The Assassination of Gianni Versace - Review
This review of Gianni Versace is spoiler-free!
Television is a funny thing. Like with film, studios have a way of making you believe you are getting one product from a film or television series, but you're actually presented with a different story entirely. Back when I reviewed War for the Planet of the Apes, I felt a similar sense of misguidance by the studio behind that film. Today, we reach a similar apex with the new American Crime Story season: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. Billed as a tale about Gianni Versace, his life, and his death, I expected a series that explored the early days of who this man was, and what his life left behind. Instead, this show decided to take a different direction as a whole, and give us something completely unexpected. Let's dive in, shall we?
The story of Gianni Versace takes a unique storytelling style that few shows and films dare to achieve. They work backward. The first episode opens up with the exact opposite of what I expected: the death of Gianni Versace. Andrew Cunanan is the man behind the murder, and we see him struggling with insanity and his belief that what he is doing is righteous. But, after the premiere, the show steps backward. Diving into the history of Andrew Cunanan and how he became what he became. Going as far back as his childhood, we learn who Cunanan is, and through some half-baked connections to Versace's childhood, we learn about the boy that was vogue. For me, this is completely unexpected from the series but I enjoyed it very much. I can't help but imagine though what the series would have been like if Versace was the true main character, but I can't be upset with the story I got on screen.
Make no mistake, this show could be considered an ensemble series with Edgar Martinez, Penelope Cruz, and many others making guest appearances. But this show is a showcase of one man. That man is Darren Criss, playing Andrew Cunanan. In what I consider to be a star-making performance from the Criss, we explore the deep-rooted problems Cunanan has faced through Criss and his work. It's the purest form of television when we're immersed in a character that we forget we're watching television and not the true events. Criss just broke the glass ceiling and there's no question about it, things only get better for him from here. The only other performance I want to make note of is that of Edgar Martinez as Versace himself. Sure we don't get a ton of time with him as I would have liked, but Martinez manages to carry not only the look of the man but the mentality and kindness Versace is said to have had. I was connected to his story through Martinez' work and I only wish we could have had more of him. While Cunanan's story is gripping, I felt like the larger overall narrative was missing a piece due to how little we actually saw the titular character.
Andrew Cunanan's story is something that without a doubt is questionable, but sensible for the story of this show. What Gianni Versace does so well is that we get the truest to life form of character development that I have ever seen on a television series. Andrew Cunanan is fleshed out over the course of the 9 episodes, digging into nearly every piece of his psyche going as far as to show his childhood issues with his father. There's so much care and passion put into this character by the writers, Criss, and those surrounding him. It feels odd to praise a killer in the grand scheme of things, but what they do in this show makes you at least understand how he became this terrible person. He's a product of circumstance and unfortunately, that led him down a path that he could not change.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace is a classic example of subverting expectations of what we want and what we get in a television series. For me, I expected a show focused on the titular man himself, but was pleasantly surprised by what was presented. As I mentioned during my midpoint review, I felt the show was lacking a major piece with the essential absence of Versace. While I still feel this is true and it most definitely affects my rating, I am satisfied with what I saw on screen. I struggled with what I wanted to score this series, as my thoughts on it are very fluid. But, I believe I landed on the number I feel it deserves. This show is great television, but I can't help but feel it would be better served as a different series instead of trying to connect to Versace at all times. It's these small missteps that occur fairly frequently that make the show just a little better worse for wear. But, regardless The Assassination of Gianni Versace is a great story, with just a few holes along the way.
8.5/10
