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De Niro - Past it?
Jim_McIntosh
Posts: 5,866 Forum Member
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http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/oct/28/robert-de-niro-the-family
I was reading the Johnny Depp thread about him not making any decent films recently and thought that Robert de Niro is a great, respected actor who I couldn't remember playing a major part in any films that I thought were particularly great since about the mid '90s. Has he lost his touch or has he just started doing different types of roles that I don't appreciate? I just feel as if he is going through the motions and his characters have lost all the magnetism and menace that his earlier roles had. Obviously he plays a lot more light roles these days in movies like Meet The Fockers.
If I'm judging him harshly then it's only because he set the bar so high earlier in his career.
Filmography
So many great films all through the 70s, 80s and up to about '98 then nothing much to write home about. Has he got a great performance left in him?
I was reading the Johnny Depp thread about him not making any decent films recently and thought that Robert de Niro is a great, respected actor who I couldn't remember playing a major part in any films that I thought were particularly great since about the mid '90s. Has he lost his touch or has he just started doing different types of roles that I don't appreciate? I just feel as if he is going through the motions and his characters have lost all the magnetism and menace that his earlier roles had. Obviously he plays a lot more light roles these days in movies like Meet The Fockers.
If I'm judging him harshly then it's only because he set the bar so high earlier in his career.
Filmography
So many great films all through the 70s, 80s and up to about '98 then nothing much to write home about. Has he got a great performance left in him?
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IMO, his last interesting performance is in Being Flynn, an indie film with Paul Dano. Still not up to his old standards, though. Probably unfair as he's had a long career with a wide range of diverse roles, which may result with us feeling we've seen it all before.
Also Depp has made some great films not so long ago. Public Enemies is one.
I agree. I thought he was great in the Focker films.
I saw Silver Linings Playbook recently. I thought he was great in that too. Hilarious in Startdust.
It's art, isn't it? We all have varying tastes towards such things. I don't think it's harsh to profess losing interest in the work of someone who you liked previously.
Why would someone produce all their best work in the first half of their career? I realise that's my subjective viewpoint but (if anyone agrees) why do you think this is? Is he choosing roles that I don't appreciate so much or is he just not that bothered whether the films he makes are that good since his reputation is secure?
I can think of loads of actors who I think have got better in their twilight years or at least were just as good (Lemmon, Newman, Hackman, Hoffman, Pacino, Nicholson). I can't think of anyone who has made so many classic films before '98 that I really like and then pretty much nothing since.
Maybe he has abandoned the intense characters in favour of things more in keeping with the tone in the likes of the Fockers movies and I just don't appreciate those lighter movies very often? Yeah, I probably just don't really like him in comedic roles.
Pacino is worse than De Niro in that respect.
Leading men are rarely in there 70's unless its a comedy.. he doesnt have the stamina or the scripts for someone in his age range to deliver a raging bull performance in terms of commitment to a character. He doesn't have to prove anything to anybody with the performances he has given us he's just having fun now.
Obviously we all have highly developed individual tastes but in my opinion (which is all I can go on) De Niro hasn't been in a great movie for about 15 years. That's just my general feeling so I'll root through their filmographies and be more specific.
So, last 15 years of each of these guys filmographies, movies appeared in (and number I've seen) and movies I've liked them in.
Newman ('91-'06) - 9 apps (*4) - Road To Perdition, Hudsucker Proxy.
Hackman ('89-'04) - 29 apps (*17) - Runaway Jury, The Royal Tenebaums, The Mexican, Under Suspicion, Enemy Of The State, Absolute Power, The Birdcage, Crimson Tide, The Quick and The Dead, The Firm, Unforgiven.
Hoffman ('99-'14) - 19 apps (*7) - Runaway Jury, I Heart Huckabees, Stranger Than Fiction.
Pacino ('99-'14) - 18 apps (*7) - The Insider, Any Given Sunday, Insomnia, The Recruit,.
Nicholson ('95-'10) - 12 apps (*7) - Mars Attacks!, As Good As It Gets, The Pledge, About Schmidt, The Departed.
De Niro ('99-'14) - 39 apps (*20) - I'll give you SLP, so that's 1.
I take the point about older actors often doing more comedic roles and that may be true. It's also true that I rate all 5 actors above as far better in comedies than De Niro which is why maybe I prefer their later roles to his.
I can't think of one other actor whose films I like up to a certain point in their career and then pretty much nothing after. He's almost like a different actor with no edge now (which was what made him interesting).
But before that he seemed to be a much more significant actor.
However I think he'll be recognised as one of the all time greats based on his body of work work before 1995.
Despite his choices, I've never felt that he was doing it for the money or going through the motions. I just think he likes to act, so that's what he does. He doesn't care how successful or liked his his movies will be. He just acts, because that's all that matters to him, and has a good time doing it. That's my take on it anyway.
I think age will be the main factor. There aren't that many lead roles for actors or actresses over a certain age.
Those actors that were leads 20 years ago, now play the parents and other supporting roles.
The first Fockers movie is great. The rest....
The roles are not there for actors of their age. Plus, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine seem to have cornered the market in 'elder statesmen/wise old owl' roles, not that they would suit RDN/AP.
Regards
TG
i wonder if it was really just down to the director with de niro and pacino... maybe the talent lay with the person getting the performances out of them?
Steep has been lazy for some time as well, though. Although always watchable, her performance in August: Osage County is practically a phone-in with a touch of ham. Frankly, I'm still puzzled over her Oscar nomination, but that's just me.
To be fair, Nicholson hasn't done a film since 2010, and the one before that was The Bucket List which was one of the most touching films I've seen, and a couple before that was The Departed
That said I quite liked the much maligned Ronin, even though he mispronounces Hereford in it.
The big difference between them De Niro and Depp is that De Niro cashed in AFTER cementing himself as an all time great. After Brando, Robert De Niro was regarded as the next best thing. For a couple of decades he did knockout performances after the other. Depp has the power to pick any interesting project he wants due to his relatively young age but he doesn't. Before too long he'll even alienate his own diehard fanbase. With everyone else, people are already over him.
I remember seeing him in Stardust, and despite only having about 15-20 minutes in the movie, he owned every scene he was in. Seeing this gritty actor don a pink tutu and dance the can can as a cross-dressing pirate is undoubtedly a bizarre career choice for anyone but he clearly enjoyed it, I definitely enjoyed it. the kids enjoy and remember it well - he has a whole new set of fans off of roles like this, and in films like the Focker trilogy.
If you can't appreciate his lighter roles, then I hope people can still commend him for carrying on. I have a lot of respect for actors who have made their buck, but go on regardless