To me it just seemed like another "angry Giamatti" again, just with a raspy voice. Furthermore, after seeing the real Harvey in those interviews, I can't help but feel like Giamatti hammed it up a bit. Harvey may be an angry guy but he seemed nothing like the way Giamatti played him.
You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.
Giamatti expertly captures the personality and nuances of his character in my opinion, making it difficult to overpraise his performance.
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Could you by chance give an example of some of the personality traits and/or nuances that Giamatti displayed?
You'd feel cocky too if you were full of myself.
I'm sure you can pick on it by re-watching the movie, which should in theory, slowly strengthen your faltering mind.
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I actually think this is best Giamatti performance ever !
shareI agree with Bigglesworth. It seemed that Giamatti was trying too hard to be Harvey Pekar. In other words, we can see him acting. Hope Davis' performance was more natural, and the kid who played the 'adopted' daughter was good too.
shareNo no no. If you want an angry Giamatti, watch Shoot Em Up. Giamatti did great depicting the more depressed and lonely qualities of Harvey Pekar.
shareYep, Hwood can't do realism at all. Giamatti definetly hammed it up... The film wasn't supposed to be a parody I don't think.
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I agree. This is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I think Giamatti's performance was quite good. Nevertheless, there were a few moments where I feel he comes off as hamming it just a bit.
shareTotally agree
shareI am a Giamatti fan but i felt he suffered in AS because of the wasy the film was shot, his scenes were interspliced with the real Harvey so this gives the audience an instant reference point and constant reminders of how Pekar sounds looks and acts and being such a quirky character it is difficult to portray perfectly and as the audience you are instinctively comparing the acting performance to the real Harvey which i felt undermined the power of Giametti's performance a little.
Not to say it was bad performance however as i think he did a very good job but for instance when you watch the real Letterman interviews i dont quite think PG fully nailed the range of emotion and the unique energy of Harvey at times
The intersplicing also brings another contrast... the difference in ages between the real Harvey at the time and the age at which he was being depicted in the film. I met Harvey in his later years, and he told me that the depiction was very much how he was in his younger days, and that he had softened over the years. Personally, I thought Giamatti's performance was fantastic... he exhibited Harvey's impatience, his overriding frustration and his self-consciousness. In the end, Harvey had an underlying kind nature and preferred people who weren't perfect and who knew they weren't perfect but they lived life as well as they could anyway.
shareCool. Always nice to know that Harvey thought the depiction was spot on....Needless to say, with his straight forward personality, he would have told the truth if it were otherwise!
I'll tell you in another life when we are both cats.
Wholeheartedly agree with everything you said
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