I’m a big fan of Denzel Washington: I’ll pretty much watch anything he does because he’s a great actor, and he’s so present on the screen. Some actors disappear into roles. Some actors are always only “themselves” in films. For me, Washington falls into the lovely other space of bringing his personal power and intelligence, a sense of his particular self, to his work. Not in a way that make him a cookie-cutter actor, or Hey, it’s me, Denzel! intrusive, but… hmm, what to call it? A vibration, maybe. A continuity.
Any of these acting styles can work when the right actor is in the right role. I don’t need all my favorite artists to work the way Washington does. But it’s fascinating to me to see glimpses of the artist within/behind the art, as if I’m getting a window into someone’s real-time personal connection to their own work. I love that (and more next week about a truly incredible set of DVDs Nicola I are watching that does it too…).
And then, of course, I just love the heck out of post-apocalyptic lone-hero-must-save-the-world movies with fights and jokes and excellent villains. And when you put that together with Denzel Washington and the fabulous Gary Oldman (whose performance in this trailer just makes me want to see this movie right now), well… friends, I give you The Book of Eli, coming in January just in time to kick the ass of the post-holiday blues.
Enjoy your day.
If this were out already, I’d go right now.
In a little over a month, the time will change and these post times will once again be accurate — something entirely unimportant that somehow disturbs me in a tiny way.
Time thing totally my bad. Fixed now (sadly, not retroactive…)
That’s nice. I really didn’t mean for you to bother at this point, but thanks. 🙂
That calls for complaint-free emoticon. ; )
I like DW too. He’s versatile and centered. Like all good actors IMO, he gets his kicks from trying on other people and his energy from their undivided attention on him. Also, he’s very good to look at. Human beauty never hurts.
I agree, he is beautiful. Does the presence come from beauty, or does beauty come from the willingness to be present? As I age, I’m hoping for the latter 🙂
I think beauty never really fades. It just gets etched into the person. The more you live, the more etched you become, and the more….etc., etc. Seriously, I think we become more beautiful as we age, because there’s much more of us to see. Of course, I have a very personal stake in this discussion, and a certain bias….