PERFORMANCE PERSPECTIVES

"Almost Famous"
TRUST & SIMPLICITY IN A YOUNG ACTOR

Almost Famous was understandably warmly received by the critics. It's a cosy film full of warm musical reminiscences of the sixties and seventies and it deals in a gentle, simple and rewarding way with the conflicts which arise out of the story.

Challenges for the Actor
The narrative is carried in a charming way by PATRICK FUGIT who plays William Miller, an intelligent 15 year old who has the chance for his dream to come true. For PATRICK FUGIT himself this is in fact a dream come true for having worked at getting his skills to a very proficient level he has won a plum role. This is PATRICK'S first feature film after appearances in one telemovie ("Legion of Fire: Killer Ants") and five episodes in various TV series.

As the main character in this tale he is involved in a broad range of events and he trusts himself to bring a significant contribution to these through the detail of the action. It is interesting to look at the skills he displays which so successfully support his performance. In his first three scenes, which occur approximately 11.40secs into the film (from the start of the Columbia logo), he is required to write, read and listen. These tasks he achieves with great simplicity and without unnecessary embellishment yet much is revealed about the character of William Miller in the process. No great drama, no dialogue, no action yet the story is clearly and simply told.

Shortly afterwards in a great little scene in a café where the youthful William Miller chats with established rock journalist Lester Bangs (PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN), PATRICK'S tasks are only:-

• to listen,
• to seek understanding
• and to share.

Such simple goals played openly and completely trusted by PATRICK, allow his intuitive responses to do the work for him, thereby delivering a consummate performance. The apparent ease with which he does this is the key to his success. PATRICK is happy to confidently let his listening (which is exceptionally good because it is driven by a clear purpose) do the work for him. In fact for any actor this movie is a great example of how to trust the listening process, for as a young journalist following a rock band on tour, William Miller's job is frequently to listen and observe.

Owning Behaviour
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN (Lester Bangs) on the other hand appears to have created a performance which is entirely different to PATRICK'S. Here is a character that is rich in colour and texture and as large as life itself. Full of energy, showmanship and ego this is the character part that many actors would 'die for'. Yet in terms of performance technique it can be argued that although the outcome is extremely different the process which delivers it is identical with PATRICK'S. Just like PATRICK'S William Miller, Lester Bangs is also driven by a simple and clear sense of purpose. He too wants "to share", but he shares his enthusiasm of the world egotistically, loudly, eccentrically and happily - not politely, innocently and naively as the young William does. So, though the outcomes are vastly different, the commonalities of process are clearly evident. Ultimately it's because Lester Bangs' primary purpose is "to share" that the audience can't help but like him. Sharing is such a warm engaging intention that it creates likeable people even when wrapped in much filibuster.

As an actor PHILLIP also has immense trust in his intuitive choices and thus despite the fact that this is a very large and colourful character there is no evidence of actor contrivance - no signs of the actor acting. The character is clearly motivated and the actor happily owns the circumstances as well as the character's needs. Such committed, rounded and trusting ownership of the ingredients opens the door to wonderfully intuitive and adventurous performances.

Maintaining the Innocence
The other outstanding element in PATRICK FUGIT'S performance is the consistency and frequency with which he plays moments of surprise. It is the fact that his character is constantly surprised by the wonder of the environment he is now sharing that magically maintains the innocence of the character. Further more these surprises, though they are frequently generated by the most ordinary of circumstances, are never forced but always honestly explored.

One charming example (at approximately 22.50secs) is just before William Miller meets the delightful Penny Lane (KATE HUDSON) for the second time. He is sitting backstage in the band room taking some notes when he glances at something out of shot that the audience never sees. Not only is he surprised by what he sees but it but also makes him smile. This is a wonderfully simple and engaging moment for the audience. It's an opportunity for the audience to confirm for itself how much it really likes this young man and we like him because of the character's enthusiastic innocent sharing and the actor's truthful exploration of the world. As with all this accomplished young actor's work here is a truthfully played and absolutely trusted moment of surprise.

Similarly KATE HUDSON as Penny Lane delivers an absolutely charming performance which brings a perfect balance to the story. For despite the fact that Penny Lane is considerably more experienced in the ways of the world than William Miller, KATE brings a trusting and truthful innocence to her role which is also achieved through fine acting.

In this first scene where they begin to get to know each other she asks William -

"How old are you?"
"Eighteen."
"Me too. How old are you really?"
"Seventeen."
"Me too."
"Actually I'm sixteen."
"Me too. Isn't it funny the truth just sounds different."

Penny Lane has articulated a palpable truth about the acting process.

Besides great skill in these performances there is also great generosity. Further reasons for the warmth of the movie and the likeable quality to the characters.

It would also appear that writer/director Cameron Crowe ably supported and encouraged PATRICK and the rest of the cast in their choices and through their collective collaboration actors and director achieve a lot.

Good Use of Improvisation
Throughout the film there is good use of improvisational techniques. This is constantly evident in the way actors trust themselves to explore any moments where there is no dialogue.

However it goes further than that. A delightful example occurs in the scene mentioned above when William and Penny first chat and Penny Lane enquiringly explores Williams face. This moment, which is worth watching from a performance point of view, lasts for twenty seconds and carries six shots without any scripted dialogue. Similarly immediately afterwards William Miller introduces Penny Lane to lead guitarist Russell Hammond. Penny and Russell in fact know each other but they play out a charade that this is the first time they have met. This moment also includes PATRICK FUGIT so there are three actors involved in this impro and it carries a similar duration and number of shots to the previous one. Such performance driven moments can only be achieved by actors:

• who can listen to the unspoken dialogue that emerges from character interaction
• who can trust themselves to play out moments and even expand them so that the editor can find the space to separate the phases and intercut the shots
• who can confidently trust their characters "need" of the moment so they are not driven to fill the space with irrelevant adlib dialogue or pointless activity.

This is all entertaining material for an audience and informative performance process for the actor. By the twenty-five minute mark there has been much for the actor to analyse and there is a whole movie still to go. This movie is well worth watching a number of times.

An Attractive Warmth
BILLY CRUDUP as the charismatic guitarist Russell Hammond also generates an attractive warmth while NOAH TAYLOR (Dick Roswell) with less screen time similarly develops a pleasing complexity. All performances worth watching.

(P.S. At 33.55 approx observe PATRICK FUGIT'S first 'bad news' surprise for William Miller.)

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