They engage in a stormy on-off relationship, which eventually falls apart. In the end, Gazzara winds up on a beach, drunk, with his head resting upon the navel of a young virgin, spouting poetry. And it is this final image in the film, which has piqued me to write this blog.
I’ll post here re: The Great Acting Blog: “Acting, Ambivalence, & The Creative Urge”
by James Devereaux
1992 study Alcohol and creative writing:
These results were interpreted as supporting the belief that alcohol can reduce “writer’s block,” at least amongst nonalcoholic subjects.
Also SLANT referencing the book Alcohol and the Writer says that 71 percent of prominent 20th-century American writers at least flirted with alcoholism.
I think this is a good insight by James Devereaux: … internal crisis sets off, …. so an equilibrium (ie – relief from crisis) is brought about only whilst the artist is working….
Perceptual psychologist Rudolf Arnheim asserted that the motivation for creativity comes from internal conflict that needs to be expressed. Thus, equilibrium from working or drinking and working while drinking.
hip hip, chin chin
Thanks, Robert! So true about making art to resolve tension!
I love this insight too: It is a fallacy that actors are egomaniacs, infact, the opposite is true, actors spend their lives learning to pare-back their egos in order to play a diverse range of characters, ultimately becoming a blank sheet of paper
Losing oneself in art is a way of forgetting your tension, forgetting your troubles, but because it is a creative process you learn something along the way.
Unfortunately substance abuse just does the obliterating part, not the growing part.
pare-back their egos in order to play a diverse range of characters, ultimately becoming a blank sheet of paper
Yes another good insight and the link to alcohol can be found here on page 145
Two things mentioned there: a mastery of emotions and the release of conscious and unconscious conflict. It has been my understanding that alcohol phylogenetically creates a sort of blank sheet of paper.
Topic up next, Pialat’s Under The Sun Of Satan.
There is the famous story of Laurence Olivier, who came off stage furious after giving a particularly brilliant performance of Othello. Backstage, one of the cast members said; “Larry, why are you so angry, you were brilliant tonight”, to wit Olivier replied; “that’s exactly why I’m so angry, I haven’t got a clue how I did it.”
For those unfamiliar with the film, The Audition is about an actor, Tony Wallis, who is being seen for a part in a play. He breaks the ice with his interviewer then starts to speak the lines of the play, and it’s here that Tony’s problems start. Each time he speaks the first line, the director interjects to explain that Tony is not saying the line correctly, before repeating back to Tony how he wants it said. The trouble is, Tony can discern no difference between the way he is saying it and the director’s way, but instead of speaking up, he pretends that he can discern a difference, in order to please the director.
James Devereaux’s selections for the 5 best films of the year.
Here are my 5 selections for this year. I based them on the fact that they piqued me in an unusual way, asked me to re-examine my own work, or I saw something in them that I loved, and wanted to define. I have excluded performances I have already blogged about earlier in the year, and, where possible, I’ve added the trailer for the film in question. Please feel free to add your favorite performances in the comments section, I’d be fascinated to hear your suggestions.
The idea I gave myself to explore, was that I was an actor preparing to audition, and while working on a scene from the script I was to read, discovered there was a line I just couldn’t say – and that line was: “I just don’t know anymore.” All I knew in advance of filming was that I was going to explain to my scene partner that I couldn’t say the line, and then just see where that took us.
Whenever I’ve tried my hand at filmmaking in the past, I’ve gone into it with too aggressive a mindset, which I think is inappropriate. An aggressive mindset is very good for acting (or, indeed, writing) because acting requires short bursts of heightened intensity, which are generated in the moment of performance. Filmmaking, I believe, requires a slow burn kind of energy – a filmmaker needs to be able to function consistently well over the period of time of the shoot, making many decisions, being alive to mishaps.
There is no such thing as a transformational actor.
Emmanuelle Beart has long been one of my favourite actors – if she’s in something, then I’ll watch it – infact, I think she is one of the finest actors working anywhere today. Beart perhaps lacks the credibility of a Juliette Binoche, because of her reputation for going nude, and she lacks the street cred of that charismatic one-trick pony, Beatrice Dalle, largely because she hasn’t brushed with the law in the way Dalle has*. However, I would proffer that Beart possesses greater innate acting talent than either of her two contemporaries. And if anyone is in any doubt about the calibre of her CV, may I suggest her two masterpieces with Jacques Rivette, La Belle Noisuese and L’Histoire De Marie Et Julien, L’Enfer for Claude Chabrol, plus two brilliant films for Claude Sautet, Nelly & Monsieur Anaud and Un Coeur en Hiver, plus films for Andre Techine, Raul Ruiz, Francois Ozon, Olivier Assayas, Danis Tanovic, et al, and you get the picture – what we have here, is a serious film artist. The mystery really, is why Beart is not celebrated more.
Recently, and by coincidence, I have seen three of John Hurt’s major performances: As Krapp in the film version of Samuel Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape, as icy hitman Braddock in Stephen Frear’s 80s film noir The Hit, and as the bigotted Old Man Peanut in 44 Inch Chest. Hurt has long been a favourite of mine, going back to my childhood, and one of the few actors who can get me to watch a film simply because he’s in it. Infact, a quick glance over Hurt’s CV reveals an actor who, through the excellence of his work, has elevated many films which would have been utterly mediocre without his presence: there was his Winston Smith in the film of Orwell’s 1984, John Merrick in The Elephant Man, the repressed homosexual intellectual in Love & Death On Long Island, and then others include Midnight Express, 10 Rillington Place, The Oxford Murders, Scandal, Champions….well….you catch my drift.* However, it’s Hurt’s performance in 44 Inch Chest which has compelled me to examine the nature of his talent.
It’s 2012, and our stages and our screens are dominated by hacks, by people who do not care about what it is they do, and they try to make those who strive for excellence, those who yearn to produce truly remarkable work, those who love their work, feel like freaks. But it is they who are the freaks, and tragic freaks at that, for they do not understand the true power of our work and the sheer joy it can bring an audience. No, they are as people in a sexless marriage, a union of convienience and not of love. Don’t be a hack. Whatever it is you do, don’t be a hack. If you hate what you do then find something you love and do that. Don’t be a hack.
I think I let him play a f***y vampire – Mario Mentrup Q & A – Part 1
In 2007 he wrote, directed and played the lead role in the feature film, I Do Adore. The film itself is superb, as was Mario’s performance in it. I was intrigued to learn more about the thinking which lead this actor to undertake such a massive creative endeavour. As this blog often investigates the notion of actor as artist, I was delighted when Mario agreed to participate in a Q and A, which we conducted via email. I have split the blog into two parts, and will be publishing the 2nd part on Wednesday. Mario’s answers are honest and compelling, and he offers many provocative ideas about acting.
I think I let him play a f***y vampire – Mario Mentrup Q & A – Part 2
TGAB: It seems the situation here is very similar to Germany. I have actually been laughed at by my peers for suggesting that they should think of themselves as artists, back in my younger days when I was more naive. Also, the notion of the director being a 20th century invention, is extremely important – actors didn’t even used to rehearse together necessarily, the lead actor would rehearse alone then slot into the company at the last minute. . Fascinating aswell, that people didn’t really talk about the fact you were the main character in I Do Adore – perhaps they take your acting for granted, whereas perhaps making a feature is a rarer accomplishment… You make many points that we could explore further. But i would like to look at the idea of the “actor-auteur”. You mention your contemporaries, and you seem to be saying that if you’ve got balls and determination, it can be done. Having been through it yourself with I Do Adore, what advice would you give to a young actor reading this, who maybe is starting to think of himself as an artist, but is not necessarily in an environment which encourages this.
MM: First I suppose you are right concerning the response to my acting in my own film, the people seem to take it for granted. It suddenly appears to me that I already could have become an “actor-auteur” over 20 years ago with the first feature I was starring in and I had co-written. But in those days I myself and the circumstances around me were not quite right. Now that I shall give some advice to younger actors who start to think of themselves as artists, I will switch from gloomy to light now.
Using objects in this way is wonderfully expressive. It enables us to manifest the complex interior life of the character precisely, economically and organically. Furthermore, and crucially, anchoring the scene in the concrete, helps our performances to be truthful, and in the process, we are able to see that the mundane can be poetic.
Performance Without Rehearsal.
Well, it’s possible that rehearsals are overrated (certainly lengthy rehearsals are) – an heretical statement in our age of the goody-two-shoes, middle-class, industrial-earnest-pseudo-art, where we’re supposed to have an “idea” for every line of dialogue, where we pretend that “drama games” are anything other than waste of time, where the actor is told if he’s not willing “to make a fool of himself” then he is not a real actor (how dare the actor even think he can own his own work) and where we are supposed to pretend that “research” is interesting and useful, and that use of the imagination is a mere self-indulgence – the truth is, acting belongs to the brash, arrogant individualist with a hyperactive fantasy life, and all the attendant gak which has built up around the actor’s ambition should be shoved to one side, and ignored.
Become That Person You’ve Been Looking For.
Swinton spent 11 years developing I Am Love with filmmaker Luca Guadagnino. Eleven years developing a film because she believed in it’s aesthetic. Swinton has a vision of the kind of actor she wants to be and the kind of films she wants to make. But, she also possesses the courage to strive to realize that vision, and she does so by committing to those filmmakers who produce work in line with her view, and help them, over time, bring their films to the big screen. She has infact worked as an uncredited producer on many of the films she’s starred in. Swinton’s big breakthrough came in 1992 with Sally Potter’s Orlando, playing the title role. She had spent the previous 5 years with director Sally Potter developing the script and fighting for funds (industry professionals had branded the film ridiculous and unmakeable). Orlando made Swinton a star. She had turned herself into the actor she always wanted to be, and she had done so by taking responsibility for her work.
HE has been extremely demanding because I set the bar high for myself in striving to go further, dig deeper, and find something extra. It’s also because the nature of the material required discipline and seriousness – my character’s intent to commit suicide always felt like a burden which needed to be carried, and the improvisations needed to be completely focused. Rashidi will now take the film through the post-production process, and eventually send it out into the world. The next step for me, will be to watch the finished film, and analyse my work to see how I can improve for next time.
Boredom of the Disgust and Monotony of the Tediousness – Part 1
I didn’t put it this way in Boredom Of The Disgust & Monotony Of The Tediousness, but my point is the actor should remind himself that all he wants to do is offer a presentation to an audience (and hopefully delight them in the process) – this way of thinking will keep him fitted for the task – all else should be kept in perspective. If our work becomes simply a marketing mechanism, it will not be long before the lies breed an all consuming self-loathing, and then what?
OK, I just popped into the thread for the first time, and I had no idea you were linking garage articles (about acting). (I thought it was some technical discussion or specific film in the Garage section.) Anyway, I think there is some potential for some interesting discussions here. But I may I suggest starting separate threads for some of these posts—at least of ones you think might make for a good discussion? (It’s going to be difficult to comment and keep track of the comments. For example, I have some comments about the Emmanuelle Beart article, but that’s several posts above, so it might be confusing.)
Ok, well if I keep this as a main thread, you can suggest and I can separate out the ones you’re interested in discussing.
Should I do one for the Emanuelle Beart one for you?
Yes, I’ve been consistently posting threads mostly about three or four ongoing postings in Garage — this one, which I find fascinating, Film Courage which is geared toward filmmaker issues, A Year Without Rent (AYWR), also film production oriented, and the occasional ongoing project such as the one that the Experimental Film Society is doing on the internet and which is kind of an Exquisite Corpse project.
Because I know that there are people who are filmmakers on the forum who are not in Garage, as well as cinephiles who can discuss production and film from more of a general interest angle rather than a technical one, I wanted to get these ongoing series of posts out there in the general forum so people wouldn’t miss them. Because of the way that Mubi is set up, much of this interesting stuff that needn’t be only relegated to filmmakers themselves to discuss is buried. That’s a pity and I’m trying to get more visibility for them until and if Mubi’s format changes to make Garage more visible and accessible to everyone.
Anyway, let me know I can start the Emanuelle Beart thread asap…
And glad you noticed this series of posts — an acting blog seems to me to be a bit of a rare thing, and it’s fascinating what James is doing in writing about what he does, the contribution of an actor and the relationship between what he is growing and what Rouzbeh Rashidi is growing in their ongoing collaboration. LOVE it!
Should I do one for the Emanuelle Beart one for you?
Sure (if you’re somewhat interested in the thread, too).
…I wanted to get these ongoing series of posts out there in the general forum so people wouldn’t miss them. Because of the way that Mubi is set up, much of this interesting stuff that needn’t be only relegated to filmmakers themselves to discuss is buried.
This is a very good idea, and I know others have spoken about doing a better job of linking the forum with other parts of mubi. I think starting separate threads for some of these blog posts might be better, though—as the conversation can be more focused and manageable.
Ok what I’ll do is keep a main thread, because it’s easier for me to reference that way, and create separate posts.
I just did one for the post you were interested in, but the silly title got chopped down to just “THERE.”
(or I really just made a ridiculous error)…
How about that? UGH.
I have trouble posting thread title, too. (Sometimes mubi won’t let me post because something’s wrong with the title I’ve chosen. It’s weird.)
I think you start a new thread on the same subject (and just let the other one sink).
Really? Ok… SIGH….
Odi, if it’s a hassle, I can start the thread.
No that’s ok, already starting it… :D
The Paradox of Acting: Boredom of Disgust, Part 2.
Having now watched the completed film, I had completely forgotten that Rashidi had been torturing me not only with a radio, but also with his lighting scheme: sometimes a strobe, sometimes creating a shadowy, noirish world, and finally cutting the lights entirely near the end of the scene, so that I was left standing in total darkness, shouting abuse at my non-existent scene partner; “you’re f**king nuts, you’re a f**king lunatic….”
odilonvert
Production notes by actor James Devereaux about acting. Unusual to find this sort of writing, I think, so I’m creating a forum topic to bring them outside of Garage to the larger Mubi Community.
This is the most recent one, called A Tragic View.
Note: Samurai films introduce this post!