Fic Rec: Performance in a Leading Role
Apr. 3rd, 2012 08:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swissmarg posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
221b_recsTitle: Performance in a Leading Role
Links: On AO3 // On LJ (the author prefers to receive comments on LJ)
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
madlori
Pairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 156,716 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?
Reccer's comments: This isn't a new fic, and most if not everyone in the fandom probably already knows it, but it hasn't been recced here yet, and it's such a classic that I thought that oversight needed to be rectified.
Performance in a Leading Role is a complete AU, in which the only connection to the canon is the characterisations. The setting here is the film industry, specifically Hollywood. I want to make it clear that this is not RPF. Sherlock is not Benedict Cumberbatch, and John is not Martin Freeman. They are Sherlock and John from the BBC Sherlock series, as they would be if they were actors rather than a detective and an ex-Army doctor.
Sherlock maintains his fantastic ability to observe and deduce, but rather than solving crimes, he applies that knowledge to the craft of acting, creating performances that are flawless in their studied perfection but lacking in real emotion. John, just as in the BBC series, is the emotional, down-to-earth one, who teaches Sherlock things both about acting and about life. It's fun to see the other characters appear in slightly altered roles, too: Sally as Sherlock's PA (yes, it totally works!) and Harry as John's; Irene as John's publicist; Mrs Hudson as a staple of the British stage; Moriarty as a rival actor competing for the Oscar.
Now, what makes this story so popular? One thing for me is the level of detail and authority with which the film industry is depicted. The author has researched the process of Hollywood film production and made the story feel completely authentic (at least to me, with no actual first-hand knowledge of filmmaking). The cameos by real directors, producers, and actors further enhance the experience of making this story feel like it is really happening. It's just a lot of fun to see John appear on Ellen Degeneres' talk show or navigate his way through the paparazzi, because these are the kinds of things that we have actually seen (either in real life or on TV). We can place the events in this story in relation to our own lives, insofar as we have ever watched Ellen, E! News, or the Oscars, or been to a movie premiere. Allowing the reader to make that sort of connection is very clever, because it ties us into the story emotionally much more readily than a story about a murder investigation, which most of us have never experienced in real life.
Another point in favor of this story's popularity is certainly the smut, although I hesitate to use that word because the sex scenes are not gratuitous. They come about at natural points in the overall story and are much more about the emotion and the development of the relationships between John and Sherlock, and about their characters. But yes, they are still hot!
The main thing, though, that makes this story stand out for me, is the deeply personal portrayal of the characters. Each and every character is lovingly fleshed out, and John and Sherlock as the leads are invested with emotional depths and back stories that make them hugely sympathetic. I felt the anguish of their separation, their joy at being together, their anger and powerlessness at being at the mercy of the studio heads and marketing execs, and their elation in triumph.
I really can't recommend this story highly enough, and if for some reason you haven't read it yet, set aside a weekend (or a long plane flight) and take the plunge. You won't be disappointed!
Links: On AO3 // On LJ (the author prefers to receive comments on LJ)
Author:
madloriPairing: John/Sherlock
Length: 156,716 words
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: None
Verse: Sherlock BBC
Author's summary: Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?
Reccer's comments: This isn't a new fic, and most if not everyone in the fandom probably already knows it, but it hasn't been recced here yet, and it's such a classic that I thought that oversight needed to be rectified.
Performance in a Leading Role is a complete AU, in which the only connection to the canon is the characterisations. The setting here is the film industry, specifically Hollywood. I want to make it clear that this is not RPF. Sherlock is not Benedict Cumberbatch, and John is not Martin Freeman. They are Sherlock and John from the BBC Sherlock series, as they would be if they were actors rather than a detective and an ex-Army doctor.
Sherlock maintains his fantastic ability to observe and deduce, but rather than solving crimes, he applies that knowledge to the craft of acting, creating performances that are flawless in their studied perfection but lacking in real emotion. John, just as in the BBC series, is the emotional, down-to-earth one, who teaches Sherlock things both about acting and about life. It's fun to see the other characters appear in slightly altered roles, too: Sally as Sherlock's PA (yes, it totally works!) and Harry as John's; Irene as John's publicist; Mrs Hudson as a staple of the British stage; Moriarty as a rival actor competing for the Oscar.
Now, what makes this story so popular? One thing for me is the level of detail and authority with which the film industry is depicted. The author has researched the process of Hollywood film production and made the story feel completely authentic (at least to me, with no actual first-hand knowledge of filmmaking). The cameos by real directors, producers, and actors further enhance the experience of making this story feel like it is really happening. It's just a lot of fun to see John appear on Ellen Degeneres' talk show or navigate his way through the paparazzi, because these are the kinds of things that we have actually seen (either in real life or on TV). We can place the events in this story in relation to our own lives, insofar as we have ever watched Ellen, E! News, or the Oscars, or been to a movie premiere. Allowing the reader to make that sort of connection is very clever, because it ties us into the story emotionally much more readily than a story about a murder investigation, which most of us have never experienced in real life.
Another point in favor of this story's popularity is certainly the smut, although I hesitate to use that word because the sex scenes are not gratuitous. They come about at natural points in the overall story and are much more about the emotion and the development of the relationships between John and Sherlock, and about their characters. But yes, they are still hot!
The main thing, though, that makes this story stand out for me, is the deeply personal portrayal of the characters. Each and every character is lovingly fleshed out, and John and Sherlock as the leads are invested with emotional depths and back stories that make them hugely sympathetic. I felt the anguish of their separation, their joy at being together, their anger and powerlessness at being at the mercy of the studio heads and marketing execs, and their elation in triumph.
I really can't recommend this story highly enough, and if for some reason you haven't read it yet, set aside a weekend (or a long plane flight) and take the plunge. You won't be disappointed!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 10:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 11:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 01:28 pm (UTC)Tiny nitpick...Irene is not John's agent, she's his publicist/manager. Mike Stamford is his agent, and Lestrade is Sherlock's.
One other thing...would you mind linking to my LJ posting instead of AO3? Thanks. Here's the link: http://madlorific.livejournal.com/30177.html
no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 02:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 02:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 02:15 pm (UTC)I'm glad you rec'd it here. I'm a newbie and only just read it about a month ago, myself.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-03 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-04 04:51 am (UTC)So glad to see it being recc'd here.
no subject
Date: 2012-04-08 01:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 05:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-22 05:33 pm (UTC)