Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #3

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #3

Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell in Moon

The last two editions of this feature, I had two pretty iconic actors and performances showcased. For the third edition I have chosen a film which was released last year and what I consider to be easily the best performance of 2009. Moon is a small indie film which has kind of gone under the radar and it is almost a crime that Sam Rockwell has not gotten more recognition for his role in this film. I have always been a fan of Sam Rockwell, he is a great actor. The role of Sam Bell is easily his best, I was blown away by this performance. This as I stated in my Moon review is the perfect example of Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance.

I really can not picture anyone else in this role, and I honestly do not think anyone could have pulled this role off the way Sam Rockwell did. Sam Bell is a complex character, and the role is a challenging one. Here is a man who has been alone with just a computer voice for three years on the moon. If that was me, I would have gone crazy after a few weeks. You can see the cracks starting to show. The way Sam shows this in his performance it really does affect you as a viewer. You feel his pain, you really feel his longing to get off there and go back home. It isn't often when an actor can really make you feel what he feels, and it isn't just once off, it is through out the entire film. From start to finish he is this character and you feel every second of it.

Now this is going into spoiler territory but Sam Rockwell successfully played the multiple characters as well, and you actually believe that there is more than one of him. We've seen the one actor play different roles in a film, and their interaction between the characters can make or break a film. If you aren't convinced it does not work (I think back to the great performance of Cate Blanchette in Coffee and Cigarettes), but it works just too well here and I really thought they had cloned Sam Rockwell and he was playing the different roles. It is truly amazing what Sam Rockwell and Duncan Jones achieved with Moon, and I do believe this performance is going to be one that will stick with me for a long time.

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #2

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #2

Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Aliens

With my first Perfect Casting piece I chose Christopher Reeve as Superman in the Superman films, but for my second piece whilst Sigourney has played Ripley the same amount of times that Reeve played Superman I have decided to single out one film from the series. Why you might ask? Well read on ....

We first meet the character of Ripley in Alien, she is one of the crew of the Nostromo who come across a nasty surprise and Ripley ends up being the sole survivor (with Jonesy of course), which leads us to Aliens, the sequel. Aliens is hailed as one of the best sequels ever made, some people prefer it over the original. They are both completely different films, and in my opinion both perfect films. The tone and mood for the films are so different, but we still have Ripley. Ripley was developed in Alien as a character, but it is in Aliens she is really fleshed out a lot more and Sigourney really shines through.

There is a reason this is the role she is most remembered for and associated with, this is a role she was meant to play, no one else would have worked. This is a role she made her own, and the performance she gives in Aliens as Ripley is quite simply perfect. She was actually nominated for an Oscar for this performance and rightfully so too. James Cameron is known for his strong female characters, and made Ripley a real leader, but not only that he tapped into her natural nurturing instincts which is a main point of the film with the relationship she forms with Newt. It does not stop her from being the tough woman she is, she is a survivor and Sigourney with her performance makes you believe every little bit of it. You really feel for her and you really believe she can kick the aliens sorry asses too.

While I think Signourney was fantastic in Alien, she is the real star in Aliens and I do believe she gives quite possibly her best performance in this film. She was great in Alien 3, no doubt and also one of the good points with Alien: Ressurection although her character is a lot different. This is the crowning jewel performance of Ripley and truly one of cinema's greatest. There are times when films just do not have a great strong female character and Ripley is top of the list with those. Without Sigourney I don't think we would have had such a great character or such a memorable one. Without that, there wouldn't have been such a demand for keeping that character alive and going in the next two films. I truly believe this was perfect casting and a perfect performance and one of the reasons why this wonderful actress is top of the list of my favourites.

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #1

This is a new feature to Super Blog, I thought I would go through what I consider to be examples of Perfect Casting & Perfect Performances in film and TV. I used that term often when reviewing a film, perfect casting. There are times when someone is just so suited to the role, you just know that no one else would ever work. What I want to go through is the roles I really consider to be the best of the best. Now this is of course open to debate, but this is my opinion, no one elses. I know that people will agree and disagree and I encourage all feedback. So now on to the very first Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance column.

Perfect Casting, Perfect Performance #1

Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent in the Superman Film series

I have chose Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent from the Superman films because I truly feel as far as the perfect casting goes, this defines it! No one else has played the role of Superman and Clark Kent quite like Reeve, and I honestly do not think anyone will. Playing the double role of Superman and Clark Kent is not an easy task, they might be the same person but deep down they are oh so very different. Kal-El from Krypton is the superhero known as Superman but he has to protect his identity and live normally as reporter Clark Kent from the small town of Smallville. While Superman is this amazing unstoppable force full of confidence saving the world, Clark Kent is clumsy and bumbling, especially when around one Lois Lane. They are both so different, and Christopher Reeve played them both to perfection, you could actually believe they were two different people despite the fact they look exactly alike aside from those glasses.

In comparison to Brandon Routh for example who played the roles in Superman Returns, he made for a good Clark Kent, that he was suited to, but when it came to Superman he failed to deliver fully. Christopher had the confidence, and the power, everything he did from the way he spoke to the way he moved was so true to the character of Superman. While I think Brandon tried, he didn't quite pull it off. Just watch as Superman talks with Lois at her apartment, the way he talks to her, the way he moves. Then watch the scenes where he is Clark Kent around Lois, he is hunched over and shy, lacking that confidence, you wouldn't guess they are the same person. A reason why I think we can believe no one picked up that they were the same person. Brandon I think pulled off all the Clark quirks pretty well, but still Christopher did it better and Brandon had big shoes to fill.

Superman the movie is one of my all time favourite films and Superman is one of my all time favourite characters. Christopher really brought this character alive, and with everything you could believe a man can fly. The film itself is just so stunning and beautiful and really true to everything that Superman is about. I feel Christopher really understood this and was in touch with Superman and Clark Kent. The way he could change between the two characters is just such a delight to see. I have no issue with saying this truly is perfect casting and this is a perfect performance. In Superman the movie and Superman II, he really does just take my breath away and I am always in awe of his performance no matter how many times I watch it. When someone can do that to me, you know they have done something superb.

I truly believe this is one of cinemas greatest performances, say what you will but Christopher was Superman, and in more ways then one. He was a great man, and his tragedy and how he lived on after that I think proved he really was Superman. He did not give up on life, and he managed to live many years after his accident. I see him as a true hero, and may he rest in peace. With all the roles he played, none was stopped by this role and no one else has been able to replace him. I truly believe that Superman and Clark Kent is a role that is difficult to play, especially if it is written well and true to what Superman is all about. Christopher did what no one else has been able to do, they have come close but no one has been able to stop what he did, and I thank him for his amazing performance as Superman and Clark Kent.

Pictures from CapedWonder.com