Rihanna as Marion Crane - Bates Motel (2013) Discussion

[–] ADBruno1985 (3312) 7 years ago

Agreed. Not stellar, a little wooden at times, but not terrible.

reply

[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 7 years ago

Yeah that was about my impression. She was kind of flat in some spots but decent in others, so overall it is not the train wreck I was expecting. I think with some work she could be an okay actress, if that is something she wants to do.
The plot with her is a bit silly but that is more due to the writing not to her acting.
I mean like: get to work late and then ask for a raise the same day?
And her boss: Insult your employee and deny their raise request, but then entrust them with 400K in cash the same day?
both of them are a bit on the DUMB side!

reply

[–] ADBruno1985 (3312) 7 years ago

Haha, I feel similarly. I felt bad for her about the unfair lack of mobility in her work, but, y'know, "now is not the time." But the boss was a jerk and an idiot.

reply

[–] Geiri (845) 7 years ago

She's alright.

Her hair color is not right for this character though but you get used to it.

reply

[–] Catbookss (13664) 7 years ago

I've been doing my best to stay away from this board because I'm not yet able to see the final season. But I was very curious to hear how Rihanna did as Marion.

I was expecting her to be handpicked for the way the showrunners had written it, since they've done such a great job with the rest of the show. I was doubtful about a remake or reboot of Psycho to begin with, but they pulled it off so beautifully, I thought they had some specific artistic reason in mind casting her. Sounds like she was okay to decent, and I was wrong about why they chose her.

reply

[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 7 years ago

Well she brings a ready made audience with her, who might not have watched the show otherwise. I did notice some commercials in last night's episode that I've never seen before on this show, that I think were specifically targeted to her fan base.
But if someone is only watching the show for Rihanna, they might be disappointed because she is not getting a ton of screen time, not like Lady Gaga did in American Horror Story.

reply

[–] Catbookss (13664) 7 years ago

Yes, she does. However I was hoping they'd cast her for artistic reasons, not commercial.

I saw this work once -- a completely unexpected actor cast in a completely unexpected role for him, and it worked brilliantly. I'm not a fan of his work, and stumbled across the movie flipping channels. Had I known he was in it, I'd have kept flipping. But as it turned out, he was great in the role. It's probably the only film I've seen him in that I liked. More than liked, it was great.

reply

[–] Nostalgias4Geeks (5) 7 years ago

I don't like it. To me it felt like she was just reading the lines.

reply

[–] gregg325 (216) 7 years ago

Its pretty lame that they casted her. She doesn't resemble the original character at all and her acting is mediocre. I feel bad for the actresses who tried to get this part. They never had a chance no matter how good they were for it.

reply

[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 7 years ago

I was trying to give her a chance last week, but this week when she had some heavier emotional scenes, she was pretty bad.

reply

[–] gregg325 (216) 7 years ago

Yeah I wasn't impressed. I also wasn't a fan of them switching up the shower scene like that. Its like they're just changing things just for the sake of changing them.

reply

[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 7 years ago

I thought the switch in the shower scene was interesting. I certainly didn't predict it and for that alone, I like that they surprised me.

reply

[–] gregg325 (216) 7 years ago

I like being surprised too but some things shouldn't be messed with.

reply

[–] AaronSynn (284) 7 years ago

I liked it, as it now means anything can happen. We're not bound by the original movie.

reply

[–] Geiri (845) 7 years ago

I loved the switch but I'm a big fan of men showering so I'm biased.

reply

[–] Popcorn Kernel (2368) 7 years ago

here's an interview with the director about doing the switcheroo.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fien-print/bates-motel-psycho-shower-phil-abraham-interview-989143

it's pretty good. It also mentioned something I noticed but had forgotten to comment on: this was the first murder that Norman did as himself. i.e. not during a 'blackout'. His mother persona still talked him into it, but he chose to do it as himself, not while thinking he was mother.

reply

[–] El Raheem (103) 7 years ago

She's not bad or good. She's just coming off as someone famous that is reading lines and trying their best.

reply