In the middle of What Is This Thing Called Love, Gwyneth Paltrow seems to get totally muddled and seems to be having a mini breakdown, then suddenly seems to recover herself and the song. What was supposed to be going on there? Why was the scene done this way?
shareIt seemed to me as though the song was causing her to recollect a recent breakup, then collecting herself in the spirit of the show must go on.
I was thinking it could of been a popular style of performance then. I saw another singer do the exact same thing in a song much styled like the one she sang. I think the technique drew me to watch the singer as well as the song.
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I got the impression that it was a nightly gimmick from the steamy songstress. The band sure knew what to expect, except for their rehearsed confusion when she initially seems to lose it. Great movie, and what a remarkable talent Toby Jones is, in so many movies.
shareGwyneth Paltrow as "Kitty Dean" was really portraying the great chanteuse Peggy Lee. Poor Miss Lee had a pretty hard life-she had a habit of choosing the wrong men, along with a drinking and drug problem. I don't think it was terribly uncommon for her to "breakdown" during performances. She's a fascinating person-worked with all the jazz greats. You might consider googling her.
"Gentlemen you can't fight in here!" "This is the war room!" Dr. Strangelove
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Gwyneth Paltrow's character is, I believe, based on Peggy Lee. Peggy Lee was a diabetic. This "mini breakdown" may have been intended to portray a blood-sugar deficiency incident.
shareWhat Peggy Lee did is a technique used by singers to get the attention of the audience. Notice how the crowd got very silent as she seemed to stumble on her lines. After she got their attention, she slowly led them to a rousing climax that the band obviously anticipated. So yes, I think it was a technique that she used to grab the audience's attention, much like comics will plant a stooge in the audience to heckle them for laughs.
What I really found interesting was that Capote copied her technique at the dinner party when he became silent while telling a story during the meal. Soon all of the guests were watching him, and he could finish his story with a great witticism that made them all laugh. So the singer foreshadowed Capote's gift of mimicry to grab the audience's attention.
We don't know what the real problem was or if it was just a technique to add more drama to the song. Either way Paltrow gave a great performance as a singer and actor.
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