Great chemistry

Rating: 8/10 (8 April 2005)

What is it with Keanu Reeves and great actors? He has played opposite some of the best actors of our time: magnificent actors and actresses such as Gene Hackman, Anthony Quinn, William Hurt, Cate Blanchett, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, not forgetting the late River Phoenix (who had the potential to become one of the greatest actors of his generation),Â… (I'm forgetting a couple of names here). Playing opposite a brilliant actor makes him raise his own acting game, so it seems. Is it because, like somebody else mentioned, he creates a space for those actors to work in? Is that the reason why he has such fantastic chemistry with these actors and actresses?
Al Pacino is one of my favorite actors. My favorite movie with him is still Dog Day Afternoon, though. In The Devil's Advocate, he goes over the top with his performance but if there's one role where you can get away with that, than it's this one: playing the devil. He goes over the edge in some scenes but all in all, it was a joy to watch him and the scriptwriters sure did give him some great lines.
It's a known fact that it's not easy to act opposite this man. It's so easy to be blown away by him but Keanu Reeves manages to hold his own and that says something about his underrated talent, I should think. It's just because 'Keanu creates the space' that Al Pacino is given the room to go over the top. The acting styles of those two actors work very well together.
Another proof that Keanu has some brilliant chemistry with good actresses is shown in this movie. Charlize Theron. Now, the only problem I had with this movie was the rapid descend into craziness. It's not Theron's fault because she works very well with what she's been given and it wasn't all bad but I wished for a bit more subtleness in those scenes.
***SPOILER***
I would have preferred a different ending, though. For me, they should have stopped right after the big confrontation between the devil, Kevin and his sister and right after Kevin's dramatic decision. The last scenes were an anti-climax.
***END SPOILER***
All in all, this movie is great and it's given me food for thought! Recommended!