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Haw… Our heavy sins… I mean not the ones,
which were cooked-up by screen-writer or an author of the book for the
heroes of the melodrama to control the plot development during about 6 hours.
I mean the sins of the leading men and first
ladies, directors, cameramen, artists etc, etc., who are forced to prepaire
such performances, getting good payment, which compensate not so hard work
here with usury.
I mean our sins as the sins of viewers, who
are ready to look at such performances for getting off a subject of "gray
reality", for enjoing with the view of beautiful interiors, elegant
clothes and nice well-known faces, whose presence in the serial makes our
loss of time here well-taken in our eyes.
At last I mean the sins of those shrewd
businessmen in show-biz, who creates soap operas as the base for advertising,
using the weak points of both - performers and viewers.
Properly speaking, the performers' sins and,
especially, sins of Timothy Dalton are not so large, if you will take into
consideration the position of an actor in English society. Here are the words
of our Russian emigre Vsevolod Novgorodtcev, BBC staffer, who lived in England
more than one ten of years and is conversant with an actor's problems in the
country. I find them in the book by Maria Arbatova "I am a woman"
("ß - æåíùèíà"), issued in 1999 by publishing company "EKSMO-Press"
("ÅÊÑÌÎ-Ïðåññ".):
"The number of actors in England is about 30 000.
But only 10 000 of them have a job. The rest ones live precariously. To
become a member of any theatrical company you must pass through cutthroat
competition. Theatrical companies appear and disappear before your eyes.
There is no any sureness in the future, an actor is absolutely rightless.
Certaimly, an actor has developed professional adjustability, but without
peacockery. And the procent of those, who dies by one's own hand is great
among the actors. Here you can find the same principle for the whole
capitalist economics."
Here are the words about actor's destiny in
this country. These words belong to one of the most famous and respectable
man, maître of British Theatre: "… an actor lives with a hard and dangerous
life… Very often he leads a lonely existence and lives without perspectives,
he lives beeing undiscovered, undescried, he feels slighted and has a rather
little hope of salvation. So it's no wonder, very often the actors lose
faith in themselves, they begin to be untrue to theatre, to be untrue to the
art in themselves and, consequently, to be untrue to themselves. ".
We understand, that theoretically participation
in the projects like "Sins" gives an actor so needed for his creativity
financial independence, widen the scope of his popularity, put up him to the
new degree of mastership and celebrity and provides in the future the more
likelihood to get the invitation for more interesting roles. But we also
remember about those, who used the same instrument to increase their
popularity very seldom, for example, like sir Ien MacKellen, almost Timothy's
age mate, very talented, gorgeous theatre actor, who is not well-known to
general public. He was brilliant not so far - some years ago in the
interesting Shakespearian remake, in his own variation on the theme of
"Richard III". Surely see this film!
Well, in the art, like in the life, everyone
goes with one's own way. And only the time will point us where is the place
for everyone, though, undoubtedly, Timothy's participation in films like
"Sins" (these ones were in his carrier -
"The Flame is Love",
"Mistral'sDaughter", for example) a little bit grieves us, admirers of
his talent, who
understand, that in the same roles the actor can't use all his professional
skills. It doesn't mean, that he does his work badly. No, he works, as
always, well. But his unique ability to give any character the depth and
humaneness remains partionally or as a whole unused.
Certainly, this Timothy's "sin" looks like
simple babyish naughtiness in comparison with the acts of those more fortunate
in a sense of popularity his colleagues, who does not save themselves for
getting it. For example, Gerard Depardie has built his own statue of his own
full height and completely naked. After that he put on it on common view
("MK Boulevard", Oct. 13-19, 1997, p.10). The toast of women and of president
Klinton, sex-symbol of 90-th Harrison Ford played tennis on the courts of
Baverly Hills in the same sports clothes, like Gerard's statue above
("The Evening Moscow", 29.04.99). Endless amourettes, infatuation with the
exotic religions, scandals with prostitutes, constant advertising the
production of large firms and a lot of many other things, which Timothy
Dalton never did and, I hope, will not do, support our faith in his really
admirable talent and actor's abilities.
And here, in "Sins", using the little time of
his role; Timothy showed us the sequence of transformations from the incurable
catatonia invalid to the recovering patient, then - to a young man of
handsome presence, then - to the lover, a little bit later - to grief-stricken
widower and, at last, to the elegant, delicate and at once shrewd businessman
and cold-eyed realist. If you have such a possibility, mount your own
video-film "Sins-2", which will consist of the scenes-transformations with
Timothy, to get a pleasure from his art one more time.
K.E., 1999
Order in Reel
[Genre]
[Character]
[Chronology]
[1960 - 70-th]
[80-th]
[1990-th]
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