Hi my name is Bilad Ali I am 17 years old.I am writing a movie script which genra is psychological thriller.When It's completed .I will contact you 25:40
I think enunciation is a huge part of the dialogue delivery too. That "make-believe" part, I couldn't even hear it in the first 3 auditions. I heard it only when Anne H said.
@simplyrowen I definitely was! But I intentionally had my head down because it thought it would make sense for the someone talking about a close friend’s death. I didn’t even think about the fact that no one could see my face. 🤦🏾♂️
That’s awesome! We want to make videos that don’t exclusively appeal to actors. My goal is to show the art behind human acting as we see the rise in AI acting.
I've often been told that Autistic people make the best actors because we've been practicing our whole lives. I've never even auditioned, but am curious to test that theory.
tbh i love watching people break down their professions in intellectual ways so i find often find myself watching videos about other people's careers more than my own 😂 i'm not a singer but i love vocal coach reaction videos. i'm not a physicist but i love veratasium. i just wanna understand why people are passionate about their chosen fields and learn something in the process. it's fascinating
@AuDHD_Momawwwww I’m autistic too and I can be very dramatic maybe over dramatic 🤭 I also stutter so I’d be too nervous to act but I love watching these videos 😊
I read that Anne Hathaway played the scene two ways - once where she knew about the relationship and one where she was oblivious, and they cut the two scenes together to make it more ambiguous for the audience of whether she knew or not.
@ablurida yeah, she seemed really annoyed from the start of the scene, like she couldn't believe he had the audacity to call her, but she would want to know if she was him so she gave him the least that she could and tried to keep her distance from it all. When he says they were up there together, the anger slips for a second and she's hurt, betrayed, because she did love him at one time, and his final wish was to be there again, where he was with him. That must have hurt her a lot. I haven't seen the movie so I could be wrong, but that's how it came across to me. I can't see how that would warrant an Oscar but I'm not an expert on any of this.
Every person betrayed knows that moment when you're told a date (we watched some sheep up there in summer 1963), and your brain scans back to what happened/changed in your own world, and you suddenly become aware of a new reality. That Anne Hathaway played that recognition with bare grief rather than the more obvious choice of anger is what makes her an Oscar winner
0:40 I think saying just "secretly lovers", is fine. You don't need to say "secretly gay lovers", like you wouldn't normally say, "secretly heterosexual lovers", if the couple comprised a man and woman. Let's discuss.
Yes, and they’re fully made up and dressed and look the part which is half the work. They’re holding real phones instead miming, all that helps… I don’t think it’s a fair comparison
I definitely feel the ECU makes a HUGE difference. Not to say they're not great actors. If the pros had the same ECU it would have a very similar effect. Love the little sounds too... I've done that in many auditions when I felt more than the lines and didn't want to add any lines to the script. Also want to add that there's so much magic in the editing.
He crafted this repressed personality throughout the movie that is so believable, I see it in my father in law. His performance was otherworldly, because he’s not from that background, but he got it to a t.
He looked So stiff in the entire scene. Like a person who has been hiding his entire life and his entire inner self got shattered, but the facade still holds it together. What a legend
Makinka0cp. Zadziwiające ale zdaje się, że właśnie tą trudną rola była wstępem do rozbicia wewnętrznego Ledgera, co dopełniło się przy kolejnym filmie, w którym grał, pt. Joker i zakończyło się śmiercią. Tu można zadać pytanie o koszty udziału aktora w tak trudnych filmac , pokazujących przepojone "złem" lub też fałszywe jak gdyby osobowości...
“Feel what they’re saying vs selling what they’re saying.” This is the best description I’ve ever heard for the difference between acting and ACTING. so well said.
That scene is actually one of the most memorable scenes from that movie because of the way she played it. The little involuntary noise she makes. It's so believable.
Idk, Heath's a barely contained powder keg here, so much so that it's intolerable for me to watch this scene..he puts me in his skin somehow and then makes me so claustrophobic, I'm desperate to claw my way out...which, I suppose is the point.
Hathaway overacts and presents the same personality in every movie. Watch Interstellar, Les Miserables, etc. Great movies!! But she definitely overacts and uses same gestures for every role. Scarlet Johannsen is more dynamic and genuine in acting for example.
@karolinadogariu I watched the video over the last weekend and I remember disagreeing with many things the acting coach said. Many things. And yes, I do remember feeling that he was making such unbalanced, unfair comparisons.
@josemanuelgarciasoriadavis4985I think it’s done this way to show realistic and clear areas of focus, because being a good actor can be hard to pin down, it’s hard to give specific notes for beginners that can actually be understood and worked on. Like, you could recommend someone “act more natural” but what does that even mean? He’s giving actionable ideas, saying that the character needs to change from before and after the part of the convo where a subtle realization happens, I never would’ve known to do that. I just think certain lessons are better learned when you can see a clear contrast between new and practiced. Otherwise you’re not going to understand where and how to focus your energy
15:39 when Heath Ledger’s character says “back in ‘63” you can see how Anne Hathaway’s character is connecting the dots with her eyes and tense-ness of her facial muscles. She’s going back in time rethinking the times since ‘63. And now it’s allll making sense.
She knows she only met him in 64. She understands that it's not just that Jack had male lovers (which she must have figured out, at least when he was murdered), but most likely never loved her. His heart was already taken when he met her. 💔 She's getting the confirmation that her life was a lie.
Anne started annoyed to full realization that her suspicion was true and finally acceptance. In the end of that call it was just 2 people sharing the grief of losing someone they both loved, all in just a few minutes. Kudos to the actors and writers for that scene.
Unrealistic. If it was real life, she would be screaming "WTF are you calling me now?" To relieve his own guilt about his lover getting beaten up, he called his lover's widow, which is the most insensitive thing I've ever seen in a movie.
anne hathaway has to be one of the corniest actresses of all time. I'm actually shocked that your comment has so many thumbs up. She truly truly obnoxious
@leeboy7139it really is a ridiculous scene. I rewatched the whole movie recently and i found myself cringing a lot. I hadn't seen it since i saw it in the theater. Funny how time changed us bc i remember thinking at the time that it was very edgy and realistic lol
@leeboy7139 I... think you just have an extremely dim view of people and, if I'm being honest, probably not a lot of actual insight into filmmaking. If you watch film for realism for the sake of realism, you've missed the point entirely.
@vegandolls this scene isn't set in modern times. People had reactions differently in those times, more subdued and closed off, in spite of knowing the truth or being suspicious. This scene is heartbreaking
That was an odd mistake by the host - Heath wasn't cold at all. His eyes, nose, and the movements of his neck and head, even his hand on the phone communicated emotion.
He didn't mean "cold" as if he didn't care, but more like he is trying to put on a mask that just keeps slipping off of his face, and they're both pretending that the mask is still there
I also didn’t think he was cold. His character throughout the entire movie is emotionally detached and stunted, was he supposed to become a blubbering mess all of a sudden….?
@hollyperrin7353 I dunno about most, but it's pretty easy for me to conjure a few tears just by thinking about something sad. Full on sobbing is much more difficult, ime.
@ripleysigningoff1231 I can do that easily too. But it's usually when I'm driving and letting my thoughts drift with music, or thinking intensely about the sad topic. The ACTING trick, however, is getting into that mode during exactly the right moment for filming, with all the distractions around you and other mental tasks you juggle simultaneously (like blocking awareness, etc.)
I just wanna say that I think the general consensus on this movie and scene is that Jack's wife did NOT just think he died in a truck accident. She likely knows exactly what happened. Jack was not 100% discrete, and rumors had probably already gone around (and reached her ears) already prior to his murder. Her reaction when Ennis reveals that he and Jack were on Brokeback Mountain together tells us she is realizes real-time that the man on the other end of the phone was her husband's lover.
I am pretty sure that she already knows that they were lovers. That's why she acts a bit cold from the beginning. But when he reveals that they were together at Brokeback Mountain, it's revealed to her just how much he meant to her husband and that it meant more to him than anything else in the world. He was his great lovestory while their lovestory (hers and his) had ended.
Oh yeah she for sure knew. I mean not only did Jack's parents know but he had told them he was going to run their farm with another man. No way she was in the dark about all of that.
According to the actor, Anne shot the scene twice, once knowing the truth & once believing it was an accident & director Ang Lee used parts of both scenes in the final cut.
@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 Brilliant. Such a brilliant way to leave the audience wondering about how much Lureen knew or didn't know, when did she find out and if she had anything to do with Jack's death. And even though it's pieces of two very different cuts, it still looks like it fits together perfecectly.
The perfect figure & platinum hair of a woman who expected to have her man worship her & be s3xually obsessed. Then she finds herself with a man who can never be that. Whoa!
@michelletodd4893 Absolutely. She's just been told that her husband wanted to be laid to rest with his lover instead of her. She'd figured out he was unfaithful but she hadn't realised the other guy was his greatest love. That's gotta hurt way more than thinking it was just a physical affair. The nerve of him to ask her to scatter his ashes there. Like a slap in the face from the grave.
@Draggonny All parties hurt. In his position very very hard to be honest. We humans are fallible and imperfect. We learn through ours and others mistakes. I doubt the character of her husb meant to hurt her.
Heath didn’t play it cold, he was tight, controlled and was not able to actually allow his emotions to be seen or felt. I grew up in Texas around older ranchers who were like this. Held everything in not because they were cold, but because men weren’t raised to show emotion or even allow themselves to feel their emotions. It was stifling and painful, not cold.
THIS! The human condition, especially in men, prevents them from wanting to ping to show emotion. The character is a rancher, and though he may be gay, he is raised in a tough “male” society, which holds his emotions. This is spot on!
Not cold. Hathaway didn't sound cold. She sounded hurt. She sounded like she was jealous of Ennis and the closeness that she could never share with Jack. With Jack's death, Ennis possessed something she could never ever have. His death made it final, and speaking to Ennis was a potent reminder in her eyes of the failure of her relationship, and of the painful truth of her married life.
The others weren't directed by Ang Lee. I think Hathaway conveyed through her superb acting that she knew her husband was gay and that he was beaten to death for that reason.
Yes. When she described what happened it's cold and distant because it's supposed to sound like she is telling a story that she rehearsed. It's the story her and her family are telling, but it did not happen. And she also knows that since she's talking to someone who knew Jack for years, he also knows it did not happen. So she's telling that story in a tone of "we both know I'm telling a tale, let's only do the bare minimum to pretend it's true, but we definitely cannot say out loud what happened or what has been going on".
Exactly - I think the camera work and directorial work plays just as important role here (not to undermine Ledger's and Hathaway's performances, they are stellar) - but this was straight up an entire gem of a cast and crew which is what made it so great.
I don't think Heath played it 'cold' - his character finds it almost impossible to express any emotion that's not anger or a kind of mocking humor. He was so damn locked down, because of his trauma and his secrets..... An incredible scene.
The character felt absolutely trapped, unable to be who he was, or to share his truth. Plus, it made the audience sit on the edge of their seats, wanting to shout, "Say something, dammit! Spill it out! Just say it!" Great scene. Immense pain and unsaid emotions.
I came across this video randomly. I’m not an actor nor do I care to be one in any way but I haven’t been able to watch a movie or a show the same way since I saw this video a few days ago. I never paid attention to the small idiosyncrasies of an actor’s performance that make a scene good or great but now I can’t stop. It’s made my experience as a viewer so much richer, thanks for that.
Try going to film school it will ruin movies for you forever 😂 JK it makes the viewing richer the more you learn about how films are made but you do lose the ability to “just experience” the movie like most do. the curtain has been pulled back 😅
I haven't seen a more relatable comment than this. I guess out of 14 billion people, 2 peoples *can* have exact same stories. Though I can tell from the first, it wasn't professional. I can't say for the rest lol.😅
@fighterflightwhat ruins the film watching experience? 😅Just curious what you learn in acting class that makes it harder to just enjoy films like everyone else lol
I think you got it all wrong with Jack's wife. As far as her husband's death is concerned, she just repeats a poem, a false cause of death reserved for the rest of the world, knowing very well that this was not the reason why he died. She doesn't feel much grief, except for when she realizes, after what Ennis told her about Brokeback Mountain, that he is the one her husband's heart was dedicated to for decades. In fact, Anne Hathaway convinces us that her character almost approves of her husband's murder because of the betrayal and that the only thing that upsets her is the confirmation of that betrayal, a confirmation that comes with Ennis's phone call.
No betrayal… Lureen KNEW, all along that Jack’s “FISHING” buddy was who he felt for, the scene in the office where he’s leaving for his trip and she chides him about why does Jack always have to go see him, and for gods sake, she knew Jack was just her husband in name, even though he LOVED HER, and their son, he was IN LOVE with Ennis, look at the scene with Anna Faris and David Harbour! She is beyond accepting, she at this point didn’t care if Jack loved her, just so that she was kept in the lifestyle she was accustomed to! By the time Jack died he was already making plans to leave with the David Harbour character because he had given up on Ennis and fell in love with someone who would love him back, he had told his parents that they were going to live the dream he wanted to live with Ennis! Lureen at first is disassociated because she really didn’t lose a person she was in love with but more of a partner, but that part of her that put Ennis in the back of her mind as just a person with no reality was finally broken by talking to Ennis, and her real jealousy and betrayal comes to the fore! Even though she knew, she never had any PROOF! As I say, knowing something with no proof is one thing, but finally having that proof is something else entirely! You can see the pure hurt in her face and voice that she’s come voice to voice with the person she never could surpass! The phantom now made corporeal and that she was never more than a place keeper, and that’s a wrecking devastation if ever there was one!
@terrilllawrencesanford6262I agree that she didn't feel that much about Jacknat this point. She is cold in a way that she didn't love him anymore. But she did felt betrayed.
What upsets her specifically, I think, might be the date. 63. She understands that when Jack met her in 64, his heart was already taken. Her whole mariage was a lie, right from the start. She doesn't only have the confirmation that Jack had male lovers, but she learns that he never loved her.
Man, just look at Heath’s beginning of a smile when Anne mentions ‘it might be a pretend place, where bluebirds sing & there’s a whisky spring.’ It’s masterful work. You can see him remembering Jack & even bonding a little with Anne over Jack’s flights of fancy, something that both annoyed, yet endeared them both to him. This is really an incredible scene & a textbook example for actors in how to really get into the heads of the character they’re inhabiting.
The lyrics she quotes are from a well-known depression era song played on radios of the time, “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” which expresses the uncertainty of a hobo‘s life, which is what Ennis is living.
So glad I'm not the only one that caught the twitch of a smile. Her cold delivery and that ghost of a spiteful joke lets him know she knows. He slips a tiny bit and smiles because that would be like Jack. But it immediately comes crashing down on him; the grief pours back in, and he knows he doesn't have the right to feel that and face her, so he tries to hold back. You can see physically how the shame overtakes him. His head sinks, his mouth gets smaller, and his voice turns into a mumble. Exactly how a child gets when they have to own up to something, and they actually feel bad for their actions. He knows she knows, but she doesn't know it was HIM. Him telling her they were on Brokeback Mountain together is his confession. This scene is a great example of how good of an actor Ledger was.
Especially because it seems like these people need to be seen and appreciated by as any people as possible, seems like it’d be extra devastating to them to be so unceremoniously rejected and dismissed Acting is a weird thing to want to do, maybe I don’t get it bc I’m not one, but it seems to me that a lot of the driving ambition for actors and models comes from pursuing fame, which is guaranteed attention and ideally acceptance from others. Maybe it’s for the money but there’s easier ways to make money. I wonder if there’s anything rewarding about performance beyond the fact that it’s the most attention you could possibly ever get, and I’m sure it’s fun and cool to have the experiences and status. But what is it with the actual character portrayals and story, what’s up with that? You just can’t do it unless you want people to watch you. No one else desires that work. I was a last minute replacement in a musical that I assisted on and designed the playbills for in high school after a bunch of girls quit (the material was very unpopular with parents in East Tennessee) and it was top ten one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life, but that wasn’t the performing part, I hated that. The dancing and singing in rehearsals was so fun. Set design was fun. I almost literally broke a leg (I seriously injured my foot & ankle) during our performances bc I had to leap off of the catwalk backstage after being chased across the thing or ruin the whole show. I definitely value and appreciate actors and their work so much, but dang, you’d be bonkers to want to perform for people, to be doing your absolute best for the approval of strangers in real time- oof. people are awful. I just paint things in the comfort of my home and send them out and I only hear back from people that love it and want to buy it. I respect actors a lot, and I imagine it takes an immense resiliency to succeed as one, which, to me, contrasts so much with what makes people want to do it in the first place
@rainbomg people do it because when they do it well it takes them out of themselves and they can be someone totally different. Which is fun. And people do it because it brings people a lot of joy to watch things and be entertained, and some people do it because they want to be loved because maybe no one ever loved them enough or paid any attention to them when they were young, and probably some actors a combination of all of those things and more. It’s an art just like painting but it requires a level of dealing with other people. And you would think actors are all extroverts but they’re not. Some actors are total introverts when they’re not performing and when they perform a character, they become someone else for a time and once the scene is done they just revert back to their introverted self
@rainbomg Maybe they do it because they like it? Why do painters paint? Why do scientists science? Why do teachers teach? You're making it deep when it's really not.
15:29, a ghost of a smile crossed his face when he heard that Brokeback Mountain was his favourite place. But there is no mood for even 1 second of happiness, so the smile is almost imperceptible.
this. anne's character seemed to tell me she had always suspected and now it is confirmed. but still too ashamed, even for her husband. to acknowledge it.
Heath's profile shot was impactful because it highlights the position / angle of his face which went from a bit upward (resolute) at the start to downcast at the end. Great analysis... there really is a bit of "magic" that makes the difference. The director and cinematographer also contributed a lot to these Oscar winning performances.
Actually brought me to tears. Never seen this movie, did not expect that. The professionals' version was quite good and moving. But Anne made me cry. Heath almost got me too.
@coneil72 what ever you feel about 2 men together, it's ultimately a movie about longing, loneliness, and loss. it's well worth the watch but it's heartbreaking. the short story it's based on is also worth reading.
Hathaway nailed it because she knew Ennis must have been one of Jack’s many lovers. Hence the anger, pain and rote recitation of the “accident.” Ledger’s performance was transcendent.
Amateurs seem to like to over-emote. The best actors are much more subtle and let the expressions come out unconsciously. If it's real in your head, it's much more likely to seem real to others watching you.
It’s not just amateurs. I live in NYC and regularly attend a program called “Selected Shorts” where well known actors (Kevin Kline, Parker Posey, Stephen Colbert, Jane Kaczmarek, Sam Underwood…) read classic short stories out loud. The problem is that so many of the actors “perform” the story (which is how the events are described). Sometimes you get an actor who understands that these are iconic stories that have stood the test of time and made lasting impacts on their own, by being read, not performed. These stories don’t need any help. The actors who get it deliver the story with subtlety, in a way that doesn’t get between the reader and the author. Unfortunately, most of the actors make the performance about themselves, rather than the story. They ham it up, even nuanced humor is performed like slapstick, their grimaces and gesticulations make it hard to focus on the story. Those performances are so irritating. They show why it often takes a great director to get a great performance from an actor.
That first lady was the best! You know that she already knocked off two husbands and a p*mp and still managed to summon something just under an icy demeanor.
Who knew that just basic enunciation was a big part of the craft? I can't even really understand a word that is said by anyone until we get to the "professional" level.
In the book, Ennis never meets Jack’s wife. Their only connection was this single phone call. Ennis didn’t make the phone call for her sake, unlike a typical condolence call. He made it for his own sake to find out whether Jack had ghosted him. The double entendre that makes the scene so moving is that both parties know that Jack wasn’t killed by a tire that accidentally blew up. She knew that her husband was gay, but it was not spoken of in her family and social circles. She also had to protect the social standing of her and Jack’s children. She was 100% sure that that’s why Jack was killed because he was beaten to death by people who “knew.” But when she spoke to Ennis on the phone, it was the very first time she connected the dots that her husband was in love with this very man she was now speaking to, and it became very personal for her in that moment. The key driver in the scene is that the power lies with her. She has to decide in that moment how compassionate she wants, to be towards Ennis. She ends up splitting 50-50. She gives him a bone by telling him that his folks had his ashes and where he wanted them scattered. But she cannot be compassionate enough to let him know that she doesn’t resent him for what happened.
I remember seeing a behind the scenes of this scene and Ang Lee had Anne do it two different ways one cold and one compassionate and then used both takes to create the performance he wanted.
Yes, glad to see someone finally agreeing with me. People always say she got him killed, but I believe that she has learned this version of the story just because of keeping face and being the good wife and mother. Maybe her life wasn’t what she wanted with him, but at that time, people just put their feelings on the backseat and did what was expected of them. In no way would she ever reveal to her children or suggest so that their dad was gay. Keeping those things isn’t hate towards Jack or show that she was in it. It was just a thing she feared what would happen and it did. She now had to live with it for the rest of her life. She’s tired of telling that story to everyone, that’s why she seems so angry. Of course she is also angry towards Jack (for getting himself killed) and the fate she has now to go through, but I don’t think it means that SHE had anything to do with the killing.
Every one always says he got beaten to death… as it is, if you look at the movie and follow what happens, it’s very likely true about the wheel rim. Jack at that point had no need to be out galavanting around trolling for trade, he was FINALLY happy with the man he met at Lureen’s school reunion, David Harbour. He was planning a life with him, a committed life, one that he wanted with Ennis. And Lureen had no need to have him killed, he was the one keeping her in the life she was accustomed to, which by all indications throughout the latter half of the film is all she really cared about. Did she love Jack, yes! Absolutely! Was she IN LOVE with Jack, not probably! She knew of his sexuality! And she protected it and encouraged it! She even tells him he really needed to have his “Fishing” buddy come down to Texas instead of Jack always going to see him! Not come down to FISH, to come down ro spend time with Jack!! The idea that Jack was brutalized was a fearful and crippling projection of ENNIS! It was, after what he saw his father and his friends do, something he was deathly afraid of happening to him and Jack, being exposed and seen and eliminated for such! There was and is no evidence, except the fevered imaginings of Ennis to support the idea Jack was murdered. And at that point, talking to the man who was her essential competition and rival, had Jack been murdered, there would have been no reason for her to lie or sugar coat it.
That´s why it´s important to do research on your character. Heath´s character was a homosexual cowboy raised in a very conservative and traditional environment. And was extremely self concious and scared of the consequences of him being that. Everybody focused on the words and how to react to them (understandibly, maybe they didn´t have a background). Heath was who he was despite of what he was hearing. He hardly showed his feelings to Jack. He wasn´t going to show his feelings to Jack´s wife. That´s what makes this a great performance, above all, he was a cowboy.
7:17 pretending to hold a phone instead of just holding an actual phone has to be the goofiest thing I’ve ever seen lol I’m sorry but that instantly took me out of the believability of the scene. He’s talking into his closed fist? 😂
Right?! At least put in an earpiece... even if it isn't historically accurate to the scene Or like a remote control or SOMEthing! Hahaha 🤦🏼♀️🙄🤦🏼♀️🫤🤦🏼♀️
I think a lot of what makes a good actor is a sense of musicality. You can hear it in the way the lines are delivered: the pauses, the inflections, the speed.
As a linguist, THIS EXACTLY! This tells SO MUCH about a person, and barely anyone notices it consciously but you definitively notice it unconsciously and judge it by it.
11:53 I actually forgot that the wife puts the pieces about the Mountain together on the phone. About what happened. I forgot until the third woman acted it out! She nailed it. I could read it in her face.
was not a fan of the professional student woman. The closet to Anne's performance was the intermediate student woman, but she was still off by a country mile. made me really appreciate the skill of Anne and other super talented actors.
@jessicaT12345I agree. I was unfamiliar with the scene to begin with, but I think that the intermediate student was by far more natural in her choices than the professional was playing the same part. In fact, I didn't enjoy the professional's interpretation at all.
I don't know how this ended up in my algorithm but I'm not complaining. I started watching it with the intention of "just checking it out" and ended up subscribing 😂
What's amazing about Anne and Heath is their CHARACTERS are both performing for each other, and it's in the cracks in their performances that you see their real feelings. Anne's character is pretending Jack's death is an accident instead of a hate crime, and she's pretending she doesn't know the man she's talking to isn't the love of her husband's life. You can see tidal waves of contempt and occasional ripples of passion breaking the surface of this pretense. Heath's character has spent his life pretending he doesn't feel anything at all, so even the tiniest twitch of the eye or tug at the corner of his mouth says volumes.
Not an actor, but I really enjoyed this mini-class in acting progressions! Very insightful! Would like to watch more of these. Broken legs to everyone auditioning this weekend!
In the moment she realized it was a real place, you could see flooding into her heart this sense of how she longed to be/create the place where he was happy, and share that place with him. Her realizing over that call that the place was not made up made her realize that their disconnect as a couple was real too; there being a real happy place cemented for her the fact that she was not a part of it. You can see the wounds of each of the characters coming up here. The character won't try to show their wound, it surfaces in spite of them. So what you see is them trying to understand, or to conceal, and then you see them getting it, or failing to. It's wrong to say you don't try in acting, as some people say. You just make sure you're trying at the right thing, a thing that connects to the heart of the character, their wants and fears. Lose yourself in the right intention and the audience will infer the rest.
It's a tragic story ... why Ennis's wife had to leave him, if she did have to. You are much more positive about Jack's wife. Watching this brings back to me my takes on the scene, that Jack wasn't killed by a tire blowing up, and she knew it, might even have been told it was going to happen, and that she knew full well, not even so much that Brokeback Mountain wasn't a fantasy, but exactly who Ennis was. I would have to rewatch the movie, but you are very generous toward her! But, yes, you can see the changes of heart that each experiences for sure. When you said, "Lose yourself in the right intention and the audience will infer the rest": that is brilliant advice.
@olivemankiewicz2710 Thank you! And absolutely, there is so much subtext and subtlety in this film... each time I see it I notice something new. I hope this vid inspired a rewatch for you!
When I first watched this scene, Hathaway’s acting gave me the feeling that Jack was caught/ambushed and killed because of some meetup gone wrong and that she knew that but because of the times and to protect her dignity and her kids, and even in small part out of the love that she once felt for Jack, she had to play along like it was some car accident. But you can tell she knew that Jack and Heath’s character had something for a long time. You can feel it through the screen, her scorn woman feelings being repressed as she’s talking to the “other woman” but trying to be civil. In a contradictory way you can also tell she delivers the news with slight glee that she knows Heath’s character will be devastated by hearing the details; and likes that she gets to deliver that dagger, as she’d been silently hurting all those years by the affair she’d known had been happening behind close doors. I am no Anne Hathaway fan but she really did an amazing job with this scene. It’s so complicated/complex. Hats off (although ironically she should have a hat on because that dam fake blonde wig is so distracting) 🤦🏻♂️hair and make up.
You can clearly see how Ennis was grabbing the phone with his whole life. It was like for a moment his soul just flew out of the body. It was the little tremor, the tight clutching on the phone, the need to look away (like he was shying away from the camera) but at the same time he can't let the phone go, because is the symbol of the last connection with Jack... it's everything so subtle but so precise and visceral. I mean, maybe it's just me but in the same moment the call was done I felt cold, which is crazy since he is still in a sunny day in an ideal heat season.
Let’s not forget the work of the editor. They can lift a performance and make an actor with less than desirable skills and talent appear to be a “Pro.”
one thing i frequently notice about beginner actors and even some pros is excessive blinking and head movement. the actor knows that they have to be emotive and engaging but they subconsciously default to these big obvious tells that the audience reads as inauthentic. it might not even be conscious, but the pros are more subtle. they adjust their gaze, maybe lightly flare their nostrils, a slight twitch of the lip, a small head tilt, a small change in the rhythm and intonation of the delivery. they will still utilize big dramatic movements, but when they do it's much more impactful.
My take on Anne Hathaway's performance in this scene is that she nails the character of Lureen. You have to see the marriage from Lureen's point of view: by the time he died, Jack had been going on a lot of solo excursions through the years. With Ennis, but also by himself to Mexico, which he confesses to Ennis one of their times together. She knew her marriage wasn't doing great, but he was alright in the family business and a good father to their child. So when Ennis calls, she's less heartbroken to me than annoyed at having to deal with things left behind by Jack once again. I mean, Lureen the character could have left the details of Jack's death out, but she chose to include them, and I feel like she was a bit spiteful doing that and it comes through in Hathaway's performance.
@Natyourpl8or to make him share some of her pain. Like “you’re not going to get to just have rainbows and fond memories, you’re going to share this shocking trauma too”
What odd takes. She talked to this man who she realises was a love of her husband's *because* she understands that, for Ennis, it is important for him to know.
It is fascinating how the Oscar winners portray a full character, rather than just communicating the emotions the scene demands. I immediately got a sense of the character Anne played through her demeanour and the accent she used. Same with the character Heath played; one gets a sense who he is outside that particular scenario. There was a bit of that character-capturing energy with the pros, but not as powerful and not as naturally.
Ledgers reaction is very fitting because his character was the more serious, less playful, more closeted one of the two. He’s fighting his feelings still in the closet having to find out how his lover died from his spouse. All that is conveyed perfectly.
The thing I find captivating with Heath's acting was we literally see him try to make himself smaller a bit because he feels vulnerable and he's trying to feel safe by bundling himself up to something more "solid". We also see the layers wherein he doesnt try to take up too much of Anne's time because he can sense the hostility. My mother who worked call center says you can sense how someone feels really just from the voice. The acting and scene implies Anne's character knows who he really is and what he and Jack had. And the vindictive slam also adds a layer of "envy" since she knew Jack loved Ennis more than her and she's also hurt by it
1:39 I'm surprised you are not talking about Dr. Paul Eckman's over 50+ years of work on micro Expressions.... He is most famous for his work on "Lie to Me" TV show and "Inside Out" Disney movies.
Heath seemed to be choking back his emotions. Pushing them down so he wouldn't break down. I felt his character spent his life holding back his real feelings and thus, his real sense of self. Heath nailed it!!!
Awwwww...I used to babysit Logan when he was a baby. I'm so amazingly proud of him and all of his accomplishments. Great observations (from Tristan) and great work from all of the actors.
This video made me watch the movie. I never cared about it before. But the actual scene from it was so intense even in your cut that I had to watch it. And this ending deserved all the awards. These actors make you crack up and sob like a baby
My brother just passed and carried that same stoic masculinity yet vulnerability Heath displays. Im an actor and miss his terribly. This video inexplicably made me cry. ❤
I was honestly expecting Heath Ledger's scene to be way more expressive and "out there" but it's so interesting to see that that wasn't the case! I guess that it's better to connect to those feelings rather than to trying to sell them too much. Fascinating and thanks for this analysis Tristan, I'm loving this format so keep it up!
yes, but that was the way Ennis was acting the whole movie, had problems with being open with his feelings and stuff, but even tho he didnt react intensively, the scene was heartbreaking
Heath’s version of Ennis is so utterly lacking in outward expression that you can only tell how subtly he is verging on breaking down by how much more he tightens up as the conversation goes on. He’s almost looking for a connection with this woman he’s been cuckolding and with whom he has never spoken. When it’s clear neither will yield, they both retreat to their respective emotional prisons, leaving everything unsaid but also completely clear to each other. The devastation of the final scene is all the more shattering to the audience when we see Ennis finally show, privately, some semblance of emotion when we see him hug the shirt that has reversed placement on the hanger, and the utterly laconic Ennis still only able to mutter tearfully, “Jack, I swear…”, leaving all of us to wonder what exactly he is swearing to.
I loved Michelle Williams but honestly, the supporting performance of that film goes to Anne Hathaway in that scene. It’s not nearly as showy, but just like with Heath Ledger, the degree of difficulty and her successful landing an emotional gut punch with such little dialogue was higher than her counterpart’s. The challenge that even the pros had with this scene should be absolute evidence of why this scene is the standout of the film (in one filled with many of those moments).
It would be fun to let non-actors have a go in a mini-competition as a Wild Card. Folks who are not pursuing acting, but are curious about if they have the chops for it.
Very true, even actors who “got the part” you see in a movie who are look like they are trying to act like they think someone would act instead of reacting as their character feels or thinks in the moment.
This was eye-opening! I was a creative director at various NY ad agencies, and part of the job was auditioning actors for our commercials. I'd take notes, basically dividing people into 3 columns: good/OK/not good. These sessions could take hours and often were a bit of a slog. But then, somebody would show up, do the same lines I'd heard a dozen times already, and it would just grab my attention and wake me up. It was kind of uncanny. I could feel it. Everybody could. But I've never been able to explain what those actors -- or any good actors -- actually did, technically, to elevate their performance. I've read and seen other materials about acting technique and theory, but at some point the explanations tend to stop at "you need to be truthful" or "honest", without explaining HOW that happens. This is the first time I've seen it articulated and demonstrated in a way that makes sense. Thanks!
Great video! - Also, to be fair, the “Oscar Winners” have time to sit with the entire script (thus fully embodying the character), table and chemistry reads, on set dialect coaches, loads of feedback from the director and producers and hefty paychecks! So basically they have everything they need to give top tier, Oscar Worthy performances! TBH, of all the scenes, Nina was my favorite! 😊
But sometines it is just that, being at the right place at the right time and who you know! Sorry but talent aint everything in the "business". There are a lot of VERY talented people who don't "Make it".
i don’t know how many people knows this but this scene was actually shot twice! once anne was told to act like she knew about her husband lover and the other one was shot like she had no idea. the final cut was made of both of these versions so we as viewers fell confused as if she knows or not. it sure is a great scene
I found it hard to evaluate this isolated scene for Heath because having seen the movie, I know the character that he had established the length of the movie. I didn’t see acting-I saw Ennis.
I love this style of video showing the experience progressions. I'd love more just like it. Your channel is a great resource, Tristan. I especially like what you said about how the pros can blend the natural and cinematic. My terms for those definitions are "artistic" (because I haven't found a more appropriate term) and "technical" respectively, and the biggest shift in my work was when I figured out how to blend them in a way that was truthful to myself. What was happening is my most truthful performances were too expressive in my face, because that's my natural state - I'm a very expressive person. The technical shift I had to make was to take all that expression and settle it behind my eyes (again, I don't know how to better explain that) and my work got so much better. I just have a question about terminology. During the intermediate videos, you mention a shift in "intention". Can you define that for me in your words? I hear so many interchangeable phrases: objective, action, intention, goal, want, need, etc. I'd love to hear how you define intention. Thanks man! Keep up the great content
I really hope you turn this into a regular series! Hearing all the notes and seeing the differences from beginner to pro of the same scene are so interesting! I don't even want to be an actor, but I'm HOOKED.
Still one of the most brilliantly filmed scenes ever. Don't know if it was an acting or directing choice by the way that she goes from resentment to shared grief when she realizes that Ennis isn't just one of Jack's FWB lets say is devastating.
I audibly gasped when I saw you posted, your videos have really helped me so much with my perspective on my acting! And I’m aware you don’t allow teenagers in The Acting Lab, but just know that your channel makes me feel like I’m in it!!💗
You can see the pent-up anger and the humiliation in the way she closes her tear-filled eyes and moistens her lips. And the soft sarcasm in her voice. Everything has a purpose. But a true actress lives the emotions inside. She doesn’t just pretend to project them.
This is the most I've seen yet of Brokeback Mountain, but heard plenty! Congratulations again to my classmates for braving these scenes for the sake of this video!
If you get the opportunity, watch it, especially if you’re an actor. Even if you aren’t, it’s a great film, with some excellent performances from the cast.
The last time I watched Brokeback, I started crying right at the start, and never stopped. By the end, I couldn't breathe. I don't know if I can ever watch it again.
I remember specifically the first time I saw this scene, there's a moment when Hathaway does this painful swallow, and that one gesture contained her whole marriage, her love that was dead for her husband, her sense of betrayal, and her disgust at them for being gay, but also her deep jealousy that they had something together that she never did.
from somebody who was in the industry and now on a performing arts center and has kids and film and TV this was absolutely stunning to watch both you, your actors and the analysis and of course, Heath and Anne. I wish it was more appropriate for my age group. I'll be looking for more on your channel. God bless.!
I don't know if I've ever seen a side-by-side comparison like this. It's so, so effective at making you appreciate what Ledger and Hathaway are doing (as well as the work of everyone else involved in putting the scene to film). I think their performances are helped by the fact that they follow the others - that it primed me to be actively engaging with the emotion of the scene, since I had been doing my best to engage with the other actors' performances and really open myself up emotionally. Then that last performance came along and absolutely demolished me. It's that moment when Hathaway's character goes from suspecting the truth of what happened to knowing, when he tells here Brokeback is real. I immediately teared up, like a switch. You touched on how the performance should shift as it goes on, but I think that particular moment deserves special attention. It's not *just* a shift in the performance. It's subtle, but it's so carefully set up and executed to line up perfectly with the tiniest break in the tension. A tension which could only ever build up because the two actors seem to be completely on the same page about the subtext, which is where all of the work is being done. And that's not to discount what Ledger is doing. He's embodying the contradiction, the tension, of his need to tell her the truth against his inability to actually say it perfectly. I love the cinematography, too. Of having Ledger's character so firmly grounded in the real world, despite the close-up, but having Hathaway's character just floating in a featureless void. Like nothing around her is real. Honestly, just an excellent choice of a scene to do this with. I know next to nothing about acting or film making, but I feel like there's so much here I could just keep talking for hours
![Игровая смерть - это механика [Страшно, вырубай!]](/img/1.gif)
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Hi my name is Bilad Ali I am 17 years old.I am writing a movie script which genra is psychological thriller.When It's completed .I will contact you
25:40
Is there any other way of being in your acting classes, right now ends ain't meeting financially
I think enunciation is a huge part of the dialogue delivery too. That "make-believe" part, I couldn't even hear it in the first 3 auditions. I heard it only when Anne H said.
DUDE Not one person even understands how the awards are picked. Not one understand a single rule on the how or why
Still waiting for a reply 🤣🤣
I promise to look up next time 😂😢
@scusahiiiii 😂
Were you reading the dialogue by any chance? I felt like that’s what was happening lol.
You did very well!
@simplyrowen I definitely was! But I intentionally had my head down because it thought it would make sense for the someone talking about a close friend’s death. I didn’t even think about the fact that no one could see my face. 🤦🏾♂️
@CaroleV-f1z thank you!
I don't even wanna become an actor but I'm watching this
That’s awesome! We want to make videos that don’t exclusively appeal to actors. My goal is to show the art behind human acting as we see the rise in AI acting.
I've often been told that Autistic people make the best actors because we've been practicing our whole lives. I've never even auditioned, but am curious to test that theory.
tbh i love watching people break down their professions in intellectual ways so i find often find myself watching videos about other people's careers more than my own 😂 i'm not a singer but i love vocal coach reaction videos. i'm not a physicist but i love veratasium. i just wanna understand why people are passionate about their chosen fields and learn something in the process. it's fascinating
Me too.
@AuDHD_Momawwwww I’m autistic too and I can be very dramatic maybe over dramatic 🤭 I also stutter so I’d be too nervous to act but I love watching these videos 😊
I read that Anne Hathaway played the scene two ways - once where she knew about the relationship and one where she was oblivious, and they cut the two scenes together to make it more ambiguous for the audience of whether she knew or not.
Is that so? For I love her other work. But here, she didn't take me along. Do admire that tear in her eye though.
Ah, the American Psycho technique.
Really? It didn't seem ambiguous at all to me, she straight up knew as far as I'm concerned 😂
@abluridai came to say this. She was definitely warning ol boy that she knew and the same would happen to him if he came back that way.
@ablurida yeah, she seemed really annoyed from the start of the scene, like she couldn't believe he had the audacity to call her, but she would want to know if she was him so she gave him the least that she could and tried to keep her distance from it all. When he says they were up there together, the anger slips for a second and she's hurt, betrayed, because she did love him at one time, and his final wish was to be there again, where he was with him. That must have hurt her a lot. I haven't seen the movie so I could be wrong, but that's how it came across to me. I can't see how that would warrant an Oscar but I'm not an expert on any of this.
It’s amazing how Anne’s eyes starts watering ever so slightly.
It’s not that tough!
Every person betrayed knows that moment when you're told a date (we watched some sheep up there in summer 1963), and your brain scans back to what happened/changed in your own world, and you suddenly become aware of a new reality. That Anne Hathaway played that recognition with bare grief rather than the more obvious choice of anger is what makes her an Oscar winner
The way she REFUSED to let those tears fall speaks volumes. Ugh, amazing.
Has no one here heard of Tear Sticks?
0:40 I think saying just "secretly lovers", is fine. You don't need to say "secretly gay lovers", like you wouldn't normally say, "secretly heterosexual lovers", if the couple comprised a man and woman. Let's discuss.
The camera angles and how the actor is positioned in front of the camera does a lot of the work. interesting to see!
Yes, and they’re fully made up and dressed and look the part which is half the work. They’re holding real phones instead miming, all that helps… I don’t think it’s a fair comparison
@Alloy-p3uI think you missed the point of the exercise.
@Alloy-p3u always excuses.
Best actor went to theater, thats where they were taught acting
I definitely feel the ECU makes a HUGE difference. Not to say they're not great actors. If the pros had the same ECU it would have a very similar effect. Love the little sounds too... I've done that in many auditions when I felt more than the lines and didn't want to add any lines to the script. Also want to add that there's so much magic in the editing.
So it has nothing to do with the actors, praise the cameraman/director
Ledger's reaction made it seem like he couldn't make himself breathe for a few seconds--like the realization paralyzed his lungs.
That was Ennis every day of his entire life it seemed.
He crafted this repressed personality throughout the movie that is so believable, I see it in my father in law. His performance was otherworldly, because he’s not from that background, but he got it to a t.
He looked So stiff in the entire scene. Like a person who has been hiding his entire life and his entire inner self got shattered, but the facade still holds it together. What a legend
Such a beautiful description of such a poignant scene.
Makinka0cp.
Zadziwiające ale zdaje się, że właśnie tą trudną rola była wstępem do rozbicia wewnętrznego Ledgera, co dopełniło się przy kolejnym filmie, w którym grał, pt. Joker i zakończyło się śmiercią. Tu można zadać pytanie o koszty udziału aktora w tak trudnych filmac , pokazujących przepojone "złem" lub też fałszywe jak gdyby osobowości...
“Feel what they’re saying vs selling what they’re saying.” This is the best description I’ve ever heard for the difference between acting and ACTING. so well said.
hey clippy
@Winnie8952oh hi. Nice to see you here. How can I help?😊
What's up goodie gang
@polarmouse3943nice outfit, clippy
kinda stating the obvious as well. acting 101
That scene is actually one of the most memorable scenes from that movie because of the way she played it. The little involuntary noise she makes. It's so believable.
Yes! That noise sold the whole movie for me when I saw it in the theater. It broke me.
Yes. That expression exposes her vulnerability and the pain/loss. Ledger is a great actor, but in this instance, his acting was somehow lacking.
Really? I completely forgot about it, although I love the movie
Idk, Heath's a barely contained powder keg here, so much so that it's intolerable for me to watch this scene..he puts me in his skin somehow and then makes me so claustrophobic, I'm desperate to claw my way out...which, I suppose is the point.
Hathaway overacts and presents the same personality in every movie. Watch Interstellar, Les Miserables, etc. Great movies!! But she definitely overacts and uses same gestures for every role. Scarlet Johannsen is more dynamic and genuine in acting for example.
Well, the students were self-directed. Whereas Heath and Anne were directed by the world renown director Ang Lee. So there's that. :)
Yeah and I wonder if they’d read the full script or just that scene.
@larryjones558 We just got the scene, and on top of that we only had about 24 hours to record it. 😅
Right??? This whole exercise is flawed. The unprofessionals' performances should be compared to self tapes of pros.
@karolinadogariu I watched the video over the last weekend and I remember disagreeing with many things the acting coach said. Many things. And yes, I do remember feeling that he was making such unbalanced, unfair comparisons.
@josemanuelgarciasoriadavis4985I think it’s done this way to show realistic and clear areas of focus, because being a good actor can be hard to pin down, it’s hard to give specific notes for beginners that can actually be understood and worked on. Like, you could recommend someone “act more natural” but what does that even mean? He’s giving actionable ideas, saying that the character needs to change from before and after the part of the convo where a subtle realization happens, I never would’ve known to do that.
I just think certain lessons are better learned when you can see a clear contrast between new and practiced. Otherwise you’re not going to understand where and how to focus your energy
15:39 when Heath Ledger’s character says “back in ‘63” you can see how Anne Hathaway’s character is connecting the dots with her eyes and tense-ness of her facial muscles. She’s going back in time rethinking the times since ‘63. And now it’s allll making sense.
She didn’t know him until after 63
She knows she only met him in 64. She understands that it's not just that Jack had male lovers (which she must have figured out, at least when he was murdered), but most likely never loved her. His heart was already taken when he met her. 💔 She's getting the confirmation that her life was a lie.
@LancelotGraaloh wow ! I gotta watch this movie again , the cinematic were also sooo cool
Tension. Not tense-ness.
Tensuality*
Anne started annoyed to full realization that her suspicion was true and finally acceptance. In the end of that call it was just 2 people sharing the grief of losing someone they both loved, all in just a few minutes. Kudos to the actors and writers for that scene.
Unrealistic. If it was real life, she would be screaming "WTF are you calling me now?" To relieve his own guilt about his lover getting beaten up, he called his lover's widow, which is the most insensitive thing I've ever seen in a movie.
anne hathaway has to be one of the corniest actresses of all time. I'm actually shocked that your comment has so many thumbs up. She truly truly obnoxious
@leeboy7139it really is a ridiculous scene. I rewatched the whole movie recently and i found myself cringing a lot. I hadn't seen it since i saw it in the theater. Funny how time changed us bc i remember thinking at the time that it was very edgy and realistic lol
@leeboy7139 I... think you just have an extremely dim view of people and, if I'm being honest, probably not a lot of actual insight into filmmaking. If you watch film for realism for the sake of realism, you've missed the point entirely.
@vegandolls this scene isn't set in modern times. People had reactions differently in those times, more subdued and closed off, in spite of knowing the truth or being suspicious. This scene is heartbreaking
He didn't play it cold. Heath played it to perfection. That is a man trying to hold himself and his world together.
Yeah. He didn’t play it cold, he played it contained.
That was an odd mistake by the host - Heath wasn't cold at all. His eyes, nose, and the movements of his neck and head, even his hand on the phone communicated emotion.
He didn't mean "cold" as if he didn't care, but more like he is trying to put on a mask that just keeps slipping off of his face, and they're both pretending that the mask is still there
I also didn’t think he was cold. His character throughout the entire movie is emotionally detached and stunted, was he supposed to become a blubbering mess all of a sudden….?
Not me acting in front of my screen 😭
😂😂😂
Lol same
Ahhahhahhah
It's alright, we all do it secretly, most of the times in our head
Same. The way I easily made tears well up makes me think I could actually be an actor. 🤣🤣
The way Anne can summon those tears right on queue with a relaxed demeanor is so freaking impressive
This was clearly a scene she rehearsed in practiced a lot
Most women can do that, believably.
@hollyperrin7353 I dunno about most, but it's pretty easy for me to conjure a few tears just by thinking about something sad. Full on sobbing is much more difficult, ime.
@hollyperrin7353 You think so? I can't. And I don't know anyone else who can.
@ripleysigningoff1231 I can do that easily too. But it's usually when I'm driving and letting my thoughts drift with music, or thinking intensely about the sad topic. The ACTING trick, however, is getting into that mode during exactly the right moment for filming, with all the distractions around you and other mental tasks you juggle simultaneously (like blocking awareness, etc.)
8:19 bro needs to change the battery in his carbon monoxide alarm
😂😂
😂
I just wanna say that I think the general consensus on this movie and scene is that Jack's wife did NOT just think he died in a truck accident. She likely knows exactly what happened. Jack was not 100% discrete, and rumors had probably already gone around (and reached her ears) already prior to his murder. Her reaction when Ennis reveals that he and Jack were on Brokeback Mountain together tells us she is realizes real-time that the man on the other end of the phone was her husband's lover.
I am pretty sure that she already knows that they were lovers. That's why she acts a bit cold from the beginning. But when he reveals that they were together at Brokeback Mountain, it's revealed to her just how much he meant to her husband and that it meant more to him than anything else in the world. He was his great lovestory while their lovestory (hers and his) had ended.
Oh yeah she for sure knew. I mean not only did Jack's parents know but he had told them he was going to run their farm with another man. No way she was in the dark about all of that.
I always felt that she was in on it.
According to the actor, Anne shot the scene twice, once knowing the truth & once believing it was an accident & director Ang Lee used parts of both scenes in the final cut.
@goldenageofdinosaurs7192 Brilliant. Such a brilliant way to leave the audience wondering about how much Lureen knew or didn't know, when did she find out and if she had anything to do with Jack's death. And even though it's pieces of two very different cuts, it still looks like it fits together perfecectly.
17:07 the tiny sound that Hathaway makes is the sound of a strangled cry of wretched pain. She is a genius.
The perfect figure & platinum hair of a woman who expected to have her man worship her & be s3xually obsessed. Then she finds herself with a man who can never be that. Whoa!
The always say the wife didnt knew the truth. But the way Anne does it, she knew.
@michelletodd4893 Absolutely. She's just been told that her husband wanted to be laid to rest with his lover instead of her. She'd figured out he was unfaithful but she hadn't realised the other guy was his greatest love. That's gotta hurt way more than thinking it was just a physical affair. The nerve of him to ask her to scatter his ashes there. Like a slap in the face from the grave.
She's a ham
@Draggonny
All parties hurt. In his position very very hard to be honest. We humans are fallible and imperfect. We learn through ours and others mistakes. I doubt the character of her husb meant to hurt her.
Heath didn’t play it cold, he was tight, controlled and was not able to actually allow his emotions to be seen or felt. I grew up in Texas around older ranchers who were like this. Held everything in not because they were cold, but because men weren’t raised to show emotion or even allow themselves to feel their emotions. It was stifling and painful, not cold.
THIS! The human condition, especially in men, prevents them from wanting to ping to show emotion. The character is a rancher, and though he may be gay, he is raised in a tough “male” society, which holds his emotions. This is spot on!
@shelbywilliamsit’s not human character it’s how men are raised.
That's why the scene at the end when he smells the shirt just wrecked me. So revealing. So sad.
That's still what cold means
What another said. Still what cold means.
Beginning actors get nominated and have won Oscars. And seasons veteran actors still give amateur performances.
16:44 they've got a lot more microexpressions too, his small smile, her eyes watering and eyebrows burrowing for a second
Not cold. Hathaway didn't sound cold. She sounded hurt. She sounded like she was jealous of Ennis and the closeness that she could never share with Jack. With Jack's death, Ennis possessed something she could never ever have. His death made it final, and speaking to Ennis was a potent reminder in her eyes of the failure of her relationship, and of the painful truth of her married life.
Well said.
Exactly, Anne Hathaway did that to perfection.
The others weren't directed by Ang Lee. I think Hathaway conveyed through her superb acting that she knew her husband was gay and that he was beaten to death for that reason.
Yeah there is something to be said for having a world class director guiding your performance too.
Was she amazing or was she amazing???❤
Yes. When she described what happened it's cold and distant because it's supposed to sound like she is telling a story that she rehearsed. It's the story her and her family are telling, but it did not happen. And she also knows that since she's talking to someone who knew Jack for years, he also knows it did not happen. So she's telling that story in a tone of "we both know I'm telling a tale, let's only do the bare minimum to pretend it's true, but we definitely cannot say out loud what happened or what has been going on".
Exactly - I think the camera work and directorial work plays just as important role here (not to undermine Ledger's and Hathaway's performances, they are stellar) - but this was straight up an entire gem of a cast and crew which is what made it so great.
I don't think Heath played it 'cold' - his character finds it almost impossible to express any emotion that's not anger or a kind of mocking humor. He was so damn locked down, because of his trauma and his secrets..... An incredible scene.
Agreed. It fit how he played the role throughout the movie. Continuity of character.
He's so authentically accurate to a real rustic country person. I come from a big family of them, and he nailed it.
For sure, cold was not the right word at all
You're basically saying cold in a different way. His behavior was cold and repressed throughout the entire movie and it worked beautifully.
The character felt absolutely trapped, unable to be who he was, or to share his truth. Plus, it made the audience sit on the edge of their seats, wanting to shout, "Say something, dammit! Spill it out! Just say it!" Great scene. Immense pain and unsaid emotions.
I came across this video randomly. I’m not an actor nor do I care to be one in any way but I haven’t been able to watch a movie or a show the same way since I saw this video a few days ago. I never paid attention to the small idiosyncrasies of an actor’s performance that make a scene good or great but now I can’t stop. It’s made my experience as a viewer so much richer, thanks for that.
With the absolute very best actors, you will have to work hard to notice these things. Their talent makes you oblivious to such things.
Try going to film school it will ruin movies for you forever 😂 JK it makes the viewing richer the more you learn about how films are made but you do lose the ability to “just experience” the movie like most do. the curtain has been pulled back 😅
I haven't seen a more relatable comment than this. I guess out of 14 billion people, 2 peoples *can* have exact same stories. Though I can tell from the first, it wasn't professional. I can't say for the rest lol.😅
@fighterflightwhat ruins the film watching experience? 😅Just curious what you learn in acting class that makes it harder to just enjoy films like everyone else lol
@fighterflight Being an extra does as well, in a way. Because you see how everything is done, the stunts, the effects and everything.
I think you got it all wrong with Jack's wife. As far as her husband's death is concerned, she just repeats a poem, a false cause of death reserved for the rest of the world, knowing very well that this was not the reason why he died. She doesn't feel much grief, except for when she realizes, after what Ennis told her about Brokeback Mountain, that he is the one her husband's heart was dedicated to for decades. In fact, Anne Hathaway convinces us that her character almost approves of her husband's murder because of the betrayal and that the only thing that upsets her is the confirmation of that betrayal, a confirmation that comes with Ennis's phone call.
No betrayal… Lureen KNEW, all along that Jack’s “FISHING” buddy was who he felt for, the scene in the office where he’s leaving for his trip and she chides him about why does Jack always have to go see him, and for gods sake, she knew Jack was just her husband in name, even though he LOVED HER, and their son, he was IN LOVE with Ennis, look at the scene with Anna Faris and David Harbour! She is beyond accepting, she at this point didn’t care if Jack loved her, just so that she was kept in the lifestyle she was accustomed to! By the time Jack died he was already making plans to leave with the David Harbour character because he had given up on Ennis and fell in love with someone who would love him back, he had told his parents that they were going to live the dream he wanted to live with Ennis! Lureen at first is disassociated because she really didn’t lose a person she was in love with but more of a partner, but that part of her that put Ennis in the back of her mind as just a person with no reality was finally broken by talking to Ennis, and her real jealousy and betrayal comes to the fore! Even though she knew, she never had any PROOF! As I say, knowing something with no proof is one thing, but finally having that proof is something else entirely! You can see the pure hurt in her face and voice that she’s come voice to voice with the person she never could surpass! The phantom now made corporeal and that she was never more than a place keeper, and that’s a wrecking devastation if ever there was one!
@terrilllawrencesanford6262I agree that she didn't feel that much about Jacknat this point. She is cold in a way that she didn't love him anymore. But she did felt betrayed.
What upsets her specifically, I think, might be the date. 63. She understands that when Jack met her in 64, his heart was already taken. Her whole mariage was a lie, right from the start. She doesn't only have the confirmation that Jack had male lovers, but she learns that he never loved her.
@LancelotGraalOOOOOOHHH!!!! Nice insight! I feel this is deeply accurate!!!! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
@LancelotGraal I see your point here, and though someone can love two people at once, it would be hard to believe that when it was a secret.
Man, just look at Heath’s beginning of a smile when Anne mentions ‘it might be a pretend place, where bluebirds sing & there’s a whisky spring.’
It’s masterful work. You can see him remembering Jack & even bonding a little with Anne over Jack’s flights of fancy, something that both annoyed, yet endeared them both to him. This is really an incredible scene & a textbook example for actors in how to really get into the heads of the character they’re inhabiting.
The lyrics she quotes are from a well-known depression era song played on radios of the time, “The Big Rock Candy Mountain,” which expresses the uncertainty of a hobo‘s life, which is what Ennis is living.
Wonderful response, Goldenage
So glad I'm not the only one that caught the twitch of a smile. Her cold delivery and that ghost of a spiteful joke lets him know she knows. He slips a tiny bit and smiles because that would be like Jack. But it immediately comes crashing down on him; the grief pours back in, and he knows he doesn't have the right to feel that and face her, so he tries to hold back. You can see physically how the shame overtakes him. His head sinks, his mouth gets smaller, and his voice turns into a mumble. Exactly how a child gets when they have to own up to something, and they actually feel bad for their actions. He knows she knows, but she doesn't know it was HIM. Him telling her they were on Brokeback Mountain together is his confession. This scene is a great example of how good of an actor Ledger was.
Actors have to make themselves so vulnerable, and then they get coldly rejected so frequently, it's a brutal industry. I could never tolerate it.
It's rough. You...kind of...get used to it. That is, you learn to accept it and keep going. There's another role out there somewhere!
Especially because it seems like these people need to be seen and appreciated by as any people as possible, seems like it’d be extra devastating to them to be so unceremoniously rejected and dismissed
Acting is a weird thing to want to do, maybe I don’t get it bc I’m not one, but it seems to me that a lot of the driving ambition for actors and models comes from pursuing fame, which is guaranteed attention and ideally acceptance from others. Maybe it’s for the money but there’s easier ways to make money. I wonder if there’s anything rewarding about performance beyond the fact that it’s the most attention you could possibly ever get, and I’m sure it’s fun and cool to have the experiences and status. But what is it with the actual character portrayals and story, what’s up with that? You just can’t do it unless you want people to watch you. No one else desires that work.
I was a last minute replacement in a musical that I assisted on and designed the playbills for in high school after a bunch of girls quit (the material was very unpopular with parents in East Tennessee) and it was top ten one of the most fun things I’ve ever done in my life, but that wasn’t the performing part, I hated that. The dancing and singing in rehearsals was so fun. Set design was fun. I almost literally broke a leg (I seriously injured my foot & ankle) during our performances bc I had to leap off of the catwalk backstage after being chased across the thing or ruin the whole show. I definitely value and appreciate actors and their work so much, but dang, you’d be bonkers to want to perform for people, to be doing your absolute best for the approval of strangers in real time- oof. people are awful.
I just paint things in the comfort of my home and send them out and I only hear back from people that love it and want to buy it. I respect actors a lot, and I imagine it takes an immense resiliency to succeed as one, which, to me, contrasts so much with what makes people want to do it in the first place
@rainbomg people do it because when they do it well it takes them out of themselves and they can be someone totally different. Which is fun. And people do it because it brings people a lot of joy to watch things and be entertained, and some people do it because they want to be loved because maybe no one ever loved them enough or paid any attention to them when they were young, and probably some actors a combination of all of those things and more. It’s an art just like painting but it requires a level of dealing with other people. And you would think actors are all extroverts but they’re not. Some actors are total introverts when they’re not performing and when they perform a character, they become someone else for a time and once the scene is done they just revert back to their introverted self
@rainbomg Maybe they do it because they like it? Why do painters paint? Why do scientists science? Why do teachers teach? You're making it deep when it's really not.
@seanmobley2610 are you an actor?
1:20 is an actual jump scare
Ikrr 😂😂
hahaha 😂😂😂
15:29, a ghost of a smile crossed his face when he heard that Brokeback Mountain was his favourite place. But there is no mood for even 1 second of happiness, so the smile is almost imperceptible.
I feel like Anne played it like she actually knew who Ennis was to Jack but still didn't want to believe it or ever acknowledge it.
this. anne's character seemed to tell me she had always suspected and now it is confirmed. but still too ashamed, even for her husband. to acknowledge it.
Heath's profile shot was impactful because it highlights the position / angle of his face which went from a bit upward (resolute) at the start to downcast at the end. Great analysis... there really is a bit of "magic" that makes the difference. The director and cinematographer also contributed a lot to these Oscar winning performances.
Long story short: Anne killed it big time. Shoulda been nominated.
Actually brought me to tears. Never seen this movie, did not expect that. The professionals' version was quite good and moving. But Anne made me cry. Heath almost got me too.
@coneil72this movie is worth watching. Absolute masterpiece.
@coneil72 what ever you feel about 2 men together, it's ultimately a movie about longing, loneliness, and loss. it's well worth the watch but it's heartbreaking. the short story it's based on is also worth reading.
She did, Michelle Williams also killed and should have won
Hathaway nailed it because she knew Ennis must have been one of Jack’s many lovers. Hence the anger, pain and rote recitation of the “accident.” Ledger’s performance was transcendent.
Amateurs seem to like to over-emote. The best actors are much more subtle and let the expressions come out unconsciously. If it's real in your head, it's much more likely to seem real to others watching you.
Lol why I thought of Phil n Gloria acting as extras for a local commercial 😅
It’s not just amateurs. I live in NYC and regularly attend a program called “Selected Shorts” where well known actors (Kevin Kline, Parker Posey, Stephen Colbert, Jane Kaczmarek, Sam Underwood…) read classic short stories out loud. The problem is that so many of the actors “perform” the story (which is how the events are described).
Sometimes you get an actor who understands that these are iconic stories that have stood the test of time and made lasting impacts on their own, by being read, not performed. These stories don’t need any help. The actors who get it deliver the story with subtlety, in a way that doesn’t get between the reader and the author.
Unfortunately, most of the actors make the performance about themselves, rather than the story. They ham it up, even nuanced humor is performed like slapstick, their grimaces and gesticulations make it hard to focus on the story. Those performances are so irritating. They show why it often takes a great director to get a great performance from an actor.
@maargenbx1454 Love your post. Also yes, of course a great directors will give you the right directions and clues.
All the actors were awesome for showing us how to deeply appreciate the craft. It’s brave, thank you all ❤️
That first lady was the best! You know that she already knocked off two husbands and a p*mp and still managed to summon something just under an icy demeanor.
Who knew that just basic enunciation was a big part of the craft? I can't even really understand a word that is said by anyone until we get to the "professional" level.
In the book, Ennis never meets Jack’s wife. Their only connection was this single phone call.
Ennis didn’t make the phone call for her sake, unlike a typical condolence call. He made it for his own sake to find out
whether Jack had ghosted him.
The double entendre that makes the scene so moving is that both parties know that Jack wasn’t killed by a tire that accidentally blew up.
She knew that her husband was gay, but it was not spoken of in her family and social circles. She also had to protect the social standing of her and Jack’s children.
She was 100% sure that that’s why Jack was killed because he was beaten to death by people who “knew.”
But when she spoke to Ennis on the phone, it was the very first time she connected the dots that her husband was in love with this very man she was now speaking to, and it became very personal for her in that moment.
The key driver in the scene is that the power lies with her. She has to decide in that moment how compassionate she wants, to be towards Ennis. She ends up splitting 50-50. She gives him a bone by telling him that his folks had his ashes and where he wanted them scattered. But she cannot be compassionate enough to let him know that she doesn’t resent him for what happened.
I remember seeing a behind the scenes of this scene and Ang Lee had Anne do it two different ways one cold and one compassionate and then used both takes to create the performance he wanted.
You put that so well
I’d always thought that she caused his death based on that scene- like she had called her father who then had him k*lled.
Yes, glad to see someone finally agreeing with me. People always say she got him killed, but I believe that she has learned this version of the story just because of keeping face and being the good wife and mother. Maybe her life wasn’t what she wanted with him, but at that time, people just put their feelings on the backseat and did what was expected of them. In no way would she ever reveal to her children or suggest so that their dad was gay. Keeping those things isn’t hate towards Jack or show that she was in it. It was just a thing she feared what would happen and it did. She now had to live with it for the rest of her life. She’s tired of telling that story to everyone, that’s why she seems so angry. Of course she is also angry towards Jack (for getting himself killed) and the fate she has now to go through, but I don’t think it means that SHE had anything to do with the killing.
Every one always says he got beaten to death… as it is, if you look at the movie and follow what happens, it’s very likely true about the wheel rim. Jack at that point had no need to be out galavanting around trolling for trade, he was FINALLY happy with the man he met at Lureen’s school reunion, David Harbour. He was planning a life with him, a committed life, one that he wanted with Ennis. And Lureen had no need to have him killed, he was the one keeping her in the life she was accustomed to, which by all indications throughout the latter half of the film is all she really cared about. Did she love Jack, yes! Absolutely! Was she IN LOVE with Jack, not probably! She knew of his sexuality! And she protected it and encouraged it! She even tells him he really needed to have his “Fishing” buddy come down to Texas instead of Jack always going to see him! Not come down to FISH, to come down ro spend time with Jack!! The idea that Jack was brutalized was a fearful and crippling projection of ENNIS! It was, after what he saw his father and his friends do, something he was deathly afraid of happening to him and Jack, being exposed and seen and eliminated for such! There was and is no evidence, except the fevered imaginings of Ennis to support the idea Jack was murdered. And at that point, talking to the man who was her essential competition and rival, had Jack been murdered, there would have been no reason for her to lie or sugar coat it.
That´s why it´s important to do research on your character. Heath´s character was a homosexual cowboy raised in a very conservative and traditional environment. And was extremely self concious and scared of the consequences of him being that. Everybody focused on the words and how to react to them (understandibly, maybe they didn´t have a background). Heath was who he was despite of what he was hearing. He hardly showed his feelings to Jack. He wasn´t going to show his feelings to Jack´s wife. That´s what makes this a great performance, above all, he was a cowboy.
7:17 pretending to hold a phone instead of just holding an actual phone has to be the goofiest thing I’ve ever seen lol I’m sorry but that instantly took me out of the believability of the scene. He’s talking into his closed fist? 😂
Right?! At least put in an earpiece... even if it isn't historically accurate to the scene
Or like a remote control or SOMEthing! Hahaha 🤦🏼♀️🙄🤦🏼♀️🫤🤦🏼♀️
He could’ve just used a cell phone 😂 better than his fist
@Joyjoyjoy4 His phone is recording him! He can't use it.
Ok, I'm sorry mr prop (?)
Queue: cardi b what was the reason meme 😂
Reminder. They do take after take after take after take after take. Not one shot and pack up and everyone go home. Then before that they audition.
The fact that both these characters lost someone so close to them.. You could really tell both sides of the story just from this scene.
Annie is finally getting the credit she deserves
I think a lot of what makes a good actor is a sense of musicality. You can hear it in the way the lines are delivered: the pauses, the inflections, the speed.
Yeah, the voice is super important
Good point.
That's interesting because as a musician, I find it important to feel like I'm talking when I'm playing music!
As a linguist, THIS EXACTLY! This tells SO MUCH about a person, and barely anyone notices it consciously but you definitively notice it unconsciously and judge it by it.
11:53 I actually forgot that the wife puts the pieces about the Mountain together on the phone. About what happened. I forgot until the third woman acted it out! She nailed it. I could read it in her face.
Именно, что сыграла, а не прожила. Очень старательно и искусственно.
was not a fan of the professional student woman. The closet to Anne's performance was the intermediate student woman, but she was still off by a country mile. made me really appreciate the skill of Anne and other super talented actors.
@jessicaT12345I agree. I was unfamiliar with the scene to begin with, but I think that the intermediate student was by far more natural in her choices than the professional was playing the same part. In fact, I didn't enjoy the professional's interpretation at all.
I don't know how this ended up in my algorithm but I'm not complaining. I started watching it with the intention of "just checking it out" and ended up subscribing 😂
What's amazing about Anne and Heath is their CHARACTERS are both performing for each other, and it's in the cracks in their performances that you see their real feelings. Anne's character is pretending Jack's death is an accident instead of a hate crime, and she's pretending she doesn't know the man she's talking to isn't the love of her husband's life. You can see tidal waves of contempt and occasional ripples of passion breaking the surface of this pretense. Heath's character has spent his life pretending he doesn't feel anything at all, so even the tiniest twitch of the eye or tug at the corner of his mouth says volumes.
I LOVE HOW ANNE'S EYES BEGAN TO MIST UP, SHOWING A NEW AND MORE HONEST EMOTION WHICH SHE WORKS TO SUPPRESS.
Not an actor, but I really enjoyed this mini-class in acting progressions! Very insightful! Would like to watch more of these. Broken legs to everyone auditioning this weekend!
Yay! Our goal is for this to be entertaining to non actors as well as actors. We have two other versions of this video on the channel.
This is really great for movie buffs for sure! The art of great theatre above & beyond stupid fluff
Broken legs.. haha
Same
Jack’s wife knew exactly how he died, and might have suspected why he died. She was too embarrassed to tell anyone how, or why he died.
I definitely didn't think the amateurs were better than the intermediates.
definitely not.
In the moment she realized it was a real place, you could see flooding into her heart this sense of how she longed to be/create the place where he was happy, and share that place with him. Her realizing over that call that the place was not made up made her realize that their disconnect as a couple was real too; there being a real happy place cemented for her the fact that she was not a part of it.
You can see the wounds of each of the characters coming up here. The character won't try to show their wound, it surfaces in spite of them. So what you see is them trying to understand, or to conceal, and then you see them getting it, or failing to. It's wrong to say you don't try in acting, as some people say. You just make sure you're trying at the right thing, a thing that connects to the heart of the character, their wants and fears. Lose yourself in the right intention and the audience will infer the rest.
It's a tragic story ... why Ennis's wife had to leave him, if she did have to. You are much more positive about Jack's wife. Watching this brings back to me my takes on the scene, that Jack wasn't killed by a tire blowing up, and she knew it, might even have been told it was going to happen, and that she knew full well, not even so much that Brokeback Mountain wasn't a fantasy, but exactly who Ennis was. I would have to rewatch the movie, but you are very generous toward her! But, yes, you can see the changes of heart that each experiences for sure. When you said, "Lose yourself in the right intention and the audience will infer the rest": that is brilliant advice.
@olivemankiewicz2710 Thank you! And absolutely, there is so much subtext and subtlety in this film... each time I see it I notice something new. I hope this vid inspired a rewatch for you!
When I first watched this scene, Hathaway’s acting gave me the feeling that Jack was caught/ambushed and killed because of some meetup gone wrong and that she knew that but because of the times and to protect her dignity and her kids, and even in small part out of the love that she once felt for Jack, she had to play along like it was some car accident. But you can tell she knew that Jack and Heath’s character had something for a long time. You can feel it through the screen, her scorn woman feelings being repressed as she’s talking to the “other woman” but trying to be civil. In a contradictory way you can also tell she delivers the news with slight glee that she knows Heath’s character will be devastated by hearing the details; and likes that she gets to deliver that dagger, as she’d been silently hurting all those years by the affair she’d known had been happening behind close doors.
I am no Anne Hathaway fan but she really did an amazing job with this scene. It’s so complicated/complex. Hats off (although ironically she should have a hat on because that dam fake blonde wig is so distracting) 🤦🏻♂️hair and make up.
You can clearly see how Ennis was grabbing the phone with his whole life. It was like for a moment his soul just flew out of the body. It was the little tremor, the tight clutching on the phone, the need to look away (like he was shying away from the camera) but at the same time he can't let the phone go, because is the symbol of the last connection with Jack... it's everything so subtle but so precise and visceral. I mean, maybe it's just me but in the same moment the call was done I felt cold, which is crazy since he is still in a sunny day in an ideal heat season.
Let’s not forget the work of the editor. They can lift a performance and make an actor with less than desirable skills and talent appear to be a “Pro.”
one thing i frequently notice about beginner actors and even some pros is excessive blinking and head movement. the actor knows that they have to be emotive and engaging but they subconsciously default to these big obvious tells that the audience reads as inauthentic. it might not even be conscious, but the pros are more subtle. they adjust their gaze, maybe lightly flare their nostrils, a slight twitch of the lip, a small head tilt, a small change in the rhythm and intonation of the delivery. they will still utilize big dramatic movements, but when they do it's much more impactful.
The initial levels were interesting to learn about. The Oscar level I kept forgetting they were acting.
My take on Anne Hathaway's performance in this scene is that she nails the character of Lureen. You have to see the marriage from Lureen's point of view: by the time he died, Jack had been going on a lot of solo excursions through the years. With Ennis, but also by himself to Mexico, which he confesses to Ennis one of their times together. She knew her marriage wasn't doing great, but he was alright in the family business and a good father to their child. So when Ennis calls, she's less heartbroken to me than annoyed at having to deal with things left behind by Jack once again. I mean, Lureen the character could have left the details of Jack's death out, but she chose to include them, and I feel like she was a bit spiteful doing that and it comes through in Hathaway's performance.
She for sure told him the details to hurt him
@Natyourpl8or to make him share some of her pain. Like “you’re not going to get to just have rainbows and fond memories, you’re going to share this shocking trauma too”
What odd takes.
She talked to this man who she realises was a love of her husband's *because* she understands that, for Ennis, it is important for him to know.
@Smurfette-v9lyes and. That’s what made the scene dynamic. There’s a lot going on.
Wow makes me really appreciate great actors! Kinda like seeing an olympic runner next to a hobby runner 😂
It is fascinating how the Oscar winners portray a full character, rather than just communicating the emotions the scene demands. I immediately got a sense of the character Anne played through her demeanour and the accent she used. Same with the character Heath played; one gets a sense who he is outside that particular scenario. There was a bit of that character-capturing energy with the pros, but not as powerful and not as naturally.
Ledgers reaction is very fitting because his character was the more serious, less playful, more closeted one of the two. He’s fighting his feelings still in the closet having to find out how his lover died from his spouse. All that is conveyed perfectly.
Winning an Oscar has nothing to do with being the best actor but how you're connected.
Can’t wait to attend acting school and learn the industry
Keep following the love of it and the business will follow!
AI is ending the industry and acting, unfortunately.
@edwardramirez8589not really.
@edwardramirez8589ai will definitely have a role in the industry but I don’t think ai can recreate the human emotions.
@Kanne.yet. Have you seen how fast it’s learning? It’s a matter of months before it can.
The thing I find captivating with Heath's acting was we literally see him try to make himself smaller a bit because he feels vulnerable and he's trying to feel safe by bundling himself up to something more "solid". We also see the layers wherein he doesnt try to take up too much of Anne's time because he can sense the hostility. My mother who worked call center says you can sense how someone feels really just from the voice. The acting and scene implies Anne's character knows who he really is and what he and Jack had. And the vindictive slam also adds a layer of "envy" since she knew Jack loved Ennis more than her and she's also hurt by it
1:39 I'm surprised you are not talking about Dr. Paul Eckman's over 50+ years of work on micro Expressions.... He is most famous for his work on "Lie to Me" TV show and "Inside Out" Disney movies.
Lie to me, thank you! I'll check him out, what a great tv show.
18:15 that was a Man of that era. The Love that could not be public. One of the most moving Movies I ever had the Honour of knowing
What movie is it?
@PigeonIsCute Brokeback Mountain. I'll watch it again one day
It’s important to note that Anne did 2 takes of this scene, one was she knew about their relationship and one didn’t. Both takes made it to the film.
Heath seemed to be choking back his emotions. Pushing them down so he wouldn't break down. I felt his character spent his life holding back his real feelings and thus, his real sense of self. Heath nailed it!!!
Awwwww...I used to babysit Logan when he was a baby. I'm so amazingly proud of him and all of his accomplishments. Great observations (from Tristan) and great work from all of the actors.
Thanks to all of the actors in this series!
This video made me watch the movie.
I never cared about it before.
But the actual scene from it was so intense even in your cut that I had to watch it.
And this ending deserved all the awards.
These actors make you crack up and sob like a baby
Yeah. Makes me want to watch it again too. I don't think I every saw the whole thing. I was too afraid of it being sad.
My brother just passed and carried that same stoic masculinity yet vulnerability Heath displays. Im an actor and miss his terribly. This video inexplicably made me cry. ❤
I was honestly expecting Heath Ledger's scene to be way more expressive and "out there" but it's so interesting to see that that wasn't the case! I guess that it's better to connect to those feelings rather than to trying to sell them too much. Fascinating and thanks for this analysis Tristan, I'm loving this format so keep it up!
Did you see the movie? His restraint matches the characterization I think.
yes, but that was the way Ennis was acting the whole movie, had problems with being open with his feelings and stuff, but even tho he didnt react intensively, the scene was heartbreaking
YEAH, his character the entire film is super repressed and restrained. You can always see his internal conflict
Heath’s version of Ennis is so utterly lacking in outward expression that you can only tell how subtly he is verging on breaking down by how much more he tightens up as the conversation goes on. He’s almost looking for a connection with this woman he’s been cuckolding and with whom he has never spoken. When it’s clear neither will yield, they both retreat to their respective emotional prisons, leaving everything unsaid but also completely clear to each other. The devastation of the final scene is all the more shattering to the audience when we see Ennis finally show, privately, some semblance of emotion when we see him hug the shirt that has reversed placement on the hanger, and the utterly laconic Ennis still only able to mutter tearfully, “Jack, I swear…”, leaving all of us to wonder what exactly he is swearing to.
What do you mean? His eye told me everything!
I loved Michelle Williams but honestly, the supporting performance of that film goes to Anne Hathaway in that scene. It’s not nearly as showy, but just like with Heath Ledger, the degree of difficulty and her successful landing an emotional gut punch with such little dialogue was higher than her counterpart’s. The challenge that even the pros had with this scene should be absolute evidence of why this scene is the standout of the film (in one filled with many of those moments).
It would be fun to let non-actors have a go in a mini-competition as a Wild Card. Folks who are not pursuing acting, but are curious about if they have the chops for it.
Very true, even actors who “got the part” you see in a movie who are look like they are trying to act like they think someone would act instead of reacting as their character feels or thinks in the moment.
This was eye-opening! I was a creative director at various NY ad agencies, and part of the job was auditioning actors for our commercials. I'd take notes, basically dividing people into 3 columns: good/OK/not good. These sessions could take hours and often were a bit of a slog. But then, somebody would show up, do the same lines I'd heard a dozen times already, and it would just grab my attention and wake me up. It was kind of uncanny. I could feel it. Everybody could. But I've never been able to explain what those actors -- or any good actors -- actually did, technically, to elevate their performance. I've read and seen other materials about acting technique and theory, but at some point the explanations tend to stop at "you need to be truthful" or "honest", without explaining HOW that happens. This is the first time I've seen it articulated and demonstrated in a way that makes sense. Thanks!
I steal all notes from everyone. I love hearing repetition cause it helps me to remember
Great video! - Also, to be fair, the “Oscar Winners” have time to sit with the entire script (thus fully embodying the character), table and chemistry reads, on set dialect coaches, loads of feedback from the director and producers and hefty paychecks! So basically they have everything they need to give top tier, Oscar Worthy performances! TBH, of all the scenes, Nina was my favorite! 😊
Me too
@lilaschwarz1236 right? Like let’s not act like their opportunities and achievements were handed to them.
But sometines it is just that, being at the right place at the right time and who you know! Sorry but talent aint everything in the "business". There are a lot of VERY talented people who don't "Make it".
Nina was my fav too!!!
i don’t know how many people knows this but this scene was actually shot twice! once anne was told to act like she knew about her husband lover and the other one was shot like she had no idea. the final cut was made of both of these versions so we as viewers fell confused as if she knows or not. it sure is a great scene
I found it hard to evaluate this isolated scene for Heath because having seen the movie, I know the character that he had established the length of the movie. I didn’t see acting-I saw Ennis.
The greatness of Ann Hathaway here is that she somehow implies that Jack’s cause of death may not have happened the way she said.
It's the difference between someone trying, and someone actually, making you feel what they're saying.
I love this style of video showing the experience progressions. I'd love more just like it. Your channel is a great resource, Tristan.
I especially like what you said about how the pros can blend the natural and cinematic. My terms for those definitions are "artistic" (because I haven't found a more appropriate term) and "technical" respectively, and the biggest shift in my work was when I figured out how to blend them in a way that was truthful to myself. What was happening is my most truthful performances were too expressive in my face, because that's my natural state - I'm a very expressive person. The technical shift I had to make was to take all that expression and settle it behind my eyes (again, I don't know how to better explain that) and my work got so much better.
I just have a question about terminology. During the intermediate videos, you mention a shift in "intention". Can you define that for me in your words? I hear so many interchangeable phrases: objective, action, intention, goal, want, need, etc. I'd love to hear how you define intention.
Thanks man! Keep up the great content
So proud of all of these actors
I really hope you turn this into a regular series! Hearing all the notes and seeing the differences from beginner to pro of the same scene are so interesting! I don't even want to be an actor, but I'm HOOKED.
Would subscribe
Still one of the most brilliantly filmed scenes ever. Don't know if it was an acting or directing choice by the way that she goes from resentment to shared grief when she realizes that Ennis isn't just one of Jack's FWB lets say is devastating.
The movie scene is just so natural , less is more , FLAWLESS ACTING ❤❤❤❤
Anela had amazing trying not to cry acting! I always wondered why the same actors get all the big parts, this video goes some way to explaining it.
I always wondered if those little sounds from the actors were written in the script.
I audibly gasped when I saw you posted, your videos have really helped me so much with my perspective on my acting! And I’m aware you don’t allow teenagers in The Acting Lab, but just know that your channel makes me feel like I’m in it!!💗
Damn the 2 pros got me emotional😂
You can see the pent-up anger and the humiliation in the way she closes her tear-filled eyes and moistens her lips. And the soft sarcasm in her voice. Everything has a purpose. But a true actress lives the emotions inside. She doesn’t just pretend to project them.
The actress in the second/intermediate group is very good (ignoring the audio being slightly out of sync)
I thought so as well.
Omg, yay! Thank you! 🙏🏽☺️
i thought so too! especially since this role is such a unique situation it’s not an easy character to convey
@onellaforde4I agree, I loved your performance! 🙌
I thought she was even better than the professional lol
This is the most I've seen yet of Brokeback Mountain, but heard plenty! Congratulations again to my classmates for braving these scenes for the sake of this video!
It's one of the best movies of all time. I highly recommend it!! How Ang Lee directed it was phenomenal and the cast is just divine :)
If you get the opportunity, watch it, especially if you’re an actor. Even if you aren’t, it’s a great film, with some excellent performances from the cast.
🫶🏽
The last time I watched Brokeback, I started crying right at the start, and never stopped. By the end, I couldn't breathe. I don't know if I can ever watch it again.
I remember specifically the first time I saw this scene, there's a moment when Hathaway does this painful swallow, and that one gesture contained her whole marriage, her love that was dead for her husband, her sense of betrayal, and her disgust at them for being gay, but also her deep jealousy that they had something together that she never did.
I felt the same way when I watched “Saving Private Ryan.” it affected me profoundly, but I don’t think I can ever bring myself to watch it again.
@fleetskipper1810 I should really get around to watching that. I've never really been a war movie guy, but there are always exceptions.
@milou66Tom Hanks is spectacular, as are all the other actors. It’s based on a true story. As war stories go, it’s more focused on the human element.
bro those first few seconds of the guitar intro and i’m crying
I do cry kinda easily but in the professional one I did start to tear up
Your deconstructing videos are making me appreciate movies more and make me want to watch movies again.
noticed Anne's nails were not properly done. its giving I'm sad but I wont show it
from somebody who was in the industry and now on a performing arts center and has kids and film and TV this was absolutely stunning to watch both you, your actors and the analysis and of course, Heath and Anne. I wish it was more appropriate for my age group. I'll be looking for more on your channel. God bless.!
I don't know if I've ever seen a side-by-side comparison like this. It's so, so effective at making you appreciate what Ledger and Hathaway are doing (as well as the work of everyone else involved in putting the scene to film).
I think their performances are helped by the fact that they follow the others - that it primed me to be actively engaging with the emotion of the scene, since I had been doing my best to engage with the other actors' performances and really open myself up emotionally. Then that last performance came along and absolutely demolished me. It's that moment when Hathaway's character goes from suspecting the truth of what happened to knowing, when he tells here Brokeback is real. I immediately teared up, like a switch.
You touched on how the performance should shift as it goes on, but I think that particular moment deserves special attention. It's not *just* a shift in the performance. It's subtle, but it's so carefully set up and executed to line up perfectly with the tiniest break in the tension. A tension which could only ever build up because the two actors seem to be completely on the same page about the subtext, which is where all of the work is being done.
And that's not to discount what Ledger is doing. He's embodying the contradiction, the tension, of his need to tell her the truth against his inability to actually say it perfectly.
I love the cinematography, too. Of having Ledger's character so firmly grounded in the real world, despite the close-up, but having Hathaway's character just floating in a featureless void. Like nothing around her is real.
Honestly, just an excellent choice of a scene to do this with. I know next to nothing about acting or film making, but I feel like there's so much here I could just keep talking for hours
Acting looks so fun- I just don’t know where to get into it 🌟