Casting choices.

Rating: 6/10 (23 January 2006)

I am always captivated by how many different approaches to acting there are, sometimes within the same film even. Here we have three completely separate approaches, and the casting agent deserves a nice portion of the credit for why this film works.
--Hillary. Everything she has done to date is founded on collaboration with other actors. She works, fighting to create a give-and-take style chemistry between herself and her costars. Constant eye contact. Seemingly no peripheral vision.
--Clint. His acting is of and for the camera. One can easily see his awareness of the camera at all times. Scarce eye contact. He is after all the cinema's consummate tough guy, and his catalog of genre films has demanded this of him. Be aloof and emotionally out of grasp. Mug for the camera.
--Morgan. This guy works in one direction: inwards. Watch him forcing his character to think--to react to others' lines as if he has never heard them and needs time to digest the words before answering. Always thinking, introspective. That's what makes him Hollywood's reigning narrator.
So we have three wildly varying approaches all cast to fit their characters snugly. Someone had some real casting insight I think.
The movie is a bit of a mess as a whole (especially the overly-cliché-ed script), but in the end it is the rich stew of acting that carries the day and pulls tears from us despite other flaws.