Nothing has made me cry so hard and like such a little baby than this shows season finale. It was a real tear jerker at the end of episode already, but the final minutes, after being built up for two episodes, broke the dam which held my tears back, and the only reason i held back the audible sounds was as to not alert my roommate that I was expressing so much emotion.
I had heard great things about this show, but decided to wait until the entire first season was over to watch it, and watch it I did. One day. 13 episodes. Me and this show grew intimate. The relationship started out rough, but she grew on me.
Premise: Cathy, played by Laura Linney, has stage 4 melanoma. She hasn't told anyone she knows including her husband, son, and brother. She takes a new stance on life and treats the idea lightly making jokes and using it to justify her actions.
I initially was bothered by the acting, or, the directing. I say acting because initially you can' see any pattern in the way the characters interact with each other, but as the show progressed on I grew more accustomed to the way Laura Linney was essentially narrating every thought that went though her head, and I suppose, when you know you have a short amount of time to live, why wouldn't you just begin to express your feelings, view points, and what not to everyone around you since it could be the last way you could affect the world.
She has a brother, Sean, who is initially a very weird, unsettling character. He's chosen to be homeless and dumpster dives for food. Basically, he's a Brown student, I'd like to say exaggerated to the max, but I'm not sure it's even necessary or true.
Her son. Her son gives me the most conflicting emotions ever. The actor is the absolute worst ever. However, it is his character that gives this show it's best moment, which, will honestly be extremely hard to top, although not necessary to top either. It's unbelievable. The whole season is worth watching if just for that one scene.
That girl from Precious is occasionally on the show as well. I never saw precious, but if her acting was just as bad in that movie as it is in this show, well, Mariah Carey and that other woman's performance must have been ridic. Her character also isn't that dynamic in the show, so, I feel like they almost added her just to claim that they had the actress.
Eventually the lesbian from Sex and the City, Cynthia Nixon, joins the cast and is actually a breath of fresh air. We get a pretty real character, with perfect casting.
Oliver Platt plays her husband with whom she's separated since she found out she had cancer. She kicks him out of HIS house, however, you don't really ever care for him. I feel you're not really supposed to care about anyone in this show except her and how everyone reacts to her.
The beauty of this show comes from how well it pulls you into the life of someone living with terminal cancer. Her choices always seem justified, her actions are never truly reprehensible, even when she cheats on her husband, you are coerced into somehow agreeing that she isn't doing anything wrong, because why shouldn't she be able to experience whatever she wants, which is what the show really comes down to, new experiences, experiencing life how you want, and not giving a rat's ass what others think of your actions. No feelings of being judged.
Ultimately, I'd love to go deeper into plot lines and the such, but honestly, you NEED to watch this show. It is absolutely amazing and it ends with a conflicting concoction of emotions.
Fennopian
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