In the new The Penguin series, Colin Farrell reprises his role as Oswald Cobb from The Batman. Farrell is great in the premiere, but the biggest scene stealer is Cristin Milioti as Sofia Falcone. Sofia is a serial killer and the daughter of deceased mob boss Carmine Falcone. In the first episode, Sofia suspects Oswald of killing her brother, the heir to the Falcone mob empire. Milioti is electric as she plays up Sofia’s rage and sadism, but also cozies up to Oswald at times. Small details like the slovenly way she eats bring the character to life and make her immediately feel complex.
Milioti has been killing it on television for years. She gave strong performances in dramas like Fargo as well as sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother and 30 Rock. But, her greatest TV role before The Penguin was as Nanette Cole in the Black Mirror episode “USS Callister,” written by Charlie Brooker and William Bridges. This is a very different role from Sofia Falcone, but in some ways the layered performances are similar. In both roles, she faces off against a man and has to strategically decide when to show her rage and when to present a friendly front.
‘Black Mirror’ Depicts a Terrifying Bubble Universe
In “USS Callister,” Nanette Cole is a programmer who’s excited to begin working at Callister Inc. because of how much she admires the CTO and co-founder Robert Daly (Jesse Plemons). But, her opinion about Daly begins to change when Shania Lowry (Michaela Cole), another female employee, warns her about his leering and she begins to notice his interest in her seems more than professional. Milioti gives an emotionally resonant performance as Nanette’s excitement for a new job and new boss dims as she deals with unwanted attention.
Feeling spurned by Nanette, Daly creates a digital clone of her who’s trapped inside a walled-off version of the computer game that he created. Nanette isn’t the first person he’s done this to. She meets cloned versions of several of her co-workers who explain to her that Daly has been torturing them by forcing them to act like characters in his favorite TV show, Space Fleet — a clear parallel to Star Trek. The captives include Shania, who is there because she didn’t respond well to Daly’s leering. The clones list an array of reasons that Daly decided to punish them, which includes “insufficient smiling” and “brought him the wrong sandwich.”
“USS Callister” feels like an update of the Twilight Zone episode “It’s a Good Life,” with Daly acting as the all-powerful person who controls this little world. It comments on both sexism in the workplace and men who feel entitled to dictate exactly what should happen in their beloved franchises. Daly isn’t just punishing his co-workers, he also makes sure no one goes against the established Space Fleet aesthetic and that they act out stories that he feels are inline with the show.
The clone version of Nanette is the real hero of the episode. The story is driven by her desire to escape the horrifying world Daly has trapped her in. The other clones have given up, but she reignites their belief in the possibility of escape with her determination and knowledge of computer programming. Milioti’s performance as she brings the clone version of Nanette to life is incredible. She’s a hero who feels real, with a mix of brazen confidence, rage, and at times a very awkward and dorky quality. She brings the manic energy of a coder on a deadline as she tries to outwit Daly and find some way around the digital walls he’s built.
Cristin Milioti’s Performances Makes ‘USS Callister’ Stronger
Jesse Plemons gives a stunning performance as Daly. He manages to make him terrifying while also never letting the audience forget that he’s an awkward dweeb. Plemons received an Emmy nomination for the role, deservedly so. But, it’s a shame that Milioti didn’t receive a nomination because her performance truly drives the episode and is strong for many of the same reasons that Plemons’s is. Both of them give their characters real vulnerability, which makes the episode more interesting than it would be otherwise. Even with all the sci-fi action in the episode’s climax, the audience never forgets that this is ultimately a standoff between two nerdy computer programmers.
In the best scene of “USS Callister,” the clone Nanette distracts Daly by getting him to swim with her. In this pivotal scene, she needs Daly to take off the communication device he keeps on him at all times and step away from it long enough for the rest of the crew to steal it, use it, and return it. She accomplishes this by suggesting they go swimming in a lake together, then playfully splashing and rough housing with him. While TV and movies often imbue women with an unrealistic talent for seduction when it’s convenient, Milioti has Nanette absolutely flail with nervousness and desperation as she attempts to flirt with Daly. She’s so bad at playing it cool in this scene that, even though it does work, even Daly clearly finds her demeanor a little off-putting. It’s both funny and tense because of the stakes of the scene.
Nanette is very confident in many ways and the episode portrays her as a desirable woman, facing unwanted attention from both of her male bosses and dealing with an ex who has a collection of photos of her. But, Milioti brings an awkwardness throughout the performance that more than just objectifies her. This not only rounds out Nanette’s character, it also adds to the themes of “USS Callister.” Daly sees himself as the only person who’s mistreated for being a nerd and socially awkward. He can’t even recognize those qualities in an attractive woman like Nanette. Cristin Milioti’s performance as Sofia Falcone is already the highlight of The Penguin. As audiences watch her excellent performance each week, it’s a great time to also revisit her work on Black Mirror.
Black Mirror is available to stream in the U.S. on Netflix.
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