Damages | pinartarhan.com

Have you seen “The Girl Next Door” ? It is a fun comedy: a teenager (Emile Hirsch) falls in love with the girl next door (Elisha Cuthbert). The problem is she’s a porn star and her producer Kelly (Timothy Olyphant) doesn’t have any plans of letting her live a cute fantasy with her boyfriend. It’s a funny, harmless little movie and this is the first movie I have ever seen Timothy in. The thing is I just thought Kelly was a nuisance and a morally corrupt character and didn’t think much of him. It wasn’t a difficult role. And I didn’t even find him remotely attractive.

And I completely forgot about him. Then I saw Catch and Release.

CATCH AND RELEASE (2006)

Timothy Olyphant and Jennifer Garner in Catch and Release

I actually didn’t even recognize him. He didn’t look that different and it wasn’t like he had a wild change with his image. But this role was completely different.

Gray (Jennifer Garner) is barely hanging on. Her fiancé has just died, she is broke and his friends are basically are all she’s got. So she moves in with Dennis and Sam. And Fritz is sticking around for some reason, though he seems to be getting on everybody’s nerves. Gray has accidentally witnessed Fritz having sex at the funeral and she has been mad at him ever since. But as time passes, Gray discovers some truths about her dead fiancé and realizes that maybe he wasn’t as great as he thought he was. First she finds out he has a secret account she never knew about and has been regularly sending money to a person- and then she learns that person is the mother of his child. To make matter worse, he has been cheating on her. While Sam is lost in his own depression and Dennis seems way too considerate for a friend, it is Fritz that helps her cope with these new facts and helps her have fun. Fritz may not be perfect, but he is not the jerk she thought he was.

Timothy Olyphant in Catch and Release — Timothy Olyphant as Fritz

The minute you see Fritz, you just want Gray to get over her fiancé’s death and her hatred for Fritz soon and well, hang out with Fritz so that he will have much screen time. He is good-looking, fun and whatever stupid things he might have done, it is not that easy to judge him since he has lost a close friend and everybody has a different way of coping. And you want her to stop mourning when you realize the guy was a tw0-timing liar and had been with another woman for years without her knowing it. And the more you know Fritz, the more like him. He is fun, sweet and well gorgeous. So it is weird falling for your fiancés friend and him falling for you, but it is a fun,emotional film. It is not original but then I don’t think it ever tried to be. It is also a question of how well we really know the people we think we know really well.

Below is the link to one of my favorite scenes. Gray has just found out that her fiancés kid is much younger than Fritz initially told him,which means he had been cheating on her for years. Fritz was just trying to soften the blow on her. Now, she is very mad at her fiancé- which is good, so she doesn’t really feel guilty about Fritz. The scene also happens to be one of the best kisses in a movie. Impulsive and passionate, and still managing to be gentle:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9lt4v04FTA&feature=related[/pro-player]

DEADWOOD (2004-2006)

Timothy Olyphant as Seth Bullock in Deadwood

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guxNtlktMbU&feature=related[/pro-player]

It’s a western/drama/thriller and Timothy Olyphant is one of the leads. If you have seen Deadwood after Catch and Release, it is a lot more surprising to see Timothy go all wild west on his audience. As Fritz, he was an advertising hotshot with a place in Malibu. Here, he is a much more complicated character as the Sheriff. He is not nearly as composed, and as a modern man for his time, he seems to have a hard time excepting the horrifying level of crime and violence going on in the town. He has 0 tolerance for betrayal and he prefers speaking his mind to acting diplomatically. The show has two seasons and it is highly rated.

The movie also uses a very free language, meaning: brace yourself for some R-rated dialogue. Note that one of the characters’ names is Swearengen and it is not a coincidence.

Live free or Die Hard

There are two impressive things about Timothy, one about his looks and one about his acting. Now, Timothy is normally a young-looking actor. In Catch and Release, I just couldn’t believe he was 37! However a year later, he plays the villain in the 4th movie of the Die Hard series and he suddenly looks seasoned. He didn’t age overnight,of course. He is just really good at adapting to his role. He had to be a guy who seeked vengeance for what felt like wrong doing on his part and he just takes this revenge thing on everyone. It just wouldn’t look convincing if he looked like a man fresh out of college; his nemesis is Bruce Willis, for god’s sake! However, Tim’s character is one of the coolest, most cold-blooded villains seen on screen- and he brought the role facial expressions I had never seen him do before. I don’t know a lot of actors who can do that. Yes, there are a lot of good actors but their expressions/way of acting don’t really differ that much or cease surprising you at one point. The last time I was pleasantly surprised like this was by Robert De Niro’s performance in Stardust- I have seen his 3 decades of movies and it was the first time a role of his and his portrayal surprised me.

It is not just Tim’s performance though. Live Free or Die Hard is a solid action movie. It sure includes some physically impossible stuff but hey it is John McClane we are talking about, it is expected. The explosions and chasing and plotting are great. The villain is not just muscles, but brains- who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty/bloody when he needs to. His smooth delivery and coolness make an impressive and chilly effect . It is obvious even in the trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UcpL45SZRM[/pro-player]

HITMAN (2007)

Hitman is based on a very popular computer game. Agent 47 has been raised as a kid to be the perfect assassin. No emotions, no complications. Just get the mission, get it done, and get out. An impressive bank balance, no conscience and no emotions. He can get himself out of any danger and you seriously do not want to mess with him. However some people do, and things go awry. After all, the people who “programmed” him have forgotten that no matter how “mechanic” they trained him to be, he is still human. He is also surprised to see he has some feelings he can’t define, which starts after meeting his female target: a Russian hooker (Olga Kurylenko), whose political figure boyfriend might very well involved in the conspiracy.

I actually laughed when some people commented that Timothy’s acting was flat. Did they pay attention to anything going on in the movie? 47 was raised to show and feel no signs of emotion. He is based on a computer character. He is supposed to be flat. But later with the Russian girl, he starts to feel a variety of mixed emotions and he portrays the different levels of reaction perfectly. The movie is fast and it is entertaining as hell. We go to different places in the world, including Russia and Turkey with the characters. There’s lots of action- both with weaponry and fighting. There is also a subtle sense of humor and it is fun to watch Agent 47 begin to change and how he deals with himself. A scene where she’s trying to seduce him and he gives her a sedative shot to get her off him is just plain hilarious. There is also a fun nod at the computer game. I like mindless action. Bring it on!!!

Below is the trailer.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUAURAgF2Kc&feature=related[/pro-player]

And one of the best scenes is :

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z9EyP38SIM&feature=related[/pro-player]

A PERFECT GETAWAY (2007)

Timothy is featured in the show Damages, but I already wrote about it. So I am gonna end the post with one of his latest movies, a thriller called A Perfect Getaway. I just got my hands on the movie and haven’t seen it yet but am quite looking forward to it. With this, Timothy is back to his familiar gorgeous look- which suits the exotic and dangerous vacation theme of the movie.

The great thing about him is that he is a very versatile actor. I could only feature some of his films here. He has had no problems playing a bisexual character falling for his gay boyfriend’s female best friend (Advice from a Caterpillar), a cold-blooded villain (Live Free or Die Hard), a highly professional killer (Hitman), a misunderstood nice guy (Catch and Release); an annoyingly slick TV reporter with no moral principles (Bill), a sheriff in the old west (Deadwood), a drug dealer (Go)….Well the list speaks for itself. It is great that he is very good-looking, and that he doesn’t show his 41 years- which gives him the opportunity to play more kinds of roles.

It is also impressive that he is married with 3 kids and that he has been married since 1991. He has been around for a while and it seems like the movie-makers seem are smart enough to take advantage of this skilled actor. Hope he gets the credit he deserves.

Timothy Olyphant, 90s. I don't really see much of a difference...

Other posts starring Timothy:

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/a-perfect-getaway-2009/

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/damages-when-your-favorite-big-screen-actors-go-tv/

I love legal dramas. I love them even more if they use their thriller potential to the maximum. Up to now, I have been a big fan of The Practice ( starring Dylan McDermott) and Shark (starring the amazing James Woods), along with the absurdly humorous Boston Legal (with James Spader) – where the judges and the juries have to be won with wit,brains and some drilling cross-examinations of the witnesses. So my friend recommended Damages. It turned out to have the most impressive cast of actors I have ever seen on television:

GLENN CLOSE

I like Glenn Close as an actress. She may not be your typical screen beauty but she has an exceptional cool screen presence and she will make you buy whatever character and have you rooting for her, even though the character might be a villain,like the seductress she plays in Dangerous Liaisons. And she is no stranger to playing a lawyer. She has co-starred with Jeff Bridges in Jagged Edge. However this role is quite different. She is a smart, no-bullshit type who never fully trusts a person. She is also not the most honest and ethical person she is going to meet. She rarely loses a case. What sets this show aside though, it doesn’t concentrate what goes on in the courtroom but rather what happens at the law firm her character Patty Hewes runs and owns. Behind the scenes involve enough action and deceit to keep you glued to your seat.

So knowing Close can very well make a great show on her own, I started watching. But when I saw the cast, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

WILLIAM HURT

I’ve been a fan of William Hurt since I have seen Eyewitness, a really good thriller from 1981. I can’t wait to get my hands on its DVD and watch it again. My second favorite movie with Hurt is Dark City, by the director Alex Proyas (who got himself a much-deserved cult status with The Crow in 1994). Hurt’s acting is mostly subtle and he delivers perfect performances all over. So when I saw Damages and realized he had one of the most vital co-starring roles, I got even more addicted to Damages. He plays Daniel Purcell, a scientist who is an old acquaintance of Patty Hewes and asks for her help when he suspects the firm he works for is altering some crucial information to manipulate the energy industry. To make matters worse, his wife is killed. Now, you can never be exactly sure if his character is an imperfect but generally nice man or a sociopath who is just a really good actor or just someone in the gray area, neither entirely evil nor good. Hurt is perfect for this role that keeps you guessing and plays with your perception of him.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT

I find Timothy to be one of the most talented actors of his generation ( born in 1968, he is about the same age as Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and such). He really can get into character- and he can get into it so well that the next time you see him in a movie, you might think it is the first time you have seen him. Yeah, he can be that diverse. I am not going to get much into his career, I’ll be writing a post on him soon. But let’s say that one of his recent appearances has been in the 4th part of the Die Hard quadrilogy Live Free or Die Hard, where he plays Bruce Willis‘s and actually the country’s worst enemy. He does well as smart and cool criminal. He can also just go and shave his heat and bring a video game character to life as he did in Hitman. Some of his other roles include a bisexual falling in love with his boyfriend’s best gal pal (Advice from a Caterpillar), the “manager” of a porn star (The Girl Next Door) and the misunderstood best friend of a girl’s recently deceased fiancé (Catch and Release). The role of Wes Krulik in Damages is not his first TV role, however. He made quite an impression in the western thriller Deadwood with his leading role.

Here he plays the confidant to Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). A guy she knows from the grief counseling group she goes to, trying to deal with her fiancé’s death. Wes appears to be dealing with the death of his girlfriend and becomes one of the few people Ellen trusts. But then again, this is TV show that we can be sure of the intentions of one character only, and that is Ellen. Wes does seem too good to be true, in deed.

ROSE BYRNE

Rose Bryne as Ellen Parsons — Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

It is fun to see a familiar face on a show. Rose Byrne previously played Archilles’ love interest in Troy. Ellen is probably the only really good character in the show. She is by no means perfect but it is so easy to empathize with her and understand what she is doing and why.

TED DANSON

Ted Danson is fun. He makes really enjoyable movies and he can be funny and charming at the same time, which is essential for comedic performances. Of course he has been on TV a lot: Cheers was really popular, and as was Becker. I especially loved him in Becker, where he plays a doctor whose bedside manners are not that different from Gregory House ‘s (from the medical drama House). I had seen him as clumsy,charming, grumpy, witty and /or clueless but I hadn’t quite seen him as a bad guy. Here he plays a billionaire (Arthur Furbisher) not so concerned with other people until something drastic happens to him. But it doesn’t seem like he can get away with it, since Ellen is onto him.

BRETT CULLEN AND MARCIA GAY HARDEN

Marcia Gay Harden in Damages — Marcia Gay Harden

It can be hard to catch these two in leading roles but no matter how big or small their parts are, their performances are solid. Brett Cullen plays an executive with good ties and you wouldn’t want to mess with him. He is Daniel Purcell’s (William Hurt) boss. Marcia Gay Harden plays Claire Maddox, legal consultant to one of the biggest firms in the energy sector. However you can’t exactly tell where her loyalty lies. Since everyone is in a complicated relationship with each other and true loyalty is very scarce.

The show is good. There’s enough suspense and drama to catch you on the edge. So I did cheat a little and started with season 2. But it is good and until season 3 premieres, I have a whole season to catch up with the characters’ pasts. Looking forward to it.