Rojo
Being There
Peter Sellers did a lot of crap films.
Peter Sellers was also one of the finest actors the word has ever seen. I don’t think there has been an actor to come close to his genius since, but Jim Carey, yes JIM CAREY is honing in. (They will make movies about Jim Carey, love him or hate him you have to respect him, he is amazing).
Chance a simple gardener, his benefactor dies and the house that Chance has lived all his life is to be sold. Chance having never left the house dedicated to his gardens is thrown onto the cold harsh streets of Washington DC. Through a series of serendipitous events he is taken for a adept man of knowledge by a influential family. Now Chance is not a con-man, he is just a simple gardener who’s very simple statements are confused by those around him to be in-depth evaluations of the world. Of course there is more goes on concerning plot, but that is the jist. Sellers plays Chance and it is argued that he gives his finest performance ever, I would have to agree.
Strangelove he is amazing yes, but he has such licence to “fuck around”. I mean he had four characters, (cut to three when he broke his leg) which on paper seems like a amazing feat and I’m not taking anything away from the performances. But they were all extreme characters, especially Strangelove and the RAF officer (who I’m sure wasn’t a stretch, Sellers would often masquerade as a RAF officer to drink at there bars, big brass balls to do that as that’s a serious offence) and all called for almost over acting.
Added to this a great script, great director (Hal Ashby) and a surprisingly hip soundtrack Being There is a must see.
9/10
Film & TV on DVD
You can read my review of it HERE if your interested.
Film & TV on DVD
As for Choke its still in pre production, but seems to be moving along well. Survivor is my fave Palhniuk novel.
Well I now know who Meisner is, and where you're studying acting, thanks to this Post and Google.
Have you considered a post about Meisner?
I like Being There from a scriptwriter and novelist's POV. It's a great study text (print & visual).
About the only piece of trivia I know about this film is that Sellers said something like it was the role he felt he had to play because Chance was his chance to play his real self.
David ...