Just For Me

Endless diatribe.

There are many things one could critique when watching Beauty in Black: the rushed production and slow-moving plot; the bizarre and at times nonsensical behaviors of the characters; or the fact that, if you pay close enough attention, there are things that simply do not add up. My least favorite part of the show, however, is the dialogue. It’s not lost on me that this is a big thing to dislike in a character-driven story where the characters can’t seem to stop talking.

Why am I watching? Because I hate myself. Just kidding. I’m watching because, underneath all the things that could be better, I kind of like the plot. Who doesn’t like an underdog? After years of being sexually abused by her stepfather, Kimmie is:

• kicked out of the family home,
• arrested for attempting to transport drugs via aircraft,
• forced into becoming a stripper to avoid prison,
• and then finds herself in the crosshairs of a wealthy man.

Now, if you think there is already too much going on, this isn’t even half of the story. Horace (the rich guy) runs a beauty empire, and everyone in his family is willing to do whatever they can to retain power and sit at the head of the table. They are also all horrible people (naturally). So, because Horace hates his family and believes they are all undeserving of the throne, and because he’s dying, he concocts a plan to have Kimmie take over instead.

At a base level, this is interesting to me. I want to see Kimmie win because she’s had a horrible life, which was at times made worse by members of Horace’s own family (they’re into some shady stuff). I also love a family drama. What are the dynamics, who’s in charge, who cowers, who hates whom, and why are they all the way they are? Tell me everything.

Now this is where the interest stops, because there are ideas and there is execution. My biggest qualm with the Bellarie’s is that they don’t feel like a real family. Largely because they, like many of the other characters, don’t feel like real people. They are 2-dimensional. They are the way they are because they are the way they are. They lack depth, and there is little to no exploration of their motivations. They want to be richer and more powerful, because who wouldn’t? They also all hate each other because they each think the others are inadequate, awful, or greedy, even though they all seem to embody these qualities. There isn’t much more to them than that.

As a result, their conversations are circular and repetitive. There’s nothing for them to say that they haven’t already said, no underlying reasons for their behavior that haven’t already been made clear. Just endless diatribe about their power, both real and perceived, and how they’re willing to use it. It’s like they wake up and think, “What does an awful, power-hungry, vacuous, rich person sound like?” and then try to do their best impressions. They feel like caricatures rather than people. When I’m watching the show, I often find myself thinking, “Who talks this way?” “Why do these conversations feel like performance rather than interactions between real people?”

Now, I am open to the idea that their performance is the point. That they are all so hardened by the toxic environment that is their family, that they couldn’t be vulnerable if they wanted to. However, even awful people can be layered and complex. They can be kind, honest, and even funny. To be contradictory is to be human, and human is what these characters are supposed to be.

Even if they are primarily soulless creatures thirsty for power and the numbing effects of sex and drugs, it would be more compelling to explore the reasons for this truth than to underline it over and over again. They’re incapable of love and friendship – why? They see other human beings as disposable – why? Why are they the way that they are, and why are their current goals so important to them? And as a member of the viewing audience, why should I care?