Severance: Milchick’s White Winter Gear at Woe’s Hollow

Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick on Severance (Episode 2.04: “Woe’s Hollow”)

Vitals

Tramell Tillman as Seth Milchick, devoted Lumon Industries floor manager

“Dieter Eagan National Forest”, Winter 2024

Series: Severance
Episode: “Woe’s Hollow” (Episode 2.04)
Air Date: February 7, 2025
Director: Ben Stiller
Creator: Dan Erickson
Costume Designer: Sarah Edwards

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Now more than midway through its second season, Severance fans know shit’s about to get real when Milchick pulls up in a turtleneck. Whether it’s spinning defiant jazz for our first on-screen music dance experience (MDE) or asserting his power after a promotion, Milcheck’s roll-necks are his defining sartorial signature to distinguish him from the everyday short-sleeved white shirts and ties he wore in his lower supervisory position.

“I really wanted to tap into this ten-toes-down, more locked-in character, this energy that he has,” Tramell Tillman explained of his character to Killian Faith-Kelly for GQ UK ahead of the second season premiere. “His hair is more quaffed. He’s no longer in the short-sleeve shirts and the tie anymore. Now he’s wearing turtlenecks. His clothes are a bit darker. His approach is darker. I think he’s enjoying this new place of leadership that he’s in.”

One of the most chilling episodes—if you’ll forgive the pun—illustrates Milchick’s leadership style as he hosts the first-ever Outdoor Retreat and Team Building Occurence (ORTBO) for the four troublesome macrodata refiners: Mark S. (Adam Scott), Helly R. (Britt Lower), Dylan G. (Zach Cherry), and Irv B. (John Turturro). Continue reading →

Blue Velvet: Kyle MacLachlan’s Black Jacket

Kyle MacLachlan in Blue Velvet (1986)

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Kyle MacLachlan as Jeffrey Beaumont, inquisitive college student

Lumberton, North Carolina, Spring 1985

Film: Blue Velvet
Release Date: September 19, 1986
Director: David Lynch
Costumer: Ronald Leamon

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today marks the 66th birthday of Kyle MacLachlan, star of the late David Lynch’s neo-noir thriller Blue Velvet. Lynch and “Kale” had first collaborated two years earlier for the director’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, which was met with poor reception. Undeterred, Lynch shifted direction with Blue Velvet, a more personal project that delved into his now-familiar themes of surrealism and the dark, oft-criminal underbelly of Americana.

MacLachlan stars as Jeffrey Beaumont, a college student who returns to his hometown of Lumberton, North Carolina to help his family following his father’s heart attack. Taking a secluded shortcut to his parents’ home after a hospital visit, Jeffrey discovers a severed ear in a vacant field… launching him into a dangerous conspiracy involving a sultry lounge singer and a sadistic gangster. Continue reading →

Something Wild: Jeff Daniels Goes Wild in a New Blue Silk Suit

Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith in Something Wild (1986)

Vitals

Jeff Daniels as Charlie Driggs, buttoned-up investment banker

From Pennsylvania to Virginia, June 1986

Film: Something Wild
Release Date: November 7, 1986
Director: Jonathan Demme
Costume Designer: Norma Moriceau

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 70th birthday to Jeff Daniels, the versatile actor who may be one of the few talents that could effectively transition from playing a decorated Civil War general one year to Harry Dunne in Dumb and Dumber the next. The actor rose to prominence through the ’80s with back-to-back Golden Globe-nominated performances in The Purple Rose of Cairo and Something Wild.

“Jonathan Demme’s Something Wild is a lot of things—Renoirian screwball, Gen-X The Odd Couple, defense for the reggae mixtape—but it’s a road movie first and foremost, and it introduces its lead, Charlie Driggs, as a man untraveled. Played with dopey precision by Jeff Daniels, Charlie is a golden retriever of a Reaganite, eager to climb the ranks of his job on Wall Street and content with the grass on his side of the fence. Building a career in the big city implies some degree of worldliness, but Manhattan can be deceptively hermetic,” writes Christian Craig at Bright Wall/Dark Room. Continue reading →

The White Lotus: Ethan’s Cream Jacket and Navy Cap in Sicily

Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller on The White Lotus (Episode 2.01: “Ciao”)

Vitals

Will Sharpe as Ethan Spiller, prosperous tech entrepreneur

Sicily, Summer 2022

Series: The White Lotus
Episode: “Ciao” (Episode 2.01)
Air Date: October 30, 2022
Director: Mike White
Creator: Mike White
Costume Designer: Alex Bovaird

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

The White Lotus returns tonight with the premiere of its third season, set in Thailand. Each season of Mike White’s darkly comic anthological series is loosely connected, following different casts of characters across exotically located resorts under the fictional White Lotus hospitality chain. The first season was set in Hawaii, chosen as its seclusion provided ideal conditions for filming under safety protocols informed by the then-new COVID-19 restrictions. Following the success of the premiere season, the sophomore season took the action to Sicily, retaining the themes of illicit drugs, romantic intrigue, and unexpected violence.

The appropriately named second-season premiere “Ciao” welcomed the guests arriving at the White Lotus resort in Taormina for the week, including the newly wealthy but emotionally unfulfilled Ethan Spiller (Will Sharpe) and his wife Harper (Aubrey Plaza), a haughty lawyer initially repulsed by his gauche college pal Cameron Sullivan (Theo James). A gregarious finance-bro to Ethan’s sullen tech-bro, Cam and his trophy wife Daphne (Meghann Fahy) approach life with more outward enthusiasm, though Harper initially pushes through to discover the imperfect cracks of the Sullivans’ surprisingly complex union. Continue reading →

In the Mood for Love: Tony Leung’s Gray Silk Suit

Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung in In the Mood for Love (2000)

Vitals

Tony Leung as Chow Mo-wan, sensitive journalist

Hong Kong, Spring 1962

Film: In the Mood for Love
(Chinese title: 花樣年華)
Release Date: September 29, 2000
Director: Wong Kar-wai
Costume Designer: William Chang

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Valentine’s Day feels like the appropriate time to discuss In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai’s lush and compelling exploration of loneliness, loss, and love set in Hong Kong’s Shanghainese community in 1962. Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung), live with their respective spouses in neighboring apartments but each often find themselves alone in their rooms, venturing out only for noodles from a street stall where they occasionally make contact. As the two connect over their oft-absent spouses, Chow and Su slowly come to the realization that his wife and her husband are engaged in an affair. Continue reading →

“Hey, Mr. Sporting Goods!” Llewelyn’s Fancy-Striped Shirt in No Country for Old Men

Josh Brolin in No Country for Old Men (2007)

Vitals

Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss, ex-welder and Vietnam War vet on the run

El Paso, Texas, Summer 1980

Film: No Country for Old Men
Release Date: November 9, 2007
Director: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Costume Designer: Mary Zophres

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Happy 57th birthday to Josh Brolin! Born February 12, 1968 to casting director Jane Cameron and actor James Brolin, Josh starred in The Goonies as a teen before his career resurgence as an adult following his celebrated performance as Llewelyn Moss in the Coen brothers’ 2007 masterpiece No Country for Old Men, faithfully adapted from Cormac McCarthy’s novel of the same name. Continue reading →

Casino: Ace Rothstein’s Blue Plaid 1970s Suit

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein in Casino (1995)

Vitals

Robert De Niro as Sam “Ace” Rothstein, Vegas casino executive and mob associate

Las Vegas, Spring 1973

Film: Casino
Release Date: November 22, 1995
Director: Martin Scorsese
Costume Design: Rita Ryack & John A. Dunn

Background

For my first post in several years about Robert De Niro’s colorfully memorable style in Casino as it celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it feels appropriate on this mid-February #MafiaMonday to revisit the scene when the otherwise rational “Ace” Rothstein gets blinded by love upon meeting the vivacious hustler Ginger (Sharon Stone) while she’s causing commotion at the craps tables. Continue reading →

Save the Tiger: Jack Lemmon’s Italian Silk Suit

Jack Lemmon in Save the Tiger (1973)

Vitals

Jack Lemmon as Harry Stoner, cynical businessman and World War II veteran

Los Angeles, Spring 1972

Film: Save the Tiger
Release Date: February 14, 1973
Director: John G. Avildsen
Wardrobe Credit: John A. Anderson

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

One of my favorite actors, Jack Lemmon was born 100 years ago today on February 8, 1925 in Newton, Massachusetts.

After serving in the U.S. Navy as communications officer aboard an aircraft carrier during World ar II, Lemmon rose to fame playing comedic roles in the 1950s, such as his back-to-back pairings with Judy Holliday in the early 1950s and his performance as the wily Ensign Pulver in Mister Roberts (1955) that earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor. Lemmon’s successful streak continued when he teamed with director Billy Wilder in the classic comedy Some Like It Hot (1959) and The Apartment (1960), followed by five more movies together over the next quarter-century.

Lemmon’s talent in serious roles was widely demonstrated in Blake Edwards’ 1962 drama Days of Wine and Roses, though it wasn’t until a decade later when the middle-aged actor returned to drama as the disillusioned veteran Harry Stoner in Save the Tiger (1973), a film he was so dedicated to bringing to the screen that he waived his usual salary to work at union scale—which was $165 per week—and a percentage of the gross. Lemmon ultimately received his second Oscar—this time the Academy Award for Best Actor—for his poignant portrayal of a man trapped by his past and the hollow promises of the so-called American Dream, perfectly playing the weariness of a lifetime of war-torn cynicism battling that characteristic twinkle in his eye. Continue reading →

Heaven Can Wait: Warren Beatty’s Leather Jacket

Warren Beatty in Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Vitals

Warren Beatty as Joe Pendleton, L.A. Rams quarterback

Los Angeles, February 1978

Film: Heaven Can Wait
Release Date: June 28, 1978
Directed by: Warren Beatty & Buck Henry
Costume Designer: Richard Bruno

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Ahead of the Super Bowl this weekend, one of the movies that the big game always brings to mind for me is Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty and Buck Henry’s 1978 remake of Harry Segall’s 1930s play of the same name, which had already been adapted for the screen in 1941 as Here Comes Mr. Jordan.

Beatty stars as Joe Pendleton, an affably simple-minded backup quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams whose sole ambition is to lead his team to the Super Bowl. Continue reading →

Succession: Tom’s Cashmere Puffer Vest and White Sneakers in Norway

Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans on Succession, Episode 4.05 (“Kill List”)

Vitals

Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans, obsequious corporate media executive

Møre og Romsdal, Norway, Fall 2020

Series: Succession
Episode: “Kill List” (Episode 4.05)
Air Date: April 23, 2023
Director: Andrij Parekh
Creator: Jesse Armstrong
Costume Designer: Michelle Matland

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Working my way through the winter blues, I’m returning to some of the luxuriously simple cool-weather looks from the final season of Succession—specifically the fifth episode trip to Norway, where the Roy siblings hope to land a deal with tech giant GoJo.

Included among the Waystar RoyCo contingent is the spineless yet calculating Tom Wambsgans (Matthew Macfadyen), whose machinations and devotion to the company’s late CEO Logan Roy (Brian Cox) placed him in a better position for advancement than Logan’s own children… including his daughter Siobhan (Sarah Snook), whom Tom had married before betraying to advance his good graces with Logan. Continue reading →