Author Jazz Vazquez examines the case of the aging actor who plays the role of a washed-up psychoanalyst. Is Jennifer Melfi, the psychoanalyst for mafia boss Tony Soprano, just a bitter, sour former beauty, or does she herself become a psychopath? Lorraine Bracco’s acting is at its worst as she plays the part of the sex-starved analyst who doesn’t provide any remnant of genuine or productive analysis for her client.
Vazquez takes a look at the rape experienced by Melfi on The Sopranos. How does the portrayal of a middle-aged woman’s rape mirror society’s contempt for former beauties who age into empty husks no longer worthy of sexual objectification?