I just watched "Broken" on DVD and calling this episode a masterpiece feels like an understatement. While the writers and director deserve a huge round of applause, Hugh Laurie just knocks this one out of the park...plain and simple.
After reading some of the other reviews, I learned that Laurie has not yet won an Emmy (hopefully I'm wrong.) If he doesn't win the Emmy for this episode, the only reason is that he's going to win the Oscar for Best Actor. An Emmy seems too little for his performance...and he is as good in "Broken" as any Oscar winner in the past.
At 82 minutes, and without commercials, I was able to submerge myself in House's new "house..." the psychiatric hospital he checked into at the end of Season 5. While some parts were hysterical (..."now I'm committed. Ha! get it?") ...like when he immediately and accurately diagnoses his fellow patients, then triggers their psychoses and phobias with his caustic wit...classic House grumpiness and cynicism! And yet, other parts left me in tears...House realizing he was broken...and feeling lost. Of course, Laurie was surrounded by talented actors who were allowed to shine for this show. His roommate, Alvy, and the psychiatrist played by Andre Braugher, delivered wonderful performances....Braugher's short yet powerful scene by his father's bedside left me in tears. The ending...when Silent Woman speaks through her cello...and Alvy is inspired to want to "get better," lets us experience the joy of their triumph. Watching House try to get over the things he can't fix....when his whole life is based on fixing others... allows us to feel his struggle.
The writing was just sublime....understated in allowing us, the audience, to feel the sadness, the joy, and the victory without beating us over the head with the cliché club. Like an exquisitely sharp scalpel....the performances cut into me so cleanly that my emotions poured freely from my heart.
"Broken" is what all forms of drama should aspire to...be they television, movies, theater...or even books...and "Broken" is simply, a perfect 82 minutes of television.
My only fear is that this is the peak of a truly magnificent series....I don't know how the talent and creativity behind House would ever be able to top this success.
Hugh Laurie has crafted the perfect character...so many layers creating the complexity of his role. His strength is evident...yet the more he tries to hide his vulnerability, the more vulnerable we find him to be. This fear is something we can all identify with, I believe. Dr. House is overflowing with character defects, yet one can't help but to love him. He has created the ideal hero that is a mirror to all of us who find ourselves hopelessly human.
After reading some of the other reviews, I learned that Laurie has not yet won an Emmy (hopefully I'm wrong.) If he doesn't win the Emmy for this episode, the only reason is that he's going to win the Oscar for Best Actor. An Emmy seems too little for his performance...and he is as good in "Broken" as any Oscar winner in the past.
At 82 minutes, and without commercials, I was able to submerge myself in House's new "house..." the psychiatric hospital he checked into at the end of Season 5. While some parts were hysterical (..."now I'm committed. Ha! get it?") ...like when he immediately and accurately diagnoses his fellow patients, then triggers their psychoses and phobias with his caustic wit...classic House grumpiness and cynicism! And yet, other parts left me in tears...House realizing he was broken...and feeling lost. Of course, Laurie was surrounded by talented actors who were allowed to shine for this show. His roommate, Alvy, and the psychiatrist played by Andre Braugher, delivered wonderful performances....Braugher's short yet powerful scene by his father's bedside left me in tears. The ending...when Silent Woman speaks through her cello...and Alvy is inspired to want to "get better," lets us experience the joy of their triumph. Watching House try to get over the things he can't fix....when his whole life is based on fixing others... allows us to feel his struggle.
The writing was just sublime....understated in allowing us, the audience, to feel the sadness, the joy, and the victory without beating us over the head with the cliché club. Like an exquisitely sharp scalpel....the performances cut into me so cleanly that my emotions poured freely from my heart.
"Broken" is what all forms of drama should aspire to...be they television, movies, theater...or even books...and "Broken" is simply, a perfect 82 minutes of television.
My only fear is that this is the peak of a truly magnificent series....I don't know how the talent and creativity behind House would ever be able to top this success.
Hugh Laurie has crafted the perfect character...so many layers creating the complexity of his role. His strength is evident...yet the more he tries to hide his vulnerability, the more vulnerable we find him to be. This fear is something we can all identify with, I believe. Dr. House is overflowing with character defects, yet one can't help but to love him. He has created the ideal hero that is a mirror to all of us who find ourselves hopelessly human.