[HPFGU-Movie] Re: POV: Dan, Dakota, and Morality

[Valerie Flowe]

>  Back to Dan<snip>
> This role  in Equus, I suspect will push him to his limit. The 
> emotional
>  range is very demanding, and there will be no movie magic to
>  make up of any lacking in the characters. He seems very
>  'matter of fact' about the nude part. He said something like
>  'it's in the script, so it must be done' and 'to do otherwise
>  wouldn't really be playing the role, it would be a watered
>  down version'.
>  He's taken on a very demanding role, and even if he falls a
>  bit short in it, he still will have grown tremendously by
>  having played it. Even if his current talent and skill aren't
>  up to it 100%, I hope at least his acting potential shows
>  through, and he gets credit for that.

I rented Equus recently. Wow! What an intense story! The guy who played 
Strang was phenomenal! As was Richard Burton! The boy was nude, by the 
way, in quite a few scenes.
This will surely be an unpopular view (where's that iron?!?!), but I 
have my misgivings about Dan being able to handle this role. The anger, 
fear, screaming, crying, etc, made me wonder how well Dan would handle 
that level of emotional acting (again recalling the mediocre crying 
snow scene in POA). I think, however, what disturbs me more than the 
nudity is the fact that Strang (as a result of his mother's 
overzealousness in her son's religious instruction...controversial in 
itself), develops a twisted connection with these horses. It's sad, 
it's depraved, it's disturbing. I couldn't even watch the scenes where 
he's gouging out the horses eyes...eek!!! The content of the movie left 
me feeling very unsettled. I think it's the association that people may 
make between Dan and the character, that has me a bit concerned.
I respect his wanting to take on such a challenging role. And I agree 
that the continuity of acting on stage, as opposed to the stops and 
starts and retakes of film, will be great practice for him. I just 
wonder if Equus not too far off the deep end for him at this stage in 
his life and acting career.
Now, Dan has been compared to Elijah Wood. I have been intrigued by the 
small, but diverse roles EW has taken on since 'Frodo'. 'Eternal 
Sunshine of the Spotless MInd', 'Everything is Illuminated'. I think he 
is gaining respect in his trade by his choice of roles. Not 
blockbusters, but meaty, acting roles.
Of course I always wish Dan well and trust that he is making choices 
that feel right for him, not someone (parents, agents, etc) dictating 
his next move.
Valerie


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