MovieChat Forums > The Grifters (1991) Discussion > 'Pe.. pe..pe...permanent damage'

'Pe.. pe..pe...permanent damage'


Am I the only one who thinks this was a badly acted scene? The faux-stutter was so artificial Anjelica Huston did not quite capture the terror of the scene. I almost burst out laughing when she said: "Pe.. pe..pe...permanent damage" Im sure there's another way of making that line more natural and more authentic.

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She got an Oscar nomination and this was one of her best scenes.



"the best that you can do is fall in love"

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I thought it was a poor line reading.

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I disagree. I think it was less poor line-reading and more of a natural reaction. The fact is a person doesn't really know how they're going to react when they're threatened with something like that and the result could very well be an inelegant stumbling over of a couple of words.

Now, if you want an overacted version of the stutter, go watch Twilight. I've had the misfortune of dating women who like this drivel and maybe it's because I've seen this scene that Anjelica Huston's stutter seemed believable, but it will certainly raise the Awful Bar.

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'Am I the only one who thinks this was a badly acted scene? The faux-stutter was so artificial Anjelica Huston did not quite capture the terror of the scene. I almost burst out laughing when she said: "Pe.. pe..pe...permanent damage" Im sure there's another way of making that line more natural and more authentic.'
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are you kidding?
That line of dialogue was riveting to me,and harder(for an actor) to do than it looks. The fact she as terrified and couldn't even speak said more than a whole paragrpah of dialogue. I didn't burst out laughing, I was moved by it because of it's naturalness.

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I think the scene was acted great, though, the stuttering sort of comes out of nowhere, which is why it might seem awkward to the viewer. This scene should have included everything that went along with Bobo's use of intimidation from the book. In the book, Lilly actually urinates on herself because she is so afraid. If this would have been used in the film, Lilly's stuttering wouldn't seem so misplaced.

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I've just started reading the book as download on Kindle. Its totally unputdownable. I have to know more about these characters. I love anything in fiction that poses a challenge to our preconceptions about what it takes to be a good mother.

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No wonder Bobo tells her to "go clean yourself" at the end of that scene.

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I agree with the OP. It felt natural that someone *would* stutter in that sort of situation, but not in that way. In fact, I didn't care for her performance here at all. It's a difficult character to play, walking the line between aloof schemer and temptress and mother all at the same time, and there were a number of times where it didn't feel real.

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yeah, and how about that final scene? just sooOOOOOOO not convincing.....

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Those two scenes(Pa Pa Poimenant damage and the end with Lily) are the scenes that make me remember this movie! This movie was really disturbing to me. Several other movies came out around the same time that left me with this sick pit in my stomach that I had never seen before and wont forget.This is one of them.

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Her ridiculous stuttering made me laugh.

In fact, the entire scene made me laugh.

It's gotta be the only movie ever made where a man is threatening a woman with oranges!!!!

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Imagine all those murders when someone used a PILLOW! What a laff riot.

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I thought she had medical condition I had missed her having because it was done so deliberately, whether that's good or bad acting.

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it's in the script.

http://sfy.ru/?script=grifters

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