I am more elated after seeing Day of the Doctor in cinema than I was seeing the Mona Lisa in person at the Louvre. Matt Smith's artistry as an actor, John Hurt's subtle performance, David Tennant fanboying at every opportunity and Steven Moffat's creation makes this a more meaningful piece of art to me than anything I had the honour and privilege of seeing at the Louvre or Uffizi.
The event begins with a strict, yet wonderfully comedic, warning from Strax about proper etiquette in the theatre. The audience went wild as soon as he began describing the popcorn's screams and feasting on their bodies. The second video had Matt speak to us and a person off camera about 3D. The witty banter about the 100th anniversary, 57 doctors, and 12D made the audience chuckle quite a bit.
Admittedly, my heart skipped a beat when I saw Matt on the big screen. It is a marvelous thing to see the person you admire so greatly on a larger than life scale. It also allows you to relish in every nuance
and gesture. His performances are so settle that sometimes you need to watch him a second or possibly more times just to catch every moment.
There is one moment in particular that I really liked. It's the scene with David and John in the cell. You can see all the emotion in the profile of his face, especially his eyes. The moment that struck me was what he was doing with the carvings in stone. His fingers would swipe away markings and dust before gliding down the face for a second. It's the tiny things that make the moment seem real and genuine.
It'd be easier if I had the episode in front of me to pause and convey exactly why I think his performance stands out amongst others. It's not just his eyes are always searching or the tiny inflections in his voice, tilt of the head, crack of a smile, the way he holds his hands or slouches/straightens his shoulders. It's not just his gait, stride, and the way he holds his arms and points. There is something intrinsically more organic about the way he expresses his characters motives, emotions and personality.
John Hurt is always such a great performer and he understands the comedy in the script just as well as anyone else working on the project. I thought David was fantastic for the first time I saw him, but then I recalled a video where he talks about pulling faces and that is what I seemed to focus on the second viewing. He's still David. He's still awesome. It's just that it''s more apparent he doesn't quite match the caliber of John or Matt.
The cinematography and special effects were well done. Yes, there are moments that were noticeably not as smooth or authentic and it became more apparent on the big screen. I think leniency must be given to the fact this is a episode of television. It's not actually a feature film. It has the grandeur of film, but it's still television on a television budget.
Nick Hurran's direction was marvelous. We have seen his work before in the series with The Girl Who Waited, The God Complex, Asylum of the Daleks, and Angels Take Manhattan. Hurran has proven he understands action as much as he does drama and comedy. Steven Moffat has written his best script (other than "A Scandal in Bulgravia" for Sherlock and "Angels Take Manhattan/Name of the Doctor" for Doctor Who) I think he has truly outdone himself on this one. Thankfully, he didn't make us cry.
The Behind the Lens featurette at the end was equally fantastic. It never ceases to surprise me when I see Steven Moffat fanboying over his own work. I thought it was cute to hear him talk of the three doctors and then see him gleefully taking pictures of David, Matt and John. There was a great applause for all the classic and current doctors and a special whoop for Colin Baker at the end.
I think the most incredible aspect of watching it in cinema is experiencing it with people like the woman who sat next to me who was watching for the first time mixed in with people like myself who had seen it before. It's fascinating to hear people gasp, laugh, and everything in between. I could go on and on about this episode, but I think I might actually wait until the bluray comes out so that I can talk about scenes that really meant a lot and why they did so.
Until then, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the experience.
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