"The Handmaid's Tale"

"The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood is one of my top ten books of all time.  Because of this, I was eager to watch the Hulu series but am essentially too cheap to pay for every streaming service out there.  Fortunately, as a member of SAG-Aftra I am given the opportunity to preview films and series where actors have been nominated for an award.  In retrospect, the cost of a Hulu membership would have been worth it.  This series is truly brilliant and will be getting my vote for best female actor and possibly for best ensemble.  Season one (borrowed from my public library -- thank you!) echoes the book both in tone and style.  The novel was written in the early 1980s however, so there are some updates.  There are also changes in plot which were discussed between the creator of the series and Ms. Atwood.  Great respect is given to her vision and the changes made are those which represent the difference between pages of a book and a story told on a screen.  Readers of the book will not be disappointed and those who haven't read it will find real substance in the series.  Elisabeth Moss gets a special shout-out as the series is not dialogue heavy.  Much must be communicated through a look, a posture, a small gesture.  Ms. Moss surpasses expectations by showing her tremendously complex emotional world through the tiniest actions.  I did worry about season two.  The first season ends as the book ends.  How do the producers move on without the brilliant prose provided by Margaret Atwood?  They do, although it took until episode four in the second season to fully win me over (prepare for emotional turbulence after that episode).  There is a good deal of going deeper, exploring the various Handmaids, Wives and history leading up to the current timeline.  What I particularly like about this series is how female centered it is.  Yes, there are male characters who drive some of the action but the focus is on the women and nothing about their roles is simple.  The complexity, the struggle with who they are, what they are asked to do and how they interact with each other is the essence of this story.  It is a powerful manifesto which is sadly ironic in our current climate.  I'm not saying it is easy viewing.  It's not.  There were times that I had to step away, the tale haunting me.  But it should.  It should haunt, it should challenge, it should make us think.  The producer has said they could go "for another ten seasons."  I hope not.  This show is amazing.  It is also palpably painful.  I want an end, and a happy one at that.  I'm not likely to get it but if this tale has taught me anything it is that hope and resilience not only can survive, but that they must.