Chris Carson a performance ( and the fabulous cast-with pics and clips)

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Part I. the cast.

If you want to switch to Chris and Mr.Freeman's performance scroll down to Part II.

BE AWARE OF SPOILERS!

 This is a Martin Freeman Fan project, so it's only natural to put him and his work and performance in The Responder into focus.

But doing this and missing out the opportunity to say what a fabulous cast he has with him, would not be a shame..

No it would be a crime!

Every single role big or small are wonderfully played and all of them need a huge round of applause, including Ian Hart , Faye McKeever and Amaka Okafor. 

It's very rare to gather such a thoroughly perfect cast, and every single one of them is a joy to watch, or let me say they deserve all the laughter, pain and tears they cost me while watching The Responder.

I couldn't name a standout because that would be ridiculous.

But I start with Rachel.

I immediately felt drawn to Rachel, because she is like so many young people who start work life and / or a new job.

We are excited and look forward to opportunities to prove we're worth it.

And we want to do the right thing, but being a police officer and partner of Chris Carson makes it a bit more difficult to walk on moral grounds.

Adelayo Adedayo captures the essence of Rachel marvelously and with heart and grace.

Not later than when we meet her boyfriend for the first time or the all smug Mullen comes along we want to scream " run girl run" and do it your way!

Which brings me to Mullen...

Every fairytale needs a villain.

I can't believe I just quoted Moriarty.

But it's true, the problem here is that we have to ask ourselves is Mullen the bad guy and Chris the good one?

The borders are blurry , but Mullen is not the proud avenger who seeks justice nor is his game all fair play.

He hates Chris and loves Kate, or he claims to love.

Is it love when you are caught in a web of friendship, job and relationships and you ruin the life of a man and his family?

Building a bridge on the ashes you burnt..

a brilliant performance played by Warren Brown.

The other part of the problem here is Kate, and  I have a lot of sympathy for her and the vulnerable acting offered by MyAnna Buring.

Even if I think it's not particularly tasteful to cheat on your husband with the best friend's man.

But like the old saying:

" Walk a mile in my shoes first ".

Kate lives with silence ,outbursts and staring at walls.

She has a man who works too much and when home there is only his shell present.

A shell that become more and more hollow.

I do believe her that she still loves Chris, but sometimes love is not enough, and not everything can be cured and healed with love.

I wonder if there is a real chance for their marriage.

Special shout out to Romi Hyland-Rylands as Tilly.

She is such an angel and plays the part of the daughter not only wonderful but with so much love, intelligence and adoration for her father that is heartbreaking and heartwarming they same time.

Which leaves two people who need mentioning before we heading to the main character.

Marco and Casey!

The moment you meet Marco you like him.

There is a kind of sweetness around him, and Josh Finan brings it so brilliantly to the surface.

The chat with him, and Carson in the car is so profound, and even you realise immediatly that there are better qualified men for the part of a father, you still want him to be happy with his little family, very well aware that you just lied to yourself, almost just as hard as he lied to himself in that moment of false wishes and undefined hopes.

You getting angry with Marco, and forgive him in the next moment, he is sometimes so childlike and innocent, and you just want to safe him, and its a sad fact that you can't.

But the real issue for Chris and for herself is Casey played to perfection by Emely Fairn.

Casey is a walking problem for everyone including dealer and a certain police officer.

She is that kind of girl that makes one mistake after another, but still keeps trying.

She takes you for a ride, only to tell you a minute later that she is really sorry, and for the hundreds of times you want to believe her.

 Casey walks almost blindly through danger, with a naivety that is equally sweet and silly.

She is one of those people, you want to grab by the shoulders and tell them to finally do something to change the situation to the better, because you feel that deep down burried under all the drugs and hopelessness she deserves a far better life, like so many Casey and Marco stand for.

Part II 

Chris Carson------- a performance deep, rich and intense.

Welcome to part ii and this part is only dedicated to Christopher Carson and the man who made him so intensely real.

Just yesterday in preparation for this blog I read an older article from 2022 saying :

" The Responder gives us a new view on Freeman. This is the Freeman we have waited to see.

Forget the straight man sidekick he often played like he did in Sherlock".

Oh...dear!

Besides the fact that I should write a blog post about the ever so " straight sidekick " John Watson , this sort of article feels more like a punch in the face instead of a praise for a long term fan.

Don't get me wrong I love reading praises for Mr.Freeman ,and in his case, all raves, accolades, nods and wins are more than deserved.

But when I write an article on someone I research before I do so, and if you research Mr. Freeman's work you will notice that he has played various characters of depth and strength and has given incredible performances.

If you have ever seen Phil Rask and his attempt to choke himself to death you will never doubt or need to be surprised,and that was just one example.

So without sounding like a super arrogant over confident blogger, ( which I am most certainly not ) but if you are a journalist and you write about people, please research and respect the person you write about.

With this the praise and the reviews are so much more fun to read, and that goes for every artist.....my opinion only!

So I wasn't actually waiting for such a strong performance, because I knew for a long time what kind of talent Mr.Freeman is, but the sheer intensity of his acting was one of the greatest pleasures in my fan life.

Chris Carson is a character so broken, and so done that you ask yourself within seconds after you have met him how he will survive another day.

His words are shaken and his posture is so tense, that you almost feel the pain and the shaking physically in your own body. 

He constantly stands  in the shattered pieces of his life, and he doesn't find a way out.

And unfortunately the audience need to agree with him.

It is always very dangerous to say such things, but in this case I risk it and say:

" Mr.Freeman becomes Chris Carson".

Even the way he walks is changing and depends on the situation.

 When he is in his police uniform, which gives him the necessary amour he needs to function at least to a minimum, he shows an aggressive presence that makes it immediately clear that you better do not pick a fight with him. 

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The problem is that now and then a word or a glance is enough to let him explode.

There is so much frustration and aggressiveness underneath, he seems ready to burst several times during those dreadful night shifts.

His walk and posture changes drastically during the day.

Then he seems to be almost fragile and so full of doubt and guilt, especially around Kate.

It might sounds a bit silly, but I feel particularly  sorry for him when he wakes up.

Lots of people with mental health issues absolutely hate waking up, because there is this little moment of realization that there is a new day with the old problems.

You can see all the desperation and helplessness in his face, and it is heartbreaking because in my case, it is a little too close to home.

Chris really wants to do better, and he is trying, but without getting any result, because he is so captured in his own mind, and the night shifts are literally killing him.

He loves his family and wants to be " a good bobby " but the reality is that he is a degraded cop with a wife who cheated on him , he needs medication to go through the day, and has several anxiety waves and attacks day and night.

But our new favourite broken hero is not without flaws, we get more than hints that his " friendship " with Carl is a very dangerous mixture of sentimental feelings and the fact that " I scratch your back, if you scratch mine " is not the best thing a police officer can do in general, but most definitely not when your job is in question.

Every single scene with Mr.Freeman is a tour de force and a painful joy to watch.

Every gesture, every line and expression are pure excellence, you feel immediately drawn to him and his shattered life.

You hold your breath when he gets angry, and you feel his panic when he stumbles from one hopeless situation into the next.

Carson is a man of so many layers, underneath emotions and feelings he tries hard to keep buried so they cannot hunt him, but to no effect.

His mind is his biggest enemy,and instead of getting better he sinks deeper and deeper into an abyss of stress, trauma and violence.

And thanks to Mr. Freeman and his dark yet deeply honest and emotional performance we are with him all the way, and feel every second of it.

 Naming favourite moments of Chris Carson is impossible!

But besides the panic attacks ( a fact that deserves a separate post and got it!) and the brilliant scenes with Rachel, Casey, Marco and Kate there is one particular thing I would like to highlight.

The moments when Chris Carson turns into Christopher Carson, the son.

Every morning after a hard shift Chris visits his dying mother,and there and only there we see a caring and vulnerable man who is longing for peace in mind, and another reality where he can pretend everything is going to be ok, perfectly aware that there is no way out, not for his mother and not for him.

The most heartbreaking and most poignant moment between Chris and his mother almost ripped my heart out.

But before I continue.....see for yourself.

The scene followed me for days , it provoked so many different emotions, and it was one of these scenes that brought up so many feelings and an actual heartbreak, and I'm asking you all;

What is a better prove for a damn fine acting than this ?!

The moment when Chris confessed it all to his mother, and for the first time, he is really willing to embrace his own mess, makes us aware that we are all Chris Carson!

We might not be a damaged officer, and we might not try to sell an awful lot of cocaine, but we all know this certain point in life, when you hit rock bottom, and you need to acknowledge it.

And this almost childlike moment, when he wants to be hold by his 

Mum.

He needs the closeness and warmth, and the silly little second that makes him feel like a protected boy, who knows that Mum will make everything right.

But did he ever had a chance to feel that way?

  

 

Like I mentioned earlier I have seen loads of strong performances coming from Mr.Freeman in twenty years, and this is no exception and like I have said in another blog post, You can find here 

 his work only became deeper over the years, and has a new weight since several years so not really new anymore, but he is one of those rare talents who get better and better and yet stay the same.

His acting was and is flawless, and you always could read every single emotion in his face, but the Responder is a standout because the writing is exceptional and when you read Mr. Schumacher's explanation on Martin Freeman you know exactly why.

Tony Schumacher:

His season of Fargo was one of the reasons why I wrote the show with him in mind. He was so good and so dark and so evil. I think he's proven that he is one of the best actors in the country, probably the world.”

Mr. Schumacher already thought of Martin Freeman while writing the show, which is a fact that shines through in every episode.

This is Martin Freeman's show through and through and he is Chris Carson and always was.

I think that's an enormous advantage and good fortune for an audience.

The Responder...lucky for us not just another cop show!

For questions and suggestions or to chat please contact me: sabsigb7@yahoo.com