tinctively stylized actors on the American screen.
They worked closely together on several stage
productions at the same time that Lorre was
preparing the lead role of Hans Beckert, a child
murderer, in Fritz Lang’s M(1931). Lorre’s magnifi-
cent performance, particularly in the final scene—
one of the most emotional in movie history—reflects
the influence of Brecht’s theories and directing.
Lorre creates a duality—Beckert and the actor
detached from the character who comments on his
actions—and while it is not pure direct address (he
is addressing a “jury” in a kangaroo court), we are
absolutely riveted by the power and strangeness
of his conception of the role.
Tom Edison (Paul Bettany) frequently addresses
his idealistic views directly to the viewer in Lars
von Trier’s Dogville(2003), which in overall style
owes much to Bertolt Brecht’s influence. In Max
Ophüls’s Lola Montès (1955), the Circus Master
(Peter Ustinov) addresses the circus audience, of
which, we understand, we are members. For comic
effect, Tom Jones (Albert Finney) breaks the
fourth wall in Tony Richardson’s Tom Jones(1963),
as does Alfie (Michael Caine) in Lewis Gilbert’s
Alfie(1966) and (played by Jude Law) in Charles
Shyer’s 2004 remake. Various characters speak
directly to the viewer in Spike Lee’s Do the Right
Thing(1989). There is a much more solid tradition
of direct address in the European theatrical cinema
of such directors as Jean-Luc Godard, Chantal
Akerman, and Eric Rohmer, among others.
In Buddy Giovinazzo’s No Way Home(1996), Tim
Roth gives a naturalistic performance as Joey, a
slow but principled young man who is just out of
prison. He has taken the rap for an assault he did
not commit and returns to Staten Island to find
that the people who framed him and circumstances
in the community are just as rotten as they were
when he left. Determined not to associate with his
low-life brother and former friends or return to a
life of crime, he boards a bus and heads for undis-
covered country. In Boaz Yakin’s Fresh(1994), Sean
Nelson naturalistically plays the title character—a
young, black Brooklynite working as a courier for a
dope dealer between going to school and looking
out for his older sister. In Tim Burton’s Edward
Scissorhands(1990), Johnny Depp gives a nonnatu-
ralistic performance as the title character, a kind of
Frankenstein’s monster—scary, but benevolent—
created by a mad inventor who died before his
work was finished. Edward lives in a deteriorat-
ing Gothic castle on a mountaintop that overlooks
a nightmarishly pastel suburb, to which he eventu-
ally moves. The decor and costumes identify him12Naturalistic versus nonnaturalistic performances
Naturalistic and nonnaturalistic performances sometimes
overlap, but these categories help us relate actors’
contributions to a filmmaker’s overall vision. [1] In Knocked Up
(2007), Seth Rogen’s naturalistic performance as a reformed
slacker becomes part of director Judd Apatow’s clear-eyed
depiction of the consequences of unprotected sex. Here,
Rogen tells his pregnant girlfriend, who has decided to keep
their baby, that he’s ready to do whatever it takes to support
her. He then congratulates himself by saying “awesome” in
recognition of his newfound maturity. [2] Johnny Depp’s
nonnaturalistic performance as the title character in Edward
Scissorhands(1990) enables director Tim Burton to draw us
into the exaggerated, downright weird world of this story.
Burton’s film is about fantasy, the way things might be in that
world. Nelson’s and Depp’s performances differ widely, but
they suit their respective movies. Imagine how out of place
either character would be in the other’s world!ASPECTS OF PERFORMANCE 319