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Utopia is Dystopia. It's about perspective. Both represent what the world could be if we keep on with certain ideals or behaviour. Most of them are determined by technology, to see how it could change our life for better or for worse, and by universe's knowledge, to show how it could be an encounter with another civilization and the cruelty and beauty of the obscure universe. If you're interested in this kind of utopia,series like Black Mirror, The Expanse, Westworld, The Twilight Zone and Doctor Who could satisfy your inquisitiveness. Even though they're the majority, there's a few series which are about another kind of dystorted future. The ones about society and how a change in its dogmas could distort our life to the point of dehumanization, which are like The Man in the High Castle, Mr. Robot and the one I'm gonna talk about today.
The Handmaid's tale ask the question: what if our politician would ascribe the problem of sterility to the women and how would they solve it? At first it seems like a future we'll never find ourself in but the pieces are in place, we don't know when they'll be moved.
PLOT
"Set in a dystopian future, a woman is forced to live as a concubine under a fundamentalist theocratic dictatorship" or "A lot of women struggle under a regime which rapes them and denies them the possibility to interact with their children to satisfy the needs of a few infertile couples".
SCRIPT
It's very well written. The first season adapt the book, which is short, and set the world the characters are in, while representing everyone of them in an excellent way. The second one it's about worldbuilding and it's interesting because they are able to brilliantly continue the format without an original source, unlike Game of Thrones. There's a sequel to the book, The Testament, which tells a story where June/OfFred doesn't appear at all.The third one is the turning point in which the central characters, June, Serena and Fred Waterford, undergo an organic growth and shift. And, as the series keep on, you watch how the women get closer to the much wanted freedom and reconciliation with theirs partners and sons.
The series is able to shake you to the bone with some wicked scenes, which will make you uncomfortable but this is its best asset. It isn't afraid to amp up the tragedy of this women, reduced to sex objects and slaves without a name. And, at the same time, it makes the villains as sympathetic as possible, like the sterile Serena Waterford who struggles to have a son. You'll feel for her, even though you'll hate her at first. You'll think that maybe Gilead hasn't a bad goal after all, and you'll see it thorugh Aunt Lydia's eyes. Misogyny isn't the only social problem treated here. It also approaches homophobia with Moira and Ofglen's characters.
After a while you'll understand that these problems are integrated in our society and that what you're watching is a cautionary tale, a Memento Mori of what we could become. You can get used to it and after a while choose to be a carnefice, to save yourself from the pittance, or raise up against it, to change it. A cruel person could destroy the world but a rightful people could make it right.
Script: 9/10
ACTING
Elisabeth Moss is what makes it great. She has able to convey a vast range of emotions and to move from a feeble and powerless character toward a ruthless, sharp and powrful one with great ease. She was obviously typecasted after her role in Mad Men, where she represents the emancipation of the women in 1960's New York. Yvonne Starhovsky and Joseph Fiennes are good at playing the cruel but sympathetic couple who's trying to have a baby. The rest of the cast is good, with some notable cameos like Marisa Tomei, Christopher Meloni and Bradley Whitford.
Acting: 8/10
PHOTOGRAPHY
There're a lot of beautiful shots here. The scene are characterized by some defined colors, Blue, Red, Grey and White, which refers to the biblical symbology. You could also notice a different filter between the falsh backs and the present, the first have bright colours and the second a grey pallet with a reduced contrast, to simbolize the present's misery.
Photography: 8/10
EDITING
Slow motion is carefully used, practiced only when there's the need to represent a meaninful transition for a character. The other shots doesn't use fast cuts to let the scene sink in your mind. There's a large use of close ups to show the character's emotions and wide shots to show the scale of Gilead. Nothing particurlarly inventive in my opinion but it's done competently.
Editing: 7/10
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Not much to say about it. The set is cgied to make Gilead more believable but there's nothing groundbreaking. In fact there isn't a need for it because it's a grounded story in a grounded reality.
Special Effects: 6/10
SOUNDTRACK
It's a blend of pop music and instrumental. The instrumental part is composed to be eerie and dreadful. Sometimes it reprises the same theme and adapt it for a more hopeful or joyful scene. Pop music is usually used at the end of an episode or during an episode to be integral to the narration, like Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Belinda Carlisle.
Soundtrack: 7/10
COSTUMES
The costumes are used to represent the status of a person in this universe and some of them are taken from the bible, as the colour's symbolism. It's noticeable the fact that in Gilead everyone has a defined uniform and outside, in this case Canada, or before everyone wears different clothes. This is a staple of autocratic regimes to bereaves it's citizens personalities. It's also a way to distance its members from the other countries and cultures. June's clothes go through an evolution through all the series, representing the slow and steady riddance she goes through. I think also that you'll be shocked by the extreme depravation of some of them. Gilead detroys the image of a person to a point of alienation.
Costumes: 9/10
CONCLUSION
Script: 9/10
Acting: 8/10
Photography: 8/10
Editing: 7/10
Special Effects: 6/10
Soundtrack: 7/10
Costumes: 9/10
AVERAGE: 7,71
I strongly reccomend to check it out because it's a strong series with a strong cast and an interesting concept. You'll have to set aside a lot of your ideas and be ready to be stirred by it. This series could age very well because the matter in question is an immortal one and will always matter. Our society needs more content like that to change it, because we are already living in a dystopian present. Look around you and decide: are you going to change it or make it worse with your choices?
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Director: Mike Barker, Kari Skogland
Screenplay: Bruce Miller, Lynn Renee Maxcy
Based on: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O. T. Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley, Amanda Brugel, Bradley Whitford
Soundtrack: Adam Taylor
Running Time: 60 minutes
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