"And the Award for Best Actor/Actress Goes To.."

A week or two ago, I overheard a couple talking about Spielberg's latest release The Post and how Hanks and Streep were both "great" in it and it got me thinking: what do they mean by "great"? When they are watching the film and seeing Hank's character Ben Bradlee being stressed, are they thinking "Bradlee must really be stressed" or "Hanks is acting as being stressed really well" because if it is the latter I believe there is a problem in what we then deem to be good, or "great", acting.

What I will emphasise now is that what is said here is, obviously, all entirely my opinion and thus the examples I bring up are open to disagreement and what is generally said in regards to acting on screen has all been formed because of my personal experiences of studying drama and subsequently both acting in and directing actors in short films. I am aware that someone with a different experience may build a completely antithetical idea of acting from mine.

In having the likes of Hanks and Streep being cast in a film, there is always a problem for me that arises; namely that of expectation. As these are established actors, their reputation precedes them to the extent that when watching Hanks or Streep, you do not fully lose yourself in the narrative and world of the film but rather your approach is that of 'one step forward, two steps back', always keeping an eye out for the performances, despite the fact that the performances are meant to serve the narrative. When watching acclaimed actors, we tend to watch them as if they are an entity within themselves rather than a figure framed within the bigger picture, the film itself.

This is not to say however that films starring Hanks and Streep are doomed to be disconnecting. Rather, because of this level of expectation the film demands them to work harder to shed themselves from being noticed as Hanks or Streep, which in turn generates a further image of them as being great actors. A way in shedding this expectation could be physically done, as Leo explores in an earlier post. Take Streep as Thatcher in The Iron Lady where you have this actual transformation which definitely rids some expectation as they visually appear to be the character and thus we as the audience relate to that figure rather than the actress themselves. A further example of this would be Tom Hardy as Bane where Hardy himself fades away and becomes this chaotic beast of a man.

However, what about all those performances that did not need hours of hair & make-up? How do the actors shed expectation then? Well, as silly as it sounds, it is all to do with acting. It is a combination of the character they must become and the techniques they implement in becoming that character. The character, before any acting is done, must be one that does not feel written yet feels like any other member of society (should they be aiming for a believable portrayal). Mark Travis postulates such an argument with regard to George Clooney in The Descendants. He writes:

"Clooney’s greatest challenge is bringing credibility to a character who is, at best, two dimensional."

The character which Clooney must become is not one which can be fleshed out to the extent that we can distinguish between Clooney and King (his character) as it is a "loosely defined role". The challenges the actor faces are nothing special as the character is defined merely by the proceedings of the film - it feels as though the character is born at the start of the film and dies by the end of it, rather than giving the impression the character maintains to live even once the film has ended. This has nothing to do with Clooney, or the actor necessarily yet the role itself as it is not dissimilar enough from Clooney as the only criteria to play the part is a middle-aged man hence Travis' term "loosely defined".

One means of ridding all problems with having expectation of performances is to watch foreign films, from countries where you have no knowledge of which actor or actress is acclaimed. One my first viewing of Bong Joon-ho's Mother I feel that is was because of me being so alien to the cast that I could truly immerse myself into the story in its entirety and that I could see Kim Hye-ja not for her amazing performance but as a genuine mother whose pursuits and motives felt as real and natural as the sunlight. There is no pre-conceived expectation and therefore no mode of thinking that can interrupt your involvement with the world of the film.

Let us conclude by going back to my introduction. When you do deem a performance by an actor or actress as being 'great', just evaluate to yourself whether you thought that as a result of the film or if you felt that way whilst watching the film. It is normally the former which I would regard as being truly great performances as it was only when the film ended that I could retrospectively appreciate the craft of acting as during the film I was so invested in the actual character. More so, when you deem a performance to be 'great', question what the challenges were that the actor or actress faced. George Clooney was nominated for an Academy Award for The Descendants but I insist that you watch the film and tell me what it is about Clooney specifically that makes the character supposedly come to life - or could any actor play that role due to it being such an easy, spiritless role? Think of why you liked their performance, was it the lines they said or instead was it more the way they said it? And finally, think of what acting actually is for you. Think of a performance you adore and try and see why the actor chose that role and what they do to breathe life into it. I love watching Al Pacino in roles because it is not so much what his character says but rather what Pacino does brilliantly is add this activity to the character in the most bodily way. His use of physical, non-verbal communication through hand movements or even the blinking of the eyes sheds one from thinking that it is Pacino but rather the character. Acting is a craft and with craft there are an array of tools and materials you can choose from in order to create the best product.

~Iman