Being Who He Is Helps. Review On Denzel Washington's movies
What Helps Him Stand Out
---review on Denzel Washington
They say coincidences make the book, and my recent movie-watching experience certainly adds to that. Of the few movies I have seen for the week, two of them
star the same actor Denzel Washington, both are the based-on-true-event type, and they share the same idea of how colored people struggle to survive and thrive
in the age when Negroes had the thin end of the social hierachy. I guess these
nice coincidences are what push me to drop a few lines here.
The one I have just finished watching is The Great Debaters. It's Denzel Washington's second self-directed movie, and obviously it's one of his best. Some viewers complain it's a bit preachy, but most of what I can say is this movie is
forcefully inspirational. The movie tells a story about Denzel, himself a professor at a then Negro-only college and a poet, forms a debate team out of his students, and works to make them the best in the country despite all the difficulties, the worst being racisim. It can appear obscure without some certain knowledge about African Americans history and western philosophy, but for English lovers, the brilliant speeches they deliver during the screen time are well worth the
time.
Another is Rmember The Titans. In the movie Denzel plays a coach of American
football. The storyline is amazingly similar except that this one revolves about atheletic games rather than verbal competitions. It's also set in the time when black American's were atrociously discriminated against in all life aspects.
I barely know the first thing about American football, still I enjoyed the movie to the very end. If there's something I will complain about, the movie uses a
huge ton of slang language and they speak fast enough to make you think they are simply flaunting off.
The two movies, of course, wouldn't be the same without Denzel Washington's personal charima and wonderful acting. If, as David suggested last time, Morgan Freeman exudes warmth and kindness in face and voice, Denzel exudes an air of righteousness and justice in both facial expressions and body gestures. He might not necessarily be the guy who always looks to stand tall, ready to fight a bunch
of hellions at the drop of a hat, he's the guy who unfailingly gives you a sense of security and persistence. I like almost all his movies.
The longer the list of my watched movies becomes, the more I am convinced that
actors, male or female, perform better and more convincingly when the character
on the screen resembles the actor in personal dispositions and beliefs - than when they pretend to be someone they are not. It can be arguably said that a prefessional can freely make the switch between the good and the bad, but I believe
most reviewers would prefer Kiefer Sutherland （Jack Bauer in 24) to remain who
he is in the drama, for good, rather than becoming a terrorist; and Prison Break would lose its appeal with fans if Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell (the two brothers specialize in breaking out of jails) had been resigned to the bum rap. I guess people don't just say "always be the real who you are" for nothing.
Come to think of it, let's just, "act who we are".
Panpanpan.
|
轻松英语