Skip to main content

Edie Falco: "The Sopranos"

 When the actress Anna Gunn asked for insight into her character, Mrs. Walter White, Vince Gilligan said, "She's like Carmela Soprano, but in this world, Carmela is *running* the mafia..."


This strikes me as at least a partial misreading of "The Sopranos." To suggest that Edie Falco's Carmela does *not* run the mafia? Which show is Vince Gilligan watching?

Here are some ways that Falco's Carmela pulls the strings. She intervenes when the "Big Pussy" marriage seems on the rocks; she gives bad advice to Mrs. Big Pussy, so that a divorce does not occur, a kind of status quo remains a kind of status quo. Carmela becomes a mafia boss in her dealings with Georgetown University; she uses the weight of her family's violent reputation to ensure that a glowing "letter of reference" takes shape and then travels to the right hands. Finally, Carmela gives her tacit approval when Tony brutally upends a civilian's life. When the civilian's son exits a "talent show" duet with Meadow (the song is "Sun and Moon," from "Miss Saigon"), Carmela chooses *not* to wonder why this twist has occurred. Instead, she savors the news that Meadow will now be performing a Celine Dion solo, from "Titanic." She lets her jaw drop; she whispers, "That's a *real* upgrade..."

Carmela is insufferable--and mesmerizing--because of her obvious hypocrisy. When her nephew, Chris, almost dies, she uses the occasion to give Chris a morality lecture: "This is your sign from above....Mend your bond with the Lord...." (The subtext is overwhelming: Carmela is getting as close as she can to an argument with her *own* soul.) In Season One, Carmela correctly, scathingly assesses her priest: "You manipulate women. You enjoy the frisson of sexual tension, the sense of power you feel. It's like a small, quiet way of failing to do your job." Although Carmela sees through her priest, she seems incapable of seeing through herself; like the priest, Carmela enjoys a "double life," a system whereby she enjoys the trappings of mafia power while also occasionally (and enjoyably) seeming self-righteous, seeming appropriately distressed.

Edie Falco makes me think of a notable observation from Julianne Moore: "I don't believe in playing strong women. I believe in playing plausible, vulnerable, divided women." Moore makes a smart choice--and Falco does, too. Who in TV history is more memorable than Carmela Soprano?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...

Joshie

  When I was growing up, a class birthday involved Hostess cupcakes. Often, the cupcakes would come in a shoebox, so you could taste a leathery residue (during the party). Times change. You can't bring a treat into a public school, in 2024, because heaven knows what kind of allergies might lurk, in unseen corners, in the classroom. But Joshua's teacher will allow: a dance party, a pajama day, or a guest reader. I chose to bring a story for Joshua's birthday (observed), but I didn't think through the role that anxiety might play in this interaction. We talk, in this house, quite a bit about anxiety; one game-changer, for J, has been a daily list of activities, so that he knows exactly what to expect. He gets a look of profound satisfaction when he sees the agenda; it doesn't really matter what the specific events happen to be. It's just about knowing, "I can anticipate X, Y, and Z." Joshua struggled with his celebration. He wore his nervousness on his f...

Josh at Five

 Joshie's project is "flexibility"; the goal is to see that a plan is just an idea, not a gospel, not a guarantee. This is difficult. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant--billed as "open," with unlocked doors--and the owner informed us of an "error in advertising." But Joshie couldn't accept the word "closed." He threw himself on the floor, then climbed on the furniture. I felt for the owner, until he nervously made a reference to "the glass windows." He imagined that my child might toss himself through a sealed window, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, or like Bruce Willis, in "Die Hard." Then--thank the Lord!--I was able to laugh. The thing that really has therapeutic value for Joshie is: a firetruck. If we are out in public, and he spots a parked truck, he wants to climb on each surface. He breathlessly alludes to the wheels, the door, the windows. If an actual fire station ("fire ocean," in Joshie's parla...