K-SWAT ARCHIVES: 0006
27th Feb 2008 - Response to blog entry Please Explain: Keanu Reeves
| Scott Long |
At the beginning of Keanu Reeves' career, I understood what he had to offer, as he was the quintessential stoner dude. He played these teen roles solidly, as he demonstrated in River's Edge and Permanent Record. Then came the wild success of Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure, which cemented his natural instincts of playing a somewhat dim-witted dude. Nothing wrong with beginning your career playing this type of character, as both Sean Penn and Nicholas Cage broke onto the scene doing the same type of bro. The difference between these actors is that Penn and Cage (not so much lately, though) are capable of bringing many different shades to their movie roles, while Reeves, as much he might try, is still Theodore Logan. When Reeves has been successful in a film, he has been given a role that allows him not to stretch from this type of character. During the first few years of his career, Reeves was cast well, playing surfer dude types in Point Break and My Own Private Idaho. Then came 1992, when Francis Ford Coppola made Dracula. With a cast featuring Gary Oldman and Anthony Hopkins, it would have seemed to be a slam dunk movie classic... except that Coppola made a casting mistake almost as tragic as when he hired his daughter Sofia for Godfather 3, by choosing Reeves in one of the major roles. Having Keanu Reeves share a scene with Hopkins and Oldman is on par with Jimi Hendrix and Ginger Baker starting a super group, only to have it fronted by Yoko Ono. Here is the major question I have about Reeves' career. How is that with so many superior choices available has Reeves continued to get major parts in roles that he is woefully ill-equipped to succeed in? He has played a quarterback in The Replacements, a lawyer in The Devil's Advocate, and a doctor in Something's Gotta Give. In these pictures, he was paired with acting giants Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, and Jack Nicholson, respectively. The talents of these actors and some other fine supporting performances made each of these movies watchable, but the laughable casting of Reeves made each scene he was in seem implausible. Not only is Reeves incapable of playing a character with a job which takes even a modicum of intelligence, but he is just as dismal in a love story. I recently caught on cable, a recent movie he did with Sandra Bullock titled Lake House. In the convoluted romance, Reeves plays an architect. No, this is not a misprint. There is no way I would live in a house, be defended in a court case, have my tonsils taken out or even root for a team that was quarterbacked by Keanu Reeves, but someone in Hollywood continues to cast him in these type of roles. I realize that the 1994 blockbuster Speed made Sandra Bullock a superstar, but thinking that the chemistry between her and Reeves needed to be explored again was misguided at best. The elements that made Speed great was the script, the directing, and the charismatic performances of Bullock and Dennis Hopper. Reeves didn't have to show much more emotion than he had to as Neo in The Matrix. The Matrix was another movie where the script, special effects, and supporting characters drove the movie along. The Wachowski Brothers did use Reeves' talents perfectly in the first of The Matrix trilogy, though, as the science fiction Blade Runner-like world the film took place in didn't need a lead actor who offered much acting range. The Neo character was robot-like in his presence. Reeves' angular good looks and shock of black hair was an important piece in the gorgeous production design. This is the only adult role I can think of that Reeves' acting moves the story along. I realize that part of Keannu Reeves' continuing career has to do with him being seen as a bankable star, domestically and foreign. I would argue that few of the successful films he has been in have had much to do with him. I know he wrecks a movie for me, almost every time he appears on-screen. I understood the casting of him as the teen-aged, dim-wit, but I just don't understand how major studios and major directors continue to want to cast him playing characters who would need to be able to portray a modicum of intelligence. PLEASE EXPLAIN Keannu Reeves. |
(This blog entry garnered over a hundred replies, and so for space-saving reasons they will not be posted here; hopefully they will remain accessible at the link for a long time to come.)
However, the following essay-length reply by one of the commenters (not from K-SWAT) presented most of the counter-arguments to the points brought up in the original blog entry, so here it is.
| Sandra |
When I saw this article I thought a lot before to post a reply here. Mostly because I could see that, really, you don't want to debate anything. You just want people to corroborate with what you are thinking. But, being a fan of Keanu Reeves for more than 10 years, I have to say that it's impossible to read so much mis-information and preconception and still silent. So, I'll give you my view of him. Keanu Reeves is, maybe, one of the most difficult Hollywood actors to define today. And not because he has no talent, but because he is a "different" talent. When you ask for people to explain his appeal you are asking for multiple answers and reactions because that's what he provokes in people, different sentiments. When Keanu started he was a guy full of energy on screen, with a strange accent, an androgynous and different beauty from the occidental standards e that little thing called charism that many just only dream to have a bit. Many of his early friends in Toronto say that when he was in acting classes all eyes would be only on him. And since that time some think he is great and some think he is bad. I never saw an actor to get so much hate and love at same time and for so long (more than 20 years). When people love him people LOVE him. The hate comes in the same level. They truly HATE him. And why? Because he is what you want him to be. Some jounalist described him a while ago like a "blank canvas where people can project their fantasies". Some women describe him as a lost puppy with soulful eyes that they want to nanny. Some women see him as the example of a sensitive man who is always there for them. Some see him as a hero and sex God. Others see him as asexual as a plank can be. Others he is from another planet or the anti-christ (there was even a site dedicated to prove that!). I am talking about personal traits but those clearly apply to his career. People see the same scene and some see great acting, some see poor acting, some see a plank of wood. The fact is that Keanu is so inscrutable that he lets audience projects their own feelings and views on him. I'm not the first person to say it, many critics already perceived the same thing. As an example of your mis-conceptions, you asked why he was hired to play an architect in The Lake House if there were others who could pull off that role better. What are you trying to say, that someone needs a special characteristic to play a normal "architect"? Why? The problem is that you have the "Keanu is dumb" image in your head and you will never be convinced by him in anything aside the brainless Ted-like figure you identify him with! And you are completely missing the point because that movie wasn't about him being a normal architect, but about someone with an open mind enough to believe in love across time without ever questioning it. It was about a man who wanted to be loved by his father at any cost and that was at his side even when rejected. It was about someone who would wait for love. Not a normal man, maybe the ideal man that women dream about. And having seen women reactions to his character (as well his supporting turn in Something Gotta Give) he achieved everything the movie asked for. Women dream about him, that's for sure. So, he can convince us that he is a romantic lead (you can't say that about many other actors, even Oscar winners, and Russel Crowe comes to mind). He did very well in comedy as you can see in his turn in Bill and Ted, it's sequel, in Parenthood, I Love You to Death and Thumbsucker (where his supporting role received great reviews). He can make drama as well, as he was really solid in River's Edge, Permanent Record, My Own Private Idaho, The Last Time I Commited Suicide, Hardball, The Gift and A Scanner Darkly. People believe him as an action hero, as he already proved in Point Break, Speed, The Matrix Trilogy and Constantine. Of course he has his mistakes and bad movies, but who doesn't? Did you already gave a look at his resume? He isn't in only a good bunch of movies, he is in movies that were remarkable in their times, atemporal movies, like River's Edge (very distant of those "brat pack" feel good movies of the 80s). Bill and Ted (even their slang remains cool until now), Idaho (for introducing the gay relationship waaaay before the Brockeback Montains of life), Point Break (as the silly action turn that people hate but love to watch), in Speed (setting the new action role model as the sensitive and human hero in charge), and The Matrix (that doesn't need any more explanations, simply changed the way sci-fi is made in Hollywood and Neo became a classic hero). He makes choices that no one expects, as choosing to make Devil's Advocate instead of Speed 2, doing a little indie like Thumbsucker or doing the not conventional Scanner Darkly. His choices shows he is ahead of his time and maybe it's natural that they are not welcome by some people. He clearly isn't just your "beauty and dumb actor who will make success and disappear". He is in the business for more than 20 years, working with some of the best people in industry. You can't just explain that because of his beauty or because he is a good guy to work with. People see talent in him and know that he can reach an audience, that he can convince others that the role he is playing is real. Someone stated that his voice is a problem, and I have to agree at certain level as he has a very deep voice that could, maybe, don't translate the real emotion that the character is going through. But...you can see it in his face! In his eyes! I remember a scene in Little Buddha, a movie only worth because of the scenes with Siddartha ( although some poke fun of it because they can't understand the traditions and beliefs of those people). There is a scene where Siddartha sees the real world for the first time, where he sees poverty, suffering , misery and death. He doesn't say anything, but you can see in his eyes everything. He doesn't need to say a word, he shows it. Another quality he has is to keep an extreme innocence in his eyes that really lead us to believe in what he is seeing. As when Siddartha sees the world, when Kevin Lomax sees the truth in Devils Advocate, when Neo sees the world outside the Matrix. You believe he is realizing the truth, you believe in his eyes. And people come to say to me that the man has no expression! Why, because he doesn't twinks his eyes and forehead like Sean Penn does? Because he can't keep that eternal smirk as George Clooney does? I don't do that either and I'm not a bit bothered by that and I don't think anyone will come to me and say that I'm not expressing myself enough when I'm crying. For Christ sake, normal people don't over react! Much more men who tends to be more restrained about sentiments. Still, about the voice, that profound tone is very suitable in moments like the one where Bob Arctor (A Scanner Darkly) questions his existence. It's full of sadness, dispair, hate, doubt. It's perfect. Keanu transmits to me the reactions that a normal and REAL person would have. Amazement, shyness, dispair, goodness, happiness, love, depression. I see people act that way. I believe what he shows to me on the screen. I feel for his characters and I understand what they are going through. I relate to them. Some things that bothered me Mr Long , reading your replies, is how made up your mind is about Keanu. You just can't accept that people actually think he is any good. You just doesn't listen and will always have an excuse to bash him, not only for his acting, but attacking him personally. If you just say that you think he has no expression, whatever, it would be acceptable, as I said people have different reactions to his acting style. But most of your posts are "personal attacks" to Mr Reeves based in your preconceptions and that is unacceptable. When you attack his intelligence you are acting like you knew him personally. You don't! I wonder how many interviews, serious ones, did you read about him. I bet not much. He is a complex human being that CAN'T be read in a few sentences. If you really knew about Keanu Reeves as you want us to believe, you would had read the many articles where actors, directors and producers praise his intelligence. You would know that basically no one in Hollywood who actually worked with him have a single bad word to say about his intelligence, moral and work ethics. Well on the contrary. And, please, don't come with that story that everyone in Hollywood lies about co-stars because it would be impossible for so many to lie for so many years, always saying the same words about a person. I could show to you many examples of praises for his talent and intelligence, but I just remembered a few words Joss Whedon had about him some months ago, while talking in a seminar at Wesleyan University. Below is a transcript taken from a Whedon fan-site. The seminar was called "The Importance of Being Keanu": --------- "Joss began by sharing his thoughts about Keanu Reeves as an actor; sounds like an odd way to start but it was quite lovely. He explained how Keanu has mastered his own career by embodying a rare and authentic style all his own typified by a sense of compassion for humanity and a subtle detachment. He shared a story about when he was "fixing" the script for Speed and working with Keanu on the character, how Keanu had spent some time with detectives and law enforcement to get a sense of the character and he said he was struck by how polite they were. How they all used "sir" and "Ma'am." Joss was impressed by how Keanu objected to certain lines and actions in the script because they seemed outside of what the character would truly do. He explained how Keanu's choices of roles has been indicative of his style and how he has kept his private life private. He described Keanu as having an international appeal both by his "pretty" and by his multi-ethnic aesthetic. Ultimately, Keanu is the perfect Neo." "The Keanu panel was very interesting. I think we all were surprised by how Joss took a topic - which in some ways we were all expecting to be a joke - and created some interesting insights - both about Keanu as an actor and as an example being the type of person who can have a positive influence on the Hollywood machine. By looking at how Keanu embodies a sense of "otherness" (not stereotypically male, having a feminine aspect to his presence, having different intonation, speech patterns, and physicality from what you would normally expect from a Hollywood Action Star), you start to see that it allows people to identify and connect with him as an "everyman" – which is why he is so successful in his performance as Neo in the Matrix. Joss also commended Keanu for his sense of integrity - as a movie star not running after fame, but willing to choose projects that he wants to do, that he believes in. The Hollywood culture is built by those who work in the industry as part of it. The Importance of Being Keanu is that if more people in the industry were thoughtful about their work as an artist, their integrity as a person, their substance as storytellers – rather than chasing fame or that next mega-blockbuster movie – the culture of the Hollywood industry could change for the better." --------- So, to finish it, I sincerely hope you can see that, YES, do exist people who actually LIKE/LOVE Keanu Reeves' acting. That think he is an intense and intelligent person, people who can differentiate a character from the human being playing it, who can see beyond the preconception, who can see the talent that, I tell you, is there. I know I'm not alone in this sentiment, and I see no better support to that than his successful career and big following he conquered around the world. Best Regards.
PS: When I talked about Keanu's voice I meant: deep voice. Sorry for my English, I think it's clear I'm not an American, but I believe the main message can be understood. Thanks |
| K-SWAT: Anakin McFly |
Hi Scott: I realise that this is about four months late, but I came across the subject-mentioned blog entry and saw that I'd missed a great discussion. I read through all the comments (I'm an unemployed high school graduate waiting for university who has absolutely nothing better to do in the meantime) and you seem like a fairly reasonable and intelligent guy, and I can respect your opinions regarding Keanu's acting. However, as the founder of the Keanu SWAT team (that's one of the things that happen when you're an unemployed high school graduate; that and making the top 1000 players in the world in World in Conflict, but I digress), I am unable to restrain myself from adding several remarks in defence of Mr. Reeves. Firstly, there's the matter of his intelligence. It happens to be pretty high - he reputedly has an IQ of over 150, and has the reputation of being one of the most well-read celebrities in Hollywood. However, he's also dyslexic, which may contribute somewhat to an impression of low intelligence and which in fact led him to doing badly in school - he eventually dropped out due to an inability to cope, although he has since been studying a wide variety of subjects on his own. Some quotes from people who know him: "I love that the fallacy that Keanu is a moron is out there in the world." - Joel Silver, producer of The Matrix "Keanu is unlike anyone I have ever met; he's a deeply sensitive, keenly intelligent guy. He completely dedicated his life to Neo during the making of these films, and it's been a real joy to walk through this whole amazing experience with him." - Laurence Fishburne "I love him. He's a bright lad, much brighter than people think." - Kenneth Branagh "Keanu *is* eccentric. I've never met anyone like him, ever. Maybe he's one of those people who should never have been put in the position that he's been put in. He's very, very quiet. He's not a sound bite celebrity, he just doesn't have anything to say to the public. He's highly intelligent, very well read and he always has an interesting take on things. It's not often you get to be in the company of someone like that. He has such an unusual energy." - Cameron Diaz "He's cleverer than some of the dons at Cambridge." - Rachel Weisz "He's smart, too. And doesn't feel the need to let you know it." - Sandra Bullock "He's this autodidact, student for life kind of guy. That's my favorite kind." - Richard Linklater, director of A Scanner Darkly "I learned my lesson the first time we played a game of chess. We were living in Sydney [filming ''The Matrix''], and I thought we'd have a little game and I'd see how bright the motherfucker was. Beat my ass in 15 minutes and left." - Laurence Fishburne "He was very good to work with. He understood what he didn't know and his sincerity and desire to learn was enormous. We'd go to lunch a lot and walk around and talk for hours. About girls. Movies. Acting, theatre. Clothes to some extent. He was really smart and interested in discussing all kinds of things, philosophers or artists or whatever." - Brad Fraser, director of the play Wolfboy -- I think you mentioned that you were referring more to his supposed lack of ability to portray intelligence on screen, not so much to his actual intelligence, but it seemed that the latter was implied and so I thought I'd just clear that up. Secondly: it's funny that you mention Gene Hackman and Al Pacino as two actors whom Keanu was not suited to act alongside with, because it just so happens that neither of those two actors would have been casted in the respective films if not for Keanu. He was the one who deferred part of his salary so that the studio could afford Hackman and Pacino in each case. Speaking of which, this is what they each said about him: "I thought the kid was first brought in for his juice [studio talk for box-office appeal], but after working with Keanu, I believe he's got what it takes, and in some scenes in particular, you really see him come across. Now he owns the role." - Al Pacino "I like working with young actors, and he's become one of the best. Keanu is hardworking, highly professional and always prepared." - Gene Hackman That's the opinion of the 'acting giants'. In another example, Robert Downey Jr. only agreed to join the cast of A Scanner Darkly because he heard that Keanu was in it. Regarding The Matrix, that was another film that only became what it is because of Keanu. For starters, he was the only actor willing to take on the role - others either did not understand the script or were convinced that it would be a box office flop. Will Smith for one declined the role to go do Wild Wild West. The Wachowskis (they are no longer brothers) also demanded mental and physical preparation for the role - they gave Keanu a reading list of several heavy philosophy books that he had to finish before even opening the script. And then when finances grew tight, Keanu channelled some of his own money into the project so that it could continue. Meanwhile, directors and studios continue to cast Keanu in their movies because many of them share the sentiments expressed in the quotes I listed above. I think that's it for the moment. Cheers. - Anakin McFly
(And yeah, I do have a life outside of Keanu, before you accuse me of that; people have accused me of having my life revolve around an amazingly large number of diverse subjects, after hearing things like how I almost single-handedly wrote the official FAQ for the Back to the Future trilogy on the Internet Movie Database, my memorisation of several Star Wars movies, making top 1000 players in World in Conflict, writing long essays on the subject of science & religion, and other fun things like that. Such is the life of an unemployed high school graduate with a photographic memory.) |