I feel like my decidedly less enthusiastic, though still positive, response to Leonardo DiCaprio's performance as Hugh Glass in 'The Revenant' requires me to do an article of the akin to show I'm not duly biased against him as an actor. Here are my 5 favourite performances of his.
5. The Departed/The Basketball Diaries
from dailymotion.com DiCaprio with young Marky Mark
from fanpop.com
I'm not a massive fan of either film here, but I can't deny that DiCaprio acquits himself very, very well in both roles, at very different stages of his career. Whether as an undercover cop at wit's end or a teenage basketball prodigy dealing with a crippling drug addiction, he handles both sorts of characters very well and is easily the highlight of both films. I will say though that in The Departed his best scenes are where he's being more naturalistic/not undercover i.e. his final scene with Damon, his scenes with Vera Farmiga's psychiatrist.
4. The Revenant
from blogs.indiwire.com
The only real complaint I have about this performance is just how it lacks any real depth, so to speak. Hugh Glass suffers from Mother Nature's wrath and DiCaprio plays this wonderfully and gives an intense, unsparing and flawless portrayal of a physically degrading man. He never manages to make Glass himself particularly compelling though. He 'aint afraid of dying because he done that already, and that's all there is to him. Not a bad performance in fact, quite brilliant in some respects, but somewhat overshadowed by the direction and co-star Tom Hardy.
3. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
One of his earliest performances and quite possibly his most heartfelt. He plays the autistic Arnie Grwpe with such outstanding accuracy and more importantly, such endearing sweetness, but also remembering to add the right amount of problematic behaviour to his portrayal. He has fabulous chemistry with Johnny Depp and gives a performance that holds a very special space in my heart.
2. The Wolf of Wall Street
Perhaps DiCaprio's true calling is as a comedian. This is just one rollicking ride of a film from start to finish and DiCaprio is a big reason why. Jordan Belfort is a cunt. Simples. I've seen live interviews of the guy, he's an unrepentant asshole and I have absolutely no empathy for the man. That DiCaprio manages to make this character so incredibly funny, charismatic and in a way, endearing, is testament to his drug-fuelled, laugh-filled comic portrayal of utmost indecency being among the finest of its uncouth sort.
1. Catch Me If You Can
Just a wonderfully simple, and simply wonderful, performance that makes use of DiCaprio's star power and charm, and of course his good looks, and distills it into Frank Abangale Jr., just one of the sweetest cons in movie history. The film itself could've come across as slight and morally dubious but DiCaprio instead, with his deceptively complex approach to the different sides and guises of Frank, gives a splendid portrayal of the smooth talking professional crook, then movingly tears it down to reveal the lonely soul lurking within.
10. Romeo and Juliet/Revolutionary Road 9. The Aviator 8. Django Unchained 7. Inception 6. Titanic
I should note that I do like him a great deal in Inception, Django Unchained and The Aviator too, but find him overshadowed by his co-stars in the first two, and Scorcese's direction in the latter. And don't get me started on Shutter Island. Just don't
Also, since people might also be questioning why I rate Damon and his performance in The Martian so highly...let's take a look at my top 5 for him.
Hon. Mention: True Grit
sheknows.com
Technically speaking this is quite a simple performance. All Damon has to do is adopt that nasally sounding funny accent, look good in a sheriff's outfit, and be funny. He does all that but I mention him here because he's just so good at it, surprisingly. He makes LaBouef not the annoying, extraneous character he could've been but just the most endearing sort of Wild Wild West Bumpkin you can't help but love.
5. Good Will Hunting
lightsremoteaction.com
The only real flaw I can find in this performance is that his Boston accent is a bit much, and he does show a hint or two of inexperience in his first leading role. Which is fine really, because otherwise Damon gives a very effective performance as first a genius (which he does convincingly), and then as a troubled young man (even more convincingly), and brings both these sides together in his wonderful scenes with Robin Williams, and (my personal favourite scenes) with Ben Affleck (as for Minnie Driver I find her the weak link of the film, but he does just fine in scenes with her too). He makes Will Hunting a very good character to follow throughout the film.
4. Behind the Candelabra
theredlist.com
This is far from a flawless film but it's more than made up for that by the excellent central performances of a particularly lively Michael Douglas as the notorious pianist Liberace, and Matt Damon's excellently understated turn as his lover Scott. Damon is definitely made to look his ultimate prettiest here and he's very good at playing up the dim-witted, endearing pretty boy nature of his character. When the film goes into more dramatic territory though he's equally game, transitioning from an innocent doe-eyed fella into a haunting, drug-addicted figure seamlessly.
3. The Bourne Trilogy
gowherehiphop.com
I couldn't quite pick just one film to talk about here so I chose all three of Damon's outings (so far) as Jason Bourne to talk about. If I had to pick one I guess I'd say he has the most emotional heft to handle in The Bourne Legacy and thus gives his most 'dramatic' performance as Bourne in it, but really he's excellent in each instalment, and makes Bourne into a terrific character with great character development over the trilogy. From clueless fish out of water in Identity to grieving, revenge-seeking hero in Supremacy and to the cold, but not remorseless, professional in Ultimatum e successfully bridges all the transitions Bourne goes through into the same character. It's top-notch action hero work from the actor which is so distinct through the deadpan, heartfelt approach Damon takes to this assassin.
2. The Adjustment Bureau
What could've been a bland romantic leading performance is made magical by Damon's deceptively complex portrayal of David Norris, a man who is simply willing to do whatever it takes to be with the love of his life. He's excellent first at portraying the charm and intelligence of the Congressman figure Norris is, and more importantly with his onscreen paramour Emily Blunt, has such amazing chemistry that makes them one of my all-time favourite onscreen couples. Damon not only makes you symapthise and root for Norris to get the girl against the odds, he makes this journey an effectively funny, tense and ultimately rapturous one through his charismatic turn that drives the film with Blunt.
1. The Martian
screenrant.com
I think I've probably said more than enough on this performance on this blog...oh wait, I haven't really, but I'll leave that to another future post. Damon's best performance is one of his simplest in conception. A man stranded in a deserted land (in this case, planet Mars). Where have we seen that before? But perhaps that's what gave Damon the opportunity to turn the role of Mark Whatney into something truly great. He gives one of the most naturalistic, lived-in performances I've ever seen of a man, just a man, albeit and exceptionally intelligent and humorous one, fighting against the odds of galactic pathos so compelling and exciting a journey despite being confined in one setting. The Martian is a brilliantly made film but it's also a great showcase for Damon's talents at not acting like, but BEING a character.
10. Contagion 9. The Departed 8. The Informant! 7. The Talented Mr. Ripley (this is a performance I need to re-watch to see where I stand on it)
No comments:
Post a Comment