THE MENAGERIE

Bryan Fuller's stylish, serialized NBC adaptation of the Hannibal novels ended last month after the conclusion of the famous "Red Dragon" storyline. Fans of the show are now left caught between suspended mourning and grateful closure. How long until Netflix or Amazon picks Hannibal up for additional episodes? Or perhaps we should just be glad there were 3 seasons at all -- since it's not often something as gory, strange, and character-driven survives so long on a broadcast channel.

To cope with Hannibal's premature cancellation and (quite literal) season 3 cliffhanger, I have lovingly combed through my favorite cinematographic moments and compiled them here. The show's aesthetic, in a nutshell: overlapping silhouettes, negative space, golden light, extreme closeups, shadow-play, symmetry too perfect to feel natural, and terrifying visual metaphors.

The great beauty of Hannibal's visuals is the sense they convey of the ordinary gone horribly wrong. It is the beauty of a dream so subtly strange that ends in screaming oneself awake but being unable to remember the reason for terror. All that is left is a racing pulse and turning stomach -- the body's memory of recent fear. In that way, the world of Hannibal is an uncanny dreamscape that threatens to rupture the aesthetic appreciation we develop for its stylish setups. Something, we are constantly reminded, is off. A tree blooms in a parking lot, and a mushroom garden grows in a forest. But we know that if we look closer, we will surely discover there are bodies in the tree and bodies in the garden.

And all around is sickness. The dreamscape is fevered; it is shot through with pallor, cold sweat, and a diseased green tinge. Forget Denmark, something is rotten right here in Maryland, and we feel it in the bones of each scene.

Comment

I'm fascinated by what people carry around as they go about their daily lives. Plain bags, wild bags, expensive bags, modest bags -- they say the eyes are the window to the soul, but one could probably glean just as much about a character from the handbag hanging by their side.

And what a season autumn is for handbags. It is a season during which anything goes: the dramatic, the whimsical, the glamorous...and none of it too over-the-top or too heavy for the weather. Play a character with your handbag this fall. Be an It-Girl, be a savvy sleuth, be a shrewd executive or a bohemian or a duchess or an artist. Be irreverent, be bold, be true to your style and your whims, and if you're me, be bitterly astounded by some of the price tags separating you from the pieces upon which you over-reflect!

A brief selection of fall-friendly stunners:

Cambridge Satchel Co. large push lock crossbody in burgundy

Nostalgic, charming and made of buttery-looking leather at an affordable price point, this wine-hued Cambridge Satchel Co. creation ranks near the top of my list of dream fall pieces. Maybe it's the rich color, or maybe it's the throwback collegiate design -- but whatever it is, it makes me want to return to campus, curl up with a book and a mug of tea, and wrap myself up in something cable-knit while leaves change color outside.

$150, or "treat yo self"

Givenchy medium 'Antigona' in black goat leather

Interest in the striking, structured Antigona is winding down, and the once-ubiquitous social media images of it are starting to trickle away as bloggers (and the Kardashians) move onto the next trendy bag. And I'm glad of it, because now the Antigona can stand alone rather than as a celebrity-driven fad, and its simplicity and proportions should give it staying power even as its it-factor drops.

$2,345, or "sleep on a friend's couch for 2 months"

Saint Laurent 'High School' leather shoulder bag

I am rendered an incoherent daydreaming mess by all things nostalgic, so this boxy, whimsical Saint Laurent sends me into Nancy Drew mysteries, to English libraries, through museum archives, and onto long-distance passenger trains to Vienna. But no one could mistake this for a drab men's briefcase -- not in that shade of red and not with those accordioned sides reminiscent of the Sac de Jour.

$1,890, or "do I want a French bag or do I want airfare to France instead"

Proenza Schouler tiny 'PS1' in smoke

A perennial favorite of mine, the PS1 has enjoyed remarkable longevity and relevance since its 2008 debut. Relaxed and structured at once, its attractiveness lies in its studied nonchalance -- its ability to punch up an outfit without calling attention to itself. It feels casual, lived-in, and utterly comfortable ("Oh, this old thing?"), and calls to mind behind-the-scenes images of gangly fashion models with hair half-undone, decked out in leather as they linger at the backstage entrance to their next runway show. Bonus: the dyed leather is designed to age with wear, so each piece evolves uniquely with its owner.

$1,475, or "what do you mean my entire bonus is gone"

Céline small tricolor 'Trapeze'

The alien-faced Céline luggage tote's moment has come and gone, but that’s just as well, because its similarly winged "trapeze" cousin now comes in fall neutrals and is better suited to the minimalist mood of 2015, with its plain flap and squared hardware. It's starting to be just as visible on the arms of fashion enthusiasts as the luggage tote was a few years ago, but doesn't feel so cloying just yet...and it is so elegant and inoffensive that I'm not sure it ever will.

$2,800, or "oh come ON, I know you gave this to a blogger for free"

Saint Laurent small 'Sac de Jour'

"Bag of the day," it is modestly called, as if its makers wanted to make a tongue-in-cheek joke about the transience of It-Bag trends. The Sac de Jour, however, pulls together so many classic elements (pleating, structure, top handle, solid coloring) that it’s tough to picture it reaching its demise anytime soon. Even if traditional, it is anything but boring. Sharp edges and clean lines lend it a sexy, high-powered charisma and confidence: "I know what the fuck I'm doing."

$2,750, or "I would consider it if it doubled as shelter"

Dior 'Diorama' bag

Typically Dior's aesthetic is a little too princess-in-Paris for me. It is consistent and it works -- the quilting and beading and sweet pastels -- but it isn't for me. In the Diorama, however, the label strikes an uncharacteristically modern and architectural balance of beautiful (that leather! that closure! those proportions!) and bare (those lines! those chains! that icy hue!). This piece in particular is angular, mathematical, cold and glassy. Fans of minimalist styling may find themselves newly drawn to Dior this fall.

about $3,000, or "call the bank and sheepishly tell them no, your card was not stolen"

Fendi 'Trois Jours' in gray multi

There's beauty in the unexpected and incongruous. The delicate balance and extreme rigidity of the Trois Jours suggests the carrier is a person in absolute control, all the way down to the handbag dangling from one elbow. This Fendi creation is a beauty in all the colors currently produced, but particularly in this one, which features a shock of color along each of the bag's sharply defined edges.

$3,250, or "it'd better be able to time-travel too"

Chanel embroidered glass and pearl 'Boy' bag

A successfully reworked classic is a feat of research, vision, and respect for what came before. Chanel's toughened, radically youthful 'Boy' line features all three, and in this fall's glass and pearl incarnation, doubly or triply so. Here we see the glitz and glamour of retro Chanel combined with the attitude of metal tones and heavy hardware -- a welcome, well-executed juxtaposition.

price available only upon request, or "are you sure you won't accept my first-born child instead"

Chloé medium 'Faye' bag

Call it my bias speaking since I own the small version of the Faye, but its larger relative tickles my fancy in exactly the same way. I am drawn to unusual designs like a moth to the flame, so when Chloé introduced this laid-back but polished, fall-friendly, 1970s equestrian-inspired piece, I was enchanted. To the casual viewer, the Faye is odd -- a conversation starter, a puzzlement, an inexplicable structure -- and that is precisely what I adore about it. It invites double-takes and yields no readily available answers as to why it does. I do not think the Faye is "pretty" or even generally appealing in a conventional sense…but it is insouciant, weird, and distinctive, and all the better for it.

$1,950, or "is that the sound of me becoming desensitized to 4-figured price tags?"

1 Comment

The Cinematography and Production Design of Interstellar (2014)

The Cinematography and Production Design of Hannibal (NBC)

Keep Calm and Carry On