Mooning about Brad Pitt reminds me of another favorite actor: Keanu Reeves. I think I might have a unique standard of what constitutes good acting because I rarely find anyone who agrees with me about Pitt or Reeves. My favorite movies from these two are those where the characters are sort of... blank. I think Keanu delivers this sort of performance so well that he achieves a Zen state, and I can see through him to the meaning of the whole story. There is no distracting involvement with the character, just lots of head space to think about the story being told and to develop deep thoughts about the themes. The Matrix is his masterpiece in this genre. Can the viewer become emotionally involved with Neo? No, the viewer cannot! Instead, on the surface you can appreciate the visual, but the remaining 99% of your brain can wrestle with the meaning of the matrix, and all the different philosophical ramifications. Pure bliss. A thinking person's movie.
Similarly for Maestro Pitt. He excels with the blank character that draws you deeper into the movie than you otherwise might go. His only real problem is fabulous good looks that tempt the viewer to stay on the surface of the movie. This can be a serious problem, as there is frequently insufficient surface tension to support sustained interest. It is only by going deeper that the reward can be obtained. A River Runs Through It is supposedly about the relationship between a father and his sons. In reality (or my reality, which is close enough for current purposes), it is a meditation piece on the beauty of nature, and the moral necessity of protecting our environment. To access this deeper truth, just stare at Le Pitt as the sun shines through his golden locks: deep contemplation will result in correspondingly deep thoughts. (Seriously. I defy you to try to actually follow the plot. You are obviously meant to be thinking, not listening.) (Legends of the Fall is for advanced masters of this technique. More beautiful, less plot coherence, requiring more discipline to achieve the zen state.)
You can have your method actors and whatnot. All I ask for is an actor who can give me the room to think during the movie and come to my own conclusions. And make up my own story, for that matter. That's way more than two hours of entertainment.
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2 comments:
So, you must think Tom Cruise is brilliant too. I'm pretty sure he and Keanu went to the same school of acting.
Sorry I gave you grief about your milkshake. One or even two milkshakes are not going to kill you.
What movie did the ladies go see? I can't remember the last movie I saw in the theater.
You know, TC is always a miss for me. He has too much of his own (crazy) personality that he can't quite let go of. His looks also aren't conducive to brilliance, since every time I see his profile I'm startled by the odd shape of his nose.
No one tops Keanu- no one.
We didn't see a movie at all! We went to a fondue restaurant, and dinner took 4 hours. After that, we all just went home to try to digest.
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