A Thing About Great Performances

I hope there are at least a few people out there who value my opinion, as well as a few who value my opinion on movies. I've seen many, know quite a lot about them, and keep up with all sorts of trivia, upcoming releases, and reviews. And, as any intelligent person can, can defend my thoughts with examples. Like I always tell the students in my classes: What you think is important, but never, ever forget the why.

With that said, I would like the state that a single great performance does not make a movie great. Let me give some examples:

The other day I watched the film 'My Left Foot.' This is a very good film. Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the best actors there is, and his performance in this film was one of the best I've ever seen. The film itself, though, I felt was only 'good.' Therefore, I will not give this film a 10/10, or even a 9.5/10 strictly based on how great DD-L was. I can think of quite a few people who would.

More examples....

Meryl Streep in 'Sophie's Choice.' I don't think anyone loves Meryl Streep more than I do, except maybe her husband. She's had so many great roles--the best of which was as the concentration camp survivor Sophie. Off the top of my head, this is the best female performance I can think up. But the movie itself? Good, not great. Yes, the scenes with Sophie are emotionally extreme, but the other actors, a bit of the writing, and some pacing issues prevent the film from being great.

Let's go with an example in the opposite direction.

Take Peter Lorre's role in the classic, 'M.' 'M' is undoubtedly a great film. If I was hard-pressed to create a list of the ten best films out there, 'M' would be a close contender. The film is driven by not only Peter Lorre's phenomenal performance (compare his work here to, say, 'The Maltese Falcon'), but by the shadows and corridors, the whistling tune, the script, the direction, and all of the other actors. A film is an ensemble. One must not overlook that.

Also, take Bette Davis as Margo Channing in 'All About Eve.' Again, one of the best acting jobs of all time. No one's gonna deny that. But how tricky that after each viewing, I find myself more and more fascinated by Anne Baxter's Eve. Or the immensely articulate, perfectly paced Addison DeWitt. Or even the small Marilyn Monroe cameo. And that's just the acting. The script is sensational, mixing a buffet of highbrow allusions with blunt banter that strikes to the core. Joe Mankiewicz was a genius. This is a great film.

I shall end with one more example.

Jamie Foxx in 'Ray.' Now, who doesn't love Ray Charles? No doubt Jamie Foxx did a fantastic job in the role. But watch this film and 'Walk the Line' in the same day. Notice the almost identical storyline, sans blindness. Now, that's not the writer or director's fault, because these are based on true events. But the plot of 'Ray' borders on cliche, and even though Jamie Foxx was great, the movie is far from.

With these things and this philosophy in mind, if I ever give a movie a 10/10 simply because of one performance, you have my permission to slap me.