Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Anatomy Of A Performance where I take a certain performance and dissect the internalities and nuances behind it. For today's performance, I will be going into a more outside the box choice: Rachel McAdams as the sinister Queen Bee Regina George in Mean Girls.
One example from the film I will use to demonstrate my analysis of this performance is Regina's big monologue on Janis Ian where she sells Regina's malice in a short span of lines:
As Regina goes on her diatribe about Janis and the slow descent Janis went on, the way McAdams handles her dialogue makes it seem like Regina is unaware of the severity of Janis' slow descent. Because of how Regina jumped to conclusions about her ex-best friend being a lesbian and brushed off both their mothers fighting, it seems as if Regina is vicious yet blind sided by her own naivete and McAdams sells the character, as well as the monologue, perfectly.
But something about this next clip strikes me when I think about it:
When McAdams delivers the line "Sweatpants are all that fits me right now", she manages to speak it with layers of subtext. As Regina is rejected by her own clique, McAdams reveals her more human side, showing how hurt her character is. Even though Regina had less redeemable qualities, she still gets her feelings hurt like everyone else. It seems like we're not supposed to feel bad for her, but in this scene, we almost can't help it. But immediately after that "Sweatpants" line, McAdams delivers a funny quip with "Fine. You can walk home, bitches!", proving how she nails the character's comedic timing with a tint of pathos.
So I think the two scenes shown above reveal the rather hidden nuances to the character that McAdams nails: her comedic timing, her humanistic vulnerability, and her malicious naivete.
Those are my thoughts on the performance by Rachel McAdams. Whether you agree or disagree or would like to offer your own analysis of this performance, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
Hello,Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Anatomy Of A Performance where I take a certain performance and dissect the internalities and nuances behind it. For today's performance, I will go into the second male performance in this segment, Ben Mendelsohn as the convicted and conflicted father Neville Love in Starred Up.
In Starred Up, Mendelsohn plays a rather complex figure as Neville is somebody who acts as a rather uncompromising mentor to his son yet is only desperate to get his son out of prison away from the "big boys." But Mendelsohn showcases Neville's desperation through sudden shifts in his eyes and body movements. Take for example, this scene:
Notice how in the beginning, he is all shaky and clutching his hands. Then as he starts spewing out cusses, when you look closely in his eyes at about 0:32, you can see the scared anxiety behind that rough exterior. Yet Mendelsohn never dwells on the melodrama. But when the camera cuts back to a farther distance, the therapist, played by Rupert Friend, remind Neville how he wasn't there for his son as Eric suffered abuse in the past. Suddenly, Neville turns on a dime and goes on an angry tangent. Even from a distance, you can witness his sudden switch in emotions, ranging from anxious and scared to guilt ridden and insecure. That is thanks in large part to how Mendelsohn uses his facial and bodily shifts to showcase Neville's complexity even in just one scene like this one.
So those are my quick thoughts on Ben Mendelsohn's performance as Neville in Starred Up. Whether you agree or disagree on my thoughts and would like to offer your own analysis on his work, please feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
Hello, Bloggers, it has been a while since I have done an Anatomy Of A Performance segment. But for today's segment, I will be going into another Oscar-nominated turn: Emma Stone as Sam in Birdman.
Now, some have complained that Stone's performance is a little too "actress-y", but to be fair, they were filming in long takes and Stone had to memorize her lines without screwing up so that they wouldn't have to continuously do the take over. Apparently, they were keeping track of who made the most mistakes and Stone had the highest amount. But she uses her rapid line delivery to her advantage like in her Oscar clip where she "chews out" Michael Keaton's character.
When you watch her monologue, notice how her character's acid tongue parallels that of her eyes which show such fury as they start bulging once the camera gets closer to her face. Yet right after her tangent, the camera immediately pulls away from her and as Stone approaches Keaton, she manages to say sorry withour ever actually having to say it. She still does it all with her eyes.
That scene is essentially the apex for her performance throughout the film. As Stone's character uses her acidic tongue, she plays it for comedic and dramatic effect. But in her quiet moments, she reveals that behind her eyes that carry such fury, there is both doubt and vulnerability. Plus, since her character is the protagonist's daughter and personal assistant, Stone manages to use those two traits as different layers. For example, as she begins her tangent, she becomes the "personal assistant", then immediately switches into the concerned daughter as soon as her tangent ends, facing the floor in shame.
This is perhaps the most multi-dimensional role of Stone's career as of now. One that not only plays to her strengths as a comedian, but her dramatic strengths as well. While her role is pretty showy, with her big monologue and such, her performance is still a rather potent mix of the obvious and the subtle.
If you agree or disagree with my analysis of Emma Stone's turn in Birdman, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
Hello, Bloggers, welcome to a new episode of Anatomy Of A Performance, where I take a performance and try to dissect the internalities behind them. For today's episode, I will go into the first male performance on this segment. That performance is Ralph Fiennes as the sociopathic Nazi Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. Let's take a look:
I'll start off by discussing this scene above. In this scene, Amon is seemingly seducing his servant, Helen Hirsch, played by Embeth Davidtz. At first, he seems very charismatic on the surface, yet as he cavorts her, she is shaking and as soon as he looks like he is about to kiss her, he suddenly flicks the switch and turns violent. It feels like that even though this man is a monster, he has a bit of self-loath as he hates himself for loving this woman.
Now, in this next scene, both Amon and Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, are talking about power. As Oskar is trying to explain what power really means, Amon just implicitly brushes it off. However, as Oskar explains his meaning of power, the look that Amon gives indicates that maybe he thinks that Oskar is right, but brushes it off, showing that he is in denial. The way that Fiennes portrays this character makes it seem that even though Goeth is a monstrous human being, he might just feel trapped by the path of evil he chose to take.Yet Fiennes doesn't play it for pity or force the audience to gain empathy for his character.
So, what I found to be quite complex about Fiennes' portrayal is how he lets his quiet force of restraint carry through Goeth's sinister and rather hollow externality. Yet, there are some quiet moments, like how he almost kisses Helen and how he may believe what Oskar is saying about power is true by the look on his face, which indicate how despite being an embodiment of evil, might just feel trapped by his path that he took. Since Amon Goeth is a sadistic Neo-Nazi commander, there is probably no going back for him and you might just wonder whether he is self-aware without feeling sorry for him. To me, that is quite a difficult task to pull off. To humanize a villain without making him humanistic enough to make us feel for him. In my opinion, Ralph Fiennes' multi-dimensional performance is a demonstration of the kind of commitment an actor can bring to his character without having to just undergo a physical commitment.
So, that was my analysis of Ralph Fiennes' brilliant performance as the sadistic Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. If you agree or disagree or would like to add your own input, please feel free to write in the comments section, as always. Thanks for reading!
Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Anatomy Of A Performance, where I take a performance and try to dissect the internalities behind them and hopefully allow viewers to get a closer look at them when watching the film. For today, I will look into a performance that in my mind got horrifically snubbed by the Oscars, Naomi Watts in Mulholland Dr. Let's take a look:
Now, for those of you who have seen the film, you know that in the first half, Watts plays a very sunny character, Betty Elms, who is very optimistic about a future in Hollywood. But I will first go into the actress' bridge from Betty to Diane, a more rainy character.
In this scene, the camera just focuses on Betty and the man she is practicing a scene with in her audition. Even though her character is just saying lines, the way Watts delivers them makes it feel like there is an underlying fury and sensuality within Betty as it is an actress playing a character playing a character and saying her lines as if she really means them. It then becomes a performance within a performance. Notice how at the very end of the clip, Betty's voice then suddenly shifts to a much lighter tone. It is almost like Betty herself couldn't believe how she pulled off her lines.
But this scene is where Betty really begins to be more grounded in reality. The woman singing is doing I believe a Spanish version of the song "Crying" by Roy Orbison. The song itself is about love and crying over someone who doesn't return the singer's love. (*Spoiler Alert*) This is an indication of the character of Diane and how she longs for a woman, Camilla, who doesn't feel the same way about her. But the performance of the singer forces tears from Betty and Diane's story indicates that what happens in this scene is Betty realizing what she is experiencing isn't real and that Camilla doesn't love her the same way as she does. So, Watts is really showing us what is going through Betty's mind without having to say a single word.
Next, I will get into the character of Diane, who as I mentioned, is much more rainy than the character of Betty. I can't really find any videos of the character of Diane, so I am just going to have to settle for pictures.
If you notice Diane's appearance, she doesn't seem as polished as Betty is. Diane's voice is also much deeper.
Those of you who have seen the film and remember the scene from this picture above, you know that in that scene, a certain type of news is announced that Diane doesn't take too well, which I don't want to give away for those that haven't seen it. But take a look at the expression on Diane' face. With a tear flowing from her left eye and a slight snarl from her open mouth, Watts showcases her character's rather boiling rage and in my opinion, does it without really playing up the melodrama. As you can see by her eyes, you can definitely get the sense that Diane wants to do something awful and you either sympathize with her or just go "crap".
The way I see it, it seems like it is two different actresses playing the different main roles. We see two different performances yet also a performance-within-a-performance, hence the bridge Watts got through from Betty to Diane. It is performances like those that are just interesting to dissect and show what kind of commitment an actor brings to a role that doesn't just involve just some kind of drastic physical transformation.
So, that was my quick analysis of Naomi Watts' stunning dual portrayal in Mulholland Dr. If you have the same insight to this performance as I do or looked at it differently, please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section. Just on a side note, since I discussed just female performances, my next AOAP will be on a male performance, which I won't reveal until that next AOAP comes. Until then, thanks for reading!
Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Anatomy Of A Performance, or in this case, Anatomy Of Performances, since I will be discussing two performances from the same film. Today, I will go into the performances given by Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux from one of the best films of last year, Blue Is The Warmest Color.
Since she is the lead, I will first go into Exarchopoulos' performance. Now, her character named Adele is one that is on a journey of self-discovery. In particular, with her sexuality. One scene in which she demonstrates how she is unsure at first is one where her friends drill at her out of suspicion for being a lesbian.
Here is one of my favorite scenes in the film, if not my favorite. In this scene, the camera focuses mainly on Adele as well as her interrogative friends. Notice how as they keep asking her about going to a gay bar and a woman that picked her up at school, Lea Seydoux's character, she gets progressively more nervous as you can tell by her constant blinking and defensiveness. But as the final implosion occurs, where she fights with one of her friends, she goes from nervous to flustered and her reaction is pretty realistic, I would say. I may not have experienced this kind of thing, but this type of scenario is without a doubt plausible.
Now, in this scene, I feel like it demonstrates Adele growing through a transition. At first, with all the music and commotion around her, Adele still keeps her composure. But once she starts bobbing her head to the beat, she then finally breaks out into dance. The way I see it, that scene shows how Adele is letting out a form of release. It feels like she fits in to the crowd she is in and that she is at peace with her inner being. She does that without having to utter a peep and that is my favorite type of acting. When the performer tells us what is running through their mind without dialogue having to aid them, it shows what special kind of acting can be accomplished without having to rely on crying hysterics.
Next, I'll go into Lea Seydoux's performance. Now, Seydoux's character named Emma, unlike Exarchopoulos', is much more of a spunky free-spirit. As she maintains the blue hair on her color, she becomes very mellow like the color blue. Hence the film's title. However, there is one point in the film where the blue is stripped from her hair and she is blonde. At that point, mellow would be the last thing to describe her, as evidence by this clip:
(*potential spoiler*) But this is the scene where they break up. As soon as we see Emma, she is waiting for Adele and seems flustered. Before Emma confronts her, when Adele gives her a kiss, you can definitely tell she is suspicious. But, as Emma herself starts to become interrogative of Adele about a man she was with, unlike the first clip shown where she showcases nerves, Adele bursts into tears. As this scene progresses, it feels like Emma is like a ticking time bomb or a grenade that is about to explode and like Adele, we are watching in absolute fear as Emma becomes physically angry.
Now, the scene below is the next time we see the two of them together, still separated. In this scene, Emma and Adele reflect on how much they still miss each other. Adele actually engages in a kiss with Emma, which to me, indicates how she is more in control with her sexuality. At first, she was unsure, then she became more at peace with herself, then went to being lost, to finally knowing what she wants. Yet she figured that out when it was too late and there is no chance to be with who she lost. It shows how her path to self-discovery has really taken its course and how we as audience members have been taken on this odyssey with her.
So, that was my analysis of the two lead female performances from the festival hit Blue Is The Warmest Color. If you liked what you read or would like to offer your own analysis of these performances, please feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks for reading!
Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Anatomy Of A Performance. For today's episode, I figured I'd dissect a performance that proves just how you can leave such a mark with such little screentime. That performance is by Viola Davis for her Oscar-nominated turn as Mrs. Miller in Doubt.
In the beginning of the clip, if you notice Mrs. Miller's facial movements and how her head is down, you can catch a sense of worry, but as the scene progresses, you begin to understand why. As the scene does progress, Sister Aloysius, played by Meryl Streep, starts digging at her about the sex abuse allegation against her son, she becomes more hesitant to talk about it. But at around 2:13, her mood switches to slightly agitated, signaling how she doesn't want to get involved in this whole thing, nor her son. Aloysius continues and Mrs. Miller keeps steeping away, but then comes to a halt at about 4:10, where she just begins to pour out her heart to the camera. As the tears flow from her eyes, there is a sense of desperation. Mrs. Miller begins to look frantic as she is trying to explain her side of the story. Since this film is set in the 60's, if you are familiar with those times, you can actually sympathize with Mrs. Miller and why she is trying to put her son through school in spite of the allegations he is involved in. The boy had three strikes against him: He was a black homosexual living in the 60's and at the time, homosexuality and race relations weren't considered fashionable. Plus, as stated in the clip, the boy has an abusive father. So, even though she is explaining her reasoning, Viola Davis still tells us what is going through her character's mind while still letting her eyes and facial expressions do the talking. Normally, we see performances where the actor actually speaks out their emotions yet we also see performances where actors show us what their characters are going through without having to actually say anything at all. But, here we have an actress that pulls off a performance that is able to mesh the two together and not just hold her own against acting goliath Meryl Streep.
So, that was my analysis of Viola Davis' short-but-brief performance in Doubt. I will potentially do my next Anatomy episode tomorrow. But until I do my next episode, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this one!
Hello, Bloggers, today I figured I would start a new type of segment where since I like to analyze film, I take a performance and dissect the internalities and such behind it. This one is called Anatomy Of A Performance. For my first segment, I will dive deep into the latest Oscar-winning performance by Cate Blanchett as Jeanette "Jasmine" Francis in Blue Jasmine. Let's take a look:
Throughout the film, the main character tends to get into episodes of anger or anxiety. In those scenes, like the one above, notice how she tends to get all sweaty and she gives a piercing look in her eyes. It is like she is a volcano just waiting to erupt. It isn't shown in the flashback scene above, but Jasmine's husband, played by Alec Baldwin, calms her by approaching her before they are about to make love. Whenever she does get into her episodes, the camera shows her being all isolated until she is near someone, almost like a calming after the storm. To me, this represents how the character of Jasmine is helpless without somebody literally by her side and how she is emotionally dependent on others.
Now in this scene, Jasmine is being offered a marriage proposal by Dwight, played by Peter Sarsgaard. As he is getting close to her, the look on Jasmine's face seems like she is thrilled yet worried about the prospect of getting married. She then pops a pill. To me, the look that she gives and the swallowing of a pill shows how while she has the opportunity to start anew, she feels she could potentially get Dwight wallowed up in her own big storm.
But in the scene from this picture above, Jasmine is left with nobody and not only is she all sweaty, but her mascara is dripping from her eyes and not only show a bit of menace, but she spews out such venomous comments at her sister Ginger and her boyfriend Chili. By looking at Jasmine's appearance in the picture, it is as if her mask has been taken off and the darkness within her has been revealed. With her hair and makeup messy and her body covered in sweat, we get a full glimpse of Jasmine behind her facade that she so desperately tries to "mask" throughout the film. I couldn't find this clip on the search engine on Blogger, so that is why I went with this picture.
So, that is my short look at Cate Blanchett's brilliant performance in Blue Jasmine and the first post on my new segment known as Anatomy Of A Performance. Please let me know what you think of it and write your comments down below. Thanks for reading!
