OVERINVESTED

with Morgan and Gavia

Ep. 278: Eyes Wide Shut

April 21, 2023 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia is joined by guest-host Claire Biddles to discuss Stanley Kubrick’s acclaimed erotic psychodrama Eyes Wide Shut (1999), starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as Bill and Alice Hartford, a married couple in 1990s New York. After Alice reveals that she fantasized about having an affair, Bill embarks on a night of sexual experimentation.

Topics include Tom and Nicole's marriage and divergent acting styles, the film's subversion of erotic thriller expectations, its depiction of gender roles in a straight marriage, and its fascinating legacy within Kubrick's career.

Ep. 277: Black Girl

March 10, 2023 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, we discuss the influential 1966 Senegalese film "Black Girl," written and directed by Ousmane Sembene. The film follows a Senegalese young woman who works as a nanny for a white French family whose life turns into a nightmare when she accompanies them back to France and is forced to work as a maid.

Topics include the film's overt postcolonial politics, its thoughtful deployment of production design and costumes, its reception in the west, and more.

Ep. 267: Nope

August 28, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan finally get to talk about Jordan Peele's third film, the UFO spectacular Nope. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya and Kiki Palmer as siblings who own a horse ranch... and discover there's a strange object lurking above their valley. Topics include Peele's increasingly ambitious career, this film's complex themes, dazzling performances from Palmer and Kaluuya, and more.

Ep. 266: Magic Mike XXL

August 13, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan revisit a modern classic, Magic Mike XXL, starring Channing Tatum as the titular Mike, Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer as his stripper pals, Jada Pinkett Smith as an old flame, and more. Topics discussed include the film's radically chill depiction of masculinity, Tatum's charismatic performance and career, and the forthcoming sequel, in production now.

Ep. 265: Thief

August 07, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan celebrate the late James Caan by watching Thief (1981), Michael Mann's debut film, which features Caan's favorite of his own performances. In the film, he plays a skilled but small-time safecracker who gets involved with organized crime. Topics discussed this episode include Caan's life and career, Mann's influential style, this movie's delightfully realistic depiction of safecracking, and more.

Ep. 263: Road House

July 23, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan talk about the eighties cult classic Road House, starring Patrick Swayze as the greatest bouncer in the world, who travels to a small Missouri town to whip a dive bar into shape. Topics discussed include the film's relationship to classic Hollywood westerns, Swayze's magnetic star presence, the film's boundless homoeroticism, and more.

Ep. 257: The Batman

May 13, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan finally review The Batman, the latest film to reinvent the Dark Knight. Directed by Matt Reeves, the film stars Robert Pattinson as an isolated, emo Bruce Wayne, Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, and a full cast of character actors in the ensemble. Topics include Pattinson's performance, what this film brings to the Batman canon, gratuitous violence, and more.

Ep. 256: The Northman

April 29, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan debate the virtues of Robert Eggers' latest historical reconstruction, The Northman, which stars Alexander Skarsgård as Amleth, a prince who becomes obsessed with revenge after witnessing his uncle (Claes Bang) murder his father (Ethan Hawke). The film also features Nicole Kidman as his mother and Anya Taylor-Joy as a young Russian witch. Topics discussed in this episode include Eggers' obsessive commitment to historical accuracy, whether his humorless and violent take on the revenge plot offers anything new, an appreciation of Nicole Kidman, and more.

Ep. 252: Deep Water

March 26, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan dive into Deep Water, the long-awaited new film from Adrian Lyne, the master of the erotic thriller. The film stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas as an unhappily married couple whose chief occupations include breeding snails and having affairs, respectively. Topics under discussion in this episode include the film's tortured release, its shaky screenplay, and the pleasures of watching a film for grown-ups.

Ep. 251: Populaire

March 21, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the French romantic comedy Populaire, set in the 1950s in the world of competitive speed typing. Topics include the film's relationship to 1950s Hollywood rom-coms, the charms of its stars Romain Duris and Déborah François, and the real-life history of speed typing competitions.

Ep. 246: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

February 11, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Morgan and Gavia discuss Andrew Dominik's beloved cult western The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt as legendary outlaw James and Casey Affleck as the awkward fan who ultimately kills him. Topics include the film's depiction of the American west, its treatment of celebrity and masculinity, career-best work from cinematographer Roger Deakins, and more.

Ep. 244: What's Up, Doc?

January 29, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss the late Peter Bogdanovich's classic homage to old Hollywood screwball, What's Up, Doc?, starring Ryan O'Neal as a hapless musicologist and Barbra Streisand as the agent of chaos with whom he reluctantly falls in love. Topics include Bogdanovich's life and career, the film's direct relationship to 1930s and 1940s romantic comedies, Streisand's magnetic performance, and much more.

Ep. 243: The Secret Garden (1993)

January 22, 2022 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Morgan and Gavia revisit childhood favorite The Secret Garden (1993), directed by Agnieszka Holland and adapted from the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Topics include the film's refreshingly dark take on its gothic source text, its treatment of Victorian class and imperial politics, Richard Deakins' lustrous cinematography, and much more.

Ep. 240: Wild Mountain Thyme

December 31, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan watch one of 2020's most poorly received films, John Patrick Shanley's adaptation of his own play Wild Mountain Thyme. Starring Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan as lifelong neighbors who haven't ever been able to confess their true feelings for each other, the movie is a mystifyingly bad stab at romantic dramedy. Topics include Shanley's cringeworthy script, wooden performances from most members of the cast, the film's embarrassing depiction of Ireland, and more.

Ep. 237: Wuthering Heights (2011)

December 04, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Morgan and Gavia discuss Andrea Arnold's experimental adaptation of Emily Brontë's classic novel Wuthering Heights. Topics include the book's long screen history, Arnold's bold cinematic approach, the effect of casting Black actors to play Heathcliff, and much more.

Episode 232: The Last Duel

October 22, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss Ridley Scott's new historical drama The Last Duel, which stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, and Ben Affleck. Topics include the film's tripartite structure, its thoughtful handling of the rape that drives its plot, Affleck's unexpectedly dazzling comedic performance, and much more.

Episode 231: The Green Knight

October 15, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan finally dig into one of the year's most-discussed films, David Lowery's The Green Knight. Topics include the film's relationship to the original poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; its depiction of medieval life; performances by Dev Patel and Alicia Vikander; and more.

Episode 223: A Bad Moms Christmas

August 06, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Morgan and Gavia take a seasonal break to discuss the 2017 Christmas hit A Bad Moms Christmas, starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and Kathryn Hahn as the titular trio of bad moms who have to contend with their own bad moms, played by Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon, showing up for the holiday. Topics include gender roles in mainstream American comedy, this film's financial success, the divine presence of Christine Baranski, and more.

Episode 222: Raw

July 30, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss newly crowned Palme d'Or winner Julia Ducournau's previous feature, Raw (2016), a deliciously gruesome horror film about a young veterinary student who discovers the allure of cannibalism. Topics include the film's genuinely shocking moments of violence, its treatment of teenage female sexuality, excellent performances by stars Garance Marillier and Ella Rumpf, and more.

Episode 215: System Crasher

June 12, 2021 by Morgan Davies in episodes

This week, Gavia and Morgan discuss acclaimed German film System Crasher, starring Helena Zengel as a traumatized girl living in a series of residential homes for troubled children. Topics include the film's sensitive handling of its young protagonist and the system attempting to help her, director Nora Fingscheidt’s approach to working with a child actor, other films about wild children, and more.