Feel the PAIN! Feel the DESPAIR!!

Viking Bastard · Oct 13, 2003

I guess I never truly believed it would happen.
That it was all but a lame-o dream.

Read this and then this to see the source of my great anguish.

Piratecat · Oct 13, 2003

I've been in mourning for months. But hey - maybe he can really act, and he'll surprise us all!

WayneLigon · Oct 13, 2003

Eh. He's not British. That's part of the character, IMO. Warner just never, ever learns do they?

Mercule · Oct 13, 2003

There actually are American actors who can pull off a British accent (and vice versa). Is Keanu one of them? Dunno.

Tsyr · Oct 13, 2003

Mercule said:
There actually are American actors who can pull off a British accent (and vice versa). Is Keanu one of them? Dunno.

Passable. See "Bram Stoker's Dracula"... he does a decent job there.

Oni · Oct 13, 2003

Meh, it's not that bad is it?

The way I figure it is, at least they're making the movie. It might, in fact it very well could suck, but it wouldn't have the opportunity to shine if wasn't being made so if this is what it takes then this is what it takes. Who knows, it could turn out to be a really great movie regardless of it's faithlessness to the details of its source material. And if it's bad then fans'll have something else to smalltalk/commiserate about.

Pielorinho · Oct 13, 2003

Tsyr said:
Passable. See "Bram Stoker's Dracula"... he does a decent job there.

Really? I admired his job in Dracula only by telling myself the following story:

On the day the shoot was scheduled to begin, the actor who was going to play the part Keanu ended up in fell horribly sick. He was unable to go on camera. "The show," he feebly croaked, "must go on!"

So the director looked around for somebody -- anybody -- who could fill in. Finally, his gaze alighted on the minimum-wage guy who was bringing out the sandwiches for the crew lunch. "You!" he shouted, pointing at the hapless guy. "You're filling in!"

So the dumbstruck Keanu was put in front of the camera, and with immense bravery stumbled his way through the movie. Sure, he kept a deer-in-headlights look throughout, but that's not because he was a bad actor: it's because he wasn't an actor at all, but rather a poor flunkie who sacrificed his last shreds of dignity in order to let the movie be filmed.

If I thought for a second that Keanu was a deliberate casting job in that role, I'd be sickened. As it is, I tremendously admire his courage.

Daniel

Rackhir · Oct 13, 2003

Tsyr said:
Passable. See "Bram Stoker's Dracula"... he does a decent job there.

There's a great story I heard about the filming of Dracula, I don't know if it's apocryphal or not, but it is funny.

Apparently both Keanu and Winona Rider are "Method Actors" meaning they have to "feel what the characters are feeling". Now they were watching Gary Oldman doing one of his sturm'und drang scenes. Where he's railling against god and shedding copious tears, but once he's finished he wipes his eyes off and walks off the set cool as a cucumber and normal once again. Apparently both K & W were stunned by this and eagerly went over to ask him how he had been able to do that. To which he replied "It's called Acting. You should try it some time."

Personally I've always been of the opinion that the greatest special effect in the matrix was that they actually seemed to get a performance out of Keanu. If you ever want to understand why so many people have a poor opinion of his acting abilites, watch Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing.

Richards · Oct 13, 2003

Actually, it doesn't matter whether Keanu Reeves can do a good British accent or not...the John Constantine he's portraying in this movie is not British, he's an American detective.

Why? Hollywood logic.

Johnathan

Pielorinho · Oct 13, 2003

Rackhir said:
Personally I've always been of the opinion that the greatest special effect in the matrix was that they actually seemed to get a performance out of Keanu. If you ever want to understand why so many people have a poor opinion of his acting abilites, watch Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing.

Rackhir, that's a great story! I'll have to remember it.

The genius of the Matrix directors wasn't that they got a performance out of Keanu: it's that they gave him the perfect role. His character was SUPPOSED to be a dummy who didn't understand what the heck was going on around him. Since that's how Keanu looks in every single role he's in, it wasn't a stretch for him -- but he fit the character most excellently.

Daniel