Friday, July 9, 2004

Nip/Tuck is CRACK. I got the Season 1 DVD from Netflix and I've been up til 2am-3am every night this week watching them. I go to work and want to come home for lunch so I can get in half an episode. It's ALL I THINK ABOUT. Okay, not to that extreme. But damn, this show is so good. The psychology of the characters is amazing. Julian McMahon who plays Dr. Troy is gonna win big for his portrayal. I spent 3 hours last night, watching the same episode (the one where the son hits the girl with the car, and the doctors remove the birthmark from the priest's scrotum), just analyzing the performances and what psychological elements are working to create certain tensions. There's one scene in which a woman who was repeatedly raped by her father wants to change her nose so she doesn't see him every time she looks in the mirror. Dr. Troy won't give her the surgery and recommends therapy. She berates him, ending with something like, "How would you know what it's like to have a dick inside of you that you can't say no to?" And they cut to McMahon, and the look on his face is so subtle, but so powerful. See, Dr. Troy has a secret that they blatantly alluded to in the pilot. But in the following episodes, the creators have gotten a lot more subtle about where these characters come from, trusting the actors to convey it. And holy shit, this guy does. He's method. I watched that reaction shot probably 20 times; you can see physiological reactions. First he swallows, then blinks, then his jaw drops slightly, then his pupils dilate. All in a matter of seconds. Yes, I analyze things this way. This is my craft. But that kind of talent, that kind of talent you don't find anywhere. Watch this guy. The nuances of his performance. I don't know about his onset personality, but his talent is a director's wet dream.