conversations with friends
Okay I know it has been a LONG time but felt inspired after a friend suggested I write about Conversations with Friends.
For those who don’t know, it’s a Hulu miniseries based off of Sally Rooney’s book — made and written by the same people who brought you Normal People and Mr. Phoebe Bridgers.
I — like many a millennial — devour everything Sally Rooney writes — particularly the way she makes you invested in her sometimes very unlikeable and frustrating characters — and (lol) the CONVERSATIONS those characters have about the world as a whole. Though Vulture recapper Jessica Goldstein is absolutely spot on when she points out that the TV series does not do the best job of translating those conversations to the screen.
For those who haven’t read or watched — Conversations with Friends is, at its roots, about an affair. Frances and Bobbi are college students who are taken in by writer Melissa and her actor husband, Nick. Here is where I must pause because Nick is played by no other than Joe Alwyn, aka Mr. Taylor Swift. And while I’ve seen him before, this series really explains the songs Gorgeous and gold rush because this man is absolutely beautiful to look at.
The series centers on the affair Nick and Frances embark on. And what I liked about the book and the show is it’s not exactly your average affair depiction — though some parts are the same (he’s never going to leave his wife, Frances)
But Rooney does make it more complex than that — posing the question of whether you can really love more people at once. And — without giving spoilers away — it seems like Rooney’s answer here is yes, you can. Or at least, her characters will be deluded enough to keep believing that, and who knows! It might work for them.
As unlikeable characters go, there’s a lot to go around. Melissa is conceited and Bobbi is harsh and Frances — man. She lies to the people who care about her and she extremely willingly enters this situation — at one point, horrifyingly texting, ““Are we still having an affair? Or is that over now?”
But — for me at least — seeing Alwyn towering over the very young Alison Oliver playing Frances really brought out the power dynamics on the show more than the book. And Oliver makes it much easier to emphasize with Frances — particularly when she breaks into a wide smile.
I’m curious to see what everyone else thinks — or if you haven’t watched yet, this is my endorsement to do so! While the show fails to capture some of the book’s witticism — I personally think the acting makes up for it in most cases.
For more reading — I barely got to mention Melissa here but here is a lovely interview with Jemima Kirke aka Jessa from Girls:
The New Yorker: Jemima Kirke Is Flipping the Script
And a profile of Joe Alwyn (thank you to the friend who flagged this).
And on a completely different topic — this profile of Jack Antonoff is great and makes me feel seen that there are other people who are mostly just obsessed with the songs he writes for female artists more than the songs he writes for himself.
And since I haven’t updated this for months, here are all the albums I’ve loved so far this year:
Albums:
Foxes: The Kick
Carlie Hanson: Tough Boy
Avril Lavigne: Love Sux
Ella Henderson: Everything I Didn’t Say
Maren Morris: Humble Quest
Camila Cabello: Familia
Let’s Eat Grandma: Two Ribbons
Sigrid: How To Let Go
mxmtoon: rising
Tate McRae: i used to think i could fly
Lexi Jayde: closer to closure
EP’s
GRAACE: Self Preservation
GAYLE: a study of the human experience volume one
Cassidy Mann: If It’s Not Forever
chloe moriondo: puppy luv
wens: alien tears
Clara Mae: Learning Experience
Chloe Lilac: you were good to me
Sarah Barrios: Alternate Reality EP
Hey Violet: Bloom
daine: Quantum Jumping