Over the weekend, I watched Netflix’s The Beast In Me. I enjoyed it, and I think Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys will likely be up for lots of awards next year, but the limited series isn’t any kind of prestige television (in my opinion). It was what I consider “elevated trash.” Somewhat glossy (great location shoots and set design), with cliffhangers at the end of each episode and deeply flawed characters who make terrible decisions/mistakes to expedite the plot. The only part of the limited series which doesn’t fit with my “elevated trash” definition is the fact that Claire Danes’s Aggie Wiggs looked terrible and unwashed in pretty much every scene. Claire thought she was making prestige television and she was styled as such!
There’s already a lot of commentary on Claire’s look in the series. The Direct pointed out that Claire “looks old” but they acknowledge Aggie was supposed to be a grieving mother who has been depressed for years. I also think Claire’s lack of styling was because Aggie Wiggs is a lesbian who refuses to perform “sexiness” for the male gaze, which is a big reason why she intrigues Matthew Rhys’s Nile Jarvis. There’s also this piece about how great it is that Claire is ageing naturally. Which I agree with – it’s wonderful to see an actress committed to moving her face and not looking frozen or pulled. Claire uses every single one of her facial muscles too, crying, twitching, wincing and trembling on cue.
Anyway, I would recommend the limited series, but go into it knowing that you’re going to be furious at Aggie in so many different scenes. She makes terrible decisions and she can’t keep her mouth shut! Claire and Matthew Rhys apparently got along famously during filming though – in press, they have nothing but lovely things to say about each other. I imagine they and their spouses are all friends, for some reason? It just feels like Matthew and Keri Russell probably socialize a lot with Claire and Hugh Dancy? Similar ages, backgrounds and experiences.
Photos courtesy of Netflix.
Thanks for this story @kaiser, as I was wondering the same thing about her blah styling in the series! I found it a really noticeable contrast to her look at the end of the last episode.
Really enjoyed the series though as I found it entertaining despite Aggie’s ridiculous choices. Acting was great.
I watched the first two episodes and gave up. It feels like Claire realized too late this wasn’t prestige TV and just phoned it in.
I enjoyed the first couple of episodes. I think the acting is really good. But, I could tell where the plot was going, who did what to whom and why, and I didn’t have the patience to sit through the rest.
I really enjoyed this series. “Not glamorous enough!” is a wild take for that character, none of the styling or performance felt inauthentic. Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys had great chemistry
I hear you! Danes’ character clearly wasn’t meant to be glamorous.
For me, it wasn’t the lack of glamour, it was just the weirdly tight/ill-fitting blazer and super baggy pants combo in every. single. episode.
I get the character might have a go-to sort of uniform because clearly clothes are not her priority, just making it through the day is.
But then why…whatever that blazer/pants combo was? Like, why would she even own multiple blazers in that size in the first place?
There’s no way buttoning oneself into a too small, too tight blazer is comfortable, so it doesn’t serve the she’s-just-pulling-on-whatever-clothes-she-has vibe of a woman grieving pretty much all aspects of her life.
Instead it’s like they tried “reclusive author, but make it fashion!” and…it did not work.
To the point where it was distracting. (Every time we saw a full body shot of her with her blazer looking like if she took a full inhale the oddly placed buttons would pop right off, my husband and I would wonder aloud why she was wearing that), which is definitely not what you want the clothes to do in a show like this.
And making the clothes such a weird distraction also doesn’t vibe with the she’s-too-deep-in-grief-to-care-about-clothes aspect of her character. The fits just…didn’t fit with the character. She should not be glamorous, 100% agree, but my goodness, could they not just have gone for like…unobtrusively neutral/boring looks?
Totally crazy thing to latch on to. Her character is massively depressed and her house is falling apart. She has writer’s block and can’t do her job…but her clothes aren’t glamorous enough?
I loved the way that gorgeous houses, ableit one of them crumbling, became part of the plot. We got hooked about episode two and kept going. We just like those actors so much.
I agree that the series was terrific & thought it was authentic that she looked so natural. My mom has looked this way, after/since losing a son. You can see that her heart is broken in her face. Clare’s performance was spot on!
I loved watching Claire’s face go through all the emotions. It was raw and beautiful. I usually bust out laughing when I see an actress like Nicole Kidman trying to emote with a stiff and lifeless face….and don’t get me started on filled lips that no longer move naturally.
I think Aggie’s styling in the show is all about her not giving a “fck” about what she looks like and basically just giving up on life, in general . She simply doesn’t care. I applaud that in a character choice. A couple of times, however, I did say to my husband “why is she dressed like Charlie Chaplin” with the tiny little button up jackets? Matthew Rys’ NY accent was flawless… Better than mine, and I’m from NY!
Exactly. She lives by herself, works by herself, and doesn’t GAF, so why would she bother to put on makeup? I was more focused on the fact that Brittany Snow looked weird to me. The last time I saw her was in Pitch Perfect.
Also, she is playing a writer who works at home. No need for a fancy wardrobe. She is trying to get people talking, to fit in. Other characters, especially, Mathew’s wife, had pretty clothes and makeup.
Just finished the series last night and enjoyed it overall. Appreciate that Claire Danes is aging gracefully but felt she was overacting in a lot of scenes. I know it’s a choice but it’s one of the reasons I stopped watching Homeland, the decision to go over the top frustratingly takes me out of the story. Started feeling the same way in this show too and kept finding myself wishing she’d pull it back just a bit.
You just helped me clarify why i hadn’t check this out yet. CD is a good actress, but in later Homeland, and the promos for this, her intensity was – well – very intense, and ON all the time. I get it may fit this character’s headspace, but I need some breathing room in my tv entertainment.
I’ve been limiting exposure to super intense pressurized people in my real life; not looking to spend time with them in my downtime.
I’m sorry. I just can’t get over that character name. Aggie Wiggs?? That’s hilarious.
Maybe we’re just so used to seeing actresses playing regular people look so much more glamorous and beautiful than everyday people that our standard is sort of conditioned to it? anything less (or more real life) is unkempt, sloppy and “method “.
I mean usually the actresses who play everyday women are beautiful, skinny, could pass as models, so even when they play “real” people they are glamorous.
She’s a good actress, but I’ve been done with her (and Billy Crudup) since he dumped Mary Louise Parker for her when Parker was pregnant. Yuck.
I guess some people just have really good PR because I even forgot about that mess.
Yes, that was pretty awful. Years later she said she was 24, in love, and didn’t understand the repercussions of her actions, or something along those lines. Some of us do stupid, harmful things when we’re younger because we’re careless and don’t have the maturity or foresight to see how our actions affect others. It’s youthful narcissism. I did some things in my 20’s that make me cringe because they were so careless of others. I know that I wouldn’t have made those same decisions in my 30’s or 40’s. I hope the same can be said for Claire Danes.
Billy Crudup, on the other hand, was in his mid-30’s with a pregnant long term partner. I will never not side-eye him.
Same. Claiming that you’re “young” when you’re 24, in the business, and hooking up with a guy with a pregnant girlfriend doesn’t scream not understanding the pain your causing.
Totally agree that what she did was awful and it shouldn’t have happened. Full stop.
I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and hope that they’ve learned and changed and wouldn’t make the same choices again. You don’t have the life experience yet to fully appreciate why those bad decisions are so harmful. It’s a similar reason why teens and 20 year olds make stupid decisions that put their lives in danger, because they don’t have much experience with death and think they are invincible.
I give a lot less grace to people at ages where they should clearly know better. Maybe I’m wrong thinking that way.
Even now, I find Billy a jerk. One of the many reasons why I don’t watch The Morning Show.
Honestlyyyy… I felt this way until I watched a few episodes of Hello Tomorrow! on Apple TV+. I didn’t finish watching it—like, I got the point—but I was taken aback by the parallels to Crudup’s personal life, plus the fact that he straightforwardly played an emotionally-arrested coward. Whatever he was attempting with that show, I guess it worked, because I was finally like, you know what, I’m *tired* of carrying a grudge about this as if it happened to me personally, and I’m *tired* of judging him and Danes for it. There are kinder ways to break up, and dragging a third party into your emotional chaos is gnarly, but not every relationship is meant to be forever. (My husband took off with a 23-year old shortly after that, so I did get the opportunity to go through the emotions firsthand, and I’ve ultimately circled back around to “ok, whatever”)
I agree with this take whole heartedly. It’s exhausting, At some point, even if it happens to you- you have to get to a point of whatever. Why want someone who doesn’t want you back? Why stay with someone you don’t want?
Haven’t finished the series yet, but Nile (the character played by Matthew Rhys) dancing to Psycho Killer (Talking Heads) is perhaps the creepiest thing I’ve ever seen on film or TV.
I binged the series & found Matthew’s version of evil to be excellent. Claire’s facial contortions are excessive and distracting, especially the wrinkled brow & open mouth combo. Imo, she overacted in this, as she’s done in others, Homeland. She’s never been “pretty” but with pro styling & make-up she looks very attractive. It always seems odd to me when the male half of a couple is prettier than than the female.
I supposed bc it looks like a scary movie, they’re making her look ragged and unkempt to emphasize that the terror is so bad, who has a chance to put on lipstick or brush (even wash) her hair? You know, the way Usha is starting to look now that her husband is throwing her (and HER children) under the bus.
‘She makes terrible decisions and she can’t keep her mouth shut!’ + Dresses as she pleases, wears her hair as pleases…. Sounds like a lot of women I know, myself included! 😉
Agree about CD overacting. There seems to be a stereotype of gay women who dress poorly, don’t wear makeup and are hostile to men that Hollywood feels compelled to follow. Even if the character was greiving it was a bit much all around.
MR was excellent, but the script was flawed and the last scene was unintentionally, Rosemary’s Baby-esque hilarious.
Speaking of styling – I sure hope Mathew’s hair dye was for the character.
yeesh.