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By Shabnam Parker
Friday Night Lights has exploded onto television, not with the
bang NBC had envisioned but with a resonance that will remain deep in
the hearts of those that have taken the effort to tune in. For the
select few, Tuesday nights have turned into a night of high drama,
kick-ass football and encounters with an incredible cast, one of whom
brings the physical embodiment of haunted to the fore. An actor of
incredible substance, Taylor Kitsch makes his Friday Night Lights character, Tim Riggins, come alive in a heart breaking way.
At first glance, Mr Kitsch shoots one down with his raw masculine
energy. There is no denying his presence. He has the physique of a god,
exudes an electric pulse when looked upon and has the smile of an
angel. There is no other alternative than to take a moment and reflect
upon his magnificence. And where better to get a weekly dose of Kitschism than on Friday Night Lights, when he makes Tim Riggins his own.
Riggins
is the ultimate bad boy. Reckless, fiery and just plain hot. He also
has a vice that makes him the target for unnecessary comments that
undoubtedly are meant to faze him but rarely do, unless they are about
Jason Street (Scott Porter). From what has been divulged thus far,
Street and Riggins go back a long way. A long, long way even though
they are as different as day and night, heaven and earth, joy and
sadness; but that is beside the point. Their differing personalities
compliment the other, and appear to ground Riggins in reality, a
reality that he sadly drowns away with cases of beer upon cases of
beer. He just goes through the motions, existing more than living. That
was before Street had the accident, now he is on the edge of reality. In infinite disbelief.
I imagine the prospect of not having Street on the team makes it all
the harder for Tim to get up in the morning. He keeps going over and
over the tackle that brought Street to his current state of injury in
his mind, undoubtedly thinking if only he had taken the fall. For who
would miss a drunken screw-up like him? Who would care if he had had a
spinal injury? His girlfriend, Tyra (the beautiful Adrianne Palicki)?
She was too busy giving Smash (Gaius Charles) suggestive looks to give
a damn. Then to add to his already broken frame of mind, he has to deal
with Lyla (Minka Kelly), Jason’s girlfriend, and her glowing optimism.
It was enough to make any man break down, any man but Riggins.
Tim
is quietly angry at the world, cursing everyone in his mind,
verbalising when necessary. In essence, he’s a good guy, not at the
haloed level of Jason, but a good guy nonetheless. He has a heart. The
problem is that it is buried deep down and layers of heartache and
misery banish it to the dregs of intangibility. But this deal with
Jason goes straight to his gut. Tim didn’t need to see the replays over
and over, although he sat through them like he could change destiny.
The impact, the collision, the fall of his friend was imprinted in his
consciousness. Ingrained in his psyche.
The character of Tim
Riggins stands in stark contrast to the All American Golden Boy that
Jason Street represents. He is infinitely darker, has deeper wounds and
a heart-breaking aura of haunted disillusion. And to watch Taylor
Kitsch bring this is into being is phenomenal. |
