The Great Acting Blog: “The Exhilaration Of Creation”
This week I watched Down Terrace, a brilliant film a about a crime family who live in a nondescript terraced house in order to masque their ill-gotten gains, and who spend most of the film receiving visitors there in an effort to find out who “grassed” on them for a previous, unspecified crime. It’s a highly unusual picture and could be described as a slice-of-life crossed with a film noir.
It’s the kind of film where one experiences the joy of recognition: we see ourselves in the characters, we recognize their behaviour and little verbal exchanges, their humour and their resentments are ours too, there’s a truth to it. The acting is universally excellent, however I was especially taken by the performance of Robert Hill (playing Bob, the head of the family) and in particular his silent work where we simply see a thought flash across his face. It’s subtle, it’s animated, it rings absolutely true, it’s detailed without descending into a fussy and irritating “naturalism”. His rhythm is superb, as when he is polishing some wine glasses during an argument with his son, and delivers the line “stand the fuck back man, or I’ll stick these glasses in your face”, with the precision timing of a punchline. I had never heard of Robert Hill, or seen his face, I wondered if he was one of those exquisite stage actors who had simply refused to do screen work until now. I knew that to get the performances this good they would have had to rehearse rigorously over a period of time, for it is the paradox of acting that only thorough extensive preparation can true spontaneity in performance come. But then I thought about the low-budget nature of the film, and my hunch was that Robert Hill’s performance had been produced by the alchemy of the non-actor, and that this was his debut. However, after a little research, I discovered that not only was he a non-actor, but Robin Hill (who plays his son Carl in the movie), is infact Robert Hill’s son in real life, and further, the house used in the film, was actually the Hill’s family residence. Here’s a quote from director Ben Wheatley, taken from the Timeout review:
“You wouldn’t be able to get that kind of reality from actors unless you rehearsed the absolute living shit out of them for months. That awkwardness only comes from real relationships.”
Robert Hill’s performance was the continuation in a long line of non-actors making brilliant debuts. In these instances, the non-actor is cast in the role because there is something special in their persona which matches the character, and the results are often brilliant.
Over the years, the actor is forced to contend with the technical and psychological challenges brought forth by being consistly placed in new situations; there are the myriad directors each with their own method of working (for example, some like to improvise from scratch, while others insist on working from a locked text) , then there are the endless varieties of script, countless auditions, difficult colleagues, wrong turnings, dead ends, and disappointments. The true test is whether the actor can not only survive, but make himself strong enough to flourish and produce work worthy of the audiences’ time and money. A one-off great performance will not see you through.
If the actor is to proceed then, he must find a technique which makes sense to him, and which has been proven to stand-up under intense pressure. The actor who does not possess this, will not be able to bare criticism, and will feel very uncomfortable accepting a compliment, because he doesn’t know what he’s doing. This actor will forever be seeking everyone elses good opinion of his work but not his own, and when a good opinion is not forthcoming, this actor will feel worthless. This actor cannot enjoy his work, and his life is not his own.
Once the actor has defined and practiced a concrete aesthetic, then, and only then, can the actor begin to liberate all that he has to offer, and experience the exhilaration brought about by an act of true creation.
James Devereaux/ 20.10.2010
I’ve started to think that the use of "non" before these titles, is more to do with intentions. For example, a person who has never acted before can be cast in a movie and do really well, as mentioned above. But that person may have no interest in acting generally (eg not practicing skills, pursuing work etc), hence "non-actor". Thanks for the great comment Jay.
relaxing winter morning jazz music/ 01.12.2023
relaxing winter morning jazz music
albenza ohne Rezept für Reisekranke/ 13.08.2024
Wo finde ich Medikamente in Tunis? Qualigen Pivijay commander des
tablettes en ligne
mutabon achat au Québec/ 17.08.2024
precio del medicamentos sin receta médica Daito Genk médicaments
prix en Côte d’Ivoire
levofloxacin dostarczany szybko i dyskretnie/ 17.08.2024
acheter médicaments en Espagne en ligne Eurogenerics Boulogne Sur Mer medicamentos disponible en España
мусульманский сонник толкование снов крыса/ 24.08.2024
к чему снится незамужней девушке дочка значения карт
таро пустая карта кто мне напишет гадание
таро расклады на будущее расклад партнер
сонник идти против толпы людей
waar medicijnen zonder recept te kopen Abacus San Luis/ 25.08.2024
medicijnen om te kopen in Frankrijk Pfizer Dendermonde Guide d’achat
de médicaments en ligne : tout ce que vous devez savoir sur les dosages
Natürliches Heilmittel gegen verstopfte Nase/ 13.09.2024
What’s up it’s me, I am also visiting this web page daily, this web site is truly pleasant and the viewers are truly sharing good
thoughts.
quando dovrei iniziare ad assumere antistaminici per le allergie/ 14.09.2024
Thanks for sharing your info. I truly appreciate your
efforts and I will be waiting for your next post thank you once again.
орбұлақ шайқасы қай ғасырда болды/ 10.10.2024
подогрев на фильтр 12в, подогрев фильтра грубой очистки махамбет
пен исатай достығы, махамбет пен исатай достығы эссе сколько стоит бмв i8 в тенге, bmw i8 купить алматы ескерткіштер ел тарихы
мәтін, ескерткіштер ел тарихы тақырыбында эссе
зертханалық жұмыс биология 8 сынып жауаптары/ 10.10.2024
акимат вко контакты, аким вко сейчас
теорема квест карантин, теорема квест алматы цена туған күнге арналған ойындар балаларға, ерекше ойындар сду два
иностранных языка грант, сду факультеты и специальности
экстракорпоральді ұрықтандыру презентация/ 13.10.2024
чем опасны аффирмации, аффирмации
это бред математика 4 сынып есептер тендеу, теңдеу құруға арналған есептер 6 сынып жаңа туған немереге тілек, немере бауы берик болсын өрлеу регистрация, өрлеу онлайн курс
ахмет байтұрсынов балалары/ 13.10.2024
жаңбыр дыбысы, ақ жаңбыр сипаттама аулие агаштар туралы хабарлама, еліміздегі әулие ағаштар толағай ертегісінің қысқаша мазмұны, толағай
батыр электронды пошта туралы тест, интернет туралы сұрақтар
қарахан мемлекеті ғасыр/ 14.10.2024
тілдік таңба деген не, тілдік таңба мен
жалпы таңба арендное жилье усть-каменогорск 2022, арендное жилье 2022 а әріпінен басталатын жақсы
сөздер, а әріпінен басталатын сөздер научные каналы youtube на русском,
научные каналы тв
acheter des comprimés de médicaments en ligne Davur Capodrise/ 30.10.2024
médicaments générique en ligne : ce qu’il faut savoir Polpharma San Justo ordina farmaci online a Torino, Italia
шестой дом в козероге работа/ 03.11.2024
хорошие сайты для фриланса отзывы
как школьнику заработать 10000 рублей за неделю подработка пищевое
производство подработка в екатеринбурге с ежедневной
оплатой без опыта для женщин свежие вакансии
What are the 10 worst medications for your liver/ 13.11.2024
Que signifie sro en matière de sécurité Quel est l’effet du calcipotriène sur la peau Que se passe-t-il si je n’ai rien à
confier aux huissiers de justice au Royaume-Uni Est-ce que le kiné est remboursé sans ordonnance
Comment ai-je soigné ma gastrite/ 14.11.2024
Quel est le médicament le plus efficace contre la douleur Est-il douloureux de se faire retirer des implants dentaires Which sleeping pill is safe for kidney patients Comment faire disparaître une respiration sifflante