Blossom! Thanks again for commenting. Yes, he showed plenty of eyebrow acting as Frodo!
+I remember reading a review of ‘Everything Is Illuminated,’ in which EW’s performance was described as ‘Chaplinesque.’ I certainly think that in his portrayal of Jonathan, Elijah displayed a talent for that ‘deadpan’ style of acting that so many silent film comedy actors seemed to adopt.
'Chaplinesque'? Would that have been used to describe a 'deadpan' face, though? EW's Jonathan, although not nearly as expressive as ultra-expressive Frodo, compared to a lot of other actor's performances in reserved roles seemed to be facially expressive, bearing in mind the thick glasses. Perhaps "Chaplinesque" referred to Jonathan's retrained body language? I thought Chaplin used effective facial expression, actually, but had a consistently rigid body profile (a little narrow body, constrained by a too-small suit), and a signature walk, (a sideways-rocking tidy gait: sort of--dare I say--'penguin-esque'). I can see the too-small-suited, constrained profile of Jonathan looking like Chaplin in the role, but not the penguin walk. EW saved *that* for Happy Feet. *g*
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Date: 2007-05-24 11:20 pm (UTC)+I remember reading a review of ‘Everything Is Illuminated,’ in which EW’s performance was described as ‘Chaplinesque.’ I certainly think that in his portrayal of Jonathan, Elijah displayed a talent for that ‘deadpan’ style of acting that so many silent film comedy actors seemed to adopt.
'Chaplinesque'? Would that have been used to describe a 'deadpan' face, though? EW's Jonathan, although not nearly as expressive as ultra-expressive Frodo, compared to a lot of other actor's performances in reserved roles seemed to be facially expressive, bearing in mind the thick glasses. Perhaps "Chaplinesque" referred to Jonathan's retrained body language? I thought Chaplin used effective facial expression, actually, but had a consistently rigid body profile (a little narrow body, constrained by a too-small suit), and a signature walk, (a sideways-rocking tidy gait: sort of--dare I say--'penguin-esque'). I can see the too-small-suited, constrained profile of Jonathan looking like Chaplin in the role, but not the penguin walk. EW saved *that* for Happy Feet. *g*