issue 29// vol 46 he Rw AA CO Premiere of new sci-fi series ‘Tales from the Loop’ is touching yet confusing » Flaws undermine a compelling lead and philosophical themes Jonathan Pabico Contributor kek WX he first episode of Tales from the Loop presents enjoyable everyday environments and a highly grounded lead. Although the premiere has potential, it is still disappointing due to its many faults. The plot follows Abby Ryder Fortson as Loretta, a lonely schoolgirl that discovers startling truths about herself after her mother disappears. Fortson portrays Loretta with an innocence that supplies complicated layers to her role, even though she lacks strong screen time with the cast. She humanizes the episode's lead by exploring how isolated she feels due to her distant family bond with her mother. Little dialogue from the script enables Fortson to be more believable. Her performance relays how kids see the world as they grow during their childhood. Another takeaway from this episode is that it patiently unravels the plights of Fortson’s character. Wide takes of the story’s cold surroundings edited with more constrained shots of Loretta’s hometown further illustrate her struggles with being by herself. The soft melodies and solemn tones from the soundtrack layered with the timelessness conveyed by each camera shot instill how Loretta’s relationship with her mother is ironically bound by time. This creates commentary about how time shapes our identities and defines family ties. What further benefits the storytelling is that visual effects are used sparingly in favour of practical effects and sets. Rather ‘Tales from the Loop' promotional image via Amazon Prime Video than overwhelming the narrative with CGI, this allows Loretta’s character development to be more easily accessible. The peculiar sci-fi that gradually transgresses Loretta’s life balanced with her estrangement from her mother elevate the episode’s message about the costs of becoming disconnected from family. The premiere employs abundant shadows and subtle sound design to represent the Educators behaving badly » Hugh Jackman delivers a career highlight in ‘Bad Education’ Craig Allan Staff Writer keen I this pandemic, most movies have been shuffled off to next year. This has made this month’s crop of movies very small, with only a few select on demand releases sticking to their original schedule. One of them is the Cory Finley’s Bad Education. Premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival and scooped up by HBO, Bad Education could have appeared and left the usually crowded movie scene with barely any notice. However, with the number of movies premiering in April being so few, Bad Education had a bigger spotlight than what it probably would have had during normal circumstances. It captured the moment—becoming one of the best movies of the year on any platform. In this film, based on a true and huge scandal, Hugh Jackman delivers the best performance of his career (which is really saying a lot). He plays Frank Tassone, the superintendent of the Roslyn New York school district. Through his hard work and dedication to the district and students, Tassone has managed to get the Roslyn school district a reputation as the fourth best in the United States. Tassone is amazing at his job—he remembers every student who ever met him by name, and also property values in the district went up a lot due to his work. But, like some educators, he is underappreciated— getting only a basket of chocolates from real estate agents as a thank you. Jackman hits all the right notes with this role. He plays Tassone with such charisma that throughout the movie it never feels like Tassone is an outright villain. In the town of Roslyn, he is considered to be living a life of poverty compared to the rich and affluent parents of the children. The movie showcases the struggle that Tassone goes through when trying to maintain appearances for parents who might reject him if he does not conform to the image Roslyn demands. Another performance not to be forgotten is Allison Janney as Tassone’s assistant superintendent and friend Pam Gluckin. Gluckin is everything that Tassone is not. While liked by the other people in the office, Gluckin does not meet with the students, parents, or people in the community. She is a lot rougher around the edges compared to her counterpart and, in a way, I feel she is the true face of the struggle and sacrifice that some teachers and administrators have to go through in order to give their students the best education. This film is on one hand about self-preservation, but is also a film about morality. This comes from the character of Rachel Bhargava, played wonderfully by up-and-coming actress Geraldine Viswanathan. Bhargava is a writer for the Roslyn High School newspaper. While researching for a story on the building of a skywalk at her school, she uncovers various accounting discrepancies in the books. When Tassone realizes that Bhargava is onto them, he approaches her oO ir = & > c © 5 o y 5 3 lu Zo o 0 eS ° a ° < a c G o 2 uv Ww emotional scope of this theme. One shortcoming is that Loretta seems unfazed by the story’s sci-fi wonders and treats them as normal occurrences. The plot could have made Loretta’s strange experiences new to her to improve believability. The story also falls short with an enormously problematic script. Nothing substantial happens for a while due to weak suspense produced by slow pacing. The sci-fi set pieces are underused and could have played a larger role in the narrative’s mystery. If that’s not enough, the episode could have reached the climax sooner—since that is really the only time when Loretta’s character arc becomes more interesting. Tales from the Loop has a disjointed first entry with a lot of plot holes. The premiere takes its time developing themes and world-building to create a moving journey. However, the story contains many drawbacks, despite an impressive performance from Abby Ryder Fortson. What can't be denied is how disarmingly original this show tries to be in proving how the ordinary has as much to offer as the extraordinary. and tells her that if she goes public with this, many people are at risk of losing their jobs. Bhargava’s editor-in-chief tells her that with people like Tassone are writing his college recommendations, and other students colleges may be in jeopardy. This leaves Bhargava with a tough decision. Should she report the story, or should she bury it and live with the guilt that she chose not to say anything? Bhargava’s struggle in the movie got me thinking about what I and my fellow cohorts at the Other Press would do witha similar story. Assistant Editor Janis McMath stressed that every situation needs to be looked at individually, but the best broad generalization would be that scandals do more harm in the long run and tally more victims as time passes—so it is essential to expose the truth instead of sitting on it. Life and Style Editor Morgan Hannah said “penalizing the victims wouldn't be cool... but maybe there's a way to report the story without having to bury it?” Bad Education tackles a lot of subjects such as preservation, morality, and identity—and handles all of them with tremendous depth and tact. Come Emmy season (if it happens), Bad Education will surely be in the discussion with Jackman’s role an early favourite for the Best Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film. Jackman gives possibly the best performance of his career in a TV movie. In a year of unexpected surprises, this is one of the better ones of the year.