In my last
post I started of with saying the post was not really about him and to an
extent I kept my promise. However, I said more about him than I really wanted
to, but I was trying to make a point.
This post
wil be about him, because, you know, it’s his birthday. Hopefully, I won’t end
up talking about me.
First
things first: Happy birthday, Tobey! I hope you have a good one.
I’m not the
only one remembering his birthday. This article was posted in honor of his
special day and inspired me to write this entry: As a wry, reticent spectator, Tobey Maguire delivered one
of his best performances in The Great Gatsby | Entertainment News,The Indian
Express
Eventhough
I agree with the main point of the article, Tobey’s performances doesn’t get
the recognition because it’s often too subtle for viewers, the Great Gatsby is
not one of my favorite movies. I am, however, very willing to talk about his
under-appreciated performances.
Tobey
himself once talked in an interview about how he is not a flashy sort of actor
(paraphrased). It also comes through in his performances. Tobey’s performances
always serve the story, make the story shine, but that not necessarily showcases
the brilliance of his performance. You have to really watch him to see what he’s
doing, to recognize the work he’s putting in, to realize how small expressions
and actions contribute to a scene but not upstage it.
I have not
talked about ‘No Way Home’ yet, or have I? I might have mentioned it, because
that was how Tobey was brought back to my attention. In this post I will use ‘No
Way Home’ for comparison. I’m going to compare his performance to Andrew’s.
This is not going to be a “Who is the best spider-man?” or “Who is the best
actor?”, but rather why most people noticed and loved Andrew’s performance and
missed a lot of Tobey’s beautiful subtle actions.
To start
with Andrew. What comes to mind immediately of course is him tearing up after he
saved MJ. The memory of losing Gwen in a similar situation combined with relief
and a bit of redemption was so clear in Andrew’s expression. Our hearts bled
and cheered at the same time and Andrew really brought it across.
Then there’s
the scene on the roof, where Andrew’s Peter talks about losing Gwen, becoming
rageful and stopped pulling his punches. It was heart wrenching; Andrew’s
performance really packed a punch in both scenes.
In
contrast, Tobey’s performance was more restraint. The pain was still visible in
his eyes, but unlike Andrew’s Peter, he has come full circle and learned to
live with the memory and pain. He’s in a different place, more settled, more
mature and therefore his pain doesn’t pack the same punch anymore.
His Peter
is more concerned with his younger counterparts and this is where Tobey’s
performance subtly shines. His look at Tom’s Peter when Tom can’t bring himself
to say Osborne’s name or when he doesn’t get a reaction when he says he thinks
he can make the cure for Osborne. Very small actions, but it tells you how Tobey’s
Peter stands in the situation and how he grew when we weren’t watching.
Or his
conversation with Andrew’s Peter about their relationships. Yes, he stays very
much in the background, but does some important things that informs the dynamic
between the three. He really pulls and keeps them together. He’s the Peter making
sure they all three move in the right direction. Small little nudges that might
go unnoticed if you don’t pay attention to it. Beautiful story telling, but
also nicely performed, right where those nudges belong. Tobey’s Peter isn’t
shouty and attention seeking and Tobey knows that. Also, Peter probably learned
from the last time we saw him. I’m sure these days he’s very careful not to
lose himself in his own glory; that did not go well for him…no matter how funny
or cringy it was for us to watch that.
Tobey’s
performance lay for a great deal in facial expressions and reactions in the
background while other bigger stuff is happening. Automatically your attention
is attracted by the main event on screen, but the stuff in the background is
just as important to make it all feel real and not manufactured. You only
notice it when the background stuff is not serving the story; it feels grating
and distracts you from the story and leaves you with a feeling something was
off. That’s the art of serving the overall story.
This is
only No Way Home. Only looking at this movie you might think this was a
particular acting choice on Tobey’s part, and probably to an extent it was.
However, when you look at his other works, Brothers excluded, that’s the kind
of performance he mainly delivers. Controlled and restrained, inward focused, calm
or somewhat quiet. These are all qualities that don’t tend to put you in the
spotlight. I know this, I suffer from the same problem(?).
I’m not
saying that because of this Tobey is the best actor in the world; he’s not. But
I think he’s a better actor than most people will give him credit for. I will
admit that I had to learn to appreciate him. Before I dove into his career I
didn’t think he was a good actor at all. I changed that opinion; I think he is
a good actor, but it is a bit easy to miss, because his performances are so
subtle.
I do wish
he had taken a wider range of characters, but most of the roles he played were early
on in his career when he couldn’t be quite as picky as he is now. He tended to get
typecast quite a bit, and he admits to that. After Spider-man he started to play
more roles that gave a bit more variation, like in Brothers or Pawn Sacrifice.
Unfortunately, a lot of these movies went relatively unnoticed and got
overshadowed by Spider-man. On top of that, Tobey got pickier. None of this
helped him get the recognition I think he deserves.
But at
least he will always be Spider-man; this is his gift and his curse. (Blah! Gah!
I can’t believe I just wrote that!)
In my next
post I want to talk about James Leer. I’ll leave you hanging with that. If you’re
really curious about who James Leer is, Google is your friend.
As if I
have readers…
ETA: I just checked back in time and found this: Wiwipedia: Jake Gyllenhaal's Performances. I had to change the title to this post. It seems, in my opinion, Tobey beats out Jake. Huh! Wot-du-ya-know!
