Darlings, have you ever seen the "Law And Order Criminal Intent" episode, entitled "Art???????" It not only goes all the way back to 2001; it was, I believe the very second episode of the series, but I am telling you, it bears watching, because Sylvia Moon, one of the characters, turns out to be one of the best pieces of work encountered anywhere. In any week, Sylvia would rate Bitch Of The Week on this blog, but I was so excited by her, I wanted to get the word out on her.
One reason to love Sylvia is because of the brilliance of the actress playing her. If you look closely at the face, you will discover it is Elizabeth Marvel. Sylvia is, admittedly, a small role, but, boy did Elizabeth use it to full advantage to make an impact. It's called acting, loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What happens is that two big time, New York art authenticators, Anne Ellis and Bernard Jackson, are found dead in their gallery/studio. Anne has been hanged, and Jackson shot, in what looks like a case of murder-suicide. But, things are not always as they seem, are they? Goren and Eames are led to a forged Monet painting, and a sleazy, sexist Austrian gallery owner, Rudy Langer. He implicates a female forger, but will not name her. The forger turns out to be Sylvia Moon, a former student of Bernard Jackson's, who was also sleeping with him, and was devastated when he let her go, artistically and personally!!!!!!! Sylvia is one sick, psycho thing. For starters, she wears an obvious blonde wig, to give her that obvious downtown, Soho art look. Very calculated. And, combined with the eyes, you can see in her face she is as crazy as a loon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Poor Sylvia! She has had it rough! She wants SO badly to be an artist on the art scene in New York! So much so, she gets admitted to art school by forging others' works, and sleeping with her instructor, Jackson. Meanwhile, as one of the professors tells Goren, Sylvia was a good draftsman, but had no real artistic talent. It only existed in her head. Some part of Sylvia knows this, when she recognizes how good her roommate's paintings are. So, Sylvia, who, apparently, is very adept with rope--she should have taken up macrame; then she might have had a career!!!!!!!-- kills her roommate, and hangs her from a pipe over the bed, making it look like a suicide. Is this starting to sound familiar???? Then she passes off those paintings, the ones no one has seen, as he own, and is given acclaim.
No one suspects the roommate was murdered. Ten years have passed, when Goren and Eames come into it. They discover the roommate suicide, and something about that and Anne Ellis' death, plus Sylvia always being around for these occurrences, tell them something is up.
What happens is that Rudy Langer enlists Sylvia, who is skilled enough to forge masterworks, to do some forging for his gallery. He strings along with her hunger for fame, in return promising a show of her own. But, when the cops get too close, things explode between them. She lashes out a him; he tells her she has no talent. When Sylvia realizes there is to be no show, she goes berserk, and I thought she was going to kill Langer. I would not have been sorry, if she had.
So, the detectives bring in Sylvia and Rudy, take them to the Ellis-Jackson murder scene, where the psychotic Sylvia cracks, revealing Langer killed Jackson, and she helped him kill Anne Ellis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are hauled off. But I LOVE Sylvia's big scene here, with her raving psychotically, "You don't know what it is like. You don't know what it is like to work so hard, and be a nobody!" Now, I can relate to this, darlings; I have felt this way, myself. But the trouble is, Sylvia had no idea how fabulous she was, or that New York was a town where you can invent your own fabulousness!!!!! Like the way I have, darlings!!!!!!! She wanted everything--pardon the expression--by the basic blueprint, which she was not cut out for.
Which is why I sort of wanted to say "Fuck you!" to Goren, when he replies to her, "Welcome to the human race," as if we have to accept that we are all nobodies!!!!!!!!! Screw that!!!!!!!!!!!! But, this being 'Criminal Intent,' it has to end on an acerbic note.
As Langer is hauled off, the sexist Austrian screams about having been "brought down by a woman!" Goren observes, with Sylvia now a notorious killer, those paintings of hers now have some value, and both would have gotten the fame they yearned for. Only now, they won't!!!!!!!!!
But you gotta hand it to Sylvia, darlings, and for Elizabeth Marvel playing her brilliantly. Wonder what kind of an upbringing Sylvia had? Was her mother some kind of fame wannabe, like Kim Stanley in "Frances," who pushed her yearning onto her daughter? I would not be surprised!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sylvia Moon is one of the best screwed up psychos around! Don't miss her story, next time you get a chance to see it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And that wig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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