The Handmaid's tale is a fucking masterpiece.
It has a beautiful, concise story. Every single character is morally gray up to a certain point. There's no "good guys" and "bad guys", because it shows human nature and its relationship with power on every side of the coin
It has ethnic, gay and different body types representation without it being the entire plot for social pats on the back. The writing is fantastic, and the main character (June) isn't perfectly heroic. She makes mistakes. She snaps. She isn't magically immune to that world's reality as many other shows make their protagonists to be
Despite religion being the tool of oppression, as it is in the real world unfortunately, the show doesn't bash Christianity directly at any moment. Because it isn't about Christianity. It's about people. And to me, it's really refreshing to see an actual critical piece of media that doesn't just throw religion under the bus and call themselves woke and modern
The relationships are wonky. Imperfect. The brief moments of happiness are always stuffed with deep sorrow or rage. It gives you breaks, from all the violence and gore, but it doesn't let you get too comfortable
Oh, and the cinematography? I had to pause the episodes several times the whole 4 seasons to just appreciate and take in the beautiful imagery.
You don't need to be a film major nor enthusiast to see every shot has a purpose, every lighting, every choice of colour. Every scene you tell yourself, "this shot is telling me something beyond whats happening with the characters"
It's not for the faint of heart, and obviously can be very triggering in a lot of ways. But for those who this type of storytelling won't hurt, I can't recommend it enough.
prguitarman
dededos
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
turnnoffyourmind
