Reviewed by Judy Garrison
I’ve always enjoyed watching Laura Linney on screen. That includes her excellent depiction of a displaced wife under enormous pressure in the Ozark series, as she morphed through perceived necessity into an inarguably dark character. Still, I felt that role didn’t allow the range her acting talent warrants. This one, The Big C—a Showtime series from 2010-2013 which I knew nothing about and simply clicked open on Netflix during early Winter—allows an unprecedentedly extensive range for emotion and action. And, boy, does Linney fill it!
Linney’s Cathy Jaimison has been diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic melanoma, a serious and aggressive skin cancer that she is told will kill her. Up until receiving this diagnosis she was a reserved, self-abnegating suburban wife and mother, a well-liked high school history teacher. Now she has resolved to seize the days she has left, and she will do this without sharing her secret with anyone. She easily, it seems, bids goodbye to her former conformist life. Immersed in this new mindset, she has no problem kicking out her husband Paul, an immature but winning fellow played by Oliver Platt, mostly based on her irritation with his failure to close cupboard doors. Temporarily without a husband (she does take him back), Cathy is free to initiate bizarre projects, go where her impulses lead, to seek out her homeless and beyond quirky brother, Sean.
A glance at the episode guide for Season 1 reminded me of the outrageous incidents, including some truly transgressive activities that Cathy, her husband and her brother Sean live out. Every episode takes you into a diverting melodrama or two, none of which are out of the realm of real-life possibility. And all of which seem within the purview of the individual characters, characters who mostly evolve over time. We never take our eyes off the fireball that Linney enacts, which is not to say that we approve of a lot of her choices and behavior. Despite the fact that death is staring her in the face—though hopes of reprieve surface briefly with the offering of clinical trials—Cathy doesn’t play the victim and the show doesn’t veer into maudlin territory, the tone is not grim. Rather it is brimming with aliveness, and attitudes contrary to accepted norms. For instance, when Cathy joins a cancer support group she bridles against their positive thinking mantras. The side stories of other characters are also rife with rebellion and nonconformity: older neighbor Marlene, son Adam, the plucky Africa-identified student Andrea who comes to live with the family, Cathy’s cancer soulmate and the various doctors.
Somewhere I saw a comment by a cancer doctor who deplored the series showing a patient demonstrating behavior way outside typical norms. Portraying outrageous scenarios was OK with me, and I think it will be with most viewers, as the series succeeds exceedingly well as entertainment. Facing certain and early death isn’t an everyday state of mind for most of us. Whether it’s due to the high quality of the writing, the acting, or both, this is a thoroughly watchable, enjoyable, and, yes, thought- and emotion-provoking series, that I recommend getting caught up in during our relentless Winter.~