Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Last night I had nuclear dreams. I had dreams of germ warfare in Los Angeles and other major cities. I had dreams of loved ones lost, of chaos, of a descent into widescale madness. Not even the best efforts of my girlfriend could soothe me, and I saw the sun gradually creep into my room, unable to close my eyes. It was the worst night I’ve had since Tuesday.
This afternoon, the images are finally starting to fade, replaced with a dull anger, a building rage that the solace of sleep itself has been stolen from me by the events in New York and Washington. As I read articles about our troops assembling in Pakistan or the weapons we plan to use in the conflict ahead, I am not relieved. Instead, the threat of a faceless enemy disturbs me on a very basic level. We are, in essence, shooting into the darkness, hoping to hit what we cannot see. What comfort is there in such a thought?
In the days since those planes went down, I have found myself too distracted to watch movies. Try as I might, I get impatient during the films I’ve put on. I get irritated at the things the characters find important, annoyed by the manufactured drama of things. It’s a strange sensation, and out of everything I’ve tried, only one thing has been able to hold my interest. Only one thing has rewarded my efforts. Only one thing has offered me the emotional release I needed. I’m speaking, of course, about HBO’s astonishing BAND OF BROTHERS.
Last week, I wrote only generally about the effect the first two episodes of the series had on me. Both “Corahee” and “Day Of Days” were well-made and well-acted, I thought, but it’s with this week’s episode “Carentan” that the series finally finds its legs and really hits its stride. The episode focuses on Prvt. Albert Blithe (Marc Warren) and his attempts to come to grips with the reality of war, and it also tells the story of Easy Company’s attempts to take the town of Carentan, France, an early strategic landmark. The fact that the show is able to balance both storylines with such nimble grace is but one small part of the miracle that is this ten-hour film.
Ironically, it was on Tuesday that HBO sent me an oversized envelope stuffed with the remaining eight episodes of the series, and at first I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue watching them right now or not. What has ended up being so cathartic about the show, though, is the image of Americans fighting a war against an enemy they can identify, moving forward one hard-won victory at a time, pushing forward through France and Holland and Belgium and, finally, Germany. Yes, lives are lost, and you feel each one over the course of the series, but these men all volunteered, knowing full well that they could end up sacrificing themselves to a higher purpose, and that selflessness is magnificent to behold. Like the stories coming out of New York in the past few days, BAND OF BROTHERS is uplifting and ultimately healing because of the mix of naked humanity and pure heroism on display. I’m going to try to review each episode just before it airs, dividing the reviews into spoiler and non-spoiler material so you can get an idea of what to expect, then come back for in-depth conversation after the episode airs. Trust me... it’s worth in-depth conversation. When all is said and done, this may be one of the finest war movies ever made.
The episode opens with Blithe standing in a field on the edge of the French drop zone, looking up into the cloudy sky overhead as if unable to believe he fell from it. As he hooks back up with Easy Company, there’s a dazed, disconnected quality to Blithe. Many of the men are already falling into a rhythm, a mindset that will carry them through to the end of the war. Blithe can’t find that same groove, though. He’s shit-scared, unable to make sense of the circumstances around him, and as the company moves into Carentan, Blithe finds himself frozen, unable to act.
E. Max Frye has done a great job here of writing what could have been a cheap cliché, and turning into something real, something recognizable. Each episode of the series uses a different character to focus our attentions so we don’t get lost in the overwhelming details of the war. Blithe is perfectly chosen to anchor this particular episode. By making us witness these events through his point of view, Frye and director Mikael Solomon don’t allow us to become comfortable yet. They keep us as off-balance as the character, and the effect is one of almost unbearable tension.
Special mention must be made of the enormous contribution by cinematographers Joel Ransom and Remi (ELIZABETH) Adefarasin. Ransom shot this episode, and he and Adefarasin are alternating. Their work unifies the entire series, grounds it with an almost documentary approach that nevertheless finds the moments of poetry amidst the most horrifying of events. In this one, Ransom manages to convincingly paint a portrait of chaos, but he never lets the image become chaotic. It’s a delicate balancing act, and their collaboration with each of the directors who worked on the show has produced something greater than what we are used to on television.
And now to get down to a few spoilers. First, the work by Marc Warren as Blithe is exceptional. At one point, he is struck by a sudden case of hysterical blindness during a firefight, and it’s only when he is able to talk with Lt. Winters (Damian Lewis) that he snaps out of it. He’s still not able to bring himself to fight, though, and every time he is asked to face the enemy, Blithe crumbles. It’s Ronald Speirs (Matthew Settle) who finally lays it out for Blithe when the private confesses that he hid in a ditch during D-Day, afraid to fight. “We’re all afraid, Private. The difference is that you still have hope. You have to accept that you’re already dead. That’s the only way you can act like a soldier... without compassion, without mercy. It’s what we all have to do.” The moment where Blithe finally gains the courage to fight is searing, and there’s one image, one moment where Blithe is firing round after round and one casing snaps out of his rifle, spinning in the air in front of him, that took my breath away. It’s a perfect example of how this series takes small moments and gives them the weight of real life, how it takes the ordinary and makes it iconic.
What eventually happens to Blithe is heartbreaking, especially when you consider the timing of it. But life moves on. Easy Company moves on. And in the final moments of the episode, as the Company retreats to England for a brief respite before heading back out to France, there’s a scene with Malarkey (Scott Grimes) that crystallizes just how much has already been lost by this point, even as it underlines just how far there still is to go.
BAND OF BROTHERS airs every Sunday night at 9:00 PM on HBO and repeats throughout the week. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
"Moriarty" out.
