Minority Report and Max von Sydow (SPOILERS)

Rating: 10/10 (20 July 2002)

Right, I make no secret of being a huge Max von Sydow fan. He is, quite simply, the greatest actor on the planet. From Minority Report's first appearance in his filmography I have checked this and other sites nearly daily to monitor its production. I instantly went out and got Philip K Dick's book and quickly identified the character of Leopold Kaplan in it as the one Max would be playing in the movie. In a sense I was right. The equivalent in the film is Lamar Burgess. But let's get this straight; the film differs substantially from the book, giving a completely different emphasis to von Sydow's character especially.
Firstly, any von Sydow fan worth their salt would be doing summersaults that Max has this BIG a role in this BIG a movie. Hoorah! But some people misunderstand his performance. Just because he doesn't take part in high-speed chases or engage in lengthy emotional dialogues doesn't mean he turns in a 'dull' or over-familiar' performance, as one reviewer put it. Max always gives of his best and here is no exception. Notice that Burgess has relatively little plot-relevant dialogue as Spielberg is obviously far more interested in the face of this great actor, often allowing the camera to rest on Burgess' silent emotions. One great movie writer said that `if there is such a thing as a thinking face, the Max von Sydow has that,' and Steven Spielberg uses it brilliantly.
Undoubtedly Max's best spoken lines are when he shoots Witwer (Colin Farrell), which he delivers with ice-cold precision: `Shhh. Listen. Do you know what I hear?' Having seen the movie several times, this is one of the times the audience REALLY jumps from its seat. But it comes as no surprise to a true fan of von Sydow  we have seen shades of this bad character in Needful Things' (1993)  where Max plays the Devil and in Three Days of the Condor' (1975) where he plays a suave assassin wonderfully. This need not, however, mean we expect him to be a baddie the minute he's on screen, as I've heard some suggest.
Burgess is initially established as a good character, a father-figure to John (Cruise)  strongly reminiscent of Max's bit-part in Judge Dredd', as Sly's mentor. The audience might be led to believe that Max has a fleeting cameo  as the majority of necessarily spoiler free reviews suggest  so it is a shock to discover his significance in the plot.
In short, even as a huge fan of the man, I believe Max von Sydow was brilliantly cast in this brilliant film. Everyone was fantastic; Cruise has finally won my respect, I'll be watching out for whatever Morton and Farrell do next and I'll definitely be exploring the back catalogue of Lois Smith who was exquisite as Dr Iris Hindeman.
Max won't get his overdue Oscar for Minority Report', but I hope Spielberg has shown that he loses none of his magic in a bigger role in a big film than in the smaller American parts he has filled of late. I especially hope this film makes his Swedish countrymen-directors realise what a magnificent commodity they have, so that he can be offered the parts he so richly deserves, there too.
Sydow and Spielberg: 10/10