion. A lot of times the light is flat and uninteresting, sometimes it takes time to be more creative. I wasn't satisfied by the fact that colours haven't been used in a symbolical way. This is the worst section because photography doesn't add anything to the show.
Photography: 5/10
EDITING
The editing is smooth and it helps to propell the series. I think that the best transitions are present from the third episode because the show starts to experiment a bit. I liked a lot the sequences which shows how Halston expanded his business, it's very effective. Obviously it's hard to mantain this kind of level for all the screen time and a lot of scenes are characterized by a stale editing. I think that it's good, even though it doesn't embrace its quirkyness.
Editing: 6/10
SPECIAL EFFECTS
These aren't so relevant and are subtle. These're used mostly during a cool editing but most of the time are imperceptible.
Special Effects: 6/10
SOUNDTRACK
This gets less interesting after every episode, because the first one and the second has a very good and appreciable soundtrack made of songs, singed by the actor of Liza Minelli, and others which fits perfectly the narration. Toward the end it becomes a mediocre and boring mix of instrumental and pop music, which owers the series quality.
Soundtrack: 6/10
COSTUMES
A show about fashion is all about costumes and, if these are bad, the whole series collpases. Here these respect the story of Halston and his style, while being coherent with the setting and the characters inclinations. I liked the process they used to represent how the clothes were created, by making them seem more precious than they're. I could say that I like them, a lot.
Costumes: 8/10
CONCLUSION
Script: 6/10
Acting: 7/10
Photography: 5/10
Editing: 6/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Soundtrack: 6/10
Costumes: 8/10
AVERAGE: 6,28
A nice series which honours the memory of one of the greatest artist who has ever live but fails to do something original by falling in all the genre's tropes and cliches. It's enjoyable but sometimes it drags a bit and it makes the show a bit boring sometimes. The actors and the costumes make the show much better and McGregor has made the character his own. I just have to say that I hope fo Ryan Murphy to have more original ideas because hi series are becoming stale over time.
Director: Daniel Minahan
Screenplay: Ian Brennan
Cast: Ewan McGregor, Rebecca Dayan, David Pittu, Krysta Rodriguez, Bill Pullman
Soundtrack: Nathan Barr
Cinematography: Tim Ives, William Rexer
Running Time: 40 minutes
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