Entertainment
In 'The Penguin' finale, Cristin Milioti finds a glimmer of hope for Sofia
This article contains spoilers for the finale of HBO’s “The Penguin.”
Cristin Milioti gets self-conscious about sounding too “actor-y” in interviews, and explains that she usually cringes when she hears a performer referring to a character in the third person. But she can’t resist doing the same when talking about Sofia Gigante, née Falcone, her crime-boss villain in HBO’s “The Penguin.”
Milioti, speaking on Zoom from her home in New York, explains that she loves Sofia. “She’s my favorite character I’ve ever played.”
As such when Milioti found out how the limited series was going to end for Sofia, she was “genuinely devastated.”
In Sunday’s finale of “The Penguin,” Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb, the gangster who gets called the title moniker, finally wins his power play over Sofia. He takes control of Gotham’s crime world and drives his former boss’ daughter to a remote area. For a beat, it seems like he’s going to whack her and leave her for dead. But instead, he orchestrates another punishment, delivering her to the cops and sending her back to Arkham, where she suffered for years after being accused of a series of murders she didn’t commit.
“What’s horrible is he discovers a fate worse than death for her,” Milioti explains.
In the finale, it appears as if Oz (Colin Farrell) is going to leave Sofia (Cristin Milioti) for dead. “What’s horrible is he discovers a fate worse than death for her,” Milioti says.
(Macall Polay / HBO)
Still, Milioti finds a glimmer of hope in Sofia’s ending: In prison, she gets a note from Selina Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman. Matt Reeves’ 2022 movie “The Batman” establishes that Selina’s father is Carmine Falcone, making her Sofia’s half-sister. “There is this little spark of light at the end of the tunnel,” Milioti muses. “She could have family.” And Milioti has her own optimism driving her: She wants to play Sofia again at some point.
“It would be my wildest dream,” she says.
Playing Sofia was already something of a dream for Milioti, who became an ardent fan of the Batman universe after her dad took her to see “Batman Returns” when she was 7. “I remember being utterly terrified and couldn’t look away,” she says.
She immediately ordered a Catwoman costume, but the obsession didn’t stop there. She went to Blockbuster and rented Tim Burton’s 1989 “Batman,” which she watched over and over. When “Batman Forever” hit theaters in 1995, she made her dad take her six times. She even had pictures of Jim Carrey’s Riddler on her walls. For Milioti, the love of Batman comes from her sympathy for the characters.
“Batman, all his villains, they come from such a place of real pain,” she says. “They don’t have powers, they make all their own costumes, and it’s fabulous and can be campy and can be humorous but then is also gut-wrenching.”
Growing up in New Jersey, Milioti was always drawn to complicated female characters with violent tendencies. In addition to Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman in “Batman Returns,” she was obsessed with Uma Thurman’s Bride in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill,” her favorite film.
“When I saw ‘Wonder Woman’ in theaters and all these little girls watching, it was very emotional, and I remember in that movie thinking, ‘Oh, ‘Kill Bill’ was my ‘Wonder Woman,’” she says.
“Batman, all his villains, they come from such a place of real pain,” Milioti says.
(Victoria Will / For The Times)
After dropping out of NYU, Milioti found that while she thrived in the New York theater scene, she wasn’t able to transform the way she wanted to in the television and film roles she was auditioning for: jobs like “girl found dead in a trunk” or “party guest at Blair Waldorf’s.” She never did book a job on “Gossip Girl.”
But fans of Milioti have long known her range. She’s had roles including the Czech songwriter in the Broadway musical “Once,” the titular “mother” on “How I Met Your Mother,” the writer with a “sexy baby” voice on an infamous episode of “30 Rock” and the wedding guest stuck in a time loop in the rom-com “Palm Springs.” In recent years, Milioti has been “incredibly grateful” that she’s gotten to work on projects she believes in — even if they haven’t found their audiences, like the short-lived Peacock series “The Resort” or Max’s surrealist dark comedy “Made for Love,” which has since been removed from the streaming platform. (She’s very frustrated about that development.)
Still, she knew she was waiting for something like “The Penguin.”
“A couple of months before this project came to me, I think this is just a part of getting older, I started to think about time more, how I want to spend my time,” she says. “I was always keeping an eye out and looking for a role like this. They’re just really hard to find.”
Usually, she adds, such roles also result in a metaphorical bloodbath involving dozens of actors. But “The Penguin” showrunner Lauren LeFranc and executive producers Craig Zobel and Reeves wanted to Zoom with her.
Even from the first script, Milioti could sense that there was a lot to mine from Sofia, despite not knowing her full backstory.
“There are incredible scenes where it’s like an iceberg, you’re just seeing the top, but there’s a lot roiling below,” she says.
Indeed, Sofia morphs multiple times over the course of the series. In a flashback episode, we see her as an innocent who learns about the murders of women committed by her father, Carmine (Mark Strong). She’s then framed for those killings. Later, she takes revenge on her entire clan — whom she considers complicit in keeping her committed at Arkham — by gassing them, strutting around her family’s mansion in a yellow gown and a gas mask. It’s a sequence that’s echoed in the finale when she burns the place down in a fabulous red coat, which was made for her by costume designer Helen Huang.
Over the course of the series, Sofia morphs multiple times. In the finale, as she’s ready to torch her family’s mansion, she struts in a red fur-trimmed coat.
(Macall Polay / HBO)
Milioti uses the word “collaborative” repeatedly to describe the process of working with LeFranc. She suspects the amount of input she had is unusual given how high-profile the series is.
“I don’t have any other franchise to compare it to because I haven’t been in anything like that, but I have to imagine that’s not the case,” she says. “I know what a blessing that was.”
With LeFranc and other department heads like hairstylist Brian Badie, Milioti figured out how Sofia would “bloom” throughout the episodes. As she asserts herself — and becomes more of a mob boss — Sofia gains confidence. Milioti pushed, for instance, for her hair to evolve from prim and pulled back into the sexy shag she has by the end. “It’s like a further sort of blossoming into an animal,” she explains.
I confess to Milioti that I was rooting for Sofia to beat Oz at his own game. It looks like she might when she bombs his warehouse. Alas, he gains the upper hand. As an actor, it’s her job to advocate for her characters, even the ones who do terrible things, but she admits she was cheering for Sofia too. Others on set were as well. “I even remember members of the crew feeling that way too,” she says. “‘But we wanted her to win.’”
Milioti pushed for her hair to evolve from prim and pulled back into the sexy shag she has by the end. “It’s like a further sort of blossoming into an animal.”
(Macall Polay/HBO)
Her final scene with Farrell was one of the last ones she shot, and it was an emotional day. “I could not have asked for a better partner to go to the depths of darkness with,” she says. “I think he also understood how devastating that was as well.”
There have already been rumors that Sofia might return for the sequel to “The Batman,” but Milioti says she hasn’t had any discussions with Reeves or LeFranc. “Everyone’s keeping it real locked down,” she says.
The character, however, means so much to Milioti that she was deeply stressed when she was initially on set. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is a needle in a haystack,’” she remembers. “And it certainly contributed to my absolutely crippling nerves for the first couple of months that we shot. I just was so aware that opportunities like this don’t come around a lot.”
When did the nerves dissipate for her?
“By the time I realized that there was so much of me in the can that if they were going to fire me, it was going to be a huge pain in the ass for them.”
Movie Reviews
Bandar Movie Review: Bobby Deol roars in Anurag Kashyap’s unsettling legal thriller that refuses to spoon-feed
Name: Bandar
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Bobby Deol, Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Saba Azad, Jitendra Joshi, Raj B Shetty
Writer: Sudip Sharma, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5/5
Plot:
Bandar follows Sameer Mehra’s character, essayed by Bobby Deol, a fading star who is desperately clinging to his past glory. Just as he attempts to rebuild his life and finds solace in a new relationship, his world comes crashing down. A former girlfriend files a heinous allegation against him, dragging him into a vicious, high-profile legal battle. Written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the film moves away from standard Bollywood courtroom setups. Instead, it dives straight into the murky waters of social media trials, public perception, and a sluggish judicial system where the truth gets buried under layers of gray.
What works:
Known for his chaotic energy, Anurag Kashyap takes a remarkably mature and controlled approach here. He avoids sensationalizing a highly sensitive topic, choosing instead to focus on the psychological claustrophobia of the protagonist. The prison sequences are exceptionally well-shot. They create a suffocating, raw atmosphere that makes you feel the weight of the character’s confinement. The script successfully avoids preachy, black-and-white monologues. It bravely forces the audience to confront their own biases regarding modern-day public trials and the digital judge-and-jury culture.
What doesn’t:
Clocking in at nearly two hours and twenty minutes, Bandar feels heavily weighed down in the second half. The narrative stretches thin, and a few subplots demand too much patience, making you wish for a tighter edit. The film stubbornly refuses to take a definitive moral stance or offer a neat resolution. While film enthusiasts might appreciate the complexity, mainstream viewers looking for a clear-cut ending or emotional payoff might walk away feeling detached and frustrated.
Performances:
- Bobby Deol is the beating heart of this film. Stripping away the massive macho swagger and menacing villainy of his recent hits, he delivers a deeply vulnerable, understated performance. He plays Samar with a mix of arrogance, confusion, and raw helplessness, proving his immense range.
- Sanya Malhotra anchors her screen time with her trademark reliability, turning in a grounded and impactful performance.
- Saba Azad and Sapna Pabbi excel in their respective roles, bringing genuine nuance to characters that could have easily been sidelined.
- Jitendra Joshi is an absolute scene-stealer, commanding your attention every single time he steps into the frame.
- Indrajith Sukumaran and Raj B Shetty are absolute show stealers with their raw acting.
Final Verdict:
Bandar is an unsettling, morally complex thriller that refuses to spoon-feed its audience. It isn’t a comfortable watch, nor does it try to be. While the sluggish pacing in the second half prevents it from being an absolute masterpiece, it is worth a watch for Bobby Deol’s spectacular acting reinvention and Anurag Kashyap’s gritty, thought-provoking storytelling.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of Pinkvilla. No statement in this article is intended to defame, harm, or malign any individual or entity.
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Kathy Hilton will no longer be the grand marshal of West Hollywood’s pride parade.
The city and WeHo Pride on Wednesday released a joint statement, announcing that “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star would no longer serve as the Grand Marshal Icon for the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade. The event is scheduled for Sunday.
“After thoughtful discussions, the City of West Hollywood, the WeHo Pride production team, and Kathy Hilton have determined that the 2026 WeHo Pride Parade will not designate a Grand Marshal Icon honoree,” read the statement.
The decision comes less than a week after Hilton was announced. That May 28 announcement was met with swift backlash from the LGBTQ+ community and allies, who called out Hilton’s ties to President Trump and alleged MAGA-leaning politics. Critics also cited accusations that the socialite had used a homophobic slur while on a trip with other cast members of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” an action she has previously denied.
In their joint statement, West Hollywood and the WeHo Pride team expressed their appreciation for “the respectful and sincere dialogue” around both the event and the “role and significance” of Pride honorees.
“The City of West Hollywood has always believed that Pride belongs to the community,” the joint statement said. “Since its earliest days, Pride has served as both a celebration and a platform for activism, visibility, resilience, and the ongoing pursuit of equality, dignity, and justice for LGBTQ+ people. … These conversations reflect the passion people have for WeHo Pride and underscore the importance of ensuring that WeHo Pride continues to honor the history, values, and diverse voices of the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a statement, Hilton expressed gratitude for being considered for grand marshal and reaffirmed her commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and causes.
“My reason for wanting to be involved in this year’s WeHo Pride weekend was simple: to celebrate, support, and share in the joy of a community that means a great deal to so many people,” Hilton said. “Pride is, and always will be, about celebrating and uplifting LGBTQ+ voices, experiences, and achievements. … My support for the community and WeHo Pride is unwavering.”
She also mentioned several queer advocacy organizations and events she has supported over the years, including GLAAD, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, Dr. Mathilde Krim, God’s Love We Deliver and Project Angel Food.
The latest Pride-related dust-up follows the abrupt cancellation of the Long Beach Pride Festival in May. The city’s Pride Parade took place as planned.
Both snafus have occurred as conservative politicians and advocates continue to attack LGBTQ+ rights and visibility nationwide. Some Republican governors have even pushed for conservative alternatives to Pride month festivities. A recent Gallup poll has found that after years of steady gains, support for marriage equality and same-sex relationships has slipped, particularly among Republicans.
Movie Reviews
Movie Review: Travolta’s “Propeller: One-Way Night Coach” is One for the Ages — All Ages
Back in the good ol’days — the ’90s — John Travolta would love to get off the topic of “Michael,” “Pulp Fiction” or “Get Shorty” in interviews with film journalists like me and regale us with how utterly besotted he had been with his first flying experience, how that drove his passion for piloting and buying planes and airfield-adjacent luxury houses.
He didn’t even seem to mind having to move house when this or that development balked at him flying his Boeing 707 out of there on the way to locations.
Travolta would tell any journalist who asked that he was writing a kid-friendly book, “Propeller: One Way Night Coach,” based on his first flights as a child in old propeller driven airliners — cheap red-eye overnight treks with too many connections for your average jet age traveller to tolerate.
I remember picking up the book when it came out later in the ’90s — at an airport gift shop — and thinking “Well, that’s as cute as I figured.”
And now, decades later and trapped in the B-movie hell of his post “Gotti” career, Travolta’s turned that cute book into the most delightful, fanciful and colorful bon bon of a movie.
“One Way Night Coach” is a child’s fantasy of flight and flying the way it used to be — with pristine, uncrowded, futuristic airports, an early ’60s era of jets and prop planes with over-uniformed stewardesses in white gloves, the days “Back before every Joe Sweatsock could wedge himself behind a lunch tray and jet off to Raleigh-Durham,” as Sideshow Bob memorably sneered on “The Simpsons’.”
It’s a fictionalized account of Travolta’s childhood about an only child (at least two Travolta siblings have bit parts in this movie) of a never-made-it/never-will actress/single-mom (Kelly Eviston-Quinnett) who indulges her aviation-obsessed eight-year-old with a cheap cross-country overnight flight.
Little Jeff (Clark Shotwell) will revel in almost every Idlewild to Pittsburgh to Dayton to Chicago to Kansas City to Denver and Los Angeles minute. He strolls into the cockpit to meet pilots, charms the stewardesses and checks out the sleeping bunks on the TWA Lockheed Super Constellation, loving even the delays if not the Chicken Cordon Bleu he’s offered on legs of the journey that offer a meal.
And as he’s an observant child, he comments (Travolta narrates) on his 50ish mother’s vamping and posing, her choice of cigarettes (Newports) and drinks, the solo traveling men whose attention she pursues and earns.
“I was her best audience,” adult Jeff remembers of the mother who’d read him plays as bedtime stories and delusionally hopes that this trip to Los Angeles might be her “big break” even though she’s pushing 50.
“Hollywood called,” she’d explain about their overnight cheap flight arrangements to ticket agents and crew. “They told me to take the next flight!”
At every turn, Jeff meets or sees kindness — stewardesses who indulge his many questions and bump them up to first class on the mostly-empty planes, a captain who fixes his toy model of a Constellation, a mentally ill flyer who flips out but is calmed by a flight attendant who isn’t overworked and frazzled in jet-powered tin-can jammed with Joe and Jane Sweatsocks who think nothing of traveling in their pajamas.
Normally, I cringe at pictures this reliant on voice-over narration. I recoil from stars who populate their picture with Sandler etc. offspring. But “Propeller” is unfailingly sweet and never cloying.
Sure, it’s fictionalized. But if you’ve followed Travolta’s life and career, a lot of him is in this — his raptoruous engagement with flying, an indulged child who developed a taste for fine food and creature comforts, a mother who was his guiding star as an actor.
I get why there are less adoring reviews than mine floating around “Propeller.” It’s unfailingly sweet. Mom’s man-hunting is seriously dated. This TWA tale is decorated with Gershwin’s majestic “Rhapsody in Blue” — United Airlines’ signature tune. And Travolta’s been around long enough for recent generations to come up and not feel a connection to the “Saturday Night Fever/Get Shorty” star whose career has fallen off and life has been visited by too much tragedy.
But I’d hate to be seated next to anybody who doesn’t appreciate this adorable, pristine and nearly perfect aviation fantasy on any flight, much less an overnight one.
Rating: TV-PG
Cast: Clark Shotwell, Kelly Eviston-Quinnett, Ellen Travolta, Ella Beau Travolta, Olga Hoffmann and John Travolta.
Credits: Scripted and directed by John Travolta, based on his book. An Apple TV+ release.
Running time: 1:01
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