MovieChat Forums > J. Edgar (2011) Discussion > Leo needs to break his habits..

Leo needs to break his habits..

posted 13 years ago by bs-2010
199 replies | jump to latest

It seems as though ever since the Departed Leo has been carrying along the same acting traits from character to character. I saw this trailer and he is doing the same squinty eyed, whispering line delivery that he did in the Departed, Inception, Shutter Island, and Body of Lies. He is doing the same serious eye-brow frown that he has done is his characters since the Departed. I like Leo especially in Gilbert Grape, the Aviator, and the Departed but it seems as though he has been doing the same thing since the Departed as far as how he portrays characters. Anyone else notice this?

[–] JumeirahSun 13 years ago

I have been somewhat disappointed in DiCaprio as he has matured. When he was younger (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, The Basketball Diaries, Romeo + Juliet) I still think his performances were brilliant, but he sort of bores me in his more recent films (Aviator, Inception). He just doesn't come across as being as emotionally accessible as he used to. I don't know if it's an affectation on his part--maybe an effort to be more "grown-up" or "serious" since he was so youthful looking for so long and had to overcome the pretty-boy hype surrounding him...

[–] EvieLee-NBH 13 years ago

Leonardo Dicaprio is a superb actor. I take the opinions of "og's" in the film industry over anyone on this message boards. The film comes out friday, but the clips i've seen of this movie showcase how good he really is gonna be as J.Edgar. What's that alot of people say about Leo not being able to be subtle? :)

I am you and what I see is me.

[–] nowoolplz 13 years ago

Leonardo Dicaprio is a superb actor. I take the opinions of "og's" in the film industry over anyone on this message boards.

LOL, oh brother, a mindless leo FANatic.

[–] PotassiumMan 13 years ago

DiCaprio's roles in movies like Aviator and The Man in the Iron Mask irritated, but he's also done stuff that has left me speechless- in a good way.

[–] djebel714 13 years ago

NOW y'all realize how great an actor keanu reeves is.
and, no im not joking.

go look at early work: my own private idaho, permanent record, prince of pennsylvania, and oh yeah!-- river's edge---if you love crispin glover ---see this movie. that man is a national treasure!

keanu will still knock out the badass films when he isnt taking care of his sick sister.

is she still alive?

am i in the right board?

[–] Persian_Goddess 13 years ago

how about de niro,or al pacino then??!!

[–] ToL22 13 years ago

Even in the trailer his accent was fading in and out. I can only imagine how bad it's going to be in the movie.

[–] siobanphotogirl 13 years ago

Umm... is there another way to look angry/frustrated/concerned? Can one convey that emotion without using eyebrows?!

I'd say if you've been botoxed enough, you'll have to find a way but most wouldn't succeed!

[–] Papa_Dragon 13 years ago

This post got me thinking. When was the last time DiCaprio played a charachter that smiled or even was shown having a good time at all? The Aviator? Revolutionsary Road (cant remember in that one)

Jesus man stop trying to downplay your teen hearthrob label from 12 years ago by taking the same characters ROLE AFTER ROLE AFTER ROLE!

Only love can beat the demon...... Hold that thought.

[–] nowoolplz 13 years ago

When was the last time DiCaprio played a charachter that smiled or even was shown having a good time at all?

lol, I was thinking the same thing, ha ha :)

he doesn't need to pretend to be so tough, all he needs is that attitude he used on rose/kate in titanic where they were arguing and he goes, "oh hoh ho, well well well, look who's being rude now!?", or when he faced down the rich snobs in the dinner scene.

seriously, no need to be "shipping up to boston to find his wooden leg" and cursing like a drunken sailor every 2 minutes.

he could of always did a film where his character uses mixed martial arts to kick the ass of whatever kind of meat head type made him feel so insecure, in real life, and then gotten it out of his system. or something, y'know...creative.

[–] siobanphotogirl 13 years ago

He smiled a lot and even laughed a few times in Catch Me If You Can...(Don't you just love the bit in the school office after his parents learned that he was posing as a substitute teacher... his mother is not impressed, looks at him and walks away, leaving him and his father behind and they share a laugh...that was great!)

[–] AJarcher 13 years ago

He smiled plenty in Blood Diamond, just an example of a role that was one of those where an actor is so natural in every single aspect that people seem too dumb to notice and then dismiss it as not enough of a performance, while at the same time complaining about the times they do notice a performance.

nowoolplz below mentioned "drop kicking in mixed martial arts" for next time, well it may not have been martial arts, but in that particular role, the way he pulled a gun on people was enough to illustrate exactly what nowoolplz is asking for. And yet, people probably didn't even notice.

Even if you didn't think he cracked a smile since Rev Road (2008), that was only 3 movies ago, that's not that much.

I find the onslaught of Leo bashing somewhat disheartening. I suppose it all comes in due course, but it doesn't seem to me that he is as "angry" or as "obsessed" with Oscars as much as his detractors seem obsessed with bashing his eyebrows or parroting stuff like 'he should do comedy' (I'm sure Pacino and Jack and Jill must have gone great for the guy down below who mentioned it with such pride). It's become a surprising trend for me, especially since what I got from Leo over the past couple of years was a massively underrated take on Shutter Island, and then a great eye for stepping back and letting others shine equally in Inception.

Saying he only does troubled characters is too broad imo. A lot of characters in 'serious' movies are troubled, life makes them troubled, but that doesn't make the movies he's in, or most of those characters, all that similar. And other actors tend to do a string of similar roles at a time too, except often more indiscriminately than Leo. I just don't see how it seems like he's been doing the same thing for decades to some.

A guy a few posts above did the standard "he never disappears in a role, that's why he never won an Oscar" and yet most people who pull out that criticism go on to highly praise his disappearance in Arnie Grape. So, how exactly does that work, when he didn't win an Oscar then either?

Anyway, long story short, I disagree with the majority of this thread. And I don't see how his upcoming 2 movies are similar with what just came, either.

[–] Once12 13 years ago

Well said, AJarcher.

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] rootleafdinner 13 years ago

"the same squinty eyed, whispering line"
Kinda like Clint Eastwood? Look at Eastwood, he has the same characteristics for ALL his movies. No one ever got tired of it... its just his trait that folks like or love. Me I like Eastwood, and Leo. I must say the strongest role I ever saw Leo in was Aviator and I am looking for something that impacts me like that again from him. I have not yet seen J Edgar and I hope this one does it for me!

[–] blufftoni 13 years ago

I thought DiCaprio was good in this. He applied the same bodily traits to the character as both a young and old man, his way of speaking seemed very close to Hoover in real life and I thought it was a good job all round. His pace of language was good, however my major complaint was that you always knew it was DiCaprio which was unfortunate. I know it's an obvious thing to notice but this looked very much like a performance and could have been more natural.

He and Dench both give good performances but IMO neither are oscar worthy although I imagine they will both get nominated. Naomi Watts (who if makeup is to be believed, will be a very attractive 50-60 year old) does good work in a woefully under written role but the weak link was Artie Hammer. Wooden and unconvinving for most of the time, he does do well in the confrontation scene with Hoover though.

I thought Leo was better in The Aviator than this but very solid. I would like to see him come out of his comfort zone and do something completely different because I believe he absolutely has the talent and ability to do it, but a lot of his roles (like many actors) feel a bit samey. I would like to see him do a comedy one day - i thought he was good in Catch Me If You Can and would like him to explore that sort of role further.

Most of the faults of this film however are nothing to do with the performance of Leo though. He isn't well supported by Hammer (and they share a lot of screen time) and the film does tend to wander. I thought the direction was slow and this surprised me from eastwood. The continual period shifts were clunky, but not confusing, and he messed up the ending.

All in all I'm not sure what Eastwood was trying to say about Hoover that wasn't already fairly well known.

[–] Clara19987 13 years ago

I'm just ready for some different characters! I would love to see him in something lighter, maybe a romantic or family comedy. He keeps playing the same type of characters - angry, devastated, emotionally distant. His characters in both "Inception" and "Shutter Island" were practically the same, even with the dead wife. He does a wonderful job of course but it's as if he's playing characters he knows he can pull off, instead of breaking out of his comfort zone.
I would just like to see a Leo that makes me laugh.

[–] Kaylinerer 13 years ago

Yeah but he's so hot :P

~Pubzie_nz~