Sculptures of the Soul

There are two performances in film this year that stand above the rest. Performances that will go down as two of the darkest and horrifying characters in cinematic history.

Javier Bardem, plays the ruthless killer in the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men, (nominated for a supporting actor Academy Award) is so memorable on screen that some have dubbed his role as the greatest villain in film history.

Not to be out done, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, brings us perhaps one of the strongest displays of acting the screen not just has ever seen, but may ever see! Daniel Day-Lewis (nominated for a Best Actor Academy Award), in my opinion, the greatest actor living and working today, gives us genius. Acting genius. His portrayal of Daniel Plainview is desperate, haunting, and somehow familiar. An actor who only works when it's right for him, has given the world something more than acting. It's unreal, really.

Both men will win Oscars in their respective categories, no question, no debate. What struck me however, was the recent cover article for EW that hailed the two actor's performances. You know that moment when you're reading something, or watching something, or listening to a piece of music, and you think to yourself, this is something really special? Something that will be remembered as the very best? I felt that way watching Day-Lewis. Others did as well.

How good is great?
How great is memorable?
Can you call someone, some expression, the very best?

What struck me was the questions posed to Bardem regarding Daniel-Day Lewis:

EW: How did the cover shoot go?
Bardem: It was one of the highlights of my career to be so close to Daniel Day-Lewis.
EW: So you liked his movie?
Bardem: I've seen his performances- as every actor in the world has- hundreds of times. I was introduced by him at the New York Film Critics' Awards, and I said what I truly feel: He creates sculptures of the soul. He is beyond performing. He is about being. He helps us understand a little bit better what we really are.

Sculptures of the soul.
Bardem's thoughts seem to be everyone's. That Day-Lewis is something special. Something beyond performance. I think that's why his role in There Will Be Blood was so polarizing. It was too close to home for all of us. It showed too much of the human soul. Too much of what is under the surface.

For us, it makes us nervous.
For artists, he's the best.
The truest.

In Treatment

There's a new show on HBO called In Treatment. It's a half-hour dramatic series that's unique in its presentation by airing 5 nights a week. The show centers around a therapist (Gabriel Byrne) treating patients each day. Each week night one particular patient is highlighted. 5 nights a week, 5 different patients, while the next week begins the rotation again with their second visits, and so on.

Recently I've been intrigued more by the realm of counseling and therapy. I have a few friends in Orlando who are in the Counseling program at Reformed Theological Seminary. Last semester I took an Introduction to Counseling class that went a long way to challenge what I believe about the subject, and in general, people. Sometimes on breaks from class, I'll sit and listen to my friends in the counseling program talk about their classes, or their training sessions, and be amazed at what they're learning.

I've been surprised at how much this show has captivated my attention. There's no frills, no action. It's literally a half-hour session with each patient, talking, digging deep.

More and more I believe...
Counseling is a good thing...
Therapy is a good thing, and I'm amazed by counselors and therapists.

One of my great friends in the world, and an elder at my church, is a mental health counselor in the public school system. His work fascinates me, and each time I pick his brain, I feel as if I my brain had been spun.

In Treatment.
Check it out.