Post by outerbankschick on Dec 15, 2008 21:33:11 GMT -5
I put myself firmly on the line between Goren North and Goren South. I love the Bobby of old, the arrogance, the quirks, the passion, the leaning. And I love the Bobby we have now. The damaged boy who learned to be a man despite the father he grew up with. The Bobby "of old" learned how to bury that damaged boy. This "new" Bobby can't do it anymore and he's very nearly given up trying. He's slogging his way through the damages, trying to find the light at the end of his tunnel. There is truth in the light, and he knows it. And one thing we know about Bobby, he is tenacious in his pursuit of the truth, even when that pursuit leads him into a thicket of briers instead of a bed of wildflowers.
I am reminded of a line from Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides. It is told from the point of view of Tom Wingo, the lead character who can be described as a very flawed, very damaged hero. He may not come across as a hero, but in the end, to his children and to his sister, and even to his wife, he is just that. Maybe even to his mother, though their tie is still a bit tenuous, even at the conclusion. At the beginning of the book, Tom says:
"Because I needed to love my mother and father in all their flawed outrageous humanity, I could not afford to address them directly about the felonies committed against all of us." And then he goes on to say that "In families there are no crimes beyond forgiveness."
I don't believe that Bobby would feel this way about his father, but it speaks to me when I read these words that this is exactly how he felt about his mother. In the first few seasons, we only heard about her. In S6 we got to meet her, and to witness for ourselves the tie that binds, and sometimes strangles. It was beautiful to watch.
The "twisted tango of brotherly love" was another masterpiece. Bobby loved his brother. Enough so that he refused to enable him. He gave Frank the coat off his back on a freezing-cold afternoon, and then didn't fault Frank for selling it to someone else, though it hurt him. It was all over his face.
Even in that last scene between them, it was evident that it hurt Bobby a great deal to have to back away from his brother. When he said he would "listen for the splash" it was with resignation, and also a certain canniness because, knowing Frank, Bobby would never believe that Frank would actually do something until he did it. So he'd never believe Frank was about to jump off a bridge unless he actually heard the "splash". And yet, even after all of this, he tried to get in touch with Frank, even went to his apartment with a Mass card, intending to reconnect with Frank in their shared grief. And this "new" Bobby, who in past years had joked about driving his brother crazy, and in recent years had to force himself to distance himself from Frank's addictions, grieved for the loss of his big brother in a way that still makes me hurt. He was numb and he was lost, and when he did finally kick his way back to life, it was only to confront the fact that it was his own mentor, Gage, who set the wheels of Frank's death in motion.
So, all of this to say that Vincent's work in these past few seasons has not been "phoned in" or "lackluster". Not in my opinion. It has been an eloquent and sometimes all too real portrayal of a man who has lost control of his defenses and is struggling against the storms of life without a lifeboat. He's in the deep with nothing but a life jacket that seems to be losing air and he's treading water with no real idea how he's going to keep his head above the surface.
Quoting Eric Bogosian from a recent article: 'Vincent is a very strong actor who has very strong ideas about acting. He'll often be shouting out "No thinking, no acting" in the middle of scenes, meaning 'keep it honest'," he says.
These are not the words and actions of a guy who's "phoning it in".
I respectfully put forth that the writing direction of the show has been lacking at times (IE: too many obvious references to "show us" the stick before it's thrown) but that overall, it has simply taken the lead characters in new directions that do not always sit well with some of us.
Some have suggested that it's mostly Vincent who wants it his way and the show follows along. I don't think that's fair. I do not think that the entire show has changed only because he wanted it to, or because he's got physical limitations or anything else. I don't agree with all of Warren Leight's direction (oh thank goodness for the demise of the "stalker cam"), but overall I think that the show itself is just as good as it's always been. It's just different.
And that difference, for me, is the brilliance with which Vincent portrays Bobby in all of his "flawed, outrageous humanity". I hold nothing against him in the dance he's leading me in. I am thoroughly enjoying it.
I am reminded of a line from Pat Conroy's The Prince of Tides. It is told from the point of view of Tom Wingo, the lead character who can be described as a very flawed, very damaged hero. He may not come across as a hero, but in the end, to his children and to his sister, and even to his wife, he is just that. Maybe even to his mother, though their tie is still a bit tenuous, even at the conclusion. At the beginning of the book, Tom says:
"Because I needed to love my mother and father in all their flawed outrageous humanity, I could not afford to address them directly about the felonies committed against all of us." And then he goes on to say that "In families there are no crimes beyond forgiveness."
I don't believe that Bobby would feel this way about his father, but it speaks to me when I read these words that this is exactly how he felt about his mother. In the first few seasons, we only heard about her. In S6 we got to meet her, and to witness for ourselves the tie that binds, and sometimes strangles. It was beautiful to watch.
The "twisted tango of brotherly love" was another masterpiece. Bobby loved his brother. Enough so that he refused to enable him. He gave Frank the coat off his back on a freezing-cold afternoon, and then didn't fault Frank for selling it to someone else, though it hurt him. It was all over his face.
Even in that last scene between them, it was evident that it hurt Bobby a great deal to have to back away from his brother. When he said he would "listen for the splash" it was with resignation, and also a certain canniness because, knowing Frank, Bobby would never believe that Frank would actually do something until he did it. So he'd never believe Frank was about to jump off a bridge unless he actually heard the "splash". And yet, even after all of this, he tried to get in touch with Frank, even went to his apartment with a Mass card, intending to reconnect with Frank in their shared grief. And this "new" Bobby, who in past years had joked about driving his brother crazy, and in recent years had to force himself to distance himself from Frank's addictions, grieved for the loss of his big brother in a way that still makes me hurt. He was numb and he was lost, and when he did finally kick his way back to life, it was only to confront the fact that it was his own mentor, Gage, who set the wheels of Frank's death in motion.
So, all of this to say that Vincent's work in these past few seasons has not been "phoned in" or "lackluster". Not in my opinion. It has been an eloquent and sometimes all too real portrayal of a man who has lost control of his defenses and is struggling against the storms of life without a lifeboat. He's in the deep with nothing but a life jacket that seems to be losing air and he's treading water with no real idea how he's going to keep his head above the surface.
Quoting Eric Bogosian from a recent article: 'Vincent is a very strong actor who has very strong ideas about acting. He'll often be shouting out "No thinking, no acting" in the middle of scenes, meaning 'keep it honest'," he says.
These are not the words and actions of a guy who's "phoning it in".
I respectfully put forth that the writing direction of the show has been lacking at times (IE: too many obvious references to "show us" the stick before it's thrown) but that overall, it has simply taken the lead characters in new directions that do not always sit well with some of us.
Some have suggested that it's mostly Vincent who wants it his way and the show follows along. I don't think that's fair. I do not think that the entire show has changed only because he wanted it to, or because he's got physical limitations or anything else. I don't agree with all of Warren Leight's direction (oh thank goodness for the demise of the "stalker cam"), but overall I think that the show itself is just as good as it's always been. It's just different.
And that difference, for me, is the brilliance with which Vincent portrays Bobby in all of his "flawed, outrageous humanity". I hold nothing against him in the dance he's leading me in. I am thoroughly enjoying it.