Language: English
Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang's Master of None is a fine example of a modest show becoming excellent purely because of its clarity of thought, sharp observations and optimised style. The first two seasons based around an Indian-American protagonist, Dev Shah (Ansari), a small-time actor in New York, touches upon subjects ranging from sexual harassment at the workplace, romances set against a ticking clock for those in the late 20s, the dynamic between first and second-generation immigrants, the experience of an Indian-American actor trying to make it in an excessively white Hollywood, and who could be untouched by that fantastic episode in which a character, Denise (Lena Waithe) and her family come to accept her sexual orientation, through a series of Thanksgiving dinners.
Master of None took up some weighty issues, and injected warmth and humour into them, and therefore walking the precarious line of a sermon and being a fun show, thanks to a protagonist who would come up with the darnedest reactions while staring unimaginable heartbreak in the face.
However, the show's progressive values had a cloud over them when Ansari was accused of sexual misconduct in early 2018. We might never know if the accusation had any material effect on the plans around the show's third season, even though Ansari had previously expressed the need to step away from Dev's character in a 2017 interview. However, it's also impossible to miss how reflective the third season is compared to the first two seasons, where characters grapple with doubts about their careers, themselves, and their optimism about lifelong held beliefs... like 'soul mates'.
If the first two seasons were about negotiating the ideals and the realities of some characters in their late 20s, the third one titled 'Moments of Love' examines the 30s and the jadedness it brings with it. It's a period where individuals have learned to hold on to unhealthy relationships, rather than being alone. The season makes no bones about its core belief about even seemingly well-off people in their 30s - that unhappiness and bitterness is the norm, and that moments of happiness are the fleeting ones, appearing every now and then.
Moments of Love is centred around the characters of Denise (Waithe) and Alicia (Naomi Ackie), who have been married for a few years, and built their own version of paradise in Upstate New York, replete with a kitchen garden and a fine collection of antiques. Denise, we're told, is a New York Times bestselling author, grinding her way through a second book. And on the other hand, Alicia, is in the middle of a career switch. Having a PhD in Chemistry, she quits citing an unhealthy work environment and is looking to start afresh by working in an antique store and learning about interior design. Theirs is a seemingly 'happy marriage', one that is filled with laughter from inside jokes, colourful pop music accompanying chores, and assured silences shared in adjacent rooms as both work tirelessly towards their respective dreams. And then Dev (Ansari) shows up for dinner one weekend, with his partner Reshmi (Aysha Kala). It's a pleasant evening till one offhand comment results in both Dev and Reshmi having mini-meltdowns in front of Denise and Alicia. Even though their marriage is a seemingly happy one, it's also telling how Alicia is overwhelmed after witnessing the bitterness between Dev and Reshmi. "Every time a couple argues in front of us, you think it's contagious," Denise tells Alicia seeing her glum face. Theirs is a relationship built on insecurity, and the veneer comes off eventually.
Exploring the grime underneath most 'happy marriages', a sub-genre of films usually reserved for an all-white cast, it's a radical choice that Master of None: Moments of Love places a queer black couple in the middle of it. There are echoes of Bergman's Scenes From A Marriage especially in the exquisite frames inside the bedroom, and the mumblecore influences in its dialogue.
Ansari, who has directed the entire season, has good taste, and it's visible in the way he meticulously frames most conversations, never following the characters around even when they exit the frames in the middle of a dialogue. Moments of Love prides itself on its stillness, where middle-age slowly creeps up on these seemingly 'young' souls still trying to grapple with their decisions. Moments of Love remains stern in its belief that even after going through life-changing experiences and acquiring a weariness, most people continue to be the screw-ups they've always been. Very rarely does that change, even when someone is well into their 40s.
It all appears so incidental and 'improvised', that one might even make the mistake of thinking not enough work has gone into the show. Ackie's performance in Ep 04 especially, where she's undergoing IVF treatment (something described as life-consuming by another character) is the stuff of dreams. Ackie's "performance" is so naturalistic that it's hard to spot her 'acting' in the episode at all.
Master of None: Moments of Love is a sobered version of the show, one that seems to make the deliberate choice to be less 'entertaining' compared to the first two seasons. Some questionable writing choices aside, for eg: underwear tucked under a couch to reveal a character's cheating episode, the show gets down and dirty into the vagaries of middle age. It relishes the awkward silences in between the lines of dialogue, almost as if to drive the point about what we leave unsaid in conversations is more revealing about us, than what we choose to say.
If Master of None: Moments of Love is to be believed then there is no such thing as a 'happily ever after'. The joy in a relationship is transient, and one needs to brace themselves for the eventual sorrow. It's a strongly cynical outlook on life, one that many might find hard to digest, but one that seems the product of many years’ worth of introspection. It's an 'answer' that most people probably make their peace with around the time they hit middle age, and therein lies the biggest tragedy of Master of None: Moments of Love.
Watch the trailer here
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