To califor123, who said:
"Since when does [giving up a lot to a role] qualify for any kudos in any area of creativity or art? It's only the results that count....I used to think her attractive. Now, every time I see her, I see that lower jaw jutting out in such an unattractive way, I have to turn away....I have a large sculpture here, where the sculptor put his heart and soul into its creation. He worked so hard and put so much emotion into crafting it, he died in the creative process. It's ugly piece of crap, and I'd let it go for a song, if you're interested."
It's nice to finally converse with someone who's trying to make a relevant argument about acting. But in response, I say, acting has nothing to do with the audience being physically attracted to the actor. That's why King Lear, Shylock, and George and Martha from "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" are popular characters for actors.
You clarified your misunderstanding of acting when you brought up the analogy of the large sculpture which is an "ugly piece of crap". But the real talent in this movie doesn't come from showing clips of beautiful women acting beautifully, that would be pornography. The talent in "A Dangerous Method" comes from showing a wild beast that becomes a loving, lonely human being. If you're not interested in that storyline, then that's one thing. This is just not your movie, and of course that's fine. But I repeat, no one with any real knowledge of acting is going to put down that performance. It's the kind of performance that makes actors proud.
Why is it that when Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, James Dean, and Jack Nicholson freak out on screen, it's widely considered a virtuoso performance, but when a woman does it it's called over-acting? Reading over this board and others on the topic, I see clearly that this is less an issue of acting merits than it is about whether women are accepted as equal forces in the acting field.
Ms. Knightley hasn't only created a nice performance for herself and fans, she also continued the work done by Lilian Gish, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Natalie Wood, and countless others who have advanced the level of quality in female screen performances.
My attempt to list the best movies of all-time:
http://www.themoviecanon.blogspot.com
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califor123
12 years ago
You wrote: "I say, acting has nothing to do with the audience being physically attracted to the actor."
I wasn't talking about being attracted to an actor. I was talking about being 'repulsed' by one.
There were parts to this movie where Knightley did shine as an actress, however these were not enough for me to put those repulsive scenes out of mind. Let's be honest, most people do not go to movies to see love interests look repulsive. I think her role could have been accomplished without me having to reach for the 'TUMS.' Now, that would have been an achievement in acting.
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