What I Wanted, What I Got
The popular girl at my elementary school—let’s call her Denise—was not blond like Barbie but pretty in a conventional manner I envied. She had brown hair, skin that tanned easily, and a…
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Style
“Megadoc” Shows Francis Ford Coppola Going for Broke on “Megalopolis”
Figgis comments that Coppola uses the script as a mere premise, and he likens Coppola’s approach to it as “instinctive,” calling the director “kind of like a jazz musician.” Voight, who…
Brittany Howard and Alabama Shakes Return with Audacious New Music
The first thing Julio Torres says in “Color Theories” is to deny that he’s made an “Off Broadway play.” (His ponytail, curling overhead like an anglerfish’s light, bobbles as he cringes.)…
The Muted, Melancholy Synesthetics of “The History of Sound”
In “The History of Sound,” a new romantic drama set during and after the First World War, passion is an intensely private thing, and in more ways than you might expect. Love and desire are…
The Return of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Masterpiece, “The Brothers Size”
At the beginning of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s poetic drama “The Brothers Size,” now at the Shed, one of the play’s three actors pours white sand—or is it salt?—in a circle on the otherwise…
“Cashing Out” Examines an Investment Strategy That Profited from AIDS Deaths
As grateful as I am to the director Matt Nadel for making “Cashing Out,” a vital and outstanding film about a terrible time, it also made me angry—angry about an epoch in our nation’s…
Why Christopher Marlowe Is Still Making Trouble
Do you know the one about the Jewish guy and the Muslim Turk? They gang up on this Christian friar and strangle him. Then they take him into the street and prop him up on a staff, as if he…
Nostalgic Cravings at the Minnesota State Fair
In the lead-up to the Minnesota State Fair, a twelve-day fête of starch and fat which marks the end of every summer, the event’s organizers release a highly anticipated list of…
What’s the Deal with U.F.O.s?
I ran these notions by Arlan Andrews, a retired mechanical engineer and author who is the founder and director of SIGMA, a think tank of sci-fi writers that advises the government and…
The Photographer Who Looked Past the Idea of Italy
In postwar Italy, the decisive moment was most often one of contrasts—between the wrinkled faces of the agrarian past and the well-tailored suits of Italy’s economic boom, between…
The Political Trickery of “Eddington”
With this humiliation, Joe snaps, and, in short order, commits several shocking acts of deadly violence. His brazen maneuvers to cover his tracks soon give rise to tense standoffs with…
“I Who Have Never Known Men” Is a Warning
When my twelve-year-old self picked up “I Who Have Never Known Men” from a church rummage sale in 1998, I was certain it was a book written for children. I don’t remember why. Maybe it…
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The Ministry of Joyce McDonald’s Sculptures
Terence Davies, who died in 2023, at the age of seventy-seven, is the most original modern British director. He was in his forties when he made his first feature, “Distant Voices, Still…
What to Make of the Mother Who Made You
It is hard to overstate the literary impact, in 1997, of Arundhati Roy’s début novel, “The God of Small Things.” A family drama set in a small town in Kerala, in southern India, it was…
Sabrina Carpenter’s Comedy of Errors
Earlier this summer, the pop star Sabrina Carpenter released “Manchild,” the first single from her seventh album, “Man’s Best Friend.” It’s a fluffy screed against a dude mired in an…
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Why Are Kids So Funny?
My daughter, Alice, is almost two, and quite funny. Although she can say short sentences—“I need cake!”—her humor isn’t particularly verbal. Instead, she giggles while stumbling around in…
The Waldorf-Astoria’s Fresh Bid for Dining Relevance
Waldorf has brought in Michael Anthony, the longtime executive chef of Gramercy Tavern (where he remains), to create the menu. A hotel restaurant—especially a high-end one, especially a…
The Lush Pain Music of Nourished by Time
Marcus Brown’s voice is a crooner’s voice, a baritone, emanating notes from some spot in his body deeper than his chest. Biologically speaking, this is impossible. But taking in his vocal,…
Pictures of Life on a Christian Commune
Kate Riley’s ambitious début novel, “Ruth,” opens in 1963, the year that its protagonist, Ruth Scholl, is born into a scrupulously managed Christian commune in Michigan. She grows up with…
Local Gems: Cultural Institutions
On the occasion of our third centenary issue—this one culture-themed—we asked our writers to share one of their most treasured cultural institutions, big or small. Whether it’s a beloved…
“Caught Stealing” Makes New York a Comedic Criminal Nightmare
From the start of Darren Aronofsky’s new film, “Caught Stealing,” it’s apparent that it hits the sweet spot of his cinematic artistry—the right scale, the right scope. Set in the summer of…
André Holland on Stories of Community
It’s about to be a very busy season for the actor André Holland. His latest film, “Love, Brooklyn,” begins its theatrical run on August 29th. A day after, he will start a new run of Tarell…
Scenes from the “This Is Spinal Tap” Cutting-Room Floor
In 1982, I began shooting an almost entirely improvised film,“This Is Spinal Tap,” which also happened to be my first as a director. It transformed my life and the lives of my three…