Five by Five continues the spectacular Faith characterization that started over on her recent Buffy two-parter. Just like Angel, Cordelia and (in some regards) Wesley, Faith too has come to Los Angeles on a journey of redemption, consciously or not. She breaks down in tears at the end, begging Angel to kill her, so disgusted with herself, her body, her behavior, her everything. It's pretty remarkable to see self-hatred portrayed in such a grandiose way, but Eliza Dushku sells it wonderfully. Being Faith, though, it takes a while for her self-awareness to kick in, and first she has a crazy amount of fun.Wolfram & Hart's pursuit of Faith is handled really well, the lawyers using legal talk to immediately spin their hiring of Faith and their desire to assassinate Angel. There's just so much to enjoy in those scenes, from Faith pounding Lee Mercer's head against his desk over and over again, to that hot sequence where Faith dances to Living Dead Girl, the fighting choreography perfectly timed to match the beats and pauses of the song.
But far more than the feeling of amusement, Five by Five eventually grounds itself in misery and horror. Faith has never been more unhinged than in her scenes with Wesley, which pop with textured dialogue that is given real life and fire by Dushku, who lends every word some enhanced meaning (notice the regret and sadness she injects into the last word of 'what's that, love?'). I've ragged on Dushku's acting in recent years, but she really is genius here. Her range is limited, sure, but she absolutely nails this particular character so well.
Wesley, too, is stunning this week. He expresses regret over his handling of Faith, remains reasonably calm and kick-ass even when being tortured, and is prepared to kill her at the end. Compare this to his flailing and cowardice in season three of Buffy and even his first appearances on Angel, and it's remarkable to see so much character growth already.
The theme of redemption runs throughout the episode, and the argument over whether it's right to give up on somebody who makes mistakes, or actually trying to rehabilitate them. It's mentioned in the gang-banger scenes at the beginning, right through to the flashbacks to Angel's initial cursing, as well as Faith's rampage. Five by Five is the strongest episode of the first season, brilliantly performed and directed with an epic and ambitious flourish. A+
Credits
Guest stars Julie Benz (Darla); Christian Kane (Lindsey McDonald); Thomas Burr (Lee Mercer); Tyler Christopher (Bret Folger); Stephanie Romanov (Lilah Morgan); Eliza Dushku (Faith)
Writer Jim Kouf Director James A. Contner
It's sad how much she's been critisized in recent years for her acting in Dollhouse. But I guess she really was miscast there and she really doesn't have much range. It's unfortunate because back in the Buffy days, I loved her so much and was sure the sky was the limit for her. Unfortunately it's not. Or maybe she just hasn't found that right project yet. Who knows. But this episode like you said really showed how amazing she could be. This was always one of my favorites and obviously the highlight of Angel's lame season 1.
ReplyDeleteWow, such a good review!
ReplyDeleteI think that's a perfect synopsis- the whirlwind effect coming to sobering halt. The high angle shot at the end was perfectly used, Faith looked so small, completely broken down.
The dance fighting was funny though, so terrible of her but very funny. XD oh dear...
eek, what's going to happen next!