The many depths of Johhny Depp (also 'Sweet November')

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Bit random, but just before I get into the main thrust of my article, I do insist upon the ending of November and the beginning of December, to consider watching Sweet November, in my opinion one of the more underrated romantic films of recent years. I've never understood some of the spite thrown in good ol' Keanu Reeves' direction and I certainly like him a great deal here, it's not Oscar-worthy work by him but he's certainly a charming, funny and likable enough presence here. Charlize Theron gets some big emotional moments and she nails every moment, granted it's not up to the level of her work in say Mad Max: Fury Road or Monster, but why should it be? There's also Jason Isaacs in a nice small role, playing for once a kinda nice guy. Pat O'Connor's direction is nicely understated and the script, while cliché-ridden, is not bad for this sort of film. It's no masterpiece but certainly not deserving of its sub-20% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. In fact between something harmless and charming like this, and say Pretty Women which I find hideously offensive and inane, or The Fault in Our Stars (shudder), choose this.

Source: maxim.com

I won't get into the quality of the film as of yet, but one of the things that surprised me most about Scott Cooper's Black Mass was the approach taken, both direction and acting-wise, with Johnny Depp's performance as Whitey Bulger. The trailers and stills from promotion material had given me the impression that this would be one of Depp's most 'strange' performances: I mean, that terrifying (and upon research, actually fairly accurate) makeup for the character certainly turned the good-looking Depp into one hell of a reptilian-looking, soulless-looking bastard. So naturally, I expected a classic 'mannered' Depp performance in turn.

Instead, what we got, as least how I see it, is probably one of Depp's most subtle performances--certainly his most understated one in recent years. There's always an underlying sense of threat to Bulger and it comes out in several intervals, but a large portion of his portrayal of Bulger consists of him carrying the character's actions and words with this distant, almost listlessly evil approach that's miles away from the over the top HAMMY routine of Jack Nicholson's sort of interpretation of the character in The Departed. He does go loud in certain scenes, and is perhaps a bit too broad in one or two scenes--I'm thinking the scene where he loses his rag at his girlfriend, although the scene as a whole is a bit flawed in its construction--, however for the most part this balance is incredibly striking. I found his 'quiet' portrayal of Bulger's 'normal' side to be very compelling, and his 'big' moments to be incredibly effective, especially the 'family secret' scene, his emotional denial of his role as a 'rat' to Kevin Weeks (Jesse Plemons), although my personal favourite is his confrontation with John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) at the Thanksgiving Parade. I wouldn't say there's that much 'depth' to Whitey as a character, so to speak, but in just the subtle character creation and suitable restraint and release Depp gives to the character, I say throw him the nom come Oscar time.

When I talk of 'mannered' Depp performances, I'm most likely referring to one of his performances where he goes on a limb insofar as characterisation, costume and mannerisms are concerned. The best-known one is definitely his Keith Richards-esque routine as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Carribean which even after sequel fatigue is a character I still have a great deal of love for. Most of the time it works a treat if it fits in with the tone of the film (i.e. his bonkers detective routine really infuses a lot of life into the otherwise fairly rote Sleepy Hollow, and his drug-fuelled approach fit perfectly for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas). However, when it goes awry, it goes really awry; I still don't know what he was thiking for his whole Big Bad Wolf routine in Into the Woods which is a shame, had he downplayed it a bit I think he could've been great. Anyway I digress. Regardless of the quality of the performance, this sort of Depp portrayal always stands out.

 

There's also that brand of Depp performances which aren't exactly chameleonic, but rather use his star power to fit him into the character. This tends to have mixed results: he fits in admirably into the role of Gilbert Grape in a period he was mostly doing some low-key kooky stuff, with his low-key charm nicely settling into this brotherly role to Leonardo Dicaprio's standout performance as his younger brother, and he's certainly quite effective, if not amazing, as John Dillinger in Public Enemies (though there again the show is stolen by another player, this time round Marion Cotillard). I'm mixed about his portrayal of Willy Wonka: on one hand, it's quite an interesting and at time fascinating take on this sort of eccentric, lonely genius character. On the other hand, he's so uncomfortably creepy in the role at times, which I'm not entirely sure was the intent.





 



Then there's the sort of roles where he disappears into the role in a different sort of way, retaining both his charismatic presence but adding little bits of character work here and there. I've always liked his work as the nominal lead in Donnie Brasco a great deal, and he is pretty brilliant as the 'worst director ever' (though I disagree) Ed Wood in the titular biopic, where he utilises his boyish good looks and enthusiasm to excellent results in this fantastic film. Downside is when he coasts in this sort of role, he really coasts: see, Transcendence. Ugh.

There's a few other performances where Depp is playing almost 'caricatures' of his persona: quirky fellows who are clearly Depp but who are also distinct characters in their own right. This is probably my favourite brand of Depp: his meticulously understated, heartbreaking work as Edward Scissorhands is one of the most tenderly wondered works of acting I've ever seen, and I find him very enjoyable in the likes of Secret Window, Sweeney Todd, Don Juan de Marco and Finding Neverland whwere he plays (at first) seemingly normal guys before peeling away the layers of quirk underneath. His most underrated performance of all, in Benny and Joon, falls into this category, where he effectively plays the manic pixie boy of the piece, and is just so effortlessly sweet and endearing in the role.

Depp's most boring performances come when he's playing just average blokes. Nick of Time is not a horrible film but Depp's performance in it is fairly unremarkable. The Tourist is a dreadful waste of time and Depp might just give his blandest performance in it as he's basically just sleeping through the role--and I'm not sure I'm talking literally here (based on the scenery on that film, it's clear that a holiday as well as the paycheck was a large part of the allure).

Finally there's his voiceover roles which I'm glad to say, I've never seen Depp phone them in for. He is quite remarkable in disappearing vocally into the role of a nervous Hugh Grant-esque gentleman in Corpse Bride and is a nicely engaging Western lead in Rango.

I'm unsure thus far which of these categories Depp in Black Mass falls into but rest assured if you're going to see it in the cinema, it's a very good performance.

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