Monday, October 24, 2011

|ARTICLE| Before 4.06: Robin Tunney and Henry Thomas



We’re less than a week away from 4.06 Where in the World is Carmine O’Brien, and if you follow us on twitter, you may have seen great excitement for this upcoming episode in particular.

Riders of the Purple Sage (1996).
Maybe you don’t get what’s the big whoop.

Because it’s not just a episode centered on the lovely Senior Agent in charge of the team, but it’s also a reunion of sorts of two actors who have played together before and have shared the spotlight. And to top it all off, this time, they are also related.

Why yes, I’m talking about Robin Tunney (Teresa Lisbon) and Henry Thomas (Tommy Lisbon).

They shared a couple of scenes in the western Riders of the Purple Sage (1996), where Henry’s character discovers the injured masked bandit is actually a woman (Robin) and nurses her back to health; but they shared the whole movie in Niagara, Niagara (1997).



Robin Tunney won the Volvi Cup at the Venice Film Festival for Best Actress for her role in Niagara, Niagara.

In this independent film, Robin plays the character of Marcy, a woman with Tourette Syndrome, which -and I quote from the online summary- causes her to compulsively curse, flail about, and indulge in anti-social behavior. Henry Thomas plays Seth, the son of an abusive father. Both of them meet while shoplifting the same store.

This is not your usual love-story.

Niagara, Niagara (1997).
Both characters deeply scarred in their own way, they instantly form a connection, a bond, and decide to start a long journey towards Toronto, Canada, in search of Marcy’s long time wish of having a black "You Do The Hairdo" Barbie head.

As they decide to hit the road, Marcy can’t hide her tics any longer and snaps at a group of people in the street who were verbally bullying Seth, cursing and severely hurting one of them, before Seth pulls her away. That night, she tells him about her condition.

The real problem starts when they’ve travelled awhile, when they try to refill Marcy’s prescription drugs and the pharmacist refuses to comply, as well as all the others they try to go to. Her condition just gets worse over time and things take an even worse turn when they fail to rob the drugstore to get her meds and Seth gets shot in the leg as a result.

Now, they’re fugitives.

There’s a lot more in store for them, but I won’t tell you what exactly, as I’d be ruining what it is a truly unique film.

Venice Film Festival (1997).
I’ll admit I was a bit scared before I watched it the first time, I thought it’d make me look at Lisbon differently for some reason. But Robin Tunney really turns into a whole different person while embodying Marcy. You can feel her frustration, her pain and her innocence. Henry Thomas’ performance was raw as well, Seth being the ideal albeit not typical understanding companion.

Unconventional as it is, the characters had a beautiful love story.

Which is why we’re so excited to see them reunited on-screen, even if they are going to play totally different characters now, fourteen years later.



We highly recommend you watch this movie before the episode airs.
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2 comments:

  1. I don't know if I can actually explain what this "reunion" means to me. As a huge fan, Niagara Niagara is much more than a movie. It's my favorite one and it's was when I finally watched it, by the end of 2008, that I became a fan of Robin. Do you know that very moment when you fall in love with someone, do you remember that feeling? That was how I felt. And the film is amazing, everything about it: the acting, the soundtrack, the extremely complex characters...

    Needless to say, my favorite character on the show is Lisbon. Always have been, since the first scene. And to finally meet one of her brothers, to have a chance to know more about her backstory, was a sort of a dream, something I was waiting for a long time. And it's here, so close. All together. My favorite show, my favorite character, my favorite actress and my favorite movie.

    This will be beautiful and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna cry at some point.

    And I swear I'll put my hands on Riders of the Purple Sage until the end of this year, God is my witness (even if, as the matter of fact, I'm atheist lol). :P

    Beautiful done, my dear Chibi! It's wonderful! You just made me even more anxious about this episode, if it was any possible.

    I can't fuckin' wait!

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  2. Well done Chibi! :D

    I can't really wait to know more about Lisbon's past, and having Henry as her brother makes it even more special!
    Can't still believe that after 14 years, we're going to see them together again, it will be special!

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