I'm not talking about Lee Marvin, relax. But Sharon Acker (Lynne, Marvin's character wife) did one of the worst acting I ever saw on a movie. She read her lines like a recording machine. Well, sorry, it was just my impression.
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I thought she had killed herself about 15 min before she did, which I'm still not sure that she did.
Maybe Natalie Portman was tipper her cap to her in The Phantom Menace.
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I think that we can all agree that Ms. Acker was NOT hired primarily for her acting ability.
She was a very attractive woman....and that was 90% of it seems.
Suspension of disbelief: Yes. Suspension of logical thought? I'll pass.
Well at any rate her delivery is consistent with the tone of the film.
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan
I think Lee Marvin's supposed to have lines in that scene, but they tried a take where he didn't say anything and she spoke in that dazed manner, and ended up using it. The performance is fine and the scene is brilliant.
shareWhen you get right down to it, Acker wasn't really any worse in this movie than Angie Dickenson. Angie had that "Who do I sleep with to get out of this picture?" look on her face the entire time.
shareIf that's the case, then she was being foolish.
It was films like this that kept her sagging career afloat.
Bad films are a crime against humanity.
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When you get right down to it, Acker wasn't really any worse in this movie than Angie Dickenson. Angie had that "Who do I sleep with to get out of this picture?" look on her face the entire time.
She delivered the lines as she was directed. It actually comes straight from the book, which is surprisingly like the way the film was directed.
shareI always viewed that scene as Lynne's final moments confessing to Walker her duplicity in the shooting at Alcatraz. Many fail to understand the surreal, dreamlike nature of several scenes, especially this one. Lynne, in my view, is waiting for her drug overdose to kick in and her thoughts and words are disembodied, fragmented as she's clearly drifting off into death. Walker may or may not be in the room with her (depends on how you view his role here), but she's confessing and admitting via the info dump who was behind the act of treachery. Remember, she's at the hair salon getting herself all glammed up as some women do before they commit suicide...watch Lynne as the nail technician is gabbing to her; Lynne is totally disinterested because she's preoccupied with her own impending end.
That's how I interpreted the scene; Acker's delivering of the lines that way is by design.
Consilio et prudentia
I always viewed that scene as Lynne's final moments confessing to Walker her duplicity in the shooting at Alcatraz. Many fail to understand the surreal, dreamlike nature of several scenes, especially this one. Lynne, in my view, is waiting for her drug overdose to kick in and her thoughts and words are disembodied, fragmented as she's clearly drifting off into death. Walker may or may not be in the room with her (depends on how you view his role here), but she's confessing and admitting via the info dump who was behind the act of treachery. Remember, she's at the hair salon getting herself all glammed up as some women do before they commit suicide...watch Lynne as the nail technician is gabbing to her; Lynne is totally disinterested because she's preoccupied with her own impending end.
That's how I interpreted the scene; Acker's delivering of the lines that way is by design.
If Lynne is waiting for her drug overdose to kick in during that scene, when exactly is it that she took the drugs? She's shown out on the town, getting a makeover, then Walker follows her into her home as she returns and immediately assails her. You're suggesting she took a lethal dose of sleeping pills and then went out and got a full makeover, returning home still awake and relatively sober? She must have been out for at least a couple hours--I'm not sure what downers she could have taken that would have such a long onset of action.
shareThis isn't a film to be taken on such a literal level, though, as it's not the least bit interested in documentary-like realism. What it is interested in is the dreamlike quality of Walker's dying thoughts, and on a larger scale, the dreamlike quality of Walker's world & society in general. It's not a style that's used much these days, as the trend is towards making sure everything fits together, with everything laid out like a blueprint & explained in "realistic" terms. But the reality in Point Blank is more surreal & stream-of-consciousness & psychological, all the better to represent an alienating culture devoid of any true meaning & purpose. Movie audiences were more open to that sort of approach back then. It was the time of Theater of the Absurd, existentialism, anti-psychiatry, etc., all common coin in the then-current creative sphere. In that context, Sharon Acker's performance is superb, exactly what the overall tone of the film requires.
shareI'm still undecided on whether or not the entire film is in fact Walker's death dream. I've only seen it once, but I think the director intentionally left it ambiguous, and that a literal view of the events is also valid. You seem pretty confident about your interpretation, though, and that's fine.
What I can't agree on is calling Acker's performance 'superb'... At best it was serviceable.
That's a fair opinion, and I won't call you wrong. In the end, this sort of discussion pretty much comes down to whether a film works for the individual viewer or not, and what that viewer brings to the film. No two people are going to be alike! :)
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maybe that is why this movie confused me. i think when they film a novel they take for granted that everyone already knows the story, so it's not necessary to 'show' all the pertinent story iinformation.
because parts of this was very confusing
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behold, sublime genius: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLPe0fHuZsc
I'm not a huge fan of hers, but in her defense... You have to understand that Walker is really dead, which is why his lines are missing and she is answering his unspoken questions. She has her story all worked out, but the guilt won't let go and is driving herself to suicide. Don't ask me to explain the film. It could take days.
"What rotten sins I've got working for me. I suppose it's the wages." -Bedazzled (1967)
I think there's actually a lot of overacting for it to be such a highly rated movie, and yes Lynne was one of the worst. I also didn't like the whole sequence where he's just sitting there, not actually asking any questions, and she just tells him what she thinks he wants to here about what happened between the moment he got shot and the moment he shows up. Felt very unnatural, but that may have been deliberate of course.
shareTaking into consideration that Walker is dead her manner suggests someone speaking to a spirit;she never looks at him, he says nothing yet her dialog is answers to questions never heard She knows what he wants to hear. Think of the scene in 6th Sense with Bruce, the kid and the mom.
sharehaha, like someone else pointed out she was supposed to be on drugs, but I understand what you mean, btw if you want to see the worst acting ever, watch Keanu Reeves in Bram Stokers Dracula
" Look, there's two women fuc*ing a polar bear!" - Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas 1998