So I got recommended a show called "The Act" by a good friend of mine. She was telling me about a girl who killed her mother, who in turn, faked the girl's illnesses to make money. This immediately led to research on my part and I was immersed in the world of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. I want to add a disclaimer: this show contains mature content and sexual themes and acts so be advised while watching.
Now a little background on Gypsy; she is now a 27 year old woman who faces about 9 more years in prison for second degree murder and conspiracy of murder for her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Dee Dee had lots of people (doctors, friends, and family) fooled that Gypsy had all kinds of life-threatening illnesses, being wheelchair bound, and having a feeding tube due to food allergies and indigestion. However, in the words of the town's deputy during a press conference, "things are not always what they appear".
It was said that Dee Dee had a mental case of "Munchausen syndrome by proxy (MSBP), a mental disorder where a parent or other caretaker exaggerates, fabricates, or induces illness in a person under their care to obtain sympathy or attention (Wiki par. 3)". It is no wonder Gypsy (with the help of her then-boyfriend Nick) wanted out and the only way was to rid of her mom entirely. You can read all about the murder and the motive behind it here on the wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Dee_Dee_Blanchard
That is where this show comes in and they do a great job portraying the story. This review is not about the actual murder, but the creativity and talent that brought Gypsy and her mother's story to life in an eight episode series found on the streaming platform, Hulu.
The story opens with a mother and a wheelchair-bound daughter moving into a small, bright pink house and being showered with welcome by neighbors. Dee Dee (played by Patricia Arquette) feeds Gypsy (played by Joey King) through a feeding tube, and shaves her head. Arquette's performance is so fantastic in this show. We see a mother who is mentally and physically unwell, yet conniving and cunning. She mumbles to the point where you can barely understand what she is saying, and she makes one uncomfortable the way she talks to Gypsy. Dee Dee needs Gypsy for her own selfish reasons and that is what makes Arquette's portrayal of Dee Dee Blanchard so great.
Dee Dee seems to have one thing in mind, and that is to keep Gypsy for herself and make money off of her. She lies to doctors, gets money donations from all kinds of people and celebrities in the mail, and has Gypsy get national recognition for "child of the year". She basks in the glory of Gypsy's misery. She also lies about Gypsy's birthday; the poor girl has no idea how old she really is and appears to be a minor when really, she is 19. It is really a sad story and the directors and creative team did such a great job telling this story with this aspect in mind that Gypsy's the real victim.
However, there is one that is skeptical over Dee Dee. Her name is Mel (played by Chloe Sevigny) and she does not exist in real life. "The Act" has thrown in some characters for dramatization purposes and to give volume to the story. Mel acts like the narrator of sorts in this film; she says what the audience is probably thinking, which I think is genius. She questions Dee Dee about Gypsy and she keeps it real.
Mel has a daughter that Gyspy confides in and idolizes. Her name is Lacey (played by AnnaSophia Robb) and she introduces Gypsy into the world of boys, makeup, and teenage life. She is a sympathizer and confidant for Gypsy up until the murder, where she experiences betrayal while she sees Gypsy walking into the courtroom.
After a few episodes of self-discovery, Gypsy knows she can walk and she is just as sneaky as her mother. She sneaks out of bed at night (and note, she sleeps with her mother with a breathing tube) and goes online on her mom's computer. She looks up topics like "kissing" and "boyfriend" and she grows curious about her own sexuality. She later buys a phone and then a laptop under her mother's nose. She even sneaks out of the house after meeting an older man dressed like Wolverine at Comic-Con and ends up at his place. Too bad mama Dee Dee caught her.
Gypsy is bound and determined to find an escape. Lacey tells Gypsy about her new boyfriend and gushes on how much she loves him. This sparks an interest on Gypsy's part and Lacey tells her that she met her boyfriend on a Christian dating site. Of course, Gypsy makes an account on there and her own Facebook account. She posts pictures of herself wearing wigs and costumes. Then, she finally gets a legit message from a guy name Nick Godejohn (played by Calum Worthy) and instantly falls in love with him.
Together, they video chat with each other nightly. There are some racy scenes between them in video chat. Nick introduces Gypsy into a whole world of sexuality and they form a plan on meeting up. As a viewer, one can not help but wonder how a girl, who has been lied about in regards to her age, can go from acting like a 10 year old to a sexual mature 19 year old in one day.
After a failed meetup, Dee Dee ties Gypsy to the bed for punishment after finding Gypsy's laptop with Nick's messages. That is when an idea comes to fruition to Gypsy. Together, they form a plan to kill Dee Dee, take the money, and live happily ever after in Wisconsin where Nick lives. Nick is the one who offers and kills Dee Dee. He tells Gypsy he has an alter-ego named Victor who is evil and will kill her mother. Gypsy hides in the bathroom and covers her ears as the murder happens.
After committing the murder, Nick and Gypsy stay a few nights at a hotel, take a Greyhound bus back to Nick's parents' house, and they stay there for a few days until they blow their cover by posting on Dee Dee's Facebook that she was dead. Gypsy gets frustrated at Nick for not being a "provider" and starts to second guess what she has done. Then, the police ended up tracking the Facebook post and found Nick and Gypsy and arrested them on the spot.
The last two episodes show how Gypsy's doing in jail and her and Nick telling different stories and accounts of the murder. They grow apart and Gypsy eventually gets in touch with her father. After a shocking and tearful reunion, they, along with Gypsy's lawyer, try to figure out how to acquire medical documents to show that Gypsy fell victim to Dee Dee.
The show ends with Gypsy pleading guilty and charged with second degree murder, yet getting off with up to 10 years in prison. Nick is charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
I saved talking about Joey King's portrayal of Gypsy until now because she was amazing. She did her research, studied Gypsy's interviews to get the voice down, and even shaved her hair off for the part. Her hard work really shows in her performance and I sincerely hope she gets some sort of recognition.
The story goes in a back and forth kind of way. It goes from the past with Dee Dee and Gypsy, to the present when the murder happened, and so on. It really worked well with the story. Sometimes when directors and story writers do that, it gets confusing for the audience to follow along, but this series did well in maintaining consistency throughout the story.
The camera movements and frames in this series were terrific. In my previous film review, I talked about close-ups and how they effectively convey a message by just showing the emotion on a character's face. That was used a lot in this show as well. Another shot that was captured throughout the film were establishing shots. For example, before each scene, they would show the house, or a hospital before the scene started. It showed the location where the action was happening.
One last camera concept used was over the shoulder shots, which is "when the camera is placed just behind an "off-screen" actor so that their shoulder is in the frame while you capture the "on-screen" actor's coverage (Studio Binder par. 3). This concept is used quite a lot in this show because the camera is focused on Gypsy almost all the time. The shots would be over Dee Dee's, or whoever else is sharing the screen with Gypsy's shoulder.
Everything in this series was authentic, well detailed and planned. If you look at pictures from the house after the murder, they recreated the inside perfectly with all the pill bottles, medicine, and Gypsy's stuffed animals and prizes. The actors captured their characters very well, and the camera angles and movements went perfectly with the show.
I highly encourage anyone interested in this show and Gypsy Rose's life to research what really happened. It is very interesting, disturbing, and confusing. There is also an HBO show called "Mommy Dead and Dearest" that I recommend to watch after viewing "The Act" that has actual interviews with Gypsy, her father, cousin, and neighbor. You learn the truth about Dee Dee through their lens.
This is a true crime with a twist. Here are some good links to also look at if anyone is interested in pursuing research on this topic:
Interview with Gypsy Rose
I will leave you guys to your opinion on this ongoing case. I would love to hear what you all think!
My next review will be my Toy Story 4 video review! This is one you do not want to miss!
References:
https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/over-the-shoulder-shot/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8682948/
https://www.medicinenet.com/munchausen_syndrome/article.htm
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