Banjanjo wrote:Suffocate Peon wrote:Watch The Believer and Lars and the Real Girl in the same night?
Interestingly I thought Lars (and Half Nelson) were dull as strawberry float upon first viewing. Improved on the second, but not to the level where I'd want to watch them again.
I've not seen Half Nelson, I do expect it to be slow and plodding with nothing happening, I'm putting it off for a while. I didn't think Lars was dull, the premise alone is intriguing enough to sustain interest until the half way point. I thought he was brilliant in it because it's a real character role where he can't just rely on his presence and mumbling charm, it's such a contrast to his other parts. He does his quiet intensity thing really well, his timing and delivery are so good, like in his first conversation with a girl who likes him, he's holding a rose that had just been given to him and immediately launches it away to his left as soon as she speaks to him. When she runs out of things to say, he finishes with 'ok bye' at rapid speed. I don't think another actor would have performed it with the same acute sharpness that he does, his comedic timing is great, i was really impressed. It's an amazing depiction of a lonely man, his uneasiness whilst at work in the company of women is so good.
I also liked him in Fracture. He's different to other actors, the way he deliveries his lines, the tone of his voice, there's a naturalness to him that means he can do indies but he has a charisma to be the leading man. There's an in-the-moment vitality about his presence in films. He doesn't feel formulaic or cliched, he doesn't try to 'act', he's like how actors describe child actors who haven't been taught, when they don't over think things, and just 'are'. He's carried that through to adulthood, whilst hiding a skill for timing.
But yeah I demand everyone watch The Believer. I was mesmerized by large parts of it. I'm disappointed that he's taking a break from acting because he says he's getting a bit sick of himself, and needs to step back from it for a while, but again i think that explains his attitude to the job that's not just 'find role, do, repeat' that a lot of actors get trapped in to with diminishing returns. I think he's pretty similar to Heath Ledger, and like him i want him to take on a sinister role.