MovieChat Forums > Death and the Maiden (1995) Discussion > Anyone else find SG's acting rather wood...

Anyone else find SG's acting rather wooden?

posted 17 years ago by www-AmuseYourself-dot-com
22 replies | jump to latest

Believe me, I love Sigourney Weaver, and will watch her in anything -- which is probably why her performance in this film strikes me as "off."

Certainly, her ability to emote is dead-on, as always; it's only during the long, talking scenes that her dialogue seems horribly stilted. I don't mind that the film is stagey (I often like staginess) -- but SW sounds like she's just reading her lines. She sounds (I hate to say this) almost like an amateur.

Kingsley and whatshisname-the-husband come across as much more natural. But I have a hard time buying into Sigourney's character, every time she speaks.

Anyone else feel she was just "calling in" her dialogue?

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[–] britishcub 16 years ago

i TOTALLY agree!!! shes an actor that truly IS one of a kind, a true maverick,but she is VERY uneven in this film. i was SO excited when i found out she was doing this film (the play is VERY powerful)..it was PERFECT for her.
There are MANY moments in this film where she just EXCELS (the slow beginning...just watching her move....stunning! and the 'domination' scenes...she just GRIPS you! (i even got goosebumps),and the camera loves her!!!,but the 'talky' scenes were often stiff and self conscious,she also cannot 'cry' or break down in a realistic way.
Considering Polanskis reputation for wanting 'perfection' im AMAZED he let these 'takes' go to print,
Sigourney herself ALSO has a reputation for perfection so i dont know what happened here,but its STILL one of my fave films of her..just because when shes good in it shes FANTASTIC!!!.
im sad that it was ignored at the oscars but i can see why it was...but then again... LOOK at the AWFUL show offy performances that other 'fine ' actors have given and STILL been nominated/won oscars!! (Foster,Hoffman,Day lewis etc),it doesnt seem fair somehow.
But shes STILL my No1 (the only female actor in most top 100 actor lists...enough said!).

[–] Kinematico 16 years ago

I wouldn't say wooden but certainly she is not at the level of Ben Kingsley (which is very hard to).

Ben Kingsley stole the show. Sigourney is just fine and Stuart, well, he was just the third in the mix.

[–] movie80 16 years ago

I love Sigourney Weaver, and will watch her in anything
(post edited, changed "abused" to "tortured"; StarCaser you are right, abused was not the correct word)
Same here.
To me she is not suitable for the role but strangely enough I still want to watch her in the movie. In many scenes she talked so firmly that she just looked like a commander in chief :-) even though she played the role of a badly tortured woman.

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] ndatmo-1 16 years ago

Given her considerable acting skills, I wouldn't exactly say 'wooden'. I thought maybe it was a choice that Roman Polanski made for the Paulina character. The style of the performance seemed theatrical/neurotic which kind of fits the 3-character interplay in basically one 'set' plus limited exterior shots.

[–] randycoates 16 years ago

Oh, it wasn't so bad...

[–] androphile 16 years ago

ndatmo-1: Given her considerable acting skills, I wouldn't exactly say 'wooden'. I thought maybe it was a choice that Roman Polanski made for the Paulina character. The style of the performance seemed theatrical/neurotic which kind of fits the 3-character interplay in basically one 'set' plus limited exterior shots.

Sorry, I don't buy it. I'd like to, certainly--Sigourney Weaver remains one of the finest actors living, in my mind--but in this film her work is unfortunately quite uneven. Whether or not the actor or director is going for a "theatrical style," dialogue must have the "ring of truth." This is precisely what I find missing in several scenes when Paulina is recounting the hideous traumas she endured. In fact, the word "wooden" came to mind almost immediately. It's a shame: I believe if SW had been in top form throughout, this film could have been a major triumph for her. I'm very curious to know if there's an inside story why the problematic scenes weren't reshot, e.g., shooting running over schedule, money running out, etc.

"Tell you what . . . the truth is . . . sometimes I miss you so much I can hardly stand it." --Jack Twist

[–] britishcub 16 years ago

i totally agree!!! it had all the right ingredients for a top notch performance,but it just didnt happen. still....shes my favourite actor by far. Alien 5 please!!!! :)

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] Agent-69 16 years ago

The scenes when she's telling her husband what actually happened to her are tremendously effective. You can imagine them vividly. I felt like I witnessed her tortures.
In the hands of ANY other actress it would be a clichéd, sobbing mess, but Sigourney decided that her character would talk about it almost as a matter of fact, without unnecessary pathetics. Paulina dealt with those emotions early on, she's done feeling sorry for herself and now she is left with that cancerous rage and anger. She’s like a volcano ready to erupt; she doesn’t really know what she wants, a confession? revenge?
Again, a lesser actress would probably feel the need to overdo the rage, but Sigourney is smarter than that.

(Lather I found out that Sigourney was inspired by Roman who told her that when his father talked with friends about what happened to them in Krakow, they talked the same way as Paulina: „Remember that fat guard...“ , because it was something that happened to them personally they were „allowed“ to be cynical about it).

Run like Mexican water through a first-time tourist.

[–] britishcub 16 years ago

thanks for that,i will check her performance out again and view it with fresh eyes based on what youve said.

[–] epidemija_ljubavi 16 years ago

"The scenes when she's telling her husband what actually happened to her are tremendously effective. You can imagine them vividly. I felt like I witnessed her tortures."

OMG, I watched "Death and the Maiden" on DVD last night, I was truly amazed by Sigourney's performance and acting in this scene!

[–] Agent-69 16 years ago

Odlican ti je 'nick' (epidemija_ljubavi).

Run like Mexican water through a first-time tourist.

[–] saltrapty 16 years ago

like whats his name said, i cant believe what im reading. she did such an amazing job in this movie! i couldnt take my eyes off of her, i love her posture, the way she throws the cigarette at the husband, and her hard punches to the doctors face. i think she was incredible in the movie, and shes the reason ive seen it so many times. "shut it bitch" *beep* isnt that what you called him" and how crazy and mean she is. she is my favorite actress, and to me, she makes the movie. i LOVE her, and i love this movie!

[–] 16 years ago

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[–] look_again 15 years ago

in the beginning she was really good (up to the part where her husband shows up).. but then again, up to that point, the directing is pure perfection too. anyway, i felt like she didn't go one way or the other (ie subtle or more dramatic), simply put, she was unconvincing because there was no depth to her facial expressions, eyes, tone (a great example of what i'm talking about would be tommy lee jones @ end monologue of no country for old men - perfection, gave me goosebumps yet VERY subtle). i guess SW is just great at Alien type of heroes - not too deep. in this she was good at a few point, so-so most of the time, and really terrible at the monologues. polanski should of been pissed 'cause everything else was beauty!

[–] kered4892 15 years ago

no way!
i thought she was incredible!
fantastic actress

[–] prometheus1816 14 years ago

Obviously, you've never been raped or tortured. I've read thousands of histories of women in third world countries who have told their stories without emotion. Particularly ones who have been tortured. Many women in Africa who've been raped by gangs have been very dispassionate about recounting what was done to them. It's not because they don't have any emotions, it's often times because they've relived it so many times in their heads, they can't cry one more tear or rage one more rage.

When I watched this film, it struck me because as a vicitm of rape (but not of torture) I could relate to Paulina. I've known those emotions, or lack thereof. I was watching a video of the events in Mogadishu at the time of the "Black Hawk Down" incident and the chopper pilot, Mike Durant, who recounted what happened to him when he was held POW for 11 days. When he recounted it, it was stilted and unemotional. Sigourney likely did some homework and found this all out. And I personally, found her riveting.

"Sometimes my ruminations are too confusing for someone not inside my head." -Anon

[–] dark_frances 13 years ago

That might be precisely what's been bothering me about this movie... For all the horrors her character was recounting, she didn't quite manage to reach anywhere close to my gut. Come to think of it, I loved her best in the Alien series, where she really doesn't talk much.

there's a highway that is curling up like smoke above his shoulder