PERFORMANCE PERSPECTIVES

"The Talented Mr Ripley"

A VERY REAL WORLD

The major success achieved by the performers and the director in this film is the successful way the actors portray characters who have a complex but clear and readable subtext. When actors are playing with such rich complexity and focused truthfulness their motivations are always clear.

In this regard MATT DAMON, and GWENNETH PALTROW have produced impeccable performances. We understand implicitly a complex world of unconventional sexual preferences set amongst the conservative social values of the time. We understand the nature of the world these characters exist in even though little is specifically done to explain it in any detail. We understand it because it exists for the characters. When they respond truthfully to a situation the forces and circumstances acting upon them are revealed to us.

The only way an actor can produce such a performance, I believe, is to thoroughly understand both the complexity of the character as well as the nature of the time in which they exist.

If actors put such a process in place then the audience achieves a clear understanding of the character and the world through the unspoken unconscious subtext that constantly emanates from the performers/characters.

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a wonderful example of how effectively actors can build a complex but clearly understandable world. This is one of the films great achievements.

Producers Goals and Actors Needs
Producers are always ever vigilant that the audience will understand the detail of the story. And most will err in favour of over-statement rather than confusion when it comes to this issue and sometimes this creates performance problems for the actor.

Early in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" when Tom Ripley (MATT DAMON) has just arrived in Italy he jokingly describes himself to his new acquaintances as a liar, a forger and a cheat. This is exactly the sort of dialogue that producers sometimes ask for to clarify a situation - a blatantly obvious and baldly accurate explanation of what is "going on" so the audience wont be confused. In this instance when the story is an unusual one about a person who is not a model of morality maybe the interest is in letting the audience know this is not a conventional hero.

Most actors however approach such lines with difficulty.

Under these circumstances I can hear an actor saying, "Why would he say that?" Or, "It's just spoon-feeding the audience with something they will intuitively understand." Actors will frequently come across such lines - ones they have difficulty rationalising - or ones they believe the character would not utter.

How to deal with this problem is an on-going task for the actor.

A Challenge for the Actor
Making a list of the all the things you don't like about the offending line is probably a very useful place to start. For if you are the actor that has to say such a line then getting all the negatives out of your system is a very therapeutic approach to taking on ownership of the problem and thus beginning to find a path to a truthful delivery.

The other value in creating such a list of negatives is that it's the first step towards turning them into positives. The list is probably based on reasons why the character wouldn't behave like that. The actor can then ask the question "If the character wouldn't normally behave or speak like that - what circumstances might generate a situation in which he would respond this way?" Each item can then be examined to discover appropriate motivations. If each item on the list is addressed in this way a new list of possible motivations for playing the line will emerge.

Whatever process MATT DAMON went through to decide how to play this tricky moment in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" the choice he ultimately made was a very good one. He plays the line with great simplicity of purpose yet there is complexity in the result. At the time we have no difficulty in believing it.

It is a tribute to his skill and commitment that we allow a potential 'clunker' to go by without cringing.

Dealing With Difficult Lines
Often actors are imposed upon to embrace somebody else's choice, particularly in regard to the spoken word. It may originate from the writer, director, producer or sometimes another actor. But no matter where a line originates, delivering it remains the terrain of the actor, who is ultimately expected to make the performance work. Of course discussion of the validity of any line is the actors' prerogative but this doesn't guarantee a successful outcome. Few actors are powerful enough to simply refuse such tasks, so the only remaining option is to be skilled in creating circumstances that will make the 'clunky' lines believable.

Under these circumstances finding a satisfactory motivation for uttering the words is essential.

Loud applause for Matt Damon!

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