Morris does a complete disservice to one of the great recent works of investigative journalism, rendering it an incomprehensible Mansion Cliffs Notes. Anyone who hasn’t read Chaps would assume Tom O’Neill was tinfoil hatted crank. As career-lows go it’s not as bad as Morris shilling for Elizabeth Holmes, but it’s close.
If you have any interest in the subject matter, do yourself a favor and read O’Neill’s book and skip this entirely.
Easily the best of the umpteen SNL specials and the only one that justifies its (and the show’s) self-importance. A Fallon-free cut gets 5 stars.
A ranking of the performances:
1. David Byrne et al ~ “Heroes”/“Wake Up”
2. Eddie Vedder ~ “The Waiting”/Corduroy”
3. Snoop & Jellyroll ~ “Gin and Juice”/“Last Dance”
4 Jack White ~”Rockin the Free World/7 Nation Army”
5. Robyn & David Byrne ~ “Dancing On My Own”/“This Must Be The Place”
6. Samberg, Gaga et al…
On first viewing, the full credits opening had me looking for a Memento style reverse narrative. It’s not that. The narrative is mostly chronological, the plot easy to follow. But like Memento, Tar requires a second viewing to fully comprehend and begin to appreciate. Only on rewatch, go you feel the full import of each scene: Inconsequential details take on sinister significance. Except Memento was a puzzle that could be solved (I haven’t ever felt the need to watch…
Chris Messina’s defense attorney must haven been a Lionel Hurd level incompetent. And Toni Collete’s character must be Dave-like stand in for the real, comatose DA. And the judge must have been must have been diagnosed with Imminent Death Syndrome sometime during law school. It’s the only way to explain how every principal in a murder trial could be so incompetent.
And Nicholas Hoult’s American accent sounds like an AI bot.
