The Great Acting Blog: “Great Work Is Done By Those Who Take Responsibility”

The Great Acting Blog: “Great Work Is Done By Those Who Take Responsibility”

I entered the theatre with some trepidation. I was worried it was going to be another one of those American movies about twenty-somethings moaning about non-problems, or a second rate episode of Friends shot in black and white. I hadn’t liked The Squid And The Whale, the only film I had previously seen by this director. When I left the theatre after the movie however, I was elated, Frances Ha was one of the best American movies I had seen in a long, long time.

It’s one of the few films to come out in recent times where the characters didn’t all seem like aliens from outer space. They were recognisable human beings up on the screen. The film has a ring of truth about it, which is very rare indeed these days.

France Ha is notable too because the lead actress, Great Gerwig, also co-wrote the script. This in itself is hardly a new thing but I am always interested to see what actors do when they have control over their work. I am rarely disappointed. Given roles that excite them and the freedom to express themselves, we usually see an exuberance in their work, a relish which is lacking when they work as a gun for hire.

So often in the history of cinema, when we see an actor move behind the camera the results are superb. John Cassavetes immediately springs to mind, Charles Laughton and The Night Of The Hunter, Woody Allen, Sean Penn and Gary Oldman are other fine examples. It’s very rare that actors make bad films. The reason is because actors are not seduced by the technology of filmmaking. They turn to directing (and scriptwriting) as an extension of their acting. They don’t drench the film in technique and style as so many filmmakers do. Their films tend to be precise and economical which is why they are a joy to watch. The reason for this, is that the actor’s work is about simplicity and truth. Actors spend an inordinate amount of time cultivating both of these elements, paring back, eliminating falsity. Consequently, when they turn to other disciplines, they carry this with them. Further, actors tend to be observers of life, contrary to the popular image, and so again they carry this subtle eye into their film work too.

Clearly Gerwig did not direct Frances Ha, however, as co-writer and lead actor she will have influenced it enormously. The dialogue in the film was a joy, it had rhythm and directness, most dialogue these days is truly abysmal, unspeakable let alone un-actable. Further, it had some truly wonderful light comedic moments (which certainly is not true of The Squid And The Whale) executed wonderfully by the cast. The fluctuation of the characters’ relationships was a relief too. Our perception of the relationships was allowed to shift rather than being locked into a sort of goodies and baddies scenario. Most crucially of all though, Frances Ha contains some moments of real truth that, at times, strike you in gut.

Great Gerwig and Frances Ha are an example of what happens when an actor decides to take control of their work and offer up their point of view. While the majority of actors wallow in unemployment, hoping to be picked, great work is being done by those who take responsibility.

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