I was talking to a friend the other day and he happened to mention Black Swan and Natalie Portman. He asked me if she deserved the Oscar® and he wasn't quite sure when without hesitation I told him "yes". So, that made me think. What makes a performance great? And if I think that someone gave a terrific performance, do others think the same? Of course not, but then, who is right?
So, when does a performance stick out?
- When it haunts you for a long time after you've left the theater Even if a movie isn't that good, you still think about that particular actor who made you cry, or laugh or simply made you feel numb and in awe because he was so believable.
- When you can't think of any other actor in that specific role This, of course, might be a result of amazing casting and sometimes it isn't the actor who makes the part but the part that makes the actor. However who could imagine anyone else than Jack Nicholson playing the part of Jack in The Shining, or Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone in The Godfather?
- When the performance is so loud and so good that you forget the actor behind the role A very recent example is Christian Bale's performance in The Fighter. You could easily look past his face and his filmography, you could easily forget every little gossip you've heard about him because at that moment, he wasn't Christian Bale. He was Dicky Eklund. This is also the privilege of supporting actors because they change their appearance a lot in order to get into the more strange characters which they are asked to bring to life. Another performance that comes to mind, even though a long time has passed since that film, is Brad Pitt's performance in 12 Monkeys. Almost everyone I know, even if they don't like Brad Pitt, they admit that he was great in that film.
- Of course, it all depends on the movie and the script What can an actor do when the script is simply idiotic? A very loud performance in a really silly film might seem ridiculous, but on the other hand it can also save the film from complete doom. The director can also make a performance or destroy it completely. There are also some films that don't need great performances, simply because the roles in them are not particularly demanding.
This is why actors like Robert DeNiro and Meryl Streep are considered the best. You know them and you recognise them in their films but you don't think about their fame when you see them. They persuade you that they ARE their role so that you can't imagine anyone else in their place and even though the film might not be that great, they manage to make you believe them. They even are, sometimes, the only reason that a film isn't a complete disaster.
So, to finish how I started, I really believe that Natalie Portman deserved the Oscar® completely. She owned the part of Nina, she made you sympathise with her. You felt her agony, her stress, her effort to succeed in everything she did. At the same time, you could forget that she was the little girl from Leon and you couldn't imagine anyone else in her place. Let's not also leave out the fact that she kept our interest thoughout the movie without being a particularly huge name and that even if someone didn't like Black Swan they can't help but accept that Portman did persuade them in the part of Nina.
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