Monday, March 2, 2009
James Franco: Destined for Greatness as an Actor?
As I was watching "Pineapple Express" this weekend, I realized how much potential James Franco has as an actor. Twelve years ago, this NYU Tisch student was merely a minor background character in the movie "Never Been Kissed." Then, in 2006, he came out as the leading male role in "Tristan and Isolde," a mix between "Troy" and "Romeo and Juliette." He was no longer a naive teenager following the crowd mindlessly, but a long lost hero who blindly falls in love with his rescuer who he later on won as a wife for his non-biological father, the King. Slightly coming out of his shell, he proved to the audience that he could pull off the entire warrier role. In "Annapolis," he played the persistant soldier who came from a difficult childhood who was capable of overcoming obstacles and pushing aside all the negativity around him in order to graduate. Even as New Goblin in "Spiderman 3," Franco played the role of the villian in a not memorable performance but still maintained to convince the watching population that there was some competence. From what I saw in "Pineapple Express," Franco not only developed his character down to the core, but also took chances. Oh, if only more actors did this! I understand the complexity of sitting down with a script and creating a character out of scratch with such distinct personality traits and habits that the character grows very realistic. It's crazy. Deciding whether to make a character have an inner dilemma that ultimately destructs the characters sanity and how to portray this breaking down... nail biting, nervous glances above the shoulder, a twitch, etc. His character, Saul the drug dealer who secretly dreamed of becoming an engineer and benefiting society, had the perfect amount of humor, creativity and friendliness that by the end of the movie, not only was I laughing at his obvious stupidity, but I was also suddenly caring for his feelings. The feelings of a drug dealer. And that, in itself, is what makes a good actor. Franco reached out beyond his comfort zone and was capable of convincing the crowd of his character. If only more actors could be as diverse and take as many chances. I see a young Heath Ledger (may he rest in peace) coming out and I'm waiting to be pleasantly surprised.
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Pineapple Express -- Armadillo
ReplyDeleteNever Been Kissed -- Armadillo
"Tristan and Isolde," -- Armadillo
"Troy" -- Armadillo
(For an explanation of what all these armadillos are doing on your blog, refer to Shiran's latest post)
In spite of all the Armadillos, I enjoyed your post because it is very beautifully written, AND because it addresses an aspect of film that is very difficult to write about, namely, good acting. At some point soon, we're going to discuss what makes great acting. I look forward to your thoughtful contributions to that discussion. (Actually, there probably won't be a discussion. I'll just lecture like always)
Romeo and Juliette." -- Armadillo
"Annapolis,"
"Spiderman 3,"
Oops. Stick an armadillo after Annapolis and Spiderman 3, will you. Those last two got out of their cages and I am too tired to chase after them.
ReplyDeleteWow! No wonder you are in charge of the newspaper. You really know how to write a good story. That was a great analysis of an actor and perhaps you should consider a career in film criticism, if you aren't already. I don't quite understand what you mean by "comfort zone," but your dissection of what an actor should be and how a character is born shows that you really know what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteDominic, by comfort zone, I meant that James Franco reached out beyond the "boy next door charm" and risked experimenting with a new role. Who knows, he could have simply taken the role of a drug dealer thinking he had enough talent to bring the character to life, but in reality, he would have just imitated the empty core of a hackneyed role. Instead, he insisted on staring off into space with a spark of knowledge in his eyes to create the core of a man, consumed with growing and selling drugs to lower rate illegal drug consumers, who realizes his potential as a productive human being and at some point in his future, envisions himself benefiting the modern community. There is a reason Hollywood is divided into different classes of actors and actresses. Those who take risks and try on different persona's, for example Johnny Depp, learn to mold their skill into art. Art is not reciting a script in a lifeless mundane fashion. Simultaneously, art is not overacting and jumping all over the place like a lunatic within the small frame. Acting is reacting real life. And actors who are capable of acting out roles that they have obviously never experienced in their outside lives proves that they took a chance outside their normal actions. Sometimes the risk is a success, sometimes it backfires... but it is, after all, a risk.
ReplyDeleteA big YES to James Franco!! I think he's criminally underrated as an actor. He played James Dean once in a movie, and I went into it completely expecting to hate a James Dean impostor, but he was incredible and I've been a fan ever since. Have you seen him in Milk? He was great there too.
ReplyDeleteOH,also, if you liked him in Pineapple Express (and I agree he was brilliant in it), you might want to watch the show Freaks and Geeks at some point. It was his first role I think, and it was very similar to Saul. He's great there, too.
ReplyDeleteJulia, that was very well written with strong, smart analysis but I believe that you have one glaring omission in your comments. MILK!! Shiran mentioned it and I believe that this shows his branching out as an actor even further. He went from a drug dealer to the love interest of Harvey Milk, not easy to do. If you are a big fan of James Franco, I would suggest you watch that film.
ReplyDeletewow that was a great analysis of James Franco, I absolutely agree that he is destined to be a great actor, and I was particularly surprised by his serious role in Milk, this really shows that he doesn't have to act as a stoner to get recognition. Great piece, really enjoyed it
ReplyDeleteJulia that was a beautiful article that you wrote on my husband. (@ least in my dreams) But anyway, yes! I agree 100% with what you said. All of his movies have been so diverse and he has had to play so many different roles, yet he always adapts to his character almost perfectly. The only thing i would disagree with, is that he actually isn't very young he's 29 years old! Nevertheless he has so much potential and even though started kind of late as an actor, I think will be one who goes down in the books.
ReplyDelete