| | i'm coming to a slow realization here that might offend some of you. i realize this is a sensitive topic, especially for the women here, and i'm most likely treading on sacred ground, but i'm going to say it anyway. i think johnny depp is an overrated actor, especially lately. there, i said it.
actually i always have, and still do, respect him, ever since 21 Jump Street. (for all you infant fuckers that don't know what 21 Jump Street is go get an education!) this guy could have lit up and burned out completely while erasing every ounce of personal dignity in the process. The Machine was oiled up and ready to consume him as a hearththrob product, and he dutifully rebeled (some might say raged) against it and came out with a pretty respectable career.
but if you're talking about acting ability... you know, stuff like nuance, depth, feeling real. i don't see it anymore. the roles he's played over like the last 10-15 years have all been caricatures for the most part, all one-dimensional, all circus act, never real. well you could say that those are the roles he plays: willy wonka, captain jack sparrow, sweeney todd, etc. true. but why does he almost exclusively pick those roles? it can't just be for the money.
also, i would argue that he has chosen roles in the past that did allow for, and maybe require, some depth of true humanness, like his role in Blow, the character that was supposed to be this drug dealer doing well in a violent subculture that usually thrives on violence. that should have been a meaty role, but he turned it into a dopey smiley face role. (then again Blow is a biopic and all biopics end up one-dimensional.) what else is there... Donnie Brasco. he was actually not bad there. there's one. what else... Finding Neverland was a good movie, but i am kind of remembering his character being caricaturish there too.
quite frankly, i'm not sure he's played a real human being since What's Eating Gilbert Grape in 1993, but he was overshadowed there by a young, up-and-coming Leo Dicaprio, in the performance of his career. actually think about that for a second. that one overlooked and nearly forgotten movie is possibly the talent peak of not one but two superstar acting careers, Depp's and Leo's. interesting... so Gilbert Grape and Donnie Brasco over a celebrated twenty year acting career. that's not much real acting.
anyway, of course this doesn't mean that i think Depp is a bad actor. sometimes balls to the wall, extreme acting works well like Heath Ledger as The Joker and Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood. but to be considered a really good actor, an actor's lifelong resume has to offer a little more than clown paint and distracting accents.
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| | Posted 7/9/2009 10:11 AM - 21 Views - 10 eProps - 5 comments
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