March 28, 2007

The Sopranos' Swan Song

Tube Stake: Programming reviews by Seth Arenstein

It happens at high school and college reunions, if you’re lucky. You meet an old friend you haven’t seen in years, you converse and at some point things flow so easily that you feel as if you’ve never been apart. That pleasurable feeling hits like a big wave during the first "final" episode of The Sopranos (Sun., April 8, 9pm, HBO).

Of course with reunions, that euphoric feeling often washes away after a few hours. Based on the first two episodes of this final season, it’s going to take longer with the HBO series. Much longer. That’s because the ingredients that made The Sopranos a cultural phenomenon in earlier seasons are on display, gloriously so.

There’s Tony (James Gandolfini) with his neuroses, physical ailments and his pile of contradictions (he’s very upset about the death by drowning of a 3-year-old, “I can’t get that out of my head,” he complains, ignoring the fact that he’s taken part in and ordered countless brutal murders).

His wife, Carmela (Edie Falco), is still chewing on Tony’s ear about the strange “disappearance” of Christahfuh’s (Michael Imperioli) fiancé, Adriana La Cerva. And she’s also still going on about her “spec house,” the nest that’s to be her nest egg should her hubby become incapacitated, or worse. And the dutiful wife contributes to the contradictions when she declares, that her Tony, whom we’ve seen murder on many occasions, “never raised a hand to me.”

In a terribly obvious play on words, The Sopranos’ daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler), or Med, is, guess what, heading to med school. Sadly, she and her boyfriend, Finn DeTrolio (Will Janowitz), are history, although Ms. Med can’t understand why. The fact that Finn was scared half to death last season when he admitted seeing Vito Spatafore (Joe Gannascoli), one of Tony’s best earners, committing a homosexual act has apparently escaped Meadow’s consciousness.

Her kid brother, Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler), has grown up physically, but not mentally. A.J. has quit college but still loves to party. To enhance that part of his existence, he again is sporting sexy girlfriend Blanca Selgado (Dania Ramirez), although her child, Latino heritage and loose lips are constant irritants to Tony.

The biggest change in character seems to be the above-mentioned Christahfuh, aka Christopher Moltisanti, whose perpetually dyspeptic visage breaks, albeit briefly, in the opening episodes, owing to his initial success as the producer of a slasher film.

Besides allowing The Sopranos to critique Hollywood, this circumstance provides several excellent scenes in ep 2, including a special screening of the film (whose characters seem too close to home) and some terrific dialogue, including a dig at Sir Ben Kingsley. His replacement in the film, D-lister Danny Baldwin (a certified D-List celeb, my colleague Michael Krauss assures me) “took Kingsley to acting school” with his performance in the film, Christahfuh brags. Of course, Chrissie’s gone Hollywood, but his roots remain in Jersey, as those who cross him discover, sans any tinsel town finesse.

These character details seem insignificant, but they’re crucial to The Sopranos. While epic in terms of cable’s cultural significance, the series itself has never been epic in scope, as Peter Biskind points out in April’s enjoyable Vanity Fair cover story.

At its best, The Sopranos is the television equivalent of small ball, as creator David Chase imbues his characters with traits he knows well from childhood, including a domineering mother obsessed with the fear that everyone she knows will succumb to cancer (the model for Tony’s departed mother, Livia, and perhaps the reason why cancer is a running theme throughout the series).

As individuals, The Sopranos’ characters are unimpressive. As Chase tells Biskind, “they are fairly provincial and limited…they don’t travel that much, they don’t read that much…there’s nothing that they are really trying to accomplish, except to stay alive and keep earning.” Perhaps, but this collection of everyday individuals (whose males happen to carry guns) are combined in a way that has produced a compelling drama, centering on a man trying to keep his family and business functioning somewhat normally.

In a sense, there’s no doubt HBO and Chase have painted themselves into a corner by stating openly that this is the series’ swan song  (although we’re hoping there’s a resurrection, perhaps on the big screen). Still, much of the fun in these next few weeks will be seeing how Chase and crew wend their way to the end. Let’s admit it, that’s what these last episodes will be all about.

That thought was clearly top of mind when Chase and his band of writers began creating these final shows, and, appropriately, death and suffering seep in throughout. Chase spreads possible downfalls all around, building tension like a master, creating a foundation with dialogue about Mafia heads being killed or imprisoned, and adding other touches like arrests. The concern about death and sickness is so high that when Tony belches too violently we (and his family) are alarmed, what with his recent stint in the hospital after he was nearly killed by his Uncle Junior’s gun.

Then we have several instances of Tony, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) and John “Johnny Sack” Sacrimone (Vincent Curatola) waxing nostalgic, decrying their advancing years and their medical setbacks. Only Johnny has reason to complain, really, although Tony looks awful—he’s aging not gracefully and tells us he’s not the same since the shooting incident with Junior. And with medical problems come doctors, giving Chase opportunity to take several shots at the healing profession (don’t worry, he also gets in his licks on lawyers).

As could be expected with so much talk of death, legacy, too, is a constant theme in these episodes, and the young set don’t seem ready for responsibility. It’s scary when the kids are asked about Leonard da Vinci and they don’t know the difference between him and author Dan Brown.

The choice of locale for episode one adds to the funereal atmosphere and the tension, although it’s cleverly beneath the surface. The venue is a lake resort in the Adirondacks. Sunny, pleasant, great fishing and golf, right? Yes, but it also reeks of Michael Corleone’s eerie waterfront home from The Godfather, the spot where dark deeds were decided upon in the nearly totally black setting of Michael’s office. It was the site of one of The Godfather’s darkest moments, when Michael’s brother Fredo bought the farm, er, the fish farm.

The Godfather trappings occur throughout, fans of the show and the three movies will be happy to know (the crossover between fans of The Sopranos and The Godfather trilogy must be tremendous). In addition to the lake, a character in Chris’ movie is named Sal, and is referred to as Sally. While we won’t provide details, an event in a restaurant during episode two recalls one of the great Godfather scenes as does the setting at the end of that episode.  

Throughout the early stages of ep. 1, Tony, Carmela, Tony’s sister Janice (Aida Turturro) and her husband Bobby “Bacala” Baccalieri (Steven R. Schirripa) kibbitz about nothing in particular at the lake, which gives Chase license to deftly deliver his usual cultural criticisms (the Sopranos don’t approve of the Iraq war and although not far removed from their immigrant parents, some of the characters would like to see America close its borders).

And even though nothing much goes on at the lake early, the effect on the viewer is devastating, as every word and move is dissected for meaning in the ultimate guessing game, which will explain how Tony will or won’t meet his demise by season’s end, and who he’ll bring along for the ride. Why doesn’t Carmela tend to her husband’s medical needs at the lake? Where will a story about Tony’s mother’s coiffure lead? Is the story about the drowned three-year-old foreshadowing the death of Bobby and Janice’s little girl, and Tony’s favorite, Domenica?

Later in episode one we experience one of the great pleasures of The Sopranos—we know, or we assume we do, how Tony will react. Again, we’ll forego the details so you can enjoy your Sunday nights, but we’ll say the lake party gets too informal, which leads to a situation where Tony could be forced to reenact Adriana’s final moments.

Other things to enjoy include an eclectic soundtrack that includes Dave Brubeck’s Take Five and Gershwin’s Summertime. There are also several nice cameos, including quickies from Geraldo, mafia writer Jerry Capeci and a longer one from a man known better as a movie director than as an actor. There are also other gems, like references to Martin Scorsese and O.J. Simpson.

While it’s great to greet old friends, it’s sad that some arrive at the party late or not at all. Tony’s shrink, Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), is a no-show until late in episode two. Artie Bucco (John Ventimiglia), the loveable but troubled restaurant owner, must be stuck in the kitchen. And while we admit it’s early, Paulie “Walnuts” Galtieri (Tony Sirico) seems to have been relegated to a minor role, as have Silvio Dante’s (Steven Van Zandt) magnificent protruding jaw and lips. But no matter. It’s great to have The Sopranos back in such fine form.