Acting - expressiveness, artistry, interpretation by UrchinGirl

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Acting - expressiveness, artistry, interpretation

POSTED BY: URCHINGIRL
UPDATED: Saturday, July 24, 2004 18:23
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Thursday, July 22, 2004 2:10 AM

A friend recently introduced me to Firefly and of course, like all who see it, I became an instant disciple. And as we all agree, a good portion of the allure of the show is in the acting. So here are my favourite moments from each actor. Bear in mind I'm talking about the expressiveness, artistry and interpretation of the actors (presumably in conjunction with the director), as distinct from great scripting.

Alan - Oh wow. Probably one of my favourite moments in the whole series is Alan's take on Wash as he makes the escape from the Reavers. The super-controlled calm, and the nervous release once they're clear, are both funny and authentic; it's inspired. Similarly with Wash’s pre-emptive reaction to Zoe at the dinner table with Mal and Saffron.

Summer and Sean - the scene in which River and Simon are latched onto the hull, open to the magnitude of space. I loved River’s awed glee – she really gave me a sense of being Out There. It was a great moment for Simon as well, his near-panic an excellent counterpoint.

Morena - not a single moment, so much as her portrayal of Inara's displeasure at being insulted (by clients), comes to mind, along with her unpretentious yet stately demeanour.

Jewel - It's gotta be the strawberry scene. That was exquisite, honey.

Gina - Pretty much all the moments in which Zoe's doing the dominant wife thing. Nicely understated and matter-of-fact. Especially the switch between Zoe's sincerity in pleading the case for having babies, and the almost bemused decree with which she ends the conversation.

Ron - Book being obviously a 'sleeper'character, to a greater extent than the others, Ron had only a few real opportunities to display his versatility - but he nailed them. The two moments where he came to the fore were in the scene where Book confesses his doubts to Inara (nice one, Joss), and in his cold portrayal of Book's inner thoughts when River reads them.

Nathan - hmmm. Is it Mal's super-masculine-and dark-but-caring-and-moral thing, or Nathan's super-masculine-with-obvious-intellect-and-rumoured-good-humour thing that does it? Anyway, enough of my unbecoming crush. Acting. With a lead role it becomes less a matter of 'moments'; Nathan expresses Mal's complex inner tensions, empathy and wry humour with subtle restraint. Though particular favourites are Mal's "getting it on" face in the scene with Zoe, and (sorry, can't help it) the kiss with Nandi.

I've never seen any of the actors before. I'm so glad several of them have other work I can go out and devour.

By the way - it this has been covered ad infinitum before, or is posted in the wrong forum, sorry about that. Just had to get it out ;-)

FireflyUrchinGirl@hotmail.com

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Thursday, July 22, 2004 2:46 AM

BROWNCOAT1

May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.

Welcome to the board UrchinGirl! Nice to have you with us. It is always a pleasure to welcome a new fan, especially one that is so passionate about the show.

Your insights into the characters and the talented cast that play them are eloquent and revealing.

I think that Firefly is Joss's masterpiece. I like Buffy & Angel, but the cast chemistry and writing of FF are magical. The expressions by the cast to wordlessly project emotion are incredible. The smoothness with which the scenes flow and the lines are delivered is like that of a cast that have worked together for years, not months.

There is no wonder that Firefly has drawn the following it has or commands the loyalty it does w/ the fanbase.

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

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Thursday, July 22, 2004 3:10 AM

LIZ

Welcome UrchinGirl!
any favorite Adam moments?

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Thursday, July 22, 2004 3:36 AM

RHYMEPHILE

I particularly enjoy Nathan's performance in "Out of Gas." Not only does he have to play pain (which he does extremely well), but for most of the episode he's alone while doing it. He has to carry the show and make the audience believe that he's really dying without the benefit of fellow actors.

And I have a small favorite moment with Adam: the scene in "The Message" when we hear Tracey's recorded message, and Jayne takes off the hat his mother gave him in respect. It's quick and not on camera long, but I like the way Adam played it. I also like it because I don't think we know Jayne as much as we think we do. He has heart, he just doesn't show it willingly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's because they're stupid, that's why! That's why everybody does everything!"

~~ Homer Simpson

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Thursday, July 22, 2004 12:27 PM

URCHINGIRL

Heh, I knew I would miss someone!

Actually my favourite Adam moment is when they're discussing whether to stop by the ship to check for survivors, and Jayne suddenly changes his tune when Mal points out there could be goods to be had. It's classic Jayne, not a moment of new character insight or anything, but Adam delivers it with such aplomb.

Thanks for the welcomes.

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Friday, July 23, 2004 2:44 AM

BRITCHICK

I quite like the bit from "Safe" (I think), at the end they are all sitting round the dinner table.

The bread basket gets to Jayne, he takes a piece, puts it on his plate, and passes the basket on. River then cheekily steals the bread from his plate.

Jayne really has the look of a big brother then, and just gets another piece of bread.

It was really sweet.

The other piece of acting I like from Adam is in Jaynestown. Actually, its pretty much the whole of Jaynestown, but especially the bit before they land and he has taped a gun to his tummy. And he has to pull the tape off. That split second where we see the pained expression on his face is brilliant, and makes me laugh every time.

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Friday, July 23, 2004 4:14 AM

SHINYSEVEN

Awww, the end of Jaynestown, Adam Baldwin's eyes when he and Mal are talking about what kind of sumbitches get statues.

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Friday, July 23, 2004 2:56 PM

URCHINGIRL

Got some more I have to add.

The whole scene when they arrive on Persephone at the beginning of Shindig, and most of the crew is there, admiring the "pretties" (both sorts ;-). Very relaxed, comfortable banter.

In fact, that episode's got some lovely moments. Jewel/Kaylee's shocked, crushed-ego hurt at the comments from the mean girls. Summer/River's piercing sneering at the 'Liverpool' crook. Nathan/Mal's wrenching pleading with/telling Inara not to accept Atherton's offer...damn, I wish he didn't do that to me! Unfulfillable love-lust for someone you don't know really is a painful thing to bear.

I'm going to have to give this up. Each episode I watch, more gems come to the fore. Also I have to say that all this focus on how great the series is - the acting, the writing, the directing, and God love em, the special effects -is actually quite distracting when I try to just sit down and enjoy an episode. I think it's gonna have to be cold turkey for now.

(But, just before I start...does anyone know whether the dinosaur toys scene in the pilot was improvised? That was a little piece of genius from Alan).

FireflyUrchinGirl@hotmail.com - just in case you want to email me, Nathan. (I know, I know).

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Friday, July 23, 2004 6:32 PM

BARCLAY

Regarding the dinosaur scene, I don't think it was improvised, since the DVD extras include Alan's audition tape and that is the scene he sent in. However, it would seem appropriate if one of the reasons he was cast on the show was the dinosaur scene.

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Saturday, July 24, 2004 12:04 PM

MISGUIDED BY VOICES

Quote:
Originally posted by UrchinGirl:
Bear in mind I'm talking about the expressiveness, artistry and interpretation of the actors (presumably in conjunction with the director), as distinct from great scripting.

Okay - these are my "actor" moments. I've tried to ignore the way a line is delivered, including the pace, because having read interviews with the West Wing cast, the best writers often "hear" the pacing of a line and pass that on. Taking nothing away from the actors, because they have to sell it, they earn the big kudos when selling the crap lines, the underwritten parts and when the script says "X's face crumbles" and the like.

Alan - The look of contempt when ordered to the bridge while his wife lays (possibly) dying in Out of Gas. We all know Alan can bring the funny, but this confirms his range.

Summer - pretty much the lot. I particularly like Bushwacked, her looking at the stars, and the whole of Objects in Space - her expression as she sells the line "I'll be your bounty Jubal Early". Kills me everytime - to quote Scrooged; "Niagrie Falls".

Sean - Objects in Space. When Kaylee says "no person could have made that shot". In a brief second, you see him register the insult to his sister, and the double blow of who its coming from.

Morena - That bathing scene. Stunningly attractive woman half naked, and yet the scene isn't pure titillation and tells you a lot about Inara.

Jewel - As with Summer, the lot. If I'm going to pick a moment, its when first faced with Early, then later when River speak to her, tells her to be brave. You can almost feel as if River is above Kaylee, stroking her face to calm her, all because of how Jewel plays the scene.

Gina - If I were to have one tiny criticism of the show, its the fact that Zoe never really got fully drawn; but I say that on the basis that I', fairly confident she would have done had the show gone on. Zoe was fairly similar to Ivanova in B5 - strong warrior woman type. That said, the way Gina played the relationship with Alan sold it (the hand on the shoulder in Objects in Space and such like)

Ron - The scene with Inara is pretty darn fine, but I rather like Out Of Gas, where he is reading the bible and River comes round the corner.

Nathan - For me, not much beats the look in his eyes when he shoots Tracy.

Adam - For a big mean looking guy, Adam sure does those tiny comedy tics rather well - his look after "he looked bigger when I couldn't see him" for example; then there's his terrified contrition in Ariel.

There, think I got everyone, though I probably missed out a fair number of moments.

"I threw up on your bed"

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Saturday, July 24, 2004 6:23 PM

DANFAN

The scenes of Jayne's that stick with me are the ones that show the tiniest glimpses of the humanity and nobility he might one day develop. Like the previous poster said... the contrition on Ariel (especially where he seemed ashamed of his action and asked Mal to lie about what he did). And taking the hat off out of respect for the dead...

The thing that makes characters truly interesting to me, especially evil or flawed characters, is the possibility of redemption. It's what makes Mal so mesmerizing. It's also what made Spike my favorite in Buffy and Lex Luther my favorite in the first season of Smallville. Then Smallville got so repetitious and of course, Lex's potential for redemption is a fool's dream, but let's not go into that here...

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