Maggie Smith sets the bar so high in terms of acting on Downton Abbey, it just makes Elizabeth McGovern and Shirley MacLaines not so stellar work glaringly obvious. I remember reading an article on Star Wars, and I think it was Peter Cushing who noted that the two approaches to acting - English and American - could be seen in the film and that the former wasnt concerned with method or emotions or motivation, but with simply saying the words clearly and with enough meaning to be believed. In Star Wars, the Brits come off so much better because they arent getting bogged down by trying to find the character in the lines. Which may have been pretty impossible it turns out. As Harrison Ford famously said to George Lucas: You can write this stuff, but you cant act it. Well, sure, if youre trying to method act the character, youre dead. Its not Shakespeare. And, you can certainly see this at work on Downton Abbey as well. The American actors struggle with the language and the nuance. Its as if they are trying too hard. Its still great, but as it heats up, you can see the edges, as it were. IMHO.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Feb 2014 04:08:10 +0000