Director Wong Kar-wai's period drama "Flowers", which took three years to create, performed well in terms of plot and costumes, and was widely acclaimed. But regarding the acting skills of the actors, there has been a great polarization - netizens directly divided their acting skills into two categories: "amazing four" and "want to fast forward".
Ah Bao, played by the actor Hu Ge, was originally a small trader on Huangpu Road, but gradually embarked on the business sea under the inspiration of his uncle, and finally became "Mr. Bao". This transformation process also shows Bao's inner growth from recklessness to stability.
At first, Ah Bao was still immature and naïve, like a chick waiting to be fed in front of his uncle. Hu Ge successfully restored the recklessness and arrogance of this hairy boy through some expressions. But in the blink of an eye, under the cultivation of his uncle, Ah Bao gradually became a sophisticated businessman. At this time, Hu Ge's eyes revealed stability, and the whole person exuded a sense of vicissitudes that was difficult to imitate.
When Po chooses gifts for his sweetheart in the jewelry store, Hu Ge uses his eyes to reveal Po's inner longing and reluctance for love. Witnessing the departure of his lover on the last Chinese New Year's Eve, the despair and helplessness in Po's eyes turned into deep tears, clenching the audience's hearts together.
However, after all, due to the limitations of the general environment, there are still some inconsistencies between Hu Ge, whose acting skills are too restrained, and Wong Kar-wai's signature tonal style. If you can put more effort into the subtle changes in your expressions, I believe the audience will have a more profound viewing experience.
In "Flowers", the 90-year-old actor You Benchang plays the role of his uncle, perfectly interpreting the image of a shrewd, capable and calculating godfather in the business world. His eyes are relaxed and sharp, and his gestures are full of ** lake. Even if he plays against Hu Ge, who is in the prime of life, he is not timid at all.
When the uncle competed with others at the wine table, You Benchang used almost invisible micro-expression changes to tell the changes in the character's heart. He grasped the rhythm just right, neither too restrained nor exaggerated, so that the audience seemed to travel through time and space and witnessed the prosperity of old Shanghai.
Even in his old age, You Benchang still has a very high pursuit and awe of acting. In him, we see not only excellent acting skills, but also a lifelong love for art, and this professionalism is awe-inspiring.
In contrast, the performance of the female No. 2 Tang Yan was slightly insufficient. In the play, Tang Yan plays the role of Miss Wang, who has a straightforward personality and is a little willful. This is a charismatic role, but unfortunately Tang Yan's acting skills are not mature enough and have not fully brought out the brilliant background of this role.
There are obvious traces of "pretending" in her acting skills, especially when expressing intense emotions such as anger, her exaggerated tone and expression are contrived. Tang Yan also did not integrate into the environment, the tacit understanding with other actors was insufficient, and the overall portrayal was not delicate and mellow.
Acting skills still need to be accumulated and improved for a long time, which may be related to Tang Yan's lack of works in recent years. But as a representative flower of the post-85 generation, we still expect her to increase her acting skills in more works and prove herself with her strength. After all, time and experience will be the best mentor, and I believe that Tang Yan will be able to make more breakthroughs in the future.
If Tang Yan is unfamiliar, then Zheng Kai's problem in the play is that he is overly blunt "pretending". The Wei he played is always a face-loving nouveau riche, but Zheng Kai did not portray the rich inner world of this character, but rigidly copied his previous performance mode, which was superficial and styling.
This is in stark contrast to the other actors in Wong Kar-wai's work. When the camera switches to Zheng Kai, the atmosphere of the whole picture changes, from delicate to contrived, which seems a little abrupt. We can hardly see the real drama in Zheng Kai's eyes, he is just "speaking" the lines mechanically, not "acting" the role.
Zheng Kai may be able to temporarily let go of the mentality of being afraid of losing points and devote himself more to the role. We don't need every shot to be a carefully calculated "work", but a real "life".
"Flowers" is not only a group play, but also a comprehensive display stage for actors' acting skills. Just as we shouldn't judge by absolute binary theory of good or bad, acting doesn't have to be a big deal to be good.
Because what is truly moving is always the love and awe of performing arts. The quality of acting skills cannot be measured simply by traffic and popularity, but depends on whether the actor understands the role with his heart and whether he integrates himself into it. Excellent acting skills are due to the actors' love for drama and film, and their unremitting pursuit of art.
Although it is not required that every actor have an amazing performance. There will always be highlight moments in the play, and it is inevitable that there will be unsatisfactory moments, which is normal. But I hope that every actor can keep an open heart to learn from art, and continue to study and forge ahead, so as to make greater breakthroughs.
My drama diary