I'm still person of interest posting, but I love that John is typically very dedicated to not killing people more than he has to. Like this man is out here shooting ten people in the knees and shoulders which like that's a crazy amount of additional risk to be taking on but like that's a great character choice! And it's so intentional!! And then when we get to the episode with the baby, a guy is holding her and threatening john with a gun and john shoots him perfectly between the eyes, goes to get the baby and goes on with his life and if you weren't paying attention you wouldn't know!
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.Ā
Ā 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 doesnāt 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.
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, Iām not particularly the best at dialogue. I understand the intention, but television is freaking hard. You have to learn so much. Iām 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 ā because the foot movement is so similar ā that I can learn that in seconds. (X)
On Michael Emerson and camaraderie:
Michael is such an amazing actor; great, amazing person, you know? Itās great to have a great team, a great camaraderie. I canāt imagine doing a show for this long ā and Iāve heard about it ā where people donāt like each other too much. When I played basketball growing up; thatās happened with teammates. Itās just not a pleasant experience. Weāre fortunate on this. (X)
On Reese being emotionally closed off:
...heās 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 weāre only doing 13 episodes, five minutes in an episode. But really, for Reese, it could happen, sure, but itās all about saving the numbers. Itās logical. Itās almost like Spock, you know? My whole purpose. Whatās secretly sad is I donāt know if heās capable of it: if someone could believe in him, or if he doesnāt 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 heās so good ā 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, heāll 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 didnāt 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, Iām happy I have the script. But the anxiety is, āCan I pull this off? Can I do it?ā And I have to think, people who say they arenāt [afraid], I donāt know if theyāre 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,ā he said. āAnd 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 donāt have to remember anything, Iām just right there, from one moment to the next. She can make you laugh. She had a way with Carter ā it just makes me sad sheās 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,ā he continued. āBut she made it so easy. There was a lot of humor that wasnāt written on the page. Michael [Emerson (Finch)] does that all the time[, too]. Michael comes up with line reads Iām not expecting, but thatās when itās really fun: when itās not work. When you get to those moments when youāre working with some really top-notch, talented people. Some of the best in the world. Iām fortunate to have that. (X)
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