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Oh, he was good in supporting roles in "To Kill a Mockingbird"-------sure, and in "The Godfather."
But as a leading man? C'mon!
He is a mannered, emotionally restricted/constipated guy. He couldn't play a romantic scene if his life depended on it---"Tender Mercies," indeed.
Look at his performance as an evangelist and compare it to Lancaster's "Elmer Gantry." Now, Lancaster ain't no pinnacle, but he blows Duvall away.
Or his cowboy(s)and compare them to Newman, McQueen, or Eastwood. In "Open Range" he trotted out every personal mannerism and cliché known to Westerns. Good thing he was cast with the most wooden actor of this, or any other, generation, i.e. Kevin Costnerd.
Robert is a good character actor; sometimes, as in "Apocalypse Now," he can rise to excellent.
But he has ZERO magnetism, charisma---and he can't build a nuanced, complex characterization in which the character grows and changes (see Dean in "Giant," for instance; or, equally famous, Brando in "On the Waterfront").
Follow Ups:
...because I think you're absolutely wrong. To begin with, I think Duvall in Tender Mercies is one of the greatest screen performances I've ever seen.For my money, what Duvall understands is that most people in real life are NOT all over the map with varied expressions and gestures. This may be what you interpret as his "emotionally restricted" quality.
Most people actually use a pretty limited range of expression, both in terms of body language and vocal mannerisms. I think Duvall understands this and doesn't over-express or melo-dramatize his characters. I suppose to some the way he mostly uses a limited expressive palette may seem like he reduces characterizations to a few mannerisms. I suppose there may have been times when not being fully absorbed into a character, the gestures do become mannerisms. But that doesn't usually happen.
I think he's one of our best actors.
eb
Manic coked-out; and wooden Indian.
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Well I can't judge because I would have to see every actor in every role. This is only opinion because actors typically are suited for certain kinds of roles than others. Certainly character actors like Ben Kingsley are more versatile than TOm Cruise types.Older actors have the great difficulty competing with excellent actors today because their lines seem so bad and often so stilted in movement as to almost be a laughing stock. I giggle at Casablanca in spots where I'm not suppose to giggle.
Cary Grant was the master of the romantic comedy...and despite all the accolades for stage work and movies Ralph Fiennes tipped his cap to Grant saying that light comedy is extremely difficult to make natural. Even Grant's role in North by Northwest needs a certain lilt not many could pull off. Can you see Robert Deniro in the role? I can't.
That is a reason it's hard to say who is best. And real acting is on the stage...the theater is a superior art form than film and breathes life in a participatory way with actor and audience. Some have difficulty transferring that to film but it's more the film director than anything else when it comes to this. Spielberg's E.T. puppet evokes more emotion than most actors in films trying to evoke feeling...and I'm serious.
He is a great supporting actor, and surely not worthy of a hatchet job. Nobody could have played the part of Boss in Open Range as well as he did. You aren't happy unless you are ripping somebody.
nt
nt
to model some of his remarks on those high schoolers that think it makes them appear learned to put up a second-rater as better than an established artist---you know, THEY know more than all those adults!
An example of how this works: the bass player of the Eagles is MUCH better than Jack Bruce. Jimi Hendricks couldn't TUNE Joe Walsh's guitar! And so on...
Hard to find someone needing to appear such a rebel---at such an age.
(And we all enjoy a good fight; I think a quick check of your memory would bring to light some recent, rather forceful words "Outside?")
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~But he has ZERO magnetism, charisma---and he can't build a nuanced, complex characterization in which the character grows and changes~
nt
"In this world, you must be oh so smart, or oh so pleasant. Well, for years, I was smart. I recommend pleasant".
-Jimmy Stewart, as Elwood P. Dowd
I mean, come on!I'm not gonna hurt myself defending Duvall here, but there are a whole lot more actors that are more famous and honored that are much worse.
Yeah, Duvall was awful in Open Range, but EVERYONE was awful in it. Blame a it on a director that doesn't understand how to get a performance out of his actors.
I've known people like Santini. Guys like that DO exist. It wasn't as overplayed as you might think.
Yes, he's done his best work in supporting roles. So what? It doesn't make those roles any less important or well acted. Stuff like MASH and Apocalypse Now were total immersion roles. The guy disappeared into these characters completely.
It's an early April Fools joke. I didn't get it until I looked at the calendar. I don't think he's being serious.
The problem is that he works a lot, which means he appears in a lot of big budget clunkers like Days Of Thunder, Deep Impact, etc.
Like his Great Santini, waaaaaaaaaay over the top. He just projects a stupidity that seems profound. Someone also seems to have told him that twinkling his eyes is acting. Sorry, but Bobby's acting style is mannered, with a LOT of mugging.
Kind of like a WASP Pacino (post-Godfather and Cruising)...
s
Gus McCrae.
It was as the cab driver in "Bullitt".
s
nt
nt
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This was also known as "The Ace" in certain markets.
the props every day...ol' Bobby just kept a chewin' 'em up.
Seriously, that was so over the top as to be ridiculous! The film sucked, to boot...
Grins
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