Scene analysis: Joe vs. Tom (Halt and Catch Fire, S2E7)
I loved “Working for the Clampdown” because Joe was at the center of every major beat in this episode (finally!), and we got to watch him interact with almost every other main character. In each of these scenes we see different aspects of Joe – the shrewd businessman, the persuasive salesman, the master manipulator, the wounded beau still hoping for reconciliation, etc. – and Lee Pace knocks it out of the park in every instance. For admirers of Lee’s acting (and of fine acting in general), this episode is a particular treat: watching the richness, complexity and detail of his performance was like taking a master class in the acting craft, from how to use the broad brush of physicality and movement down to the tiniest of subtle, nuanced expressions and telltale little gestures, from his voice acting to acting without dialogue.
One of my favorite scenes is the one where Tom comes charging into Joe’s dingy little workspace at Westgroup, all upset because he thinks Joe is trying to bribe him with a pack of lies. (Mark O’Brien is very good as Tom Rendon, but I’m going to focus primarily on Joe/Lee in this analysis.) Joe looks up and seems surprised (though I’m sure he was expecting this exact confrontation), then gives Tom a wide, innocent-looking (“oh hey, howya doin’?”) smile, and immediately turns on the charm when Tom asks indignantly about the packet he had left for Tom at his mother’s house. I love the little wink – both disarming and conspiratorial – that Joe gives as he points to the term sheet in Tom’s hand.
At first Tom is standing upright on the other side of Joe’s desk, but Joe remains seated even though Tom is looming over him at this point. The height difference eventually pulls Tom down so that he’s hunched over the desk, leaning his hands on the table – in other words, he’s being drawn into Joe’s space. However, even with Joe sitting down, the power balance is in his favor.
Joe continues to sit and even lean back in his chair, his body language all self-assurance and ease. To Tom’s accusation that Joe is lying, he counters that the offer (and the numbers) are real, and that the only new piece of accounting in the term sheet is what Tom “would personally stand to make” from the Westgroup acquisition of Mutiny. Joe is all serious and no-nonsense as he tells Tom that rather than offering him a bribe, Joe just did the math for him.
Sensing that Tom still needs some convincing, Joe tries a different tack and finally stands up, regaining his height advantage. But he maintains a disarming smile and a friendly tone in his voice, pointing out astutely that Tom could have told him all this over the phone, implying that Tom must have something else in mind by coming all the way out to see him in the Westgroup offices.
Tom (like the child that he is) retorts that since Joe invaded his space, he figures he’d invade Joe’s in return. He’s even pouting slightly as he says this. (Poor Tom – he has no idea how outmatched he is in this confrontation.)
Now Joe moves in for the kill. Leaning in – as though he were sharing something confidential with Tom – Joe notes that Tom cares about Cameron and for good reason, because “she’s special”. He says all this in an almost avuncular voice, and with a look of utter sincerity and concern. Having thus preempted any suspicion Tom might have that Joe is either still angling for Cameron or trying to undermine her, Joe then appeals to Tom to not let Cameron make her decision “from a place of pure emotion.” (Sidenote: It’s a nice little sexist appeal – “Just between us guys” – to the male ego to save the woman from her own emotions, which are always coded female.)
The pitch lands right where Joe intended it to, and Tom has no comeback other than to say that he’s not even going to tell Cameron that they spoke. Joe says simply, almost nonchalantly, “OK.”
But Joe knows his bait worked – Tom is now caught on his hook. As he watches Tom exit huffily from his office, Joe can’t help but break into a satisfied little grin.
What did you think of this scene?
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