The quote from Spielberg about “probably the best actor in the world today” has been doing the rounds today, understandably, as well as Postlethwaite’s good-natured response (he remarked that it sounded like “a beer commercial”), but I think the below quote pretty much sums up my respect for Postlethwaite and his strength as an actor.
There are some moments that work. Pete Postlethwaite, as a big game hunter who flies onto the island with a second wave of dinosaur mercenaries, doesn’t step wrong; he plays a convincing if shallow character, even if he’s called upon to make lengthy speeches in speeding Jeeps, and to utter arty lines about “movable feasts” and having “spent enough time in the company of death.’‘ He alone among the major characters seems convinced that he is on an island with dinosaurs, and not merely in a special-effects movie about them.
It’s not his best role, nor his most notable. However, even then he managed to shine on the screen, and – when I think of him – that’s the quote that comes to mind. His career featured any number of fantastic films (The Usual Suspects, Inception), but he always brought his best – even when the movie probably didn’t deserve it. I won’t go on at length, because far more authoritative and eloquent individuals have already offered their feelings.
Rest in peace. You will be missed.
Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, ben affleck, Brassed Off, In The Name Of The Father, Lost World: Jurassic Park, Pete Postlethwaite, steven spielberg, Usual Suspects | 6 Comments »
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