Was he drug-addled at this point? ...or had he abandoned ever being taken seriously again? What would make him give this absurd performance?
Perkins is the worst thing about so many movies he's in. This, Psycho 2, Orient express, Matchmaker, etc.
I am not crazy about him myself. Plus, I think it was really tacky of him to suggest (and of Russell to accept) the idea to make his character a minister, whereas he was a shoe salesman in the original screenplay. I mean, it's so OBVIOUS, so in-your-face!
I do kinda like this movie, but only for its weird entertainment value. I am not a fan of over-the-top performances in general, and A.P. is just deranged here.
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Well, I don't know how else this crazy part is supposed to be played...so I don't have a problem with his performance.
Perkins does seem to have become increasingly weird in the later part of his life, though...and there's something inherently creepy about him. At one point he went into therapy to "become" straight and got married to have kids, which probably screwed his head up further. Plus, the LSD from his youth might have fried his brain.
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I don't understand your point at all - this was a Russell film! It was not meant to be coherent or "down to earth" or any of that, no? How can you take a film like this serious when even the poster is so campy?
This is an honest surprise here. I thought most people would enjoy Perkins as the deranged man of god. If you enjoyed the various Jokers of Batman films, you should be able to enjoy this one. It's truly a fun film for adults, or teenagers already spoilt. Lord knows I was.
I think Perkins was awesome. The only thing I have complaints on is that the end was kind of similar to Psycho - Perkins's villain in female clothes.
shareAll of Ken Russell's films are over the top- The Devils, Gothic, Lair of the White Worm to name but a few. Perkins was over the top here cos he was hired as an actor to play it over the top.
And the end scene was clearly a homage to Psycho :)
https://www.queerty.com/this-notorious-80s-cult-film-had-tony-perkins-doing-real-poppers-on-camera-and-nearly-starred-cher-20140702
According to this article, Tony Perkins was actually high on poppers the entire movie. That explains his over the top performance. I honestly think it was great, can't imagine how this film would have worked without his performance.