Bradley Cooper Is So Good at This

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Spoilers follow for “Prelude,” the fourth- and final-season premiere of The Righteous Gemstones. 

Stepping into the theater for the premier of “The Righteous Gemstones” season finale, I was struck yet again by the captivating presence of Bradley Cooper. This time, however, he’s not just charming the audience – he’s playing an unapologetic jerk. It’s a refreshing return to form that allows us to appreciate both his pathetic and handsome sides in equal measure.

Apologies for anyone who knew Cooper as the lovable Will Tippin in Alias or as the smitten raccoon hunter Rocket in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (no criticism intended; I have a soft spot for roguish animated foxes too). However, Cooper shines brightest when he’s a touch sleazy and deeply villainous. As a driven cop in The Place Beyond the Pines? Boring and predictable. His character in Silver Linings Playbook, defined by “Go, Birds”? Overly sentimental without an edge. But when Cooper flashes that smile that doesn’t quite reach those deep-blue eyes? That’s when you know things are about to get interesting.

Throughout his career, Bradley Cooper has showcased versatility in portraying various characters, such as a carnival swindler in “Nightmare Alley”, an arms dealer on a watchlist in “War Dogs”, and a hot-tempered nature enthusiast in “Wedding Crashers”. He excels at delivering offhand insults, as seen in “War Dogs” where he disparaged America, obsessive behaviors like bullying a teenager to pronounce “Streisand” correctly in “Licorice Pizza”, and the effective combination of a witty line delivery and an intimidating gaze. In essence, Cooper is exceptionally skilled at portraying characters adept at persuasion through either intimidation or trickery, which makes him ideally suited to play a Gemstone character.

As a devoted fan, I’ve always admired how The Righteous Gemstones cleverly delves into the past of its titular family, and this season doesn’t disappoint! In the premiere episode titled “Prelude,” we’re taken back to 1862 Virginia to witness the beginnings of the Gemstone clan’s religious endeavors.

For young Elijah Gemstone, portrayed brilliantly by Cooper with a caked-on layer of grime and oversized pork chop sideburns, it all started as a game. A criminal on the run during the tumultuous times of the Civil War, Elijah targeted churches, swiping their collection plates, and in one fateful instance, even murdering the preacher, Abel Grieves, and assuming his identity when Confederate soldiers came to recruit him as their regiment’s chaplain.

Cooper imbues Elijah with a gleeful expression upon discovering Abel’s gold-plated Bible, biting into it to authenticate it, and an almost nonchalant shrug as he accepts the soldiers’ $50 salary, effectively abandoning his old life by smashing Abel’s face and leaving a note on the body. In that hastily written message, Elijah proclaimed, “This is the body of a crook who tried to rob me. His name is Elijah Gemstone, and he is dead now. He was very handsome.” And therein lies the characteristic vanity of the Gemstones.

Three weeks have passed, but Elijah’s deception isn’t unfolding as he anticipated. It seems he’s not cut out for the role of providing solace and spiritual guidance to those in distress. Conversely, Cooper thrives in the blunt and somewhat crude language of the Righteous Gemstones universe, subtly expressing his character’s discomfort at the bedside of injured soldiers (his best response during a dying man’s final moments being a deadpan “I’ve been praying this whole time, in my mind”) and shock at the large congregation attending his Sunday sermon (“Dismissed, amen, yeah”). Later, a sequence with minimal dialogue effectively showcases Cooper’s knack for overstatement: He gags, chokes, heaves, and rolls his eyes as he struggles to maintain his disguise. The aggressive football tackles in Wedding Crashers and car-window smashing in Licorice Pizza were all leading up to this moment.

In the show The Righteous Gemstones, there’s a penchant for extravagance, evident in frequent male nudity, Uncle Baby Billy’s flamboyant attire, and more. In this episode, director and co-writer Danny McBride employs the same captivating strategy with the series’ most recognized guest star. The screen is filled abundantly with Cooper’s rugged visage, showing his displeasure while standing at a makeshift podium, and his evident joy as he counts his winnings from card games against soldiers.

While The Righteous Gemstones has softened its direct criticism of the family’s adherence to the prosperity doctrine since the initial season, it revisits this theme through Cooper’s greedy handling of large amounts of cash illuminated by flickering candles. The dirty bills symbolize the lust that drew him into this deception and continues to fuel his actions, including murder, to conceal his wrongdoings.

In ‘The Righteous Gemstones’, the Gemstone family is depicted as deeply flawed yet self-righteous individuals who believe they’re exceptional. The series’ creator, Danny McBride, explores this trait by providing an origin story for Elijah, who shifts from being aggressive and selfish to becoming devoutly religious. After escaping an ambush in the North and surviving because he was perceived as a man of God, Elijah delivers a heartfelt final sermon to the remaining Confederates. His words echo those often spoken by his descendants, Jesse, Judy, and Kelvin, and McBride portrays this moment with enough sincerity to feel genuine yet enough arrogance to suggest that Elijah still feels superior. The episode concludes with a scene reinforcing Elijah’s belief in his uniqueness: when he returns the dead soldiers’ bodies to the Confederate camp, instead of attributing his survival to the ‘Yanks’, he claims it was God who saved him. He then retreats to his tent for the night, not with gambling winnings, but with a gold-plated Bible, which he starts reading, now fully convinced that he has been chosen.

In this portrayal, Cooper masterfully encapsulates the subtle hints of sociopathy in his villains: He imbues them with an overabundance of confidence and arrogance that makes them feel invincible, yet simultaneously undermines their victories. Recall his unsuccessful attempt at being a wannabe wiseguy in “American Hustle“, or his portrayal of Elijah Gemstone who burns bright and then crashes, using religion as a sort of surrender that he can’t succeed in anything else. This self-aggrandizing behavior is echoed in nearly all the Gemstones who follow Elijah’s footsteps: They struggle to maintain steady employment, find alternative paths for themselves, or relinquish their sense of uniqueness. Plagued by an unshakable belief in themselves, Cooper’s ability to harness his charisma to fuel this arrogance is almost boundless, making “Prelude” the ideal introduction to the end of the self-absorbed Gemstones’ tale.

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2025-03-10 17:54