Still Not Over It

I figured that by now I would be over the whole David Tennant/Doctor Who thing that I had going on, but apparently not. A few days after I finished the entire series (by series I mean the latest four seasons) as well as Torchwood Children of Earth I went into Tennant withdrawl so I did what any self-respecting child of the internet age does - I imdb'd his movies and youtubed him. What I found surprised me, David Tennant isn't just some pop, type actor who runs around in tight suits and converse sneakers (although I must say he looks quite dapper while he does it). He is an actor of enormous talent and not just because of his acting but because of his understanding. He understands what he's supposed to be acting, he understands the role that he is playing and not just the character, the role that he is playing in the world in how what he's doing will be viewed.

I think a good example of his enormous talent is the movie"Recovery". This is one of the hardest movies to watch because of the heartbreaking reality that is portrayed. So often Hollywood gives us happy endings with miraculous cures but Recovery tells the story of a man who suffers from a brain injury after accidently stepping out in front of a passing truck and how his family picks up around him as their lives have changed forever. To be honest, I sobbed. Not once, not twice but multiple times; not because it was a difficult movie to watch but because it hurt to watch. It challenged my humanity to keep watching and not to pass by on the wayside. There were tears rolling down my face as I watched David Tennant portray a man who had literally lost who he was - he had these memories but no way to make and remember new ones. There were tears rolling down my face as a man had no control over himself and it frustrated him that he just couldn't - it frustrated him that he just couldn't remember, that he couldn't be the man he used to be. Every last second was believable. Every last second was brilliant.

All of this heart-aching sorrow and difficulty coming from the man who made tall and skinny sexy. I mean, really sexy.

He's also recently did Hamlet and it was freaking amazing. Well, his Hamlet was really freaking amazing. I haven't seen a Hamlet as good as his - it wasn't overdone, it wasn't over dramatized as a lot of Shakespeare is prone to be, it made so much more sense than a majority of the Hamlet's I've seen - which is a testament to how he acts: with his voice and body as much as anything else.

At this point I have seen just about everything he's played a major or supporting role in and I've loved it all. Well, except Secret Smile. Don't get me wrong, his acting was brilliant but the move as a whole was deeply disturbing. Someone who can play the role of a sociopathic killer, Casanova, a singing detective, a brain damaged man AND pull of the Doctor is one heck of an actor.