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In Reply to: Re: Just watched "Phantom Menace" DVD and I'm blown away... posted by Joe S on November 05, 2001 at 09:32:31:
"A set of actors going through the motions with a script so limp that a cereal box is a more emotionally satisfying read."Yes! It says a lot about Lucas that he can take an an actor like Liam Neeson and drain him of life to the point that he looks embalmed. That the actor's performances were uninvolving is clear to anyone looking at the actors. However, it seems Lucas was incapable of actually focussing on the actors; of ignoring for a moment the periphery of scenic details in which he was placing them.
For someone with previous acting experience Natalie Portman's performance was so callow and limpid I couldn't believe she was put in a such a central role. She looked like some young high-school girl who was asked "Wanna be in a movie?" - "Yeah, sure, I uh, guess..."
I swear most of my college films contain performances by my non-acting friends that are more gripping.Also, I was shocked at how bad the sound was for some of Liam's dialogue. He delivers his lines with so little life that it sounds off-mic, like bad "production set" sound that we typically replace in post production. Yet they kept the takes in the movie. For what? The performance? Yikes.
What makes TPM so unsightly is that the viewer is aware of the targets the movie is aiming for (that Jar Jar is supposed to be amusing, that we are supposed to care about that cruddy Kid and his Mother..), yet over and over we have to watch it miss that target horribly. OR, the movie is sending signals so confusing, off in it's own little world concerning what it believes is dramatically important, that it has all the squeamish charm of watching your grandmother loose her marbles.
Whatever,
Rich H.
Follow Ups:
"Yes! It says a lot about Lucas that he can take an an actor like Liam Neeson and drain him of life to the point that he looks embalmed."And the really scary part was that he was the best thing in the movie...
joe
...about the Portman comments too. How in the hell did he manage to extract a braindead preteen performance from an actress as mature beyond her years as this? She's as interesting to watch as any young actress today but in this film (er, um... product placement vehicle?) she does come off as lacking in even basic talent, emotional range and conviction. And god, it literally hurt to hear Samuel L. Jackson deliver those wooden lines of his in the presence of the blonde moppet from hell....It is indeed a rare director who can assemble results this pathetic form such talented raw materials.
joe
Didn't Neeson say, after this was over (and before the film was released) words to the effect of "I'm never going to make that mistake again!"Or am I just hoping that an actor whom I admire would say that?
Before the film was released (maybe 2-3 months) Neeson made disparaging remarks about the film in the form of plot critique, the character he had to play, the working conditions (interfacing with air), and the pay (they expect you to take the salary because you are supposed to be honored to just be working on star wars). When the movie was released, I believe our "esteemed" friend heard the lucasfilm cash register ring open and made some remarks that were rather contradictory to what he stated earlier and he was rather cooperative with peripheral lucasfilm type projects (interviews, behind the scenes etc). Oh well. We're talking about a guy who was also in "Krull", "Darkman", and "Excalibur". I wonder what his next mi$take will be?Tom §.
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