Monday, October 29, 2007

Film Faces

Greetings friends/fans of The Film Experience. Susan P here, helping to fill the gaping void while Nathaniel is away.

After a recent screening of Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park a friend sent me a link to an interesting comparison between the face of lead actor Gabe Nevins and that of Renaissance painter Raphael. The images underscored the fact that I hadn't been able to get Nevins' mug out of my head after viewing the film.

It got me thinking about the importance of an actor's visage to his or her performance. And I don't just mean the best looking actors. A compelling face can be beautiful, but it doesn't have to be. Over at Awards Daily I share my thoughts on Nevins and a few others whose expressions (or in one case lack of one) have sent me soaring at the cinema this year.

You can read the entire post here.

What recent (or not so recent) onscreen faces have made an impression on you?

4 comments:

Beau said...

the visage of liv ullmann will never leave my mind.

recently? samantha morton. in practically anything.

and, i know i've said it a million times, but virginia madsen in 'sideways'. if ever you're given a list of descriptors, and then to match them a series of moments/actors/etc, hers would be what clearly defines 'warmth' to me. phenomenal.

SusanP said...

Great call on Samantha Morton. It's a shame she was wasted in The Golden Age.

Glenn Dunks said...

I'd point to Deborra-Lee Furness in Jindabyne for a recent example but I bring that film up so much that it's probably null by now.

Colin said...

beau: I echo "warmth" on Virginia Madsen in Sideways, and oddly, I think that adjective applies to Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights as well.