How ‘The Bear’ proved that a little Jon Bernthal goes a long way
He’s stolen the two episodes he’s been in.
One of the things about Jon Bernthal is that he can really bring a dead person to life, especially when his character’s death lingers over the heart of the story. While that’s true in the wonderful film, The Peanut Butter Falcon, the cameo work on the Hulu show, The Bear, looms larger.
Before we can meet the doomed-to-a-kitchen Carmen Berzatto (the brilliant Jeremy Allen White), the audience finds out his brother, Michael (Bernthal), just took his own life. Brothers bound through a south Chicago restaurant that’s on the rocks, the Berzattos are cursed through a dedication to the culinary arts, health be damned.
The twist in the knife with Michael is that he was the larger-than-life personality who could dominate a room and would dote on his younger brother, but for some reason didn’t want Carmen to work there with him when his career took off. However, upon Michael’s abrupt passing, the restaurant was left to the little bro who felt like he either wasn’t good enough for it before, or may cling to the hope that he can turn it all around in order to make his brother proud.
Bernthal’s appearance in Season 1 was an appetizer compared to his screen time in Season 2’s powder keg of Christmas dysfunction episode, entitled Fishes. It was the opening scene of Ceres, episode 6 of the first round, that introduced us to “Mikey.” Storer wasted no time in setting off his casting timebomb, with the viewer hearing Bernthal’s voice fire up a tale about a stock broker bar, architectural grudges, Denis Savard, Bill Murray, and eternally great voicemails.
As the Berzattos prep a family lunch of Italian meats rolled over breadcrumbs, cheese, tomato, and whatever else was on the table during the scene, Michael gets into it as only Bernthal could. If you haven’t seen a few of his films, he turns into a taller Pacino when speaking. At one point, the octave could be hanging out in the basement, before launching into a penthouse shout. It’s a gift the Jewish actor has in spades, and Storer squeezed all the juice out of it.
Since Michael’s departure coats the entire show in tragedy, the show gets to toy with his memory, impact, and overall facade that has thrown Carmen and company into a vice since his death. The season one flashback was golden, but it only set up the stakes for Bernthal’s second season appearance.
Coming right past the halfway mark of this summer’s brand new season, Fishes is another flashback episode that paints a better picture of the Berzatto angst while also filling in some of the blanks for Michael with the viewer. Depression and addiction ran around inside that head for years, but the anxiety of purpose and perfection can drain a soul so quickly.
Taking place five years before current events at the Berzatto household for Christmas, the younger Carmen and Michael, along with their sister Natalie aka Sugar (Abby Elliott), attempt to keep their embattled mother (a thunderous Jamie Lee Curtis) from losing her way and mind while cooking.
New faces like Uncle Lee (Bob Odenkirk) permeate the tension of the episode and its argumentative fate, but it also gives us premium Carmen and Michael time. The brothers share a scene near the end of the hour where the older Berzatto confronts the younger one about his combative attitude. As “Carmy” spills his guts out about not being welcomed at the restaurant or how he wants to open a new place with Mikey, the viewer starts to understand how the saddest things in life are the things you just know aren’t possible.
While Michael gives Carmen the words he needs to hear before they go back to their respective holiday dinner corners, aka “let it rip,” we know the eventual fate. So does Michael, and this is where Bernthal creates a ton of emotion out of a paragraph or two on the page. You can feel the suicidal tendencies and devil on his shoulder teasing him as his youthful face collapses on itself.
Literally slapping away tears and self-judgement, Michael stares at the conceptual drawing of the proposed remodel, called The Bear. As he smacks sense into his head, the audience is confronted with the whole genesis of the show’s angst: our endless search for more time with the people we love.
Another scene in Fishes shows off The Bear’s crisp transition from hardcore drama to edgy comedy inside a couple of scenes, with Michael and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) teasing Carmen about the crush that a girl has on him. A David Mamet-like ricochet of dialogue follows, with the two getting perverted and hilarious about something that makes Carmen uncomfortable. Until my dying day, “a basket of biscuits” will be how I’ll describe a beautiful woman’s appeal, thanks to Bernthal.
Bernthal’s versatility goes on display next, when a table confrontation with Odenkirk’s Lee turns aggressive. Lee’s teasing about Michael’s inability to finish something turns into primal rage, as forks are thrown and tables are flipped. Everyone and everything goes verbally ballistic, and I was left heartbroken by the chip on the departed brother’s shoulders.
In a small amount of screen time, Bernthal brought that history out. That’s talent, showing an entire life in a handful of scenes. You could say that any amount of the actor leaves an impact on a show or movie, but Storer proved that it can be dynamic with the right material.
Show some self-respect, and watch The Bear on Hulu.