Hollywood Domination Chapter 222: Hui Ying

"Daniel should have been stimulated by Jennifer." Just as Roger was breathing rapidly with excitement, Derek also pulled his beard thoughtfully, the slight pain made his thinking clearer, "There is no doubt that he Contributed a better performance than "There Will Be Blood", and dealing with this kind of forbearing character is the expertise of the experiential school..."

If it is said that in the processing of some iconic clips, the expression school's proper words and deeds will leave a deep impression on the audience, then the experience school will deal with the inner drama of the characters and bring the audience into the psychology of the people in the play. At one point, it has a unique advantage. In "Michael Clayton", Daniel showed his talent to the fullest, and even appeared in a silhouette. Before the focus of the lens was on him, he already exuded a unique The gloomy temperament: On the surface, this is a handsome and handsome uncle, wearing an expensive and close-fitting hand-tailored suit, which is a bit out of place with the dirty and cramped environment around him. There seems to be a habitual smile on the corner of his mouth, but , in his friendly expression, Michael naturally gave people the feeling of "preoccupied and restless", this kind of information was accurately conveyed to the hearts of the audience, without the slightest help of camera scheduling, it was all thanks to Daniel's superb acting skills, If in Karen's scene just now, Karen broke down very "relaxed", then here Michael collapsed very "closely", you can see his depression from the corners of his eyes and brows, and explain the reasons for his depression. Strong interest, but understand Michael's superficial innocence, for his age and occupation, Michael must be very smart.

"I've seen you." Someone approached Michael enthusiastically at the poker table, "We've played together a few times—you didn't recognize me, did you? I've lost a lot of weight since then."

A short conversation that explains Michael's background in previous restaurants. The acting skills of the supporting roles are also wonderful enough. In just a few sentences, the characteristics of which pot is not open and which pot is lifted, and the characteristics of sweeping other people's interest with great interest are clearly highlighted, and Michael's short answer and the subtleties of expression The accumulated unhappiness makes people feel that he is currently frustrated—Michael Clayton, who he plays, is also in a mid-life crisis, and the film critics can see this, but in these few dialogues Michael's heart knot and psychological state are expressed so richly, and Daniel's acting state is obviously very vigorous.

"Will There Will Be Blood" get Ottie this time, or "Michael Clayton"?" Derek had a flash in his mind: In "There Will Be Blood", Daniel played a normal person The final alienation, but in "Michael Clayton", his Michael brought the sadness of a small person, which was a breakthrough for him. Before this role, Daniel seemed to rarely play such a role close to life. His characters The last time there was also a halo of talent, or a tycoon, or a legend. The only time he played an ordinary person was in the adaptation of his idol Arthur Miller, and that movie was not very successful. From this point of view, Daniel has undoubtedly broken through himself, and his Michael has the power to move people's hearts. More importantly, Derek can feel that Daniel is in better condition when he plays Michael, that intangible and intangible His charm is even more exciting, and his acting state seems to have made a breakthrough under the stimulation of Jennifer, climbing up and reaching a new peak.

"Although the plot seems to be nothing new, it is difficult to ignite excitement, but the timeless performance of these two people has enough space for the audience to savor carefully. Now I only hope that the movie can be worthy of this Two actors..." He began to pull his beard again, "How will the director cut into the lives of these two people?"

For the countless film critics who have read the film, they have just seen the beginning, and they have grasped the director's intention: the theme of "Michael Clayton" is clearly stated in the opening monologue, whether it is Kay Lun's mental breakdown or Michael's own midlife crisis are actually just embellishments. In essence, this film is about the process of people being confused, suffering, extremely depressed, and even dehumanized in the company as the main body. Both u/north and law firms are, to some extent, symbols of this modern corporate system. Both Michael and Karen will feel pain in this torture, and the choices they face should also have a fateful contrast. It is very likely that in the final climax at the end of the film, the different choices of the two will lead to completely different results. But whether it is a tragedy or a happy ending, whether Michael's struggle (because he is the leading actor, it is speculated that he is the one who chooses the positive option) will succeed or fail, they cannot speculate.

After watching too many movies, this kind of routine can be guessed. In fact, if there is no routine, this movie must be a failure. After all, movies are the art of routines. A routine to move forward. Film critics will not feel disgusted or bored with the film itself because they have guessed the general plot trend. What they value more is whether the film has enough foreshadowing in the process of succession and transformation under the premise of "guessing the routine" , Questions, whether the technical movements of the crew and actors are in place, and whether they can always attract their attention. At least at the beginning, "Michael Clayton" did a good job. After a brief shot of Karen, the story returns to Michael's point of view. Consulting on the car accident that happened just now, and having a conflict with the client, stopped the car on the way home, trekked up the mountain to enjoy the scenery, during which his car suddenly blew up by itself - this plot explained Michael's professional background: working for the firm Lawyer who does the dirty work, deals with dirty* clients, and isn't doing a great job at the moment. And there is another quite beautiful long shot, which created a scene that deeply touched Michael. He parked his car and went up the mountain to pursue the beautiful scenery. It is even difficult to understand whether this passage is Michael’s hallucination or real, which also foreshadows the following, and the shot of the vehicle blowing up clearly conveys this message: after his friends, Michael seems to be It was included in the scope of extermination, and, if there is no accident, these two people should be killed by Karen.

Whether it is the hidden contempt, helplessness and exhaustion when negotiating with customers, or the tired and careless expression when returning home in the early morning, and the deeply touched and dreamlike feeling when seeing the beautiful scenery of the mountains and fields in the early morning, it seems to be enlightened. The expression of redemption...Daniel is undoubtedly in good condition. This scene is not promoted by the plot like a commercial movie. The plot itself can be said to have no sense of tension. It is all driven by Daniel's performance, and the film critics are not at all tired of the show. It feels like, on the contrary, I was completely brought into the play by Daniel's performance, and I felt the rich charm of Michael's inner world.

"It seems that Jennifer really stimulated him into the state." Derek smiled happily, "Where is Jennifer? The opening part is not her flash in the pan. But then again, This girl's acting skills are really unconstrained, unlike Daniel's, she seems to be more casual, without her own system..."

Roger wasn't the only one who noticed Jennifer's erratic acting style. Not many people noticed before when Jennifer was not so famous, but now, she has achieved worldwide success. It also ushered in world-class doubts and attention, and many discussion articles about her acting skills were published on Internet blogs and even newspaper columns-like Daniel Day-Lewis' acting skills, from growth to maturity. Follow, how to find a new direction, how to exercise step by step, however, Jennifer's performance seems to be as she pleases, thinking that every performance is one performance, and her performances are all at the level of genius. , but once you start to analyze the acting skills, it is difficult for anyone to find the direction, because the similarities are almost negligible-her character has very few personal characteristics, and it can be said that there is no brand of Jennifer herself. It is an expression of a person's acting skills that are not fully mature.

"Couldn't it be said that when she reaches maturity, her acting skills will be even more shocking than it is now..." A ridiculous thought came to Derek's mind. He smiled and shook his head, not letting himself think about it any more, but He refocused on the plot, and inertially analyzed the director's intentions in this shot and that shot.

After the initial flashback climax, the plot returns to the beginning of the story. Michael went to pick up his children from his ex-wife, went to a restaurant to deal with auction matters, learned that his finances were tight, and the law firm he worked for An acquisition and merger is about to happen. People are talking about the profits brought by the u/north case, and Arthur, a senior lawyer who handled the matter in Wisconsin, had a mental breakdown a few years ago. The intrigue of the law firm is slightly exposed At the beginning, the female lawyer bad-mouthed Michael and Arthur with her colleagues, but she casually inquired about the merger of the law firm in front of Michael, and Michael was busy dealing with the congressmen and his strippers...

While Michael was busy with daily affairs, Karen was also heading towards the pinnacle of her life. The director used a comparison method to film Karen's rehearsal process before the promotion interview. In the details of this comparison, he Continuing to subdivide the shots for comparison, when Karen is in her house, she floats around like a ghost, and the iron-gray sky makes her pale and old skin, which is in stark contrast to the actor's usual glamorous image , even at this moment, the audience completely forgot about the actor's daily life, but immersed themselves in Karen's despair, and Michael's introverted expression of his own despair is in contrast to Karen's despair, which is like a tide, turbulent Leaping forward, eroding the boundaries of her daily life, wandering around the house naked, while rehearsing her speech lines while getting dressed, she is like a patient suffering from some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder, always in those similar meanings, outsiders He lingered and hesitated on words that were completely indistinguishable from each other, and kept changing his words to deny his own thoughts. Both she and Michael are being oppressed by their own work... So far, the director has not used external clues such as lines and props to express his intention, but the excellent performances of the actors and the straightforward narrative, the seemingly ordinary background explanation, but It has already allowed the audience to imagine the many hidden contradictions in their lives, and all the things they have experienced to this point. They have recognized, recognized, and understood these two painful protagonists from the bottom of their hearts.

"This is just..."

Alan Morrison couldn't speak, he felt a strong sense of suffocation, and also, just like watching Roxy played by Jennifer Jefferson under the stage back then : Just as it is impossible for a talented actor like Roxy to be born without warning, it is impossible for a talented actress to completely change her acting suddenly and contribute such a mature Karen Crowder! This... this is totally unreasonable!

He did not deny the possibility of geniuses, but the thickness of Karen's character, the authenticity of the emotions she expressed, and the shock of the character itself completely made Alan breathless. Behind the shock, reason is still constantly asking questions loudly: How is this possible? The performance must come from the accumulation and refinement of reality. What Jennifer is expressing now is a kind of emotion that belongs to middle-aged people, or people with rich experience. As a top actor in the Hollywood pyramid, as a 25-year-old who won two Oscars How could she feel such emotions deeply? It doesn't make sense at all!

But, reasonable or not, Jennifer's performance is here, and her Karen reveals so bloodily how fragile the hearts of successful people in the usual sense of society are, and how much they hide behind the glossy masks. With a scarred and true face, she showed the damage to her own humanity after the high-level executives issued anti-human orders in those multinational companies that "do nothing evil"-this is really weird, according to her education, she should not have this aspect The knowledge reserves of multinational corporations, the things that multinational corporations do, will make ordinary people shudder: In order to sell arms to export wars, in order to obtain oil, 'hire' politicians to run for the presidency, and then use political power for personal gain, in order to obtain financial profits, manipulate small countries The political situation, in order to create an image, while claiming to support environmental protection, at the same time supporting sweatshops... The opening monologue and the subject matter of the movie all have certain requirements on the knowledge and experience of movie audiences. If they don’t understand the tradition of these big companies doing evil, It is very difficult to understand the theme of "Michael Clayton" and not feel touched. With Jennifer's age and education background, she should not be touched by this theme, let alone interested in understanding it. How could she Possibly——

Compared with the unrestrained and desperate performances in private, Karen's performance in the interview is also remarkable: she is skilled in bureaucracy, avoids questions, and conceals her distraction. When she came to report an urgent matter, her hand under the table clenched into a fist, and her fingernails pierced into the palm, bringing blood beads...Karen was extremely afraid of her own loss, and at the same time paid attention to this situation morbidly. She was promoted again, and the sudden problems with the u/north herbicide lawsuit left her promotion hanging in the balance again.

The u/north herbicide litigation began 6 years ago when the head of the legal department chose Kenner, Bach & Ledion LLP to represent them. 6 years later, the litigation appears to be It's coming to an end, and when the company's winning ticket is in hand, attorney Arthur Edens suddenly has a manic attack, runs naked in a public parking lot, and even tries to attack the police who arrested him, making the whole case clouded again. And the supervisor at the time, now the new CEO of the group, is also Karen's mentor and Boledan Jeffery, who admired each other with her just a moment ago, with a look of affection between teachers and students, but now it is the same Without blinking, he put the responsibility of this case on Karen, and got angry with her, which meant that Karen would take the blame.

Faced with injustice in the workplace, Karen had no choice. She came to Wisconsin under pressure. At the same time, in order to wipe Arthur's ass, the firm also sent Michael. When the two met for the first time in a cafe There were sparks - it wasn't that there was any sexual attraction between them, it was two equally desperate people tormenting each other, Karen pouring her stress out on Michael, and Michael felt it. Her pressure was unceremoniously returned.

Under the usual dialogue, these two wonderful characters who retracted and released silently faced each other through their eyes and body language. Karen's arrogance and hidden contempt irritated Michael. I also guessed why Karen despised him so much: Michael had been working in the firm for 17 years, but he hadn't even been a junior partner. According to the secular rules, there was no doubt that he was a loser.

For Michael, Karen's contempt is fully visible to him. The director uses several close-up shots and several dimmings of Daniel's deep eyes to point out this information, allowing the audience to understand——Karen's contempt It was another blow for Michael, who was used to a life full of setbacks and failures, but still didn't like to admit that he was a failure.

Carrying a document that could turn the case around, Arthur disappears without a trace. Karen illegally obtained his briefcase and found a copy of the document. It can prove that u/notrh knew the carcinogenicity of herbicides, but chose to bury the research results because of its popularity. Once Arthur publishes this document, the lawsuit will undoubtedly lose, and u/north will also face a The catastrophe, and Dan Jeffery, who signed this document, is also her backer, and may even go to jail.

Dan's downfall also meant the end of Karen's career. Panicked, she ushered in a nervous breakdown in silence. Then he turned on the phone, dialed a phone number, and in a calm tone ordered the private investigators who specialize in dirty work to start dealing with the matter, the audience knew in their hearts: Karen's depravity had begun.

The movie does not obsess too much about Karen's economic situation, nor does it find any reason for her depravity. She is about to be eaten alive by work, but it is herself who forces her to continue sacrificing her humanity.

During Karen's fall, Michael's awakening also happened as expected. Michael was gradually touched in the process of searching for Arthur. Arthur's epiphany-like transformation made him face his true self: He's a loser, gambling, in debt, his family is gone, his life is forever falling apart, and his dreams are getting further and further away. Michael was once an ideal prosecutor, and in the process of chasing fame and fortune, he ruined his life and still got nothing. Now he must find Arthur, bring him back under control, and appease u/north, so that The boss of the firm, the sophisticated Barty Maher, would only lend him $80,000 to let him survive the current debt crisis-although the $80,000 was like a drop in the bucket to Maher, he was still stingy and refused to take it easy. Give it, and use it as an excuse to urge Michael to work hard, as a whip to beat Michael.

Faced with the ruthless exploitation of his boss, Karen chose not to feel it, while Michael felt humiliated and angry. He wavered between Arthur and everything about himself: he had a big family, an ex-wife and a son, a A ruthless gang boss creditor who will turn his face if he fails to collect debts when they are due. But Arthur was his best friend, and what he was saying furiously and poetically was exactly what Michael had been obsessed with fighting for, what he still believed in when he graduated from law school: human conscience, justice and ideals.

"I thought the day you came out of law school, you left DA, you broke your conscience for the **** student loans, and stood in front of the law firm, you just accepted it," he poignantly To Arthur, and Arthur was eager to defend, "No, God no, Michael, you know the difference, when you signed that contract you never knew what you were going to—"

"Hush!" Michael suddenly pressed his mouth and pressed him to the floor. There were dull footsteps outside the locked door, and Arthur mouthed silently, "Are they holding guns?" ?”

Michael shook his head and led Arthur out of the attic through the back door, but they didn't go downstairs immediately, Michael picked the lock, and they hid in the empty neighbor's house.

"Here it is, Tony's specialty, convincing action scenes." Kenneth Turan nodded with satisfaction, "It's a good adjustment, of course, it's not as vulgar as big fights, but it helps create a tense atmosphere. Very helpful."

Based on the accumulated experience of dealing with dirty work many times, Michael realized that someone had followed Arthur. He guessed that these people belonged to u/north, and he also understood that Arthur was in deep crisis at this time. Reassuring him of his worries time and time again, spying on Arthur's whereabouts, Michael was skeptical and had some hope in Batty's conscience, but he had already built up his vigilance and never mentioned Arthur's whereabouts.

At this moment, Arthur began to contact the plaintiff, and Karen broke down again. She even tried to draw a knife to hurt herself. When the tip of the knife sank into her skin, her tears rolled to the wound. It makes the blood more like a drop of suspended liquid. In the cold lens, it even makes people feel aesthetically awkward and dirty...

"Okay." When the camera turned, the wound became a small Band-Aid. Karen only seemed a little panicked and hasty, but the meaning was firm enough.

"Okay...is it ok for you to understand, or is it ok for us to continue?" Her intention of vague instructions failed, and the detective asked cautiously, not giving her a chance to shirk responsibility.

In the howling cold wind, Karen's fingers touched the Band-Aid, and her skin sank slightly. She no longer trembled from the cold, but looked back at the other party as calmly as a pool of stagnant water, her tone was amazingly calm, "ok , let's do it."

"It's amazing!" Kenneth couldn't help but squeezed his hand hard, he leaned forward, his eyes flicked across the big screen, not wanting to miss a single detail, "Very good script, very good The acting, it's a real masterpiece! Karen, no, Jennifer delivered exactly what the director intended, Karen killed herself the first time she gave the order to kill, the next should be Michael through Arthur's death Reborn...elegant and brilliantly rendered! This movie won't give the mass audience a conventional thrill, but for those who know the taste, it's a must-see classic!"

Although Michael's transformation had been expected, after Arthur's death, Michael understood Batty's ruthlessness and u/north's madness through the reflection of all living beings reflected in this incident, and saw the human nature deep in his heart that had not yet been wiped out When the sparks sparked, Kenneth still couldn’t help but applaud Daniel’s delicate and exquisite performance: As usual, there are no lines to point out these, and it all depends on Daniel’s expression to explain the deep conflict drama, but Daniel relies on his acting skills to make Michael’s changes The explanation was clear and logical. When he contacted the plaintiff in the lawsuit, he finally confirmed that Arthur's death was definitely related to u/north. When he came to Arthur's residence at the risk of losing his job, family, residence and everything , when he mustered up the courage to take away the hidden document, his expression completely showed Michael's struggle——

In the end, Michael got the original, but a phone call from his son made him give up the idea. The debtor had already approached his son and talked to him intimately. The boss asked for more than 80,000 yuan and there was no way out. The pressure of reality was so real and heavy. Michael compromised again. He took 80,000 US dollars, signed an additional eight-year contract, and gave up his request to return to the litigation team. Overwhelmed once again by the boss Batty with naked bullying, he bowed his head: Batty didn't force him to do anything, he did it completely voluntarily for $80,000, for any successful lawyer his age The 80,000 dollars he dismissed betrayed his dignity.

Just when Michael paid off the debt and accepted the mercy from the debtor—if it wasn’t for the lack of choice, the debtor didn’t want to go to his family, he seemed to be more human than Michael—and used the rest When some of the cash he collected went to the casino to gamble, private detectives also used various practical means to find his head, and confirmed that the original missing document was in Michael's hands. This time, Karen only struggled a little, and gave the order to kill on the phone. The story returned to the scene at the beginning of the film. After Karen finished making the phone call in the bathroom, she sat on the toilet seat and collapsed quietly. When a few footsteps were heard by chance, she woke up suddenly, quickly armed herself, stood up as if nothing had happened, and walked out of the closed compartment...

The story completely ends here and reaches its climax. When Michael walked out of the casino, two private detectives raced against time to install an explosive device in Michael's car, as if they were playing a spy movie. The plot design can't help but make the audience feel the grim black humor: here, the "last minute" principle is staged by the villain, while the real hero is waiting to be bombed in ignorance.

After more than an hour of the story, the camera returned to the scene where Michael was driving on the early morning mountain road at the beginning, but this time, the audience was no longer puzzled by his sudden stop: the high hills On the board, three horses are grazing leisurely. This is a scene described in a book that the dead Arthur and Michael's beloved son are reading. Both Arthur and his son are very fond of him Repeatedly mentioned, this novel is loved by a back-to-basics old lawyer who has woken up from the vanity, and a pure and innocent soul with goodwill and expectations for the world-the iconic image that represents it, at this moment Emerging quietly, both real and illusory, like Michael's hallucination, a reflection of his inner world, or a revelation from God, the arrangement of fate.

"Michael finally found himself..." A faint smile appeared on Roger's face. He watched as Michael frantically pulled off his watch, took out his mobile phone and threw it into the car—these are easy-to-install trackers. He took away the briefcase from the car that was lucky enough not to be blown up (it contained the key original documents), "Through a suspended animation, we ushered in a chance of rebirth...an exquisite and philosophical structure... …The film lived up to the performances of both actors, and Tony delivered a very good answer. However, according to the structure of the film, there will definitely be a confrontation between Michael and Karen at the end, and this will also be their second meeting , if handled well, this will be the climax of the whole film, and also the climax of the performances of the two actors, and it will be their famous performance segment..."

Compared with the excitement at the beginning, after enjoying it for more than an hour, the old man's mood is no longer so excited, just like an old gourmet who just had a big meal and is waiting for dessert to arrive, he leisurely Waiting patiently for the arrival of the next segment, the worry at the beginning no longer exists, he thought with confidence, "There is no question of who is pressing the show, the two of them are like two pianos, forming the most beautiful resonance ...Breaking the original boundaries... She and Daniel are a perfect match in performance, this is definitely a combination of 11>2, as long as the director is not stupid, as long as the last paragraph can have an explosive ending..."

He thought affirmatively and assertively: "Then the 2008 Oscars will be dominated by "Michael Clayton"!"