Being the Ricardos | Amazon Prime | Dir: Aaron Sorkin | ★ ★ ★ ★ ½
Writer-Director Aaron Sorkin is one of Hollywood’s most celebrated creatives with an impressive track record that includes The West Wing, The American President, A Few Good Men, The Newsroom, The Social Network and The Chicago Seven.
Here in his latest work he delivers a biopic of television’s royalty Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz. Rather than present a story that covers their while lives, Sorkin zooms in one just on crucial week in their lives in 1953.
The week begins with Lucille Ball confronting her husband over a tabloid article that suggests he’s been unfaithful, while at the same time a radio presenters leaks that Ball had given sealed testimony before the US House of representatives Special House Un-American Activities Committee, and suggests that she may be a member of the Communist party. When the couple turn up at the studio to work on the next episode of their hit show I Love Lucy, there’s a lot going on.
Playing well known people such as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz is a huge challenge, and Nicole Kidman and Javier Barden are both sensational in their roles. Neither of them physically look like the people they are playing, but they completely nail the voices, mannerisms and personalities.
The story may be focused on just a single few days in the couples’ lives, but through flashbacks and conversations we get know how hard they both fought to get where they are, and Lucille Ball is a straight talking woman who knows what she wants.
Filling out the cast is J.K Simmons as co-star William Frawley, who plays neighbour Fred Mertz in series, while Nina Arianda plays actress Vivian Vance. Veep star Tony Hale plays head writer Jess Oppenheimer, while Alia Shawkat plays writer Madelyn Pugh and Jake Lacy plays Ronny Cox.
It wouldn’t be an Aaron Sorkin production without a few actors from his previous works popping up, here we find Clark Gregg who was in The West Wing playing network staffer Howard Wenke, and Brian Howe from The Newsroom appears as Charles Koerner the Vice President of Production at film studio RKO.
Seven days in the life of Lucy and Desi has a lot to say, while today we discuss representation on television in terms of sexuality, gender identity and race, in 1953 Lucille Ball was fighting to be depicted as pregnant on screen. Misogyny and racism lurk not far from the surface in their lives though, and there’s a lot to analyzse in the decisions the character make.
Being the Ricardos in streaming on Amazon Prime.
Graeme Watson
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