Need a refresher? If so, be sure to read our reviews for Part 1 & 2, and Part 3 & 4 first.

“Are you happy with the house? I’d like to think it was worth it.”

The words of F. Scott Fitzgerald hang over the final two chapters of David Simon’s and William F. Zorzi’s Show Me A Hero like the Sword of Damocles. Except, in this case, fear hangs over everyone equally, not just those in positions of power. Part 5 and 6 spans events from early ’91 to late ’93, and with this being the final two chapters, the narrative has naturally shifted away from the confines of the judge’s chambers and noisy council meetings, in order to focus on the tenants we familiarized ourselves with from the West side of the Parkway. Hank Spallone (Alfred Molina) is mostly mentioned by name, and seen a brief two times in the whole two hours, before the new mayor Terry Zaleski (Daniel Sauli) takes office. Not much time is spent with Zaleski, but enough to know that he’s the shiftiest Democrat presented in the entire miniseries, and the biggest nemesis to our hero, Nick (Oscar Isaac). Judge Sands (Bob Balaban) and Michael Sussman (Jon Berenthal), so instrumental in getting the housing bill passed, don’t make a single appearance, while Oscar Newman’s (Peter Riegart) greatest contribution is to hand over the housing counselling to the most important new character, Robert Mayhawk (The Wire alumnus, Clarke Peters).

Parts 5 and 6 distance themselves by some margin from the politics that dominated proceedings in the previous parts, and is mostly split between two narrative strings. The first follows Nick, desperately seeking recognition and a way back into office. The more he fails, the deeper he sinks into an egotistical vortex of self-loathing, even costing Nay’s (Carla Quevedo) job by playing political games with her bosses (only to eventually realize that the only one being played is him). At the beginning of Part 5, his friendship and alliance with Jim Surdoval (Michael Stahl-David) is severed because Jim is backing Zaleski for mayor. Vini Restiano (Winona Ryder), the friend Nick comforted in Part 2 when she got shut out of politics, makes a powerful comeback in Parts 5 and 6, only to find herself in direct opposition with Nick when he decides to run against her as City Council President. When she asks him, with tearful resentment, if he really believes in anything but himself, the gist of the message is clear; the ugly, cruel game of politics is frightfully masochistic in nature. As I mentioned in last week’s recap, the strong sense of the corrupt nature of politics being the primal theme of the show rings deafeningly true all the way to the soul-crushing conclusion. For those who have resisted the urge to Wikipedia the real Nick Wasicsko, I will refrain from spoiling, but, with Fitzgerald’s words in mind, you can probably guess what happens.

The second narrative thread is the only one with some hopefulness, though not before it gets tangled up in fear. Billie (Dominique Fishback)—who gets little sympathy from me and whose storyline remains the most ubiquitously irritating thanks to her godawful choice in partner—, Norma (LaTanya Richardson Jackson), who is still reluctant to mingle with white people, and Doreen (Natalie Paul), who has come a long way from her junkie days, all move to the new low-income townhouses. Doreen gets involved with the new local community and through that befriends Mary (Catherine Keener). That’s right, what we expected all along finally materializes at the beginning of Part 6: Mary officially switches sides when she starts to focus on those trying to do right by their neighborhoods and be upstanding citizens. Meanwhile, Carmen (Ilfenesh Hadera) remains stuck in the projects because her name is put on the waiting list for the next houses, but her story’s conclusion is appropriately cathartic all the same. Mayhawk councils a team of volunteers (Mary included) on how to approach and help the new neighbours assimilate themselves into their new surroundings, coyly saying at one point that they’ll be learning more about themselves than the new families. As expected, the predominantly white community doesn’t take kindly to the new residents at first, instilling distrust, fear, and prejudice; all the more reason why the final image is a ray of sunshine.

The tone of the show’s final hours is very much a somber one. As with the episodes that preceded, Simon, Zorzi and Paul Haggis show off their artistic range with equal touches of subtle deftness and emotional hemorrhaging. Recall—and try to do so without getting goosebumps—the final montage of Bruce Springsteen’s eternally tender “Lift Me Up.” The fate of every character reminding us that these are real people’s stories. Then consider the opening of Part 6, mid-sentence in Mayor Zaleski’s speech, “-which for Yonkers has been a long time coming.” We know what he’s talking about, and thanks to this brilliantly understated opening, we also know he doesn’t care.

No, the only one who truly cares is Nick, and there are two profound scenes in these two hours where we see what all that care gets him. The first is when he visits the lottery spin to see which lucky tenants get to live in the new houses. He sits in the back, genuinely happy for the people, but slowly realizes that no one knows who he is and that he’s got no business being there other than to satisfy his own sense of pride. The second is when he literally goes door to door of the new houses to speak with tenants directly, to see how they’re feeling, perhaps get a modicum of gratitude. He gets the door slammed in his face until one person does recognize him. Blind Norma. It’s powerful stuff and the beating heart of Show Me A Hero. A man who jeopardized his political career to get the housing bill passed, but made the mistake of expecting a handshake instead of being satisfied with the work itself.

Show Me A Hero stands next to Simon’s previous sensational miniseries, The Corner (2000) and Generation Kill (2008), and under the auspices of his crowning achievement with Zorzi, The Wire, as essential television that drills into the truth of people. People with flaws and strengths on display, equally weighed. What happens to a good man when he gets a taste of that sweet poison of power? How does one navigate the moment in a person’s career when real change becomes a probable reality? These are the heavyweight questions we’ve come to expect of creator David Simon. The kind that keeps the Sword hanging above all our heads, and that will surely keep me revisiting Show Me A Hero again and again.

9.5/10

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start to summer, with cookouts and camping trips feeling like a celebratory coming of good weather and good times. It also used to be the opening weekend for some of the biggest films of the year – Return of the Jedi, three Indiana Jones films, sequels in the Pirates of the Caribbean, Fast & Furious, X-Men, The Hangover series, even the ill-fated Godzilla all made their debuts at the end of May. But as the Hollywood blockbuster season has pushed sooner each year, some of the weekend’s cultural significance may be lost. With a rather slow 2015 Memorial Day box office, here’s hoping that you opted to spend the time with friends and family, outdoors for a chance. And while you’re re-remembering the difference between Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, check out the news you may have missed last week.

Cannes 2015 Ends with Surprise Award Winners, Lots of Sales

To the apparent surprise of many, Jacques Audiard’s Dheepan walked away with the highest prize of Cannes, the Palme d’or, while the Grand Jury Prize went to Holocaust drama Son of Saul. Other winners included Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster, Hou Hsiao-hsien for Best Director, and a split on Best Actress between Rooney Mara and Emmanuelle Bercot. For the full list of winners and our own analysis on the Dheepan victory, check out our post from this weekend. On the market side of things, Alchemy purchased two of the most talked about films of the fest, 3-D Porno Love and The Lobster. Sony Pictures Classics, always active at Cannes, picked up Son of Saul and Dan Rather biopic starring Robert Redford Truth. Check out The Dissolve for a complete list of Cannes purchases.

Watch the Final Film Ever Shot on Fuji Filmstock

We’ve heard for the past few years that physical film was a dying product, with much of the industry choosing to shoot on easier-access and economical digital sources, and now the product of this concept has been realized. Over at Indiewire, you can watch the very last short film ever shot using Fuji film, which was discontinued in 2013. “Amends” is a story of two lovers whose relationship falters because of a digital technology. It is a poetic and ironic swansong for the near-obsolete medium.

Debut Date Set for The Wire Creator’s Next HBO Series

First reported by Variety, upcoming HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, created by David Simon and directed by Paul Haggis, will premiere on Sunday, August 16. The series stars Oscar Isaac as a young mayor of Yonkers, New York, who is pressured to build low-income housing units in predominantly white communities during the tumultuous 1960s. Given the talent behind the camera, Show Me a Hero is sure to be a complete (if even a bit didactic) look at the intersection between race and politics. The six-part series will also star Winona Ryder, Catherine Keener and Alfred Molina.

Alicia Vikander’s Star on the Rise, In Talks for Bourne Sequel and Assassin’s Creed

Another of Ex Machina‘s stars is also set for more high-profile projects, as Alicia Vikander is now in talks for roles in two blockbusters. Reported first by Deadline, Vikander may be trading in James Ponsoldt’s The Circle for featured supporting roles in Paul Greengrass’s return to the Bourne franchise and hotly anticipated video game adaptation Assassin’s Creed, which already touts Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard. Not much is known about her potential role in the films, but they would potentially be a mainstream break for the young actress. Starring in a video game adaptation wouldn’t normally be newsworthy, but the game’s complicated world and historical period settings make it highly adaptable, with some wondering whether it’ll be the first successful crossover to the big screen.

Indie Box Office Update

In an underwhelming holiday weekend at the box office, Disney’s Tomorrowland led with a disappointing 33 million dollar opening, with decent sophomore returns for Pitch Perfect 2 (30.8 mil) and Mad Max: Fury Road (24.8 mil). The strongest per screen averages came from Blythe Danner vehicle I’ll See You in My Dreams ($97,050 per its 3 screens) and French drama In the Name of My Daughter ($20,069 per its 4 screens), both in their second weeks of limited release. The highest per screen average opening went to Japanese animated drama When Marnie Was There, with a $13,000 average among its two screens. The strangest result of the weekend, however, goes to The Age of Adaline, which made a strong $15 mil. in the 5th week of its release – nearly half of its $40 mil. gross to date. This isn’t always a surprising trend for smaller films, as they typically show up in more theaters across the country during their run, but considering that The Age of Adaline showed in nearly half of the theaters compared to its opening weekend, it’s a very strange anomaly.

Trailer of the Week: Knock Knock

Following his career resurgence in John Wick, Keanu Reeves is turning to the home invasion genre, though with a twist. Knock Knock co-stars Lorenza Izzo and Ana de Armas as a pair of women who work their way into Reeves’s house only to torment him in sexy and violent ways. This is also a bit of a comeback for director Eli Roth, whose last film The Green Inferno never got a theatrical release. Besides that, he hasn’t directed a film since Hostel: Part II in 2007, focusing more as the producer of films like The Sacrament and The Last Exorcism in recent years. Knock Knock premiered at Sundance and will (hopefully) be released in theaters later this year. Check out the trailer for this thriller below!

You’ve heard of The Wire, haven’t you? It’s only the greatest television show of all–time. Its creator David Simon is a smart guy and has done some other pretty cool stuff for HBO, too (Generation Kill, Treme), but none of that stuff starred Oscar Isaac.

You remember Oscar Isaac, don’t you? The Coen Brothers’ Llewyn Davis whose role in A Most Violent Year> was basically the best Al Pacino performance since Pacino dipped into self-parody. Isaac has already wowed audiences once this year in Ex Machina and is about to become your nephew’s favorite X-wing pilot when Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrives later this year.

In the mean time Isaac is set to play Nicholas Wasicsko, who was only 28 years old when elected the youngest mayor in Yonkers, New York’s history. Show Me A Hero is based on the nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin, and deals largely with tensions stemming from federally ordered desegregation of public housing in the late ’80s. The 6-part mini-series will debut on August 16th with Catherine Keener, Winona Ryder, LaTanya Richardson-Jackson, Bob Balaban and Jim Belushi (really!) in supporting roles.

Each week we bring you the current Top 10 indie tracks streaming on Spotify to help you create the perfect workweek playlist.

Arctic Monkeys have held onto the top spot for the past 4 weeks…wonder who will eventually take over their coveted spot? “The Wire” has swapped spots with “Reflektor” while the rest of our Top 10 appears to be about the same with the exception of The 1975’s “Girls” breaking in at #7, “R U Mine” & “My Number” both dropping 2 spots and “Falling” breaks into the #10 spot.

Weekly Top 10 Indie Tracks Streaming on Spotify

1. “Do I Wanna Know?” – Arctic Monkeys (AM) [Spotify]
2. “The Wire” – Haim (Days Are Gone) [Spotify]
3. “Reflektor” – Arcade Fire (Reflektor) [Spotify]
4. “Chocolate” – The 1975 (The 1975) [Spotify]
5. “Afterlife” – Arcade Fire (Reflektor) [Spotify]
6. “Afraid” – The Neighbourhood (I Love You.) [Spotify]
7. “Girls” – The 1975 (The 1975) [Spotify]
8. “R U Mine?” – Arctic Monkeys (AM) [Spotify]
9. “My Number” – Foals (Holy Fire) [Spotify]
10. “Falling” – Haim (Days Are Gone) [Spotify]

Megan’s top pick for the week:

“Chocolate” – The 1975 (The 1975)