The first time I realized Philip Seymour Hoffman was astonishing was when I saw the movie Magnolia. In it he plays the character of a nurse named Phil Parma. Phil has been charged with caring for an elderly man dying of brain cancer. As is the case with so many nurses, Phil goes far beyond the call of duty, and attempts to connect the dying man with his prodigal son. It is a beautiful movie about the desperate pain and honesty of the human condition. And it seems appropriate that in remembering the life of Philip Seymour Hoffman, I think of this compassionate character first.
I suppose the second thing that comes to mind is addiction. As a hospital chaplain I happen to work floors where addiction is regular part of a patient’s illness. Often it is alcohol. Or cocaine. Many times it has been intravenous drugs. Up until this point in my life I had not known anyone who was addicted to drugs like heroin. Or at least they had never told me about their struggle. I am ashamed to admit that it felt like a distant thing that happened to people who made poor life choices.
That quickly changed after a few weeks of serving the patients of my hospital. People have many platitudes of illness they use to dismiss their own pain or the pain of others. In terms of addiction, one of my least favorites has come to be “There but for the grace of God go I.” It assumes that God has somehow chosen an unlucky many to be addicts to the worst chemicals man can create. It butchers God’s grace into a game show of life’s drama: some win heroin addiction, others just watch too much TV. Mostly, I hate this self-help saying because it blames God for the world’s atrocity. And the powerless victims of addiction are placed again in a category of “grace-less other.” Which is, of course, the last thing they needed in this, their greatest hour of need.
There are plenty of reasons to be angry with addicts like Philip Seymour Hoffman. He has three kids. He was a brilliant artist with a sparkling career. He has been sober for an incredible 23 years. The thing is, Hoffman knew all that stuff about himself. Throwing it up in the air on social media and around the water cooler will not offer us any answers. Only more sadness and anger.
And yet, the temptation to be furoius towards Hoffman ultimately serves as a way to distance ourselves from him. To make a self-assured solemn vow that we ourselves would never do what he did. Except that when we are really honest, we all land squarely in the Hoffman camp of helplessness and tenuousness on, at least, some of our days. Hopefully it’s not heroin that drives us into the dark. But the same unaddressed pain and heartache can work itself out as our self-destruction.
I cannot waste any time judging Hoffman anymore than I can judge any other addict. Or, for that matter, any other brother and sister in the struggle for hope and survival in this broken world. God bless you, Philip. And thank you for the life and art you shared with all of us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4zao2JstzD4&w=600
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15 responses to “A Brief Reflection on Philip Seymour Hoffman”
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Wonderful post. Thanks for citing that movie. He was magnificent. Magnolia also included a powerful performance by Tom Cruise, perhaps his best ever and one of the most dislikeable roles he’s ever had. And, of course, there were the frogs. It was a movie for grownups.
I loved Magnolia for all the reasons you cited. I also think it was Tom Cruise’s best role but figure because it was also the character most like him. Editorial note, I’ve always thought it was “There BUT for the grace of God go I”
Thanks for a compelling post. Like Tricia, I always thought it was “There but for the grace of God go I.” Of course I have heard it used as a pitying if not patronizing piece of judgment–not unlike the Pharisaic “Thank you, Lord, for not making me like this sinful publican…” But–and I say this as a person in recovery–I’ve also heard it and said it myself with a deep sense of empathy and compassion. It speaks both to my powerlessness over alcohol and the basic truth of my recovery: that only God can and does relieve me from my alcoholism. When I heard that PSH died, I don’t know that I consciously thought though “there but for the grace of God…” but I did think about how easily that could have been me. Far from objectifying him (as the media so often does), I feel like it is a means of humanizing him. Instead of pity, I think I’ve felt humbled.
Rob, thanks for your insight and honesty. I do think that phrase can be used with deep empathy. It just gets misused in my context. I know what you mean about being humbled. Addiction can seem so far away until it is so near.
Great post, Sarah! I agree with Rob, also. What shook me to my core is that he had been clean and sober for over 20 years and relapsed, I think, last year. I, too, have long term recovery. When I hear these stories they scare me and serve as a wakeup call to not “rest on my laurels”. This could happen to anyone in recovery.
Magnolia is the best. Tricia, thanks for the edit. You are right.
Wonderful post! I’m only learning more about Phillip SH now as I read articles about his life, I only knew he was memorable in any role he played. Like Rob I’m also an alcoholic and often hear about those who have succumbed to their addiction. I think there is a powerlessness in dealing with the loss of Hoffman just as there is also a powerlessness for him to have saved himself, which can be a connection that can be based on compassion and not the “poor life choices” perspective that you mentioned. Personally, I can’t think of him without thinking of him shouting “Rain Dance!” while playing basketball with Ben Stiller.
Thanks for this Sarah. I’ve been thinking of my favorite PSH roles since I heard the news. I can’t think of anyone who brought Romans 7 more viscerally to life than he did in The 25th Hour. And for all his virtuosity at playing marginalized characters, was anyone better at playing a preppie brat than him in Scent of a Woman or The Talented Mr. Ripley? And I have to say, although it’s a pretty abysmal movie, I still laugh when I think of him playing basketball in Along Came Polly (“Rainman!”). Probably the most painful to rewatch will be his incredible turn as a gambling addict in Owning Mahoney. What a tragedy.
He was awesome in “Doubt”
Great post. Such heartbreaking news.
“And yet, the temptation to be furoius towards Hoffman ultimately serves as a way to distance ourselves from him. To make a self-assured solemn vow that we ourselves would never do what he did. Except that when we are really honest, we all land squarely in the Hoffman camp of helplessness and tenuousness on, at least, some of our days. Hopefully it’s not heroin that drives us into the dark. But the same unaddressed pain and heartache can work itself out as our self-destruction.” …. a cold sober truth. deeply humbling.
Beautiful words. Thanks for sharing them!
Sarah & Josh, My quandary with PSH, actually began with Phil Oaks and then Heath Ledger. Phil was one of the powerful voices of our anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, right there w/ Peter, Paul, & Mary and Joan Baez or Joanie Mitchell. Phil was loved by all, yet friends began to peel away as he sank deeper into alcoholism. Phil died alone in a ditch by the side of the road. No one was with him. I am so haunted by the role of friends who have friends caught in addiction. AA counsels that we must allow the family member or friend to go thru their wrestling w the demons, until they come to realize they need help. But @ 35% die on the way to the bottom from suicide. Confrontation + 1 year treatment may be a more positive approach, but surely disengagement & abandonment will not help.
Great post. But . . . I don’t think that we blame Hoffman for what happened. I think that we blame ourselves. Our insistent need to put actors and other so-called “bold faced” named people onto pedestals hurts them as much as it hurts us. They either come to believe in their stellar selves or they can’t live up to it. Either way, they burn too bright and flame out. We need new heroes–heroes who are heroic, not simply talented.
What a great post, thank you.