I, like many, screamed, or texted, "Shenanigans!!!" at the conclusion of the Sopranos Series Finale, feeling cheated at not having a real chance to say farewell to the characters and milieu I had grown so fond of this last 7 years. I was with friends, all of who were fans, and everybody was baffled, then pissed.
I watched it again later on HBOW, and tried to remove all the expectations I had, stripped away my feelings that come my personal investment in these characters, and watched it as I analyze any text, again, looking and listening beyond plot points.
My new verdict: I no longer feel that it is absolute shenanigans...in fact, I no longer feel any sense of shenanigans at all, except for the shenanigans that any author (or auteur) brings to their work. The Deacon sends an article that may help clarify.
The abrupt ending is likely the death of Tony, and what is confusing is the sudden point of view jump: As viewers, we are used to a certain omniscience, in that we are watching, from a safe distance, the action in the frame. For the whole series, apart from the music, which may comment on the action, or may be a counterpoint, or may not even be in the world of the character (but part of our understanding of that world), we have been outside, looking in: Tony is a character that we watch, watch his actions. Why would the action suddenly switch to Tony's point of view?
I think the answer, to some degree (and certainly open to speculation, on its meaning, at least) is Tony entrance into the diner, which is a relatively long take. As Tony (still in black leather jacket)looks around, presumably for a booth, suddenly,right in the middle of the diner, he sees himself, having already arrived, waiting for his family. the next thing we see, is a tight shot of Tony already having sat down.
Of course, this isn't the first time there has been multiple Tonys; Tony as Kevin Finerty (or, as Covington Jim pointed out yesterday morning, Kev-InFin-erty), who plays out the action at the beginning of sixth season, all while the reality of Tony occasionally interrupts in the form of helicopter spotlights, and strange, disembodied voices. This twist fit well into the duplicitious nature of the characters, who were, in a very real sense, multiple people, depending who was in the room.
This still, however, doesn't really explain the two Tonys in the same plane, except that, as the shot unfolds, and we recognize and zoom in on the sitting Tony, something has to account for this sudden jump? If the two Tony's are reconciled by, in fact, being just one Tony, then why would Chase, in this scene in which many people come into the restaurant, take off their jackets, and sit down, have Tony suddenly sitting down, jacket off, like he'd been there a while? Hincty...
I think, ultimately, we have to deal with the two Tony's; one partially omniscient, watching the action from outside himself while still participating in it, and the Tony is fully participating in this scene, and thus, when the screen goes black, because you don't hear the shot that kills you, as alluded in "Soprano Home Movies", Tony as observer, as our eyes, in this scene, go black as well. Tony Soprano is dead, killed in a diner, interestingly, wearing the shirt he wore in the pilot.
What we are left with, still, is the usurping of classical tragedy, which Mafia movies are generally steeped in, because we are left without a denouement, or a cathartic experience. This is because we are complicit in this action as spectators, we know too much. The duplicity that is at the heart of the this show, and criminality generally, extends to the auteur himself: Chase has been lying to us the whole time, and, because we are complicit, and Chase is the duplicitous auteur (a Boss of the narrative, if you will), when the scene goes black, and we reflect about all the clues we have been given, perhaps it is not Tony who gets whacked, but we, who believed Chase, Boss, wouldn't do this to us. But hey, Chris probably didn't think Tony would do that, either.
In short, we got killed, folks.
Bravo, Mr. Chase, Bravo.
Update to the Update: David Chase tells us...nada.
If you want something to replace the Sopranos, get caught up with The Shield. It appears they'll have another season next year and it's pretty damn good stuff.
ReplyDeletei can't stand the Sopranos. I think its the most overrated, overhyped show ever. everyone i know loves it, never misses an episode and talks about it. i just don't get it.
ReplyDeleteThe Simpsons and the Sopranos are the only two shows I try to watch.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't until I started using video clips of different shows and movies for Intro. to Lit. that I realized the Sopranos (and Simpsons) hit virtually every aspect of fiction and drama. You can drag a concept out of almost any show but the Sopranos has such scope that I could drop the text book and just use the videos. I'd get fired after about three classes but it would be fun.