Judy and Liza at their best. I think Joe'll like this!
Sorry I can't get the video/picture up...blogger's havin' problems.
Sorry I can't get the video/picture up...blogger's havin' problems.
Tuesday 30 November 2010
Thursday 25 November 2010
Performance Review: Michael Jackson in The Wiz (1978)
As I move on to another, no quite so random Performance Review, I take a peculiar look at a performer not well associated with the medium of film. He's a somewhat recently deceased legend who has been one of largest icons of American music and overall culture with a near universal fan base. His contributions to pop culture and music were enormous, yet within the last twenty years he had been the butt of every perverted joke and had pretty much become a joke himself. But there was a different time once. A time when he made his only solid film appearance and was seen as a accomplished mature performer with some seriously unique talent -- both can be found in the imaginative, captivating performance given by...
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Michael Jackson plays The Scarecrow, one of the first discoveries made by Dorothy (Diana Ross, sometimes surprisingly great in the role) once a blizzard sends her into the imaginary, bizarre world of Oz.
Dorothy finds Scarecrow in a big junk yard being harassed by a flock of creepy human-ish crows who surround the frightened man made out of garbage.
The crows tease and mock Scarecrow and ruin any shred of confidence he has left, as he wishes only to walk and experience an existence beyond being propped up on an old pole. And yet despite his dead-end situation, he quotes philosophers such as Socrates and Confucius (from his straw stuffing) looking for meaning and hope in his confusing, odd reality. He sings of his desperation in the catchy ballad, You Can't Win, before Dorothy offers him a helping hand.
She gives him a little confidence boost, suggesting that he can do anything he wants to with time and knowledge; but Scarecrow sadly admits that he doesn't have a brain. Dorothy asks for his company on her way to find The Wiz, as he can just maybe get Scarecrow the brain he always thought he never had.
So the two set off down the famous Yellow Brick Road, and get things pumpin' with the incredibly catchy Ease on Down the Road, singing and dancing all along the way. Jackson -- in his first and really only acting role -- seemed to be a interesting casting job. Only known for his hugely popular musical performances, Jackson was never really thought of as ever becoming an "actor", but rather a song and dance type of guy.
But this unusual, yet legendary role seems almost nearly tailor made for him. Jackson's once greatest gifts as a performer are used in full service to this childhood tale; superb musical talent, his unique child-like voice, his uncommonly vibrant charisma, and his limber physicality. When a big performer hits the screen, they usually have a bad habit of upstaging/or "scene-stealing" from both the other actors and the material -- none of this is ever even close to touching Jackson's performance. He is a prime example of the refreshing term known as a "scene-lifter"; when the actor prefers to elevate everything rather than take it all down with him. But still, Jackson actually acts in the film without coasting or wallowing in his charm, and the outcome is something simply extraordinary.
The novice actor puts so much feeling and texture into such a simple character that Scarecrow resonates in a surprising way. He even registers completely in scenes when the focus isn't totally on him; yet he still packs each close up or quick reaction shot in revelatory emotional states and character detail. Jackson's ever-consistent characterization works for his own arc as well as when actively interacting with the others around him. He's both always present "in the moment" and "in the character" and the heart, warmth, and dedication he pours into the role is visible in every frame.
Although nothing will ever best the original Wizard Of Oz, the Scarecrow character here is given more of a emotional journey as well as a intellectual one, and Jackson in every scene crafts his character's arc from this being who sees no hope to a new being who has experienced love and friendship as well as discovering his own gifted intelligence he had all along but just never saw it in himself.
It's all of this which make Scarecrow's last few moments so deeply touching, but there's still something else happening that extends beyond the actual film. The Wiz captures and showcases a time in Michael Jackson's own reality that is reflected in this soulful, emotionally textured performance -- a time that reflected the real Michael Jackson. The sweet, innocent and humble Jackson with the same radiant qualities infused into this character. Long before he became a controversial, creepy, living caricature of himself, who tried ever so hard to change who he was, because he missed or chose to ignore everything already had going for him; like the Scarecrow and his brain. The Wiz snapshots this truly genuine Michael at his most open and true, a time in his life that didn't last, but is forever frozen on celluloid. Something I don't think anyone could trade for. We are not just witnessing the Scarecrow's emotionally pungent transition, but the transitional loss of something beautiful and real.
Scarecrow recites one final line of true wisdom, not from a piece of paper, but from his heart:
"Success, fame, and fortune, they're all illusions.
All there is that is real is the friendship that two can share."
It's a beautiful statement, and one that couldn't have been more relevant to both the character and Jackson himself, as he lived a life filled with such illusions and emptiness until they overcame him to the point of no return. He had to rely on the tight bonds between he and others to keep going, and it only worked for so long. You can even hear such honesty in Jackson's voice -- as if he knows what's happening and just can't stop it.
Leave it to Michael Jackson and his actorly gifts to take an inanimate "object" and make him so poignantly human in nearly every way possible.
This is all why his performance isn't merely "special", but an extraordinary example of art, not simply imitating life, but beautifully reflecting it in cinematic form.
Wednesday 24 November 2010
Performance Profile: Jennifer Grey in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Pop Culture was hit big in the 1980's. With music, people, politics, fashions, icons, and especially movies, things began to change for cinematic culture when John Hughes outdid himself again with a certain landmark film with a wide, resonating appeal. It's many pop catchphrases (which are just as popular today) and lead, central character is widely what it is known for today, but a big reason why the film not only works, but holds up, is because of the supporting players. This includes the under-appreciated and often overlooked comedic, elevating delights of....
approximately 10 minutes and 30 seconds
Jennifer Grey plays Jeanie Bueller, the selfish and jealous sister of the slick, charismatic Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick in his legendary cool performance).
When she hears news that Ferris is "sick" and staying home with his parents' full consent and understanding, Jeanie's hatred and disgust for her favored brother increases, and she becomes livid. More than she ever has before, and for her, it's the final straw.
While Ferris, his girl (the bland Mia Sara) and his best bud (the hilariously poignant Alan Ruck) are off trying to enjoy a care-free day without parents, troubles, or work, Jeanie is alone in her stance against her very popular brother. A rumor that he is on his death bed further pushes things, as he gets even more attention and everyone has they're undivided attention and sympathy on him; not Jeanie.
The role is scripted as a side-line scene stealer, the kind John Hughes so memorably features at the edges of almost all of his iconic films, especially during this golden era. She's the sulking, pouty teenager in a world where no one seems to understand her or her problem, the kind we all once kinda were.
With any other director/writer this character would have become a tossed away, flat cliche, but Hughes had a unique way with characters (even the smallest ones) and understanding them and their fascinating facets. His attention towards the character is no different, even giving Jeanie her own centered scenes and uses them for maximum comic effect.
And boy, oh boy does Grey knock it all out of the park. Her narrative thread continues with Jeanie's warpath against Ferris after school hours when she makes her way home to find that he did in fact skip school ("I KNEW IT!") and here is where the real fireworks in Grey's performance show their true vibrant colors.
Jeanie hears something in the kitchen, hoping that she can catch Ferris in the act and get her simple "revenge".
But it turns out it's not Ferris behind the corner, but the high school Dean, Ed Rooney (Jeffery Jones at his absolute funniest) snooping around in the "empty" home also trying to catch Ferris.
In the moment of panic and shock, Jeanie forcefully knocks Rooney out with three swift kicks to the face, and bolts out of there terrified. This set-up "gag" works marvelously, and not it's just because Hughes perfectly calibrates it for suspense and humor, but because of the actress' work in the role.
Grey brings so much energy, personality, and verve to the role that every moment/scene feels fresh and unexpected. Her comedic timing and snappy delivery glows and for such a simple character in a simple premise, Grey plays the character in a memorably transcendent way.
It's the next set of scenes which gives the performance a little twist, when Jeanie is arrested for making a "phony" call to the police for discovering the "intruder" in her house, and her mother has to settle everything. It's here where she makes the aquentince of a young druggie (Charlie Sheen in great cameo) who takes an odd interest in Jeanie's business; from her eye makeup to her reasons for being there.
Jeanie dishes out the beef she has with Ferris and all that ("why should he ditch when everyone else has to go?"), when Sheen turns her story all around and questions her about herself and not her problem with her brother. He tells her that she should stop worrying about what her brother does and focus on who she is.
It's a clarifying moment for Jeanie as she lets the words of this dope-head sink in, and drops her guard for once -- Grey plays the scene quietly distilled with keeping the humor fully intact ("why don't you put you're thumb up your butt!").
And it's here where the dimensional reality of the performance becomes realized. For the first time we see a smiling and bubbly Jeanie who finds something, not someone, but something. Sure, she smooched with Sheen after bantering with him, but she's made some sort of self-discovery.
As Jeanie caught in a daze makes her way out with her mother, she tells Sheen of her nickname --"Shana" -- and her giddiness is exuerberntly palpable.
With her cute giggle and hilarious snort Jeanie slowly makes her way out while stunned and thrilled more than she has ever been. It's a delightful moment of warmth and pure enjoyment for both the character and the audience. But why? Though the script and direction certainly have a solid grip on the character, it's the actress who charts the growth of the character. The script may have nicely sketched Jeanie, but it's Grey who sculpts a perfectly realized and satisfying character arc for her. Had Grey of earlier played her into a overly broad caricature, weighed down by her pouty jealousness and stayed on that note, the performance simply would not have worked; she always kept the character appealing and cute instead of insufferable and glib. Grey balanced the comedy while slowly crafting Jeanie's arc -- from a selfish girl who keeps her mean-spirited focus on others for satisfaction to a beaming, bright young woman who no longer neglects herself and makes a life-changing self-discovery and fulfillment.
This further becomes evident when Jeanie races Ferris home in the car, and provides him with a saving grace when she single-handedly rescues him in front of the bumbling Ed Rooney. We now realize that she doesn't need to be against Ferris to make her happy, and that maybe he really is not such a bad guy after all.
Compare Jennifer Grey's performance, if you can, to the film's other main female performance -- that of Mia Sara's Sloane. While okay, she's just there; not giving her role any kick or life past the flat, scripted page and playing her how she's written. Now just think of the largely memorable, completely realized performance Grey pulls out -- little comparison's are there and it's all thanks to the sweet, hilarious, and wholly satisfying work that's nothing short of a joy to visit again and again -- so how come Oscar didn't catch on? She's more than deserving of his attention.
Tuesday 23 November 2010
That Time Of Year Again
Thursday 18 November 2010
Chloe!!
Well at least I celebrated it with all of you even though I didn't know it yesterday!
Happy Belated Birthday, Chloe!!
Wednesday 17 November 2010
Performance Profile: Chloe Sevigny in Gummo (1997)
As a request, I now turn to another performance that happens to be given by one of my true favorite actress' in 21st century cinema. She changed the way we looked at indie films in the '90s -- giving the world of cinema something so new and fresh to admire and praise while the usual, conventional ways that conventional actors played their parts around her. Another step towards "breaking out" came in the odd, hypnotic work of...
--
Chloe Sevigny plays Dot (yes, that's her name), a young woman living in Harmony Korine's surrealistic wasteland America surrounded by other "creatures" of pure filth.
Dot lives alone with her siblings, her (twin?) sister Helen, and her baby sister Darby in Xenia, Ohio -- a town that's a partly living nightmarish, shitwreck that had never gotten over a tornado that hit more than twenty years earlier.
Like the other character's in this raw wasteland, Sevigny's Dot is a peculiar creature almost from another world; her white, albino-ish hair and eyebrows give her an eerie, unsettling appearance, her wardrobe is awkward and somewhat out of place, and her daily activities are as random and weird as her name.
She and her sisters enjoy sticking tape on their nipples and yanking it off it hope of making them bigger, and then just jumping on their beds to Buddy Holly's Everyday. Does it make sense? No, not really. But Dot is probably the least revolting/disturbing character in Gummo, and Sevigny's vignette is at times the most interesting to follow. We don't really know anything about Dot, but we can vividly see that she, like everyone else is doing whatever to pass time that passed a long time ago.
Sevigny's performance would be difficult to be proved as an actual characterization (in the most basic sense), but is instead a collection of striking glimpses and images of Harmony Korine's "artistic" collage of live on the edge of nothing. Korine is a rare filmmaker who puts to use Sevigny's unique gifts as an actress; her enigmatic, captivating screen presence, her odd physicality, her exotic, strange beauty, her charisma and her overall naturalism with dialogue and expression. For example take the snapshot above, and how Korine uses this slow-mo to stop and hypnotize us.
In other words, Sevigny's Dot is in total sync with the weridness surrounding her, whether she talks about girls being too skinny while walking to nowhere in the middle of the street...
...or getting her nails painted while layzing on the porch out front with the neighbor ladies...
...or washing up a stray cat's "under booty". Sevigny gives these vivid images a feeling of artistic being, like she should be on display with some of the most unusually fascinating works in a museum. The actress is also occasionally very funny too.
Especially when her sister is being "touched" by a pervert who told them he knew where their cat was. The three sisters begin slapping the guy silly, when Dot exclaims, "why are ya tryin' to touch her coochie, pervert!" Sevigny gets the levity of this absurdity and plays it both as a sad, distressing moment as well as a moment of comedy. I love the way she yells, "FUCKIN' ASSHOLE!" when the car's already sped away.
The only problem with Sevigny's work (and I don't so much blame Chloe for this) is that, although Korine captures these individual, startling moments from Sevigny, he never really strings them together to make them cohere in any way. Instead of making Dot somewhat human in a grounded, yet bizarre reality, Korine keeps her character/performance at a distance from the viewer. Wouldn't it have been nice to see some emotional chords strung into Sevigny's work? Each individual section of the performance works on its own, sure, but never actually functions beyond stark mental images -- in either a intellectual or emotional way.
But...what the hell. Chloe works her magic in this strange, freaky (almost completely) out of this world role. Though the character is written as a hazy "device" to add to Korine's realism atmosphere, Chloe's own brand of film acting makes Dot much more striking than she might've been . It's really hypnotic, surreal, and interesting work from an somewhat under-appreciated actress displaying her unique qualities in a role tailor made for her.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
For Joe: Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry (1960)
Like my fellow blogger (and Supporting Actress fan) Joe Burns, I have come to admire and appreciate almost every little bit this brilliant category has to offer. Whether it be a small nominated performance or a popular big winner, we both like to find the best in the golden goodies we are rewarded with (as do many others). But when a particular performance beat out my favorite (Leigh in Psycho), I couldn't think of anything but "how dare she!". Though I was very wrong to pass judgement, especially when it comes to the sparkling, underrated work by...
Shirley Jones plays Lulu Bains, the sexy, saucy hooker who's got somewhat of a past with charming con man Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster).
Lulu's history is tied together with Gantry and his story which eventually develops to find Lulu at a time in her life when the wounds of the past were beginning to heal. It seems her old beau is becoming increasingly popular in the world of religion/media; gathering fame and fortune, and living a conniving dream life. Lulu on the other hand is simply a "five buck hooker" who once had a set path in the world before hopes became dashed. Now living in a sleazy brothel, Lulu is remembered of a time when she and and a unknown Elmer were just two lovers who shared more than just fun kicks. But also isn't forgetting that Gantry is the main reason she is living the way she is.
On the outside, we see the blonde beauty with a sharp tongue and a bod for sin, who's clearly got the goods and the brains to make her way around, and to get what she truly desires.
But what does Lulu desire? Is it sex? Money? Fame? She isn't really quite sure, and Jones maintains a void within Lulu while making her each moment on screen as colorful and vibrant as any screen performance can be. She's a visually stunning enigma who's got the appeal and confidence, as well as a whole detailed interior that matches the luminous surface.
Then everything seems to fall into place for Lulu when Gantry's righteousness leads him to invading and destroying the brothel...
...and when Lulu's gaze awkwardly meets his, she finally comes to the realization of just how much revenge driven power she is capable of.
The character of Lulu is introduced to basically provide a large narrative turn and to create an essential character point opposite Lancaster's Elmer; a palpably feminine one, creating a nice contrast to the he-man Elmer. The role on page is a surprisingly nice package for an actress who is up for the task; with a simple yet layered backstory, some snappy dialogue, and a character who is much more than a blonde bombshell. And -- thankfully -- Ms. Jones is more than up for lifting the character past the flat page.
Because of what he's done to her, Lulu cooks up a a plan to simply get back at Elmer for playing a part in breaking her previous life apart. Her idea is to get things hot 'n heavy between the two during a "secret" late night meeting, while some sleazy photographers can capture the framed moment to destroy Gantry's dignified reputation.
The meeting starts as a casual, "long time no see" interaction....
...before Lulu pulls out all stops on Elmer and turns the whole thing around so it's all his fault. This scene, Jones' longest -- with the camera mostly always focused on here -- draws out everything about Lulu, her past, and what's happening to her now as a result of what's been through. This extended scene requires Lulu to oscillate between anger, regret, desperation, and forgiveness, and all within only a few minutes.
Jones accomplishes all of this and more with easy going charm and fluidity, at one moment playing the interrogator, and the next playing the victim of a charity case. But what makes this scene really work is that Jones actually makes every moment a genuinely poignant one, even as Lulu acts as the real backstabber; she way she talks of her abandonment by Elmer, losing love and protection, and being left in the dirt by her minister father who wants nothing to do with her. Jones' Lulu is just trying to get by without letting Elmer get by without some good 'ol fashion payback. And even as Lulu puts on somewhat of an act for the hidden camera men, she lends the real camera a glimpse of the woman behind her conniving exterior.
When she begs Elmer to stay, it's mainly done as a ploy to win him over, but with Jones' playing it also reads as a sad, real call for everything she once had and lost. In the hands of another actress, who might have just played the surface (without any insight beyond the written page) the moment wouldn't have registered in the way it does when Jones gives Lulu Bains a fully functioning reality outside of the narrative.
What makes Lulu not only appealing, but compelling, is that she's much more than just some device or accessory to the story; one who might have just provided some light relief or distraction to complicate Lancaster's Elmer's story. She's not held down by the narrative/plot even though it doesn't revolve around her, but Jones is able to maneuver her stock character (an Oscar favorite) within the film and provide her with a sharp, distinctive independence.
All of this becomes even more clear when Lulu's revenge plan works as she had intended,
but at the same time falls through to her heart; to the man who truly gave her something she had never felt.
As the revival gets shaken and stirred, so does Lulu's emotions as a selfish smirk flashes and fades to regret, washing across her face. She runs off into the night trying to leave everything behind her.
Though her deceit catches up to her when she's caught in the bitch-slapping hands of the greedy photographer, before being rescued by Elmer once again.
What Shirley Jones does with her stock character is both memorable and unique for her detailed characterization that doesn't lose sight of her striking emotional simplicity and glimmering charisma. It's a genuine, rich, luminous performance in every sense -- no wonder Joe fell in love with her at first sight; she's a truly deserving winner in the best category Oscar has to offer.
Shirley Jones plays Lulu Bains, the sexy, saucy hooker who's got somewhat of a past with charming con man Elmer Gantry (Burt Lancaster).
