'The Handmaid’s Tale' review: Fictional situation hits too close to home

Premise:

The Handmaid’s Tale is based on a novel of the same name written by Margaret Atwood in 1985. In this fictional dystopian country, women are not allowed to work, hold property, and earn money. Because of a plague, infertility rates reach sky-high numbers and women who are still fertile are taken in as handmaids, posted at different houses of the leaders to bear their children because the wives of these leaders are barren. They are divided into categories based on the needs of the men. The wives wear blue, handmaids wear red, and household help wear grey.

We look at the world after WWIII from the eyes of Offred, a handmaid who in her previous life, had a job as a book editor, had a husband, a daughter, and a name. In the new world of the ultra-conservative Republic of Gilead, Offred is reduced to be a vessel for childbirth. These handmaids have to live with these families of the leaders, serve them, participate in the ceremonies which are essentially state-sanctioned rapes. 

This is the ugly face of patriarchy brought to the western world. There is nothing comforting about it, even the sarcasm of Offred which stings more than the brutality towards the women in the show.

Performances:

Though written in 1985, the situation of Offred is more relevant now than ever before. Bruce Miller adapted the novel to make it into a series. Every scene, every situation has more than enough power to steer the conversation about women, feminism, patriarchy, the cost of war, mental health. You name it and a prospect of multiple analytical pieces await you. 

The show runs on heavy themes. There is state-sanctioned rape, genital mutilation, execution of homosexuals, classism, and no fair trial. Women bear the brunt of it all and yet try their best to be strong and find ways to be free. 

Elizabeth Moss plays Offred. The camera follows her. It’s mostly trained on her with a tight close-up. This is when she shines as expressions on her face change as her narrative voice tells us what she is thinking. Her Offred is surviving because of the hope that one day she will reunite with her daughter Hannah. She cannot let go of the past she has lived and that struggle between now and then is difficult to digest for her.

The unsettling scenes are of the ceremonies in which a woman is being treated like an object to deposit the sperm in the hope that one day it will give them a baby. The Commander, played Joseph Fiennes, renders it a mundane task. The wife, played by Yvonne Strahovski, cannot decide between jealousy, pity, anger, or disgust as she watches her husband practically rape Offred. And Offred would just like to get it over with.

Other two scenes of the three episodes I have watched so far, stir the emotions that will force a strong reaction from the viewers. A handmaid, Ofwarren, is blinded because of insubordination and this is allowed because you don’t need eyes for childbirth. Later, the same handmaid gives birth to children and is heartbroken all the time. She has no kids, no man, and has to be passed along to the next leader.

The next story-arc is of Ofglen. Ofglen is accused of being a gender-traitor (lesbian). She has to watch her lover, a household help, being hanged by a crane. She gets to live because a perfect uterus cannot go to waste. But her genitals are mutilated to cut off the source of her “want” as a way of redemption. As Ofglen, Alexis Bledel will grab hold of your heart, wrangle it until you cry without even uttering a word in that episode.

The story is effing engaging. The cinematography is the one to be written a thesis on. Acting is tremendous. This is possibly the best drama series of 2017.

Why watch:

To understand what women go through when wars are fought by men. The cost of war is not always in monetary terms. What is happening with Yazidi women, refugees fleeing Syria, girls kidnapped by Boko Haram and many more incidents like that all over the world become too real because they are not being told by a news anchor but a woman (so what if it’s a fictional character) suffering, surviving, fighting for a brighter future.

Why avoid:

There is no reason to avoid this show. 

What to do: 

Duh! Watch it.

Rating: *****