The Week in Culture: A Forgotten President, 'The Last Republican,' and Sad Scandinavians
Plus a new series from Vince Gilligan and breaking Miss Piggy news
This week I’ve been busy following the Sandwich Guy trial, listening to Rumours on repeat, and enjoying the crossover episodes of Below Deck and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City while desperately trying to avoid spoilers about the Great British Baking Show finale (which aired in the U.K. on Tuesday).
All this distraction means I’ve got some movies to catch up on. It’s November, which means we are now deep in the throes of Oscar season. Each week brings a new award-baiting film that we may (or may not) be talking about until March. On my must-see-soon list are Bugonia, the latest collaboration between Emma Stone and director Yorgos Lanthimos, and Die My Love, yet another cinematic tale of maternal madness, (this one starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson).
For the time being, I’ve got some TV and movie picks to keep you entertained, and a round-up of the biggest pop culture headlines (including some utterly thrilling Miss Piggy news). Read on!
🎬 Sentimental Value (in select theaters)
In the latest film from Danish-Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier, Stellan Skarsgård plays Gustav Borg, a once-celebrated director whose career has hit an extended dry spell. After the death of his ex-wife, Gustav attempts to reconcile with his adult daughters Nora (Renata Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), but his efforts only seem to dredge up painful memories for the sisters. He offers Nora, a theater actress with a crippling case of stage fright, a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film — a project inspired by his family’s complicated history. When Nora rejects the idea, Gustav turns to Rachel Kemp (Elle Fanning), an American actress he met at a film festival, to play the part. Things get even more uncomfortable for Agnes and Nora when Rachel comes to Oslo and settles in for rehearsals at the Borg family home, which becomes a character unto itself (and will probably leave you fantasizing about Norwegian real estate).
Skarsgård, a self-proclaimed “nepo daddy” who knows a thing or two about showbiz families, is roguishly charming as Gustav, an emotionally stunted egotist who only seems able to connect with his children through a narrative that he controls. Achingly melancholy and darkly funny, especially when it comes to the state of the movie business (there’s a withering subplot involving Netflix). Sentimental Value has a lot in common thematically with the upcoming Jay Kelly, in which George Clooney plays an aging movie star whose fame has come at the cost of his family relationships, but it’s a richer emotional experience. (I was lucky enough to see them both at the Woodstock Film Festival.) Trier’s film is likely to be a major Oscar contender: Both Skarsgård and the luminous Reinsve, who starred in Trier’s The Worst Person in the World, are considered locks in their respective categories. It’s easy to see why.
📺 Death by Lightning (now streaming on Netflix)
If you say the name “Garfield” to most Americans, they will most likely think of the lasagna-loving comic-strip cat. But this Netflix series looks at the unlikely rise and tragic demise of that other famous Garfield: James, the 20th president of the United States — and the second to be assassinated. Based on Candice Millard’s book, Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, the four-episode drama stars Michael Shannon as Garfield, a reform-minded Ohio congressman who unexpectedly ascends to the White House. Matthew Macfadyen is hilariously pathetic as Charles Guiteau, a mentally ill grifter who becomes obsessed with the new commander-in-chief. Written by Mike Makowsky, the drama is a poignant look at a forgotten chapter in American history that has unfortunate contemporary relevance. But it’s also extremely entertaining, full of (in some cases, literal) gallows humor. The supporting cast includes Nick Offerman as Garfield’s brazenly corrupt running mate, Chester A. Arthur, and the always excellent Betty Gilpin as first lady Lucretia Garfield.
📺 Pluribus (first two episodes streaming on Apple TV)
Three years after Better Call Saul concluded its run, Vince Gilligan and Rhea Seehorn are back with a very different kind of project. In this sci-fi series, Seehorn stars as Carol Sturka, a fantasy author who also happens to be the most miserable person on earth. Apple has kept the details of Pluribus under wraps, but Gilligan, the man behind one of TV’s great antihero dramas, Breaking Bad, says he was inspired to create the series because he was “getting a little weary of writing bad guys.” In other words: don’t expect Carol to be another Walter White.
📺 The Last Republican (available for digital rental on Apple, Google Play, and Amazon)
This documentary follows former Illinois congressman Adam Kinzinger over his final term in the House of Representatives, when he rose to national prominence as one of two Republicans on the Jan. 6th committee (and also became a father for the first time). As captured by director Steve Pink, Kinzinger paid a steep price for standing up to Trump, facing death threats and being shunned by fellow Republicans and even his own family. Despite these hardships, Kinzinger isn’t willing to reject his conservative beliefs, scoffing at the idea that, as he puts it, “Every Republican is just a Democrat waiting to find his wings.”
The sympathetic portrait is enriched by the friendly sparring between Kinzinger and Pink, a self-identified progressive who also happened to direct Kinzinger’s favorite movie, Hot Tub Time Machine. Their banter — over issues like Ronald Reagan’s legacy and the supposed greatness of the movie Red Dawn— brings some levity to the rather heavy subject matter, and also serves as a reminder of what used to be considered normal political discourse.
📰 In other news
In what may be the best news I have heard all year, Tony-winning actor and playwright Cole Escola is reportedly writing a Miss Piggy movie. Jennifer Lawrence, who is developing the project with Emma Stone, spilled the beans on the Las Culturistas podcast. Now we just need Miss Piggy to star in Oh, Mary! and the circle will be complete.
Over at The Ankler, Richard Rushfield has taken a sobering look at what he calls “Hollywood’s backslide into white male directors.” He looked at the 100 top-grossing films from 2018-2025 and tallied how many were not white. Spoiler alert: not many. Last week, he ran the numbers for female directors working on studio films and found that the situation is even worse than it was before #MeToo. “Opening the doors to a broader spectrum of storytellers isn’t altruism,” Rushfeld writers, “it’s a path out of the creative rot that is well on the way to strangling this industry.”
The New York Times has a fascinating article about a gay couple that first appeared on the cop show Barney Miller 50 years ago in a largely forgotten milestone for queer representation on TV.
Diane Ladd, star of Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and dozens of other films, died this week at 89. A few weeks ago, Laura Dern spoke to Variety about her mother, who “taught me to lead with empathy and purpose.”
This Week in Disturbing Media News: Condé Nast is gutting Teen Vogue, the youth-oriented publication known for its fearless, award-winning political coverage, and folding the outlet into Vogue.com. Numerous Teen Vogue writers and editors were laid off, including the entire politics team and the two remaining Black women on staff. Making matters worse, Condé Nast then abruptly fired four employees who confronted the company’s head of HR about the move. As she assumes control of the publication, Vogue head of editorial content Chloe Malle — who wrote the magazine’s fawning cover story on Lauren Sánchez — should take a lesson from Murphy Brown, the fictional journalist portrayed by her mother, Candice Bergen, a character who wasn’t afraid stand up to the powers-that-be.
Meredith Blake is the culture columnist for The Contrarian