Spader, Subtlety, and Soul
I watched Sex, Lies, and Videotape again tonight for the first time in probably 10 years. And you must know by now how much I am completely obsessed with James Spader. (I just did a quick search of his name in my blog and found out that I've posted about him 6 times previously.) It's really a great movie. The entire movie is subtle, but emotional, and subtlety is something I love in a film. It tells me that the movie treats its audience like emotionally intelligent people.
I have a lot of different favorite movies, but they are all in different genres. Subtlety, to me, is most powerful in romantic films. As I've said before here (3 times, to be exact), my two favorite romantic movies of all time are While You Were Sleeping, and Love Actually. And it's because the former and sections of the latter treat love as a subtle thing. There's no wailing and carrying on, like in Gone with the Wind, a movie that I can't for the life of me understand why people enjoy. And there's no sense of ultimate soulmates, like in The Notebook (another film I can't stand). There's no epic standing aside, like in Casablanca.
These are all fake, Hollywood-style romances, that I just don't care about. I care about the intricacies of human emotion. I care more about what someone is hiding than what they are showing. My favorite idea of romance in film is something that comes about slowly, with little details given to the audience here and there, until a plot point ultimately happens to force things out into the open.
This is one of my favorite parts of While You Were Sleeping. I love it because it's just a couple of glances, but you see everything in his facial expression. (Sorry about the quality, this is the only clip of this scene I could find.):
And this is my favorite scene in Love Actually. His character pretends to hate her character, because he actually loves her. And she would never have known, but for this scene:
I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say, is that maybe I don't trust people to tell me what they are feeling. People can say things, and think they are the truth, but really they are what the person wants to believe is the truth. Most people put forth to others an ideal of themselves. Or they act in accordance of how they feel they should act, for society's sake. I'm not sure that this makes sense because it's very late, but I think if you happen to catch a glimpse of someone when they are off their guard, it can be the most romantic thing in the world.
And this is what James Spader is very good at: speaking, while showing you a different or opposite emotion. Or not saying anything at all, except with his eyes. It's an amazing actor who can pull that off, and it really draws you into him, because he seems so complex. I just read an interview with Mila Kunis where she said that George Clooney is emotionally unavailable. And looking back on his work, I think she may be right. His eyes are always guarded. Maybe this is why I could never be that into him. The same goes for Brad Pitt. Physically, they are nice to look at. But they don't give their souls to the audience, and that's why I prefer people like Spader.
Just late night food for thought. I know I've done two introspective entries in a row. Now that my crazy life is settling down, I'm having more time for thoughtful blog posts, and I kinda like it.
The next one will likely be light and fluffy. We'll see.
I have a lot of different favorite movies, but they are all in different genres. Subtlety, to me, is most powerful in romantic films. As I've said before here (3 times, to be exact), my two favorite romantic movies of all time are While You Were Sleeping, and Love Actually. And it's because the former and sections of the latter treat love as a subtle thing. There's no wailing and carrying on, like in Gone with the Wind, a movie that I can't for the life of me understand why people enjoy. And there's no sense of ultimate soulmates, like in The Notebook (another film I can't stand). There's no epic standing aside, like in Casablanca.
These are all fake, Hollywood-style romances, that I just don't care about. I care about the intricacies of human emotion. I care more about what someone is hiding than what they are showing. My favorite idea of romance in film is something that comes about slowly, with little details given to the audience here and there, until a plot point ultimately happens to force things out into the open.
This is one of my favorite parts of While You Were Sleeping. I love it because it's just a couple of glances, but you see everything in his facial expression. (Sorry about the quality, this is the only clip of this scene I could find.):
And this is my favorite scene in Love Actually. His character pretends to hate her character, because he actually loves her. And she would never have known, but for this scene:
I guess what I'm ultimately trying to say, is that maybe I don't trust people to tell me what they are feeling. People can say things, and think they are the truth, but really they are what the person wants to believe is the truth. Most people put forth to others an ideal of themselves. Or they act in accordance of how they feel they should act, for society's sake. I'm not sure that this makes sense because it's very late, but I think if you happen to catch a glimpse of someone when they are off their guard, it can be the most romantic thing in the world.
And this is what James Spader is very good at: speaking, while showing you a different or opposite emotion. Or not saying anything at all, except with his eyes. It's an amazing actor who can pull that off, and it really draws you into him, because he seems so complex. I just read an interview with Mila Kunis where she said that George Clooney is emotionally unavailable. And looking back on his work, I think she may be right. His eyes are always guarded. Maybe this is why I could never be that into him. The same goes for Brad Pitt. Physically, they are nice to look at. But they don't give their souls to the audience, and that's why I prefer people like Spader.
Just late night food for thought. I know I've done two introspective entries in a row. Now that my crazy life is settling down, I'm having more time for thoughtful blog posts, and I kinda like it.
The next one will likely be light and fluffy. We'll see.
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