The Test |
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| Written by April Yorke |
| Sunday, 02 September 2007 19:00 |
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When Hollywoodland premiered last fall, it did so in the midst of a very specific buzz. It seemed that Ben Affleck, who had not been seen on the silver screen in two years, had given a disarmingly powerful performance. “Best Supporting Actor Oscar,” the critics were saying. But the nomination never came. Hollywoodland earned Affleck the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival, a Saturn Award for best supporting actor and three additional nominations for his surprisingly affecting turn as TV Superman George Reeves, but - like Reeves - he was unable to capitalize on the critics’ early praise and hasn’t been seen in a movie since. What went wrong? In a word: September. Hollywoodland was released on September 8, 2006. If the studio had had more faith in the film as a serious awards contender, they would have pushed it back, allowing the buzz to develop a little while longer. Instead, they hastily released it in the dog days of summer. Lead actor Adrien Brody had not been in a decent movie since his Oscar win for The Pianist in 2002, and Affleck, for all his years of experience, didn’t exactly have a proven track record as a serious actor. Of course, that’s what September premieres were designed for: The Test. The Test is simple: release the movie in September and see what happens. It takes a particular kind of actor to open a September movie well, and, if he does it right, he’ll never have to do it again. The September Actor is a tricky thing to be. September releases rise and fall by their leading men, and those leading men, in turn, can look for that same rise or fall in their careers based on their September openings. This September will feature a new set of actors looking to break out of their current status and launch a new identity: Serious Actor. A survey of September’s releases reveals a handful of promising contenders. September 7
Although he’s long been an actor worth watching, Christian Bale’s only a recently minted box office success. The upcoming western 3:10 to Yuma pits him against legendary method actor and all-around diva Russell Crowe. It’s also director James Magnold’s first feature since the acclaimed Walk the Line. Depending on how Werner Herzog’s Rescue Dawn turns out this summer, it could be Bale’s chance to prove what he can do without Christopher Nolan at the helm. Given its ever-changing title and lead actor Omarion Grandberry’s status as B2K boy-band pin-up star, Feel the Noise hardly seems like the opportunity for either Grandberry or character actor Giancarlo Esposito, as his estranged father, to break out. Too bad: if George Clooney has taught us anything, it’s that we are ready to have the old tyme charm Esposito’s got in spades back on the screen. September 14 Eastern Promises brings A History of Violence’s director and lead actor David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen back together. Violence was Cronenberg’s best received picture since his 80’s heyday, and the movie showcased Mortensen in a fine performance far from Middle Earth. Violence, however, debuted in September two years ago. The same treatment suggests doubt on the part of the studio that the pair can strike gold twice. By far the most promising of the lot, December Boys, takes Daniel Radcliffe away from Hogwarts as one of four boys taking a holiday from their orphanage in Australia. Given the sexually charged scenes he’s expected to share with co-star Teresa Palmer, what this movie could do for Radcliffe’s reputation makes his revealing stage performance in Equus only the tip of the iceberg. September 21 Perhaps Radcliffe’s greatest competition to emerge from September as a Serious Actor (and serious box office champ) lies in a man four years his senior. Into the Wild, based on Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction novel, stars Emile Hirsch as the doomed thrill-seeking outdoormsan Chris McCandless. As it chronicles the story of one man’s solo journey into the Pacific Northwest, the movie falls entirely on Hirsch’s small shoulders. Whether he can take the promise he showed in earlier films like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys and channel it into something more steadfast and mature will determine how many Speed Racers are in his future. As the eponymous coward in the ridiculously named The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, the talented and oft overlooked Casey Affleck stands a chance to distinguish himself from Brad Pitt’s James as the more dynamic actor. The film’s success could end up being attributed to Pitt, but (unlike Pitt) Affleck has another opening this fall to test his strength. Indeed, Affleck will appear in his brother Ben’s feature length directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, due out this November. After his own September failure, the elder Affleck disappeared behind the camera. Let’s hope the same fate isn’t in store for the younger when we find out what this September holds in store for these young men. Images © Lionsgate Films, 2007
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