Post by Ninthwoman on Jun 16, 2004 23:53:03 GMT -5
Okay, here's the copy of the private message I sent Angel because I didn't want to spoil it for anyone who hadn't seen the movie, but I wanted to post this so that I could include an additional post that alludes to this one:
My response might seem a little dry because I'm evaluating it from the level of the acting, rather than from the level of the story. I'm taking for granted that you understand how moving I find the story itself.
I think the scenes you pointed out are indeed a testament to the sheer brilliance of the acting in the movie. I think you did a wonderful job describing the actors' performances - I was so dumbstruck by them that all I could say was that they were "ethereal." It's an ironic description now that I think about it, because rather than being ethereal, they were so REAL. You hit the nail on the head with the first date scene between Noah and Allie. I was dumbstruck with Rachel's lauging reaction to the car coming and almost running them over. That was the first moment that I realized how amazing an actor she is. The moment reminded me of that moment in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere is showing Julia Roberts the ruby neckless in the jewelry box; she reaches out to touch it and then he snaps the box shut on her fingers, and she spontaneously lets out a whoop of laughter. Critics often point to that moment in her career as evidence of her ability to draw on very natural human behavior in a fresh way. I think Rachel is on her way, but she's an even better actor and a lot farther along on the trajectory Julia Roberts ultimately followed.
The other scene you pointed out - when they were breaking up - was also a showcase of the brilliance of their acting. When she kept shoving him, I was so shocked. Like you said in your post, I really thought I was witnessing two friends go through a breakup - the emotion was so real. They were both so unbridled in expressing the pain of it. When Ryan started hitting himself, I lost it. The way Ryan played the scene - self-effacing, out of love for Allie to go on and do wonderful things with her life, and letting her hit him at the same time punishing himself by hitting himself spoke volumes.
And that's what I thought was so compelling about Ryan's performances. The very core of the love story is that Noah looked at Allie as a beautiful bird (as Allie herself points out) that rather than being caged as she was under her parents' rules needed to be set free - allowed to love, allowed to point, allowed to do what she wanted to do. Ryan's performance was purposely and strategically understated. It wouldn't do for him to outright steal scenes, because Noah's feelings for Allie meant that he loved seeing her shine. But Ryan ultimately and brilliantly toes the line because in giving an understated performance of a simple country boy and the wounded man who's hurting in his quiet way, he turns in a powerful performance of a man in love that made me want to burst.
That's a broad sweeping characterization of his performance, but there were also specific moments about his acting that struck me. Even though the trailers overplay this scene, I really liked the scene where he's hanging off the ferris wheel. There was that well-delivered line, "Okay, okay, I'll go out with you." It so sums up Noah - unleashed passion, ultimately expressed in a temperate way. He was so passionate he had to climb up there and beg her to go out with him, but then his reaction belies the desperation of the moment when he makes a joke. I love how Ryan took me on this ride (literally).
The other moment that really got me about Ryan is that moment when they're arguing about whether or not she's going back to Lon. Rachel says what she says about not knowing what to do, and then he's quiet, looking at her. In that quiet moment when he's just looking at her, you CAN SEE the tumult of emotion welling up in him! And then he explodes: "Are we back to this again?" The words' antecedent refer back to when they first reunite and are trying to be friends, but they're also referring back to when they first broke up - yet we're in this moment right now, and in that one line he sums up all the pain we've been feeling on their behalf. And then he shoves the wooden lawn chair in frustration as he stands up. That little shove was so natural, again I felt like I was watching two friends when I wasn't supposed to be there.
I could go on. I haven't even hit the other actors. I'll do that in a later IM. I feel exhausted from going through their pain again.
My response might seem a little dry because I'm evaluating it from the level of the acting, rather than from the level of the story. I'm taking for granted that you understand how moving I find the story itself.
I think the scenes you pointed out are indeed a testament to the sheer brilliance of the acting in the movie. I think you did a wonderful job describing the actors' performances - I was so dumbstruck by them that all I could say was that they were "ethereal." It's an ironic description now that I think about it, because rather than being ethereal, they were so REAL. You hit the nail on the head with the first date scene between Noah and Allie. I was dumbstruck with Rachel's lauging reaction to the car coming and almost running them over. That was the first moment that I realized how amazing an actor she is. The moment reminded me of that moment in Pretty Woman when Richard Gere is showing Julia Roberts the ruby neckless in the jewelry box; she reaches out to touch it and then he snaps the box shut on her fingers, and she spontaneously lets out a whoop of laughter. Critics often point to that moment in her career as evidence of her ability to draw on very natural human behavior in a fresh way. I think Rachel is on her way, but she's an even better actor and a lot farther along on the trajectory Julia Roberts ultimately followed.
The other scene you pointed out - when they were breaking up - was also a showcase of the brilliance of their acting. When she kept shoving him, I was so shocked. Like you said in your post, I really thought I was witnessing two friends go through a breakup - the emotion was so real. They were both so unbridled in expressing the pain of it. When Ryan started hitting himself, I lost it. The way Ryan played the scene - self-effacing, out of love for Allie to go on and do wonderful things with her life, and letting her hit him at the same time punishing himself by hitting himself spoke volumes.
And that's what I thought was so compelling about Ryan's performances. The very core of the love story is that Noah looked at Allie as a beautiful bird (as Allie herself points out) that rather than being caged as she was under her parents' rules needed to be set free - allowed to love, allowed to point, allowed to do what she wanted to do. Ryan's performance was purposely and strategically understated. It wouldn't do for him to outright steal scenes, because Noah's feelings for Allie meant that he loved seeing her shine. But Ryan ultimately and brilliantly toes the line because in giving an understated performance of a simple country boy and the wounded man who's hurting in his quiet way, he turns in a powerful performance of a man in love that made me want to burst.
That's a broad sweeping characterization of his performance, but there were also specific moments about his acting that struck me. Even though the trailers overplay this scene, I really liked the scene where he's hanging off the ferris wheel. There was that well-delivered line, "Okay, okay, I'll go out with you." It so sums up Noah - unleashed passion, ultimately expressed in a temperate way. He was so passionate he had to climb up there and beg her to go out with him, but then his reaction belies the desperation of the moment when he makes a joke. I love how Ryan took me on this ride (literally).
The other moment that really got me about Ryan is that moment when they're arguing about whether or not she's going back to Lon. Rachel says what she says about not knowing what to do, and then he's quiet, looking at her. In that quiet moment when he's just looking at her, you CAN SEE the tumult of emotion welling up in him! And then he explodes: "Are we back to this again?" The words' antecedent refer back to when they first reunite and are trying to be friends, but they're also referring back to when they first broke up - yet we're in this moment right now, and in that one line he sums up all the pain we've been feeling on their behalf. And then he shoves the wooden lawn chair in frustration as he stands up. That little shove was so natural, again I felt like I was watching two friends when I wasn't supposed to be there.
I could go on. I haven't even hit the other actors. I'll do that in a later IM. I feel exhausted from going through their pain again.
