Flashing Palely in the Margins
Media Diet: April 2025
A quick look at the movies, television shows, music, and books that have captured my attention over the past month.
Martyr!
I’m a huge fan of Kaveh Akbar’s poetry, so I was looking forward to his first novel with excitement, but also some trepidation. I needn’t have been worried. Akbar’s novel is sumptuously written with gorgeous prose and a story that leans on the immigrant experience but isn’t completely about just that. The protagonist has an ambivalence about life that makes you sympathetic with his plight—at times—but also curious as to where he will go next. And the passages telling the story of his mother, written in flashback, are the most beautiful of the whole book, filled with poignancy and heart. This is an astounding debut novel; while I hope Akbar keeps writing poetry, I would be very happy if he keeps putting out books like this.
The Pitt
Easily one of the best seasons of television I’ve watched in a long time, The Pitt is everything all medical dramas should aspire to be: focused on the work and the immense skill, commitment, resolve, and nerve of the people who do that work. Among the riveting drama of the ER itself, the show had excellent commentary about medicine—the system is broken in many ways and it’s clear from this show that we need to fix it—and society, without being heavy-handed in its moralizing. Noah Wyle is perfect, and Taylor Dearden is a standout amongst an incredible ensemble cast. This is what television could and should be.
Conclave
A gorgeous film—that set and costume design was stunning—with enough intrigue and pomp to keep you interested. The characters are all charismatic in their own way, and the acting is superb. I found the lighting a little jarring and the final twist didn’t quite have the payoff I was expecting, but overall this was an exquisitely-made movie that I would easily recommend. And it made me wonder why they don’t have “model conclaves” to go along with all the “model UN” sessions kids in college do.
The White Lotus, Season 3
It would be a disservice to say this was my least favorite season of The White Lotus, because even when it’s not the best, it’s still so darn good. I didn’t like so much how they leaned so far into the murder mystery element of the plot—as opposed to it being more tangential in the previous seasons—but enjoyed the exploration of Buddhist thought and relationship dynamics that permeated the season. A lot of praise will go to Sam Rockwell and Walton Goggins for their work here, but the real standouts for me are the women: Aimee Lou Wood is perfect, Carrie Coon is luminous, and Parker Posey is transcendental in one of my favorite performances on any show this year.
Anora
This is a good movie made great by its second half, which intersperses guffaw-inducing comedy with moments of deep vulnerability and keeps you riveted until the final heartbreaking scene. The first half of the movie is less successful, but does a good job of introducing the characters and plot points that make you care about the narrative of the second half. The whole thing is held together with aplomb by Mikey Madison, who is a revelation and deserved that Oscar win without question.
RuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 17
Nobody will be mad after this season because the right queen won, and won handily. If we were just going based on the performances of the last episode, the second-place queen should have won, but taking into account the entirety of the season, our winner just feels correct. The queens were perhaps a bit too petty and catty, but in the end the love permeated throughout the contestants to the whole show.
Slow Horses, Season 3
Perhaps the best season of this show yet. The storylines continue to be a little convoluted, but the way they all come together and resolve so perfectly is a demonstration of writing genius. This is a smart, humorous, and also suspenseful show, and Gary Oldman deserves so many more accolades for his incredible work.
Companion
One of those movies that would have been better had I not watched the trailer, but still an enjoyable romp with some fun set pieces and over-the-top plot mechanics. Mostly mindless fun, but well done mindlessness if you don’t mind the plot holes and suspension of plausibility. A perfect Tuesday night movie: a distraction that you don’t want to pay too much attention to, but still keeps you entertained.