The Invisible Scene Stealer

Rating: 10/10 (30 October 2004)

Movies are about acting, not about drifting stars or massive spaceship-interior sets. One of the finest performances I've ever witnessed
appears in "2001", a film supposedly devoid of any interesting dialogue spoken by any high-profile players.
Mention HAL, even today, 36 years later, and even people who weren't alive when this film premiered know who you're talking about. The US Figure Skating Association calls its scorekeeping software HAL. Leonard Bernstein nicknamed his synthesizer HAL. And on and on.
The Heuristic/ALgorithmic computer - such is scenarist Arthur Clarke's explanation of the name - is visible only as a lens on a control board. Canadian Shakespeare actor Douglas Rain, said to be a last-minute replacement for Martin Balsam, reads his voice-over lines in an eerie monotone yet displays all the range of emotions denied the actors portraying astronauts. Jealousy, unreasoning rage, hurt feelings - they're all there. The effect would have been far different if director Stanley Kubrick had requested a voice ringing with the emotions appropriate to the words.
The humble voice-over artist is the unsung hero of Hollywood (and Borehamwood). Never is this more true than in "2001", a big-buck special effects blockbuster whose most memorable participant was a disembodied voice.