Acting, or being?
For me the most thrilling part of Prime Suspect 7 last night was not Helen Mirren, although for quite some time she has figured mightily in various fantasties of mine. No, it was the reappearance of the actor Tom Bell as Detective Sgt. Bill Otley.
In the series’ launch back in 1991, Otley was the sort who blocks the way of anyone trying to get something done, in this case Jane Tennison (Mirren), newly promoted to being his boss. Otley undermined her at every turn until two things happened: Tennison confronted him (which I recall as “Well, I’m not going to have it,” or something like that), and Tennison began to get results. Both the threat and the effectiveness gained his respect, and the character began to change.
In last night’s episode the character returned after a 10-year absence, far worse for wear. Jane Tennison may be a drunk, but she looks relatively well-tended; Bill Otley looks like he was set afire with lighter fluid and a blowtorch. His hair is badly dyed and plastered to one side, his face mottled, his appearance skeletal, his voice a light wind from the grave. (The photo at top is not recent.) It appears that Bell was ill at the time of filming — he died shortly thereafter — so were it not for the impression his earlier performances made on me, my first assumption would be that it’s easy to be a sick and dying man playing sick and dying. Every indication is that in this case life informed art and vice versa.
In the show, Otley makes a point of breaking through the crowd at an AA meeting to grab Tennison and buy her a coffee. He apologizes for his earlier actions. He hadn’t forgotten them and had wanted for a long time to own up and apologize. Tennison is quite moved by his confession and later calls on him when she finds herself in need and with no one else to turn to. It’s a remarkable and heartfelt journey for both characters. And it reminded me of the determined efforts of a former friend years ago to make her way through the amends demanded of her by AA.
Like Mirren, Bell is utterly watchable. Charisma isn’t for sale at any shops I know of; one has it or one doesn’t. Bell had said, “If you act you need to have threat. Without threat, nobody notices you.” Mirren certainly has that quality. I don’t think that is the quality Steven Rea or Reg E. Cathey bring to their roles, but there’s something — something — that they do that makes them stand out as well. Cathey made an enormous impression on me in his initial run on “Oz,” so much so that I never forgot him. The same with Bell in the first “Prime Suspect.”
Who are the other actors playing characters in the police station? I have no idea. Is it because they’ve been given little to do, or is it because they’ve done little with it?
November 21st, 2006 at 8:55 am
I actually saw this one, both parts, and really enjoyed seeing how they ended a series that I’ve loved. Helen Mirren is tremendous! And I liked that they didn’t wimp out and make her all sweet or calm or easy. She’s still Jane Tennyson, strong, battling everybody and everything, screwed up, and absolutely determined to find out who did it.
I also liked the interview of Helen Mirren that they included to round out the hour — particularly her talking about things she’d learned (and included in her character) after talking to a real woman DI, back at the beginning of the series. Don’t ever cry. Don’t smile at people. Don’t cross your arms — you think it looks tough, but it just looks defensive, as if you’re not comfortable and able to easily handle what’s going on. Use touch as a tool, like politicians do. Very interesting stuff.
If I could just get *her* to play Caroline Conway…
November 21st, 2006 at 9:35 am
Gee, I wish I had known that interview would be following, because I missed it. Usually it’s all I can do on a Sunday night to switch off the set and get back to writing. This is the price I pay for discipline.
Who’s to say you can’t get her to play Caroline Conway? Send her the script.