HIGH FIDELITY IS GOOD BUT ZOE KRAVITZ IS GREAT

Hulu's remake knows just what to do with Zoe Kravitz.

I remember my dad showing me the 2000 film High Fidelity when I was in middle school. He has a penchant for showing me movies about people who are passionate about music. It’s part of his plan to position himself as the molder of my musical identity (he wasn’t anticipating that I would listen to Broadway showtunes almost exclusively). Among movies like The Doors and Almost Famous, High Fidelity was of the quirkier choices, and I do recall enjoying it. It’s been years since I’ve seen it, but what I remember of the movie, besides a killer Jack Black performance, is the palpable snobbery of a young John Cusack - and being completely turned on by it. Now, in a world where I know better than to be horny over a grungey mansplaining music nerd (wait, do I know better?) I might find the film less appealing. Lucky for all of us, you can enjoy the new Hulu TV series remake starring Zoe Kravitz without having seen the film, if you so choose.

The show is an adaptation of the 1995 Nick Hornby novel which follows Rob, a London record shop owner navigating a colossally devastating breakup through quantifying lists and rehashing the past. Hornby, who was involved in the 2000 film, is also involved in the Hulu series, which consists of 10 episodes. There are obvious changes made to the story for the 2020 TV remake, the most glaring being that Rob is now a biracial woman (Kravitz) living in Brooklyn. I’ve admittedly not read the book, but many details from the movie carry over. The record store bears the same name, Championship Vinyl; Rob is still a fan of The Beta Band. But many updates have elevated the story to its modern iteration, like Rob’s companions (Simon, Rob’s gay ex boyfriend, and Cherise, a black woman who brings energy akin to Jack Black’s character in the film) and opinions on the music world today (an entire scene is dedicated to the moral conundrum of selling a Michael Jackson record).

A show about young Brooklynites dedicated to the dying art of vinyl records could easily make the mistake of becoming an obnoxious and preachy lecture to neophytes. But, delightfully, the show uses a light tough with the music trivia and history, and unlike the film, it doesn’t exactly lean into the “I know more about music than you do” thing. The soundtrack itself is the language of authority here, rather than the opinions of the thirty-somethings trying to preserve it. With music supervision by the team at Aperture Music (Manish Raval, Tom Wolfe and Alison Rosenfeld) and the helping hands of Questlove and Kravitz herself, the musical choices range from Frank Ocean to David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac to Outkast, Swamp Dogg to Janet Jackson. By nature of the gender swap and the stellar and extensive music cues, the mansplainery of the film is essentially dashed. Kravitz only opines when she’s provoked, and the array of tunes used throughout the ten half-hour episodes are indicative of an maestro’s touch. The only time Rob’s expertise is used in a way to school another character is when that character is highly deserving of it (see episode 5, "Uptown").

High Fidelity is not a perfect show, but that never stopped me from finishing it. It would be easy to claim that the series maneuvers in a fantasy world. It’s become so commonplace to ignore financial or social reality on TV that to bring attention to it is futile, and frankly, boring. The sooner you realize that television featuring millennials living in New York City has to operate on a fantastical level or we wouldn’t watch it, the better. Rather, lets focus on the roster of impressive performances throughout the series, the pinnacle being that of Kravitz’s. Even as a self-afflicted millennial record store owner, Kravitz imbues Rob (short for Robin) with the same intoxicating breeziness as anti heroines before her, but with much more swagger. Like a Nancy Botwin or Piper Chapman, she plays hard in a traditionally male game, but has the chops to keep her place in it, and her idiosyncrasies only add to her charm. Kravitz (and her co-stars David H. Holmes and Da’Vine Joy Randolph) brings a particular warmth to a show that relies heavily on vibes.

Speaking of vibes, Mr. Jake Lacy once again portrays a guy who ostensibly has none. Lacy plays Clyde (of course his name is Clyde), a variation of the guy he always plays; solid boyfriend material with an unwavering sense of righteousness (see Girls, Obvious Child, Fosse/Verdon). Normally, I’d be afraid for an actor as good as Lacy to get bogged down in playing this same gent over and over, but his presence has become so synonymous with this type of character that I find it comforting. Knowing Lacy is cast in something is to know exactly what you’re going to get, and I mean that in the best way possible. He’s the kind of actor who does one thing, but does it so well that you don’t really mind. The actor equivalent of a weighted blanket.

A particular thread on Twitter expressing the pleasant surprise of Zoe Kravitz’s performance caught my eye as I was watching the show. I was confused to see how many people were incredulous over her performance. But of course, looking at her IMDB page, how could we have known? Kravitz has never been given such a big break. Her role as Bonnie in Big Little Lies was buzzy, but laughable as far as showing her range (especially in the pitiful storyline she was given in Season 2). Bonnie is essentially a shell of High Fidelity’s Rob, a hipster all grown up and married to the wrong man, surrounded by white people.

Kravitz’s asides looking straight at the camera in High Fidelity work so well that it’s easy to forget we haven’t seen her do this before. She’s breathtakingly beautiful and the camera loves her, which could pose a threat to someone attempting to portray a sharp yet lovelorn curmudgeon. But the use of breaking the fourth wall immediately disarms and allows a medium for connection rather than a portal to gape through. We’re on her side and sometimes, you can even forget how gorgeous she is because she’s that good. Kravitz is finally getting the opportuity to be raw, distinct and fucking funny. She’s been a well known celebrity for some time, but High Fidelity may be giving her a signature.