Nurse Jackie: Season One (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Having never watched the Sopranos (heresy, I know), I didn't have any preconceived notions of what type of person Edie Falco should or should not be playing. Many of my friends tell me that the character of Nurse Jackie is a far cry from her Carmelo Soprano alter-ego.
Jackie is a full time nurse in a public hospital in New York City. Like most nurses and emergency medical workers, she is overworked and underpaid and trying to make do with what life has handed to her. On the surface, she is hardworking nurse who is a loving mother of two little girls and a devoted wife to Kevin Payton who runs a local bar. Scratch the surface just a little bit and the perfect facade peels away to reveal a drug addicted adulterer who regularly breaks the laws in order to suit her own perceived morals.
Nurse Jackie tackles quite a few heavy subjects during its initial season including assisted suicide, underage children caring for their parents, as well as the rigors of raising children who aren't quite perfect. Medical dramas are a dime a dozen and the comedy versions just always seem to be lacking substance, however the staff writers of Nurse Jackie do a masterful job of mixing the heavy subjects in with very lighthearted, almost slapstick humor.
While the Peyton household hasn't been expanded on very much (honestly you could replace the husband and two little girls with bricks and you probably wouldn't notice much difference), the hospital staff shines in every way. Doctor O'Hara is the archetypal rich doctor as well as the "straight man" for most of Jackie's exploits. While her character was explored a little bit in season one, there wasn't a lot invested yet. Doctor Cooper is the hotshot doctor straight out of Med School looking to make his mark. He's cute and naive and looking to make sure everyone thinks of him as their buddy while trying to become a serious doctor at the same time. Zoey is the nurse counterpart to Cooper; the truly naive nursing student straight from school who hasn't had her spirit crushed by the real world. The rest of the hospital staff, Miss Akalitus, Mo-Mo, and Thor, all play delightful comedic foils throughout the season. The cast list would not be complete without the mention of Eddie, the hospital pharmacist who "supplies" prescription pills to Jackie because he believes he is doing his duty as a good boyfriend. Eddie unfortunately does not know that he is being used by Jackie who has a happy family at home as well as a husband with whom we are led to believe she is still in love with.
Fans of shows like ER will appreciate the drama, however it should be noted that Nurse Jackie is relatively light on the medical science side of the house. While drugs are described, procedures mentioned, there is very little step-by-step-to-recovery type documentation on a per patient level. You'll see gunshot wounds come in, chest tubes inserted, CBC and toxicity reports ordered but not a lot of breakdown into why a doctor orders which test, why they should look at alternatives, etc like in ER. Nurse Jackie was written in order to revolve around the nurse not the doctor, and as such there is a much higher emphasis placed on patient care rather than just medical procedures.
My only gripe with Nurse Jackie is that there is zero conflict resolution throughout the entire season. Season one ended with a cliffhanger and as with all other Showtime/HBO episodic shows, the next season will not premier until sometime in the next year. All of the "will she get caught?" questions that you develop from episode one will still be there after you finish episode twelve (with a few dozen extra questions thrown in by then for good measure). Other than that, Nurse Jackie is a great show, and I suppose that the fact that I want Season Two to start right now! attests to how addicting the series is.

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Three-time Primetime Emmy® winner Edie Falco is "outstanding” (TIME Magazine) as Jackie Peyton, a nurse trying to survive the chaotic grind of saving lives in a hectic New York City hospital. Sharp-tongued and quick-witted, Jackie’s a woman of substance who knows how to handle it all. With a white lie here, a bent rule there, and a steady dose of pain relievers for her chronic back pain, Jackie does whatever it takes to get the job done. See why critics call NURSE JACKIE "wildly entertaining” (TV GUIDE Magazine) and "a habit well worth acquiring” (THE WASHINGTON POST) in these bitingly funny episodes from the first season of the groundbreaking series.

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Chloe (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)Atom Egoyan's new film Chloe tells a story that's been told many times before, the tale of the woman scorned. But the new perspective that Egoyan brings to the erotic thriller genre, that makes it more original and provocative than any film I've seen this year.
Julianne Moore's portrayal of the heroine, Catherine Stewart, is near perfect. Moore has really been at the top of her game lately. In A Single Man, she played a character that she also brought great depth to, despite having only about fifteen minutes of air-time. In Chloe, she plays an upper middle-class gynecologist, who has been married to David (Liam Neeson) for many years. She suspects that he's having an affair, after noticing his flirtacious banter with a waitress, and after missing a flight, and his surprise birthday party. And just like that, her long simmering suspicions rise to the surface.
Finding no answer other than infidelity, she hires an escort, played by Amanda Seyfried, in the title role, to seduce her husband, to see his reaction. She finds herself "directing" she and her husband's encounters, giving Chloe notes on how to react to certain things that her husband says and does. Ergo, the fireworks start, and needless to say, lies are told and people get hurt.
This is Julianne Moore's best work in years. She has a knack for giving emotionally devastating performances, and she's in top form here. Her ability to say so much with saying so little, never ceases to amaze me. But the true star here is Amanda Seyfried, who gives the performance of her career. Her repertoire includes mostly comedies, like Mean Girls and Mamma Mia, but the amount of dramatic depth that she brings to the table is unbelievable. Playing a complicated character, you never know what her next move is, and it's interesting to see where it goes, ultimately until the earth-shattering conclusion. Seyfried's large, expressive eyes, tell you what her character is going through, and it's another case, where so much is said, when so little is actually spoken. The supporting cast, of course, includes Liam Neeson, who is always excellent, as Catherine's philandering husband, and he essentially does his job. There's not a whole lot of room in this picture, for his character to evolve. More attention is paid to the female leads.
What separates this from the countless stories of mistrust and infidelity, is the eerie and surprisingly profound tone that Egoyan brings to the table. It's a very mature, classy, smart film that deals with trust, loyalty, and love, and how, after so long, love can vanish, and an emotion can take over that you never would have expected to feel. And plus the settings are gorgeous. Jim Lambie, the set decorator of films like Heaven on Earth, and Egoyan's Adoration, brings a modern sense of traditionalism to the look of the film, especially the main setting of the Stewart household. And, also, the score, masterfully composed by Mychael Danna, brings out so much emotion, and tension to the table. Shattering orchestra crescendos, in pivotal scenes, bring more feeling, and intensity to the overall tone of the picture.
But, in the end, it's Egoyan's patient and thoughtful pacing, and an excellent performance by Amanda Seyfried that really stand out. It's a very mature, intricate experience that takes its time with developing each character, and brings a stunning conclusion that sets it apart from other stories of its kind. Its portrayal of lust and erotic desire, and the vulnerability of love, itself, will leave you breathless. Egoyan's use of an elegant, gliding camera, traps his characters against windows and mirrors, to signify how trapped a person can feel in their own life. And Egoyan's ability to never tell a story on one level, and his knack for adding layer, after layer to each character, makes the effect that the film has all the more effective.

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A missed flight...a lack of intimacy...guarded secrets... To Catherine (Julianne Moore), every detail suggests that her husband David (Liam Neeson) has been unfaithful. But there's only one way to know for sure. Catherine pays the mysterious Chloe (Amanda Seyfriend), an escort, to seduce her husband. She wants to know exactly how far she can trust him. But soon Catherine finds herself pushed beyond all limits as passions burn and obsessions build. From Academy Award®-nominated director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter, 1997)."Intriguing, darkly erotic." -Tom Keogh, Seattle Times"A supercharged erotic thriller!" -Caryn James, Marie Claire"…a sexually charged drama…" -Bruce Kirkland, Toronto Sun"good, dirty fun." -Ain't It Cool News"devilishly sexy." -Paul Fischer, Dark Horizons

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