Source : the age
Love Story ★★★
Ryan Murphy’s latest anthology project examining the public’s relationship with celebrities – after Feud and the serial killer “celebrities” in his Monster franchise – is the Love Story series, kicking off with peak Americana in John F. Kennedy Jr and Carolyn Bessette.
Depicting the “whirlwind courtship and high-profile marriage of one of the most iconic couples of the 20th century”, it’s the US’s own “royal family” tragedy, with a better soundtrack and more overt smoking.
While it was only in the US that the Kennedys were considered royal family equivalents – the wealth, glamour and public fascination – many of us would remember JFK jnr and Bessette’s untimely demise in a light plane crash, and much tabloid discussion of the “Kennedy curse”.
In real life, JFK’s romance with fashion publicist Bessette began after the death of his mother, Jackie Onassis, but there was no way Murphy was going to omit “America’s widow” from his eight-part series. Naomi Watts is Jackie O in her later years, slightly campy, chain-smoking, concerned at her son’s tabloid-fodder philandering and lack of stable job.
Relative newcomer Paul Kelly is John junior, and considering he’s a model by trade (with exceptionally good hair; something that reportedly swayed Murphy into hiring him), his performance isn’t awful. Not that there are many demanding moments in this frothy tale that often swerves into Hallmark romance movie territory.
He and Sarah Pidgeon, as Bessette, have some chemistry (and bear striking resemblances to the real couple), and while much of the dialogue can be schmaltzy, this tale has its Cinderella element: Bessette the “commoner” to JFK’s “prince”; she grew up middle class, working her way up from suburban mall to Calvin Klein’s director of publicity. It was through the designer (Alessandro Nivola) that the pair met and fell for each other, even though John was dating actor Daryl Hannah at the time. (The real Daryl Hannah is likely to be less than thrilled with Murphy’s portrayal of her – played by Dree Hemingway – as clingy and whiny).
The first few episodes follow John as he deals with life as America’s most eligible bachelor, and Carolyn’s career progression, from suggesting Calvin Klein use then-newcomer Kate Moss in the campaign that cemented her as a supermodel, to becoming one of the designer’s most trusted colleagues.
The romance is the story’s centre, but the cultural touchstones of 1990s are important co-stars, from the soundtrack (Sade, Peter Gabriel, En Vogue et al), to celebrities (Marky Mark, Cindy Crawford, Madonna), New York nightclubs and, of course, the fashion. Before it had even finished filming, the production was criticised for its styling choices, which were duly rectified – Bessette’s wardrobe (not “quiet luxury” enough), hair (deemed “the wrong blonde”) and accessories (luxury bags were aged back) rapidly amended.
As the story progresses, and the two become an official item, they are relentlessly hounded by the paparazzi, placing a strain on the relationship. Pop songs and cultural signifiers aside, it’s the press invasion – the couple’s favourite restaurants and shops revealed, photos of them arguing in Central Park published on front pages – that best reflects this part of the ’90s.
This couple’s tragic ending in 1999 wasn’t caused by the paparazzi, as Princess Diana’s was in 1997, but there are many parallels, and this first instalment of the Love Story anthology is essentially The Crown for Americans: a soapy, romanticised retelling of recent history. If you loved the Diana episodes of The Crown, ’90s nostalgia or just high-end glamour, settle in for some untaxing bingeing.
Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette premieres on February 13 on Disney+.
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