theblackactor.com

The HalleWOOD Award - Executive Decision

Ladies and Gentlemen:  I’d like to introduce….   

Ms. Halle Berry… the latest winner of that award of dubious distinction… the WOOD AWARD for that certain scene… that certain overreaching, wooden scene.

The award is presented to Ms. Berry in large part, due to the failure to optimally and properly use her voice.  This was due to lack of skill and/or lack of commitment to character. 

It was at the end (Chapter 34), when novice pilot Dr. Grant (Kurt Russell) was taking over flying the plane.  He seeks assistance from our feisty flight attendant, Jean.  Dr. Grant instructs Jean to locate the flight manual.

It is an emotional and riveting scene, since the plane is on the verge of crashing and Dr. Grant is desperately trying to gain control of the out-of-control aircraft.  He is terrified.  She is terrified.

So, she locates the book and she finds the pages he asks her to find and she reads the flight instructions to him.

I was just laughing.  The problem with the scene was that I was acutely aware of the fact that Halle Berry was an actor playing a role; pretending to be a terrified flight attendant.  Kurt Russell, on the other hand – his performance was seamless since, for those moments, I really thought he was an airline pilot under duress, struggling to land a plane.

Berry’s voice and tone was without realism.  The portrayal was not credible.  Some of her lines and her facial expressions and physical movements -- these reactions were forced.  They were fake.

How should she have done the scene?  HelifIknow.  She should have done it in a manner whereby anyone watching her could feel and believe that Jean was experiencing the fact that death or serious injury was looming before her.

At the end of the day, I think it had to do with trust; I think Berry didn’t trust her character to experience this; and she didn’t allow Jean to experience this.  Instead she herself, decided how an audience expects to see fear.  And she played the scene accordingly.

Congratulations, Hally Berry!

The Wood Award – Beyonce – Dreamgirls

The Wood Award is a category that recognizes performers for their wooden performances in a scene.  In this category we will be examining probably laughing at or making fun of scenes that are noteworthy because they are terribly poorly acted.

I was having a conversation with a friend and we agreed on a scene that was particularly funny and poorly acted.  I had a Halle Barry scene I was going to feature to start this category but we’ll go with Bey.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present our girl, Bey… in Dreamgirls (Chapter 13 on the DVD)

This is the scene where she’s watching the movie and smoking a cigarette.

In the scene, Beyonce is viewing a film presentation which includes some wedding footage.  Further along on the footage, she sees that it has been dictated that she accept a role (one she doesn’t want) in the film, “Cleopatra.”   It hits her.  Her spouse sees her as merely a commodity and controls all her professional movements.  At this point, Beyonce’s character is supposed to be emotional and upset about this. 

What was wrong with that two minute scene?

Body Language
Wooden

“Disappointed Reaction” to “Cleopatra”
Wooden

Cigarette Smoking
Wooden

She never actually inhales the cigarette.  (When an actor does this, he or she is lying to the audience).

The shot opens with Beyonce’s hand holding a burning cigarette; one which just left her lips.  We then see her exhale the cigarette smoke through her mouth.  It was obvious she wasn’t smoking the cigarette.  It could have been faked better, I suppose.  For the rest of the scene, she’s just holding the cigarette, not smoking it anymore.

There is something lacking in the scene; realism.  She’s not believable as a smoker.  She is desperately trying to make the scene real.  Everything from the cigarette smoking to the facial expressions is forced.

Yet there is something strangely humorous about it.  It shouldn’t be funny because Beyonce clearly tries.  But she fails.  There’s just something comical about it.  I’m not saying I’m glad that Beyonce was unable to nail the scene.  I’m just suggesting that the result was comical on some level.

What do I mean by wooden?  I mean this: 
I mean what thesaurus.com means:

stiff, awkward
without spirit, animation or awareness

Though Beyonce is a wonderful and talented performer… she is, nonetheless, the recipient of the Wood Award for this scene.

Is it me or at the end of that scene – didn’t that look like her sister, Solange?

Ain’t nobody hatin’ on Bey.  I like Beyonce.  :) 

In many ways, Beyonce is magnificence personified.