Books, cheekbones and eyelashes

[aheroinasuit]

I started this blog with the intention of posting about art and books and quotes, and now I watched Person of Interest and got slightly obsessed so it’s going to be most of that (and Reese and Caviezel and co.) and some of the other. 

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

The Good Shepherd

Took a break this Easter to Christpost and meditate a little on the Passion and Gibson's much maligned masterpiece. I just love this picture.

Paintstorm, ipad pro. Original photo by Ken Duncan, the story behind it here.

[mlobsters]

person of interest s2e5 bury the lede

👀

first time watch liveblogging via gifs part 38 of ? | rinch

[aheroinasuit]

Not operating under power dynamics and actually loathing them with a passion is what makes fandoms unbearable for one.

Where one is me.

[aheroinasuit]

I may be writing a pastry chef au where everything's the same, only John said no to the CIA and instead became a chef & restaurant owner...

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

Rent free in my stupid little head

[aheroinasuit]

Mel Gibson may be one of the best directors. The violence in his movies is too much for me, but I think he's one of the kind... and the fact Caviezel's performance for this movie hasn't been awarded is an atrocity. IMHO, again.

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

See, Mother, I make all things new

Ώ γλυκύ μου έαρ, γλυκύτατόν μου Τέκνον, πού έδυ σου τό κάλλος;

O my sweet spring, my sweetest child, where is thy beauty?

Orthodox Lament of the Epitaph, Act 3

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

The Lamentations are sung on Good Friday liturgy before the Epitaph (a wooden structure resembling a church which carries the body of Christ) is taken out of the church in a procession that will circle the neighborhood.

You can listen to the entirety of the Lamentations, sung by Petros Gaitanos here:

The part I put above is around 24:50.

[mlobsters]

person of interest s2e1 the contingency

reese taking notes

first time watch liveblogging via gifs part 30 of ?

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

Meditation study of one of my favorite shots from my favorite scene of my favorite show. Meditation because I don't really learn anything from it, I just zone out and chase colors around. Painted on an ipad pro using the program Paintstorm.

Person of Interest often uses tables as set pieces to deliver important and intimate conversations. It forces characters close to each other (and the camera) and they are often accompanied by the deeply familial bond of sharing a meal. The first bridge Reese and Finch build are over eggs Benedict. We see Reese cooking for numbers but rarely eating himself

This scene has an added layer. A sin eater was a person who, upon a person's death, would consume a symbolic meal of the person's sins. Here, over coffee, in some diner, a great sin is passed to the sin eater to consume. While a sin eater was often a scapegoat, an unwilling victim, Reese takes the burden gladly. Jesus Christ is also a sin eater, how apt that it's Caviezel.

Lastly, I really like how the window frames the subjects and reflects them (POI does that a lot). Reese is looking out and is illuminated by much colder lighting than Megan, who is looking away. I don't know if there is a term for it but this sort of diegetic lighting that is used throughout makes for a subtle way of showing, not telling. Every shot is planned and thought out. I like this very much.

[aheroinasuit]

[aheroinasuit]

You watch ten minutes of a an episode in random and you're sucked back into person of interest.

ok. where random I usually mean number crunch.

still,

anyway this is also where I admit that in super, John, most probably, side eyed Harold and stood, hands on abdomen, and lay on the stretcher on his own. Harold wouldn't need to carry him.

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

Cura Te Ipsum again. I remembered how I became a Jim Caviezel fan. I still love his acting.

When I first watched it I was very entertained, I liked his voice and how calm he was. By the end, I was hanging by every word. I then proceeded to binge the thing at breakneck speeds. 

 Now, after reading a little on his process and seeing more of Reese, I think the things that he understood about Reese that most people don't, is that Reese is a man who by virtue of profession has to be in tight control of his emotions and also that Reese has been through a lot and is completely checked out. However dubious or heinous you think his army buddies are, he was correct to get his hands dirty and learn about what makes these people tick because it paid off in my opinion. It's a grounded depiction of a man who has lost everything and can't go on. There will be no grand declarations of anything and no indulging (if you can call basic emotional needs indulging but that's Reese), just the job which is keeping him alive.

Megan Tillman's number is not like the others. It unfolds like any other at first but then it takes a hard twist, a role reversal, and becomes a dilemma. We see the operator in Reese as he tries to do it quietly, legally (lol) but Benton has sowed too much doubt and has too much money for the legal system. I like that it's Reese who has no illusions about the nature of Benton and he is aware that he will not stop. Finch correctly identifies that this number is in due course to resolve itself but Reese has a concern and that is Megan Tillman's soul. Benton needs killing but Megan shouldn't be the one to do it, even though she'd get away with it.

The conclusion of the episode is where Caviezel stands out, quietly, in his own way. The cinematography helps him because it brings us really close to his face so we can see the emotions quite literally leaking out of his eyes. In a quiet affair, illuminated by warm lights, Reese implores Megan to consider the cost, not to Benton or to society but to herself. No grand declarations here either. No grand speeches or philosophizing or scenery chewing. Reese is practical, action-oriented. Caviezel is flat vocally but not all the time. His voice thickens, lowers even more, goes a bit high. He breaks eye contact to take a breath. It's a deeply sore spot for Reese and he feels for her and he wants her to keep it that way by letting him take the burden away from her. What would be her fall is his redemption somewhat. It's his job. Reese is usually in control but with what's at stake he loses it (or allows it) to drive the point home. Once the line is crossed, there is no coming back. Reese is already on the other side. Megan relents.

As an aside, I love how the pouring rain is reflected on the lit part of Reese's face during his drive. It looks like cracks or tears.

Which brings us to the final confrontation and one of the best scenes in the entire series. At a table again, though in colder and calmer tones, Benton learns that he is not the only predator in town and he's run afoul of someone orders of magnitude worse. Reese feigns concern at first, looking away. And then he looks at Benton, and doesn’t stop. There is not an ounce of yield in Reese's voice, reflected by his face, pressed in anger. He lays the law down for Benton and he offers the possibility of change but he hinges it as a product of decisions. Can Benton make a good decision? Will Reese? I used to think that this was Reese recalibrating his morality and he does that to an extent but I've come to the conclusion that he acknowledges his place in the world as the man he has become. He can't change per se, it's too late and as he says so himself, he lost so much of his soul, but he can redirect his decisions and his actions for something better. As for Benton, if he can't change, then what is to become of him? Personally I don't think he is alive (neither is Peter Arndt). I think he either killed himself with the gun on the table, or Reese followed through with Megan's plan. Relocating him to a prison elsewhere seems a little too much effort.

I've seen Caviezel called one-note but I disagree: for me it's a performance with two main layers which sometimes interact. There is the damaged man who is slowly, painfully, one-life-at-a-time coming back to living and there is the stone-cold killer who defends a world he is no longer a part of but one he would very much like to keep alive. One layer thickens, the other thins out gradually. Both of them are approached with sincerity and fear? reluctance? Caviezel did say he's afraid every time he gets a script and whether he'll be pulling it off. It shows, but it comes off as a vulnerability that truly made his Reese special for me.

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

Expanding a little on the last paragraph because my brain has a ping of 800 and it was getting too long anyway. I'll make it even longer.

I don't know if it's because he doesn't quite fit neither the perfect star image or the roided-out action star archetype but he has a remarkable ability to appear completely cold and incredibly fragile at the same time. These are the two layers I talked about and they are mostly communicated with physical rather than verbal cues. When he is angry, Caviezel sets his face - there is no other way for me to put this - and lets nothing out. When the situation warrants it, cracks appear in the stone. It's mostly in his eyes, who do most of the legwork. They fill with tears, light up, darken to nothing, often in quick succession, giving the impression of a man in constant turmoil. Reese feels, deeply, but he's worn down and in self-imposed lockdown, laser-focused on the mission. The gentle innards inside Reese's hard shell are equally as tumultuous. Interactions are awkward, rigid and playful when it comes to Finch and Carter. There is a certain charm in their interactions, and incredible tension though I appreciate that that tension is never resolved. According to Caviezel, Reese is off limits in terms of bonds, closed off. I agree, because Reese carries a lot of wounds. That doesn't mean Reese doesn't appreciate it. In short, Caviezel took what could have been a cartoon (and maybe this is what his critics expected) and made a surprisingly human character out of it.

Personally, I reject the "limited range" chestnut that gets thrown around; there is a world of difference between an actor with a limited range and a character who demands a limited range and after seeing most of Caviezel's work I believe it's the latter. The fact that I started seeing this line of criticism around season 4/5 being lauded as "fixed" in those seasons where Reese as a character makes a marked turn for the worse, makes me believe it's not entirely honest but opinions and assholes etc etc.

It's a humble performance by an actor fully aware of his limitations and the difficulty of filming TV, and at the same time grateful to be a part of an incredibly skilled team. POI was filmed 3000 miles off base for Caviezel, with scripts coming back-to-back, on location with all difficulties that that entails. I can't imagine it was easy, especially for someone with ADHD and dyslexia. Despite all difficulties, I maintain he delivered, and respect his efforts. Television is full of egos and drama and I am glad Person of Interest was not that. I've referenced quotes but never linked them, so I'll end this with some of them:

On his character being quiet, and not being good with dialog:

You get real familiar with it. And you have him down to second-nature. The words, I’m not particularly the best at dialogue. I understand the intention, but television is freaking hard. You have to learn so much. I’m lucky the bulk of it is Michael Emerson. My character is quieter, but what I do, extensively, is the fight scenes. Fortunately, [thanks to] the years of martial arts and basketball — because the foot movement is so similar — that I can learn that in seconds. (X)

On Michael Emerson and camaraderie:

Michael is such an amazing actor; great, amazing person, you know? It’s great to have a great team, a great camaraderie. I can’t imagine doing a show for this long — and I’ve heard about it — where people don’t like each other too much. When I played basketball growing up; that’s happened with teammates. It’s just not a pleasant experience. We’re fortunate on this. (X)

On Reese being emotionally closed off:

...he’s struggling a bit, because he has to look at this and say, are you going to be a mean son of a bitch to everybody including your friends whom you love? Or are you incapable of loving? Yes, you are capable of loving, but are you going to go down that wrong path again? And again, our liabilities are overflows of our assets (X)

On Reese and relationships:

...they asked me about having relationships, and I just said, maybe this year, since we’re only doing 13 episodes, five minutes in an episode. But really, for Reese, it could happen, sure, but it’s all about saving the numbers. It’s logical. It’s almost like Spock, you know? My whole purpose. What’s secretly sad is I don’t know if he’s capable of it: if someone could believe in him, or if he doesn’t believe in himself. The fact is, the one thing that gives him purpose is those love of the numbers. (X)

On Carter:

He was in love with her. But because he’s so good — like special operators can do, they can separate heart and mind. They can compartmentalized so much that when he lost Carter, he never realized that he loved her. And very deeply. That loss, he’ll never get that back. In human behavior, he starts to play a new kind tape in his head, that this is what really happened, when it didn’t happen that way. Now, it gives him a purpose [going forward]. (X)

On his fear and anxiety reading a script and acting it out:

...Yes, I’m happy I have the script. But the anxiety is, ‘Can I pull this off? Can I do it?’ And I have to think, people who say they aren’t [afraid], I don’t know if they’re necessarily really good at their job. It should scare the hell out of you. And it did. (X)

On Taraji P. Henson and Carter:

...you forget [that], and you get it, and you work, and you mull it through,” he said. “And then you forget about everything. Because when you work with someone like Taraji Henson, she brings so much to it; spontaneity to it. Literally, I don’t have to remember anything, I’m just right there, from one moment to the next. She can make you laugh. She had a way with Carter — it just makes me sad she’s not on our show anymore. (X)

On working with talented people:

...That was so pleasurable; I prepare for the worst when I go and do these things,” he continued. “But she made it so easy. There was a lot of humor that wasn’t written on the page. Michael [Emerson (Finch)] does that all the time[, too]. Michael comes up with line reads I’m not expecting, but that’s when it’s really fun: when it’s not work. When you get to those moments when you’re working with some really top-notch, talented people. Some of the best in the world. I’m fortunate to have that. (X)

[thermywho]

Person of Interest s01e05 Judgement

[fridgrave2-0]

doodle

[thermywho]

Person of Interest s01e05 Judgement

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

My thoughts on Cura Te Ipsum

I wanted to write this forever. Ramble ahoy.

The thing that struck me as extremely odd in this episode was that Reese, who has stated and demonstrated his aversion for killing people where unnecessary, went off the reservation,  orchestrating an intervention from hell with the sole purpose of terrorising Andrew Benton. As we got to know Reese throughout the series we learned that actions such as this were not the norm for him even under Kara Stanton’s emotional stranglehold during his time in the CIA. We never saw him torture or taunt his targets, we only saw him question the credibility of his superiors.  Reese deliberately toying with a person instead of killing him outright or surrendering him to the cops left undertones of a much darker individual than it was portrayed in later episodes and it rang a tiny bit wrong at least for me. The whole performance, the location, the gun on the  table and the speech required with absolute certainity rational thought and cold calculation. Then I watched Many Happy Returns and later Prisoner’s Dilemma and suddenly Reese’s actions made perfect sense. Jessica, Reese’s lover and friend was a victim of physical and emotional abuse. Reese himself was a victim of abuse, sexual and emotional. Megan Tillman went through an almost identical experience to Reese; she found herself unable to save a dear person from a heinous crime and watched the perpetrator coolly walk away with not even a slap on the wrist. In the end of Cura Te Ipsum Reese finds himself in the possession of a van and an unconscious sexual predator who got away too many times. So he decides to teach him a lesson in helplessness and fear, him having ample experience in both. The setup is just perfect. Benton comes to, alive and seemingly unharmed and he thinks he got away again then the next thing he knows he has to somehow justify his existence in order to escape alive. In his speech, Reese channels copious amounts of self hate and guilt (“not like us; we break them”) to force Benton to see what the world looks like from a victim’s perspective. He essentially equates himself with a sexual predator in undesirability and that is heartbreaking. I keep going back to the title of this episode (Latin for “Heal Thyself”) and its relation to the plot. In my opinion it was about catharsis, both Megan Tillman’s and John Reese’s. Megan was going to use her medical knowledge to avenge her sister, effectively breaking the Hippocratic Oath and commiting a crime. Reese has been already there having killed or severely injured Jessica’s abuser and eventual killer in blind rage. Without disclosing much he shares his own personal experience with complete understanding of where she is coming from and in the end helps her to heal herself by agreeing to hand over the keys . The responsibility of Benton’s punishment passes to Reese who uses it as an opportunity to heal himself.  In the end Reese’s elaborate lesson not only served in placing Benton in the position of a victim but as an exercise in Reese’s understanding of his purpose and his currently reconstructed morality. The dialogue was never directed at Benton himself. Reese was simply figuring out his course of action now that he has recovered his purpose and his values out loud. I loved the way this was presented, starting as a questionable action on behalf of Reese at the start of the season then evolving into something deeper, darker and more complex regarding his struggle to regain his humanity.

As far as the acting is concerned Jim Caviezel was phenomenal. He kept changing expressions and demeanor to become either a concerned, understanding fellow or an angry executioner and he was terrifying with a capital T. He made the character of Reese in 3 minutes and sold me on the show. Adam Rothenberg as Andrew Benton was excellent and sufficiently hateable from the moment his smug face appeared to the final moments where he babbled to save his life.

On a side note the score for this scene is awesome. Minimal with a powerful buildup. Ramin Djawadi is a genius.

[myfriendtheurbanlegend]

Person of interest 1x04

Beautiful scene