I must be hungry for an extra-large helping of Bewilderment, because on consecutive nights I made a point of planting myself in front of the T.V. and watching the final episodes of two series that I had never watched so much as once. I figured that Lost would leave me feeling exactly that, and I was right- but even without knowing who anyone was or what had transpired over the last six or seven years, it was a mildly entertaining finale for me. At least the last 45 minutes (which is actually all I watched) held my attention and gave me at least some idea of what all of the fuss has been about. It also helped me realize that this is not my kind of show, because I prefer my entertainment to be a bit more sure-footed. There are plenty of other ways – far less time- consuming – for me to get confused. (Opening the toolbox usually does the trick.)
On the other hand, the finale of 24 had me completely engrossed. . . and I even found myself rewinding and re- watching several different scenes. Not because I didn’t understand them but because once just wasn’t enough. (My wife will tell you that this is my ultimate compliment for a television program or movie, although my affection for the Rewind button tends to drive her crazy.) And the scenes which had me most completely under the spell had one thing in common…… they all featured the incomparable Cherry Jones, one of the greatest actresses on the planet right now.
For the last two seasons of Lost, she has portrayed the President of the United States . . . and one of the best compliments I can pay her is that I could easily imagine her character being elected to our highest office. (Most fictional U.S. presidents in film or television leave me mystified that anyone would even think of voting for them.) And that’s due as much as anything to Cherry Jones herself. What a luminous presence she has on the screen- thanks to those extraordinary, penetrating eyes. . . that powerfully expressive face . . . and that remarkably affecting voice. And what was especially impressive about her performance is that in this episode, the President is sort of backed into a corner and basically feels compelled to allow certain awful events to unfold – and then at the last minute, summons up the courage to face down her foes and stop their destructive plan in its tracks. In the hands of a lesser performer, this would feel very odd and unrealistic – as though we were watching two completely different people. But there was such strength even in her vulnerability, and such vulnerability in her strength, that we entirely believed the two sides of her character and how she could move from weakness to strength when it mattered most. And in the moments when she displayed towering courage and determination, she still felt completely human…. completely real.
I was a huge Cherry Jones fan long before this final episode of 24 came along. What got me hooked on this lady was seeing her on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning Doubt. From my front row center seat I drank in the single finest performance I have ever seen on a stage. . . and when Doubt toured to downtown Chicago some months later with Cherry Jones reprising her role, I got there for two performances and wished I could have been there for even more than that. I can still hear her thundering voice in such lines as “but I have my certainty!” and “I will step outside the church if that’s what needs to be done, though the doors should shut behind me!” as well as the shattering final moments of the play when this powerful figure suddenly and quite unexpectedly reveals her vulnerability and doubts. Nobody has emptied my tear ducts the way Cherry Jones did in Doubt, and in everything I’ve seen her do since (including a wonderful little turn in the sci-fi film Signs) my admiration for her has only grown. But somehow I didn’t manage to catch her in 24 until last night- shoot ‘em up thrillers are not my cup of tea, generally speaking – and it makes me almost hope for a broken leg that would lay me up long enough that I might have half an excuse to watch these past two seasons on DVD. But if that doesn’t happen, at least I got to see her – and this series – go out in a veritable blaze of glory.
pictured above: Cherry Jones at that moment in the episode when she has just summoned her courage and called a halt to a the signing of a crooked peace agreement that’s tainted by terrible crimes. I know people probably watch this show mostly for the car chases and explosions and rousing action with Kiefer Sutherland’s Jack Bauer right in the middle of it all, but for me there is nothing more thrilling about this show then that moment when Cherry Jones seemed to stare down the whole world . . . and won.