Agreed. And within the limitations of that somewhat worn character, he does a fine job of playing the "situation" he is in. I love his facial expressions and walk as he leaves the table,knowing that despite everything about to crash in on him, he has yet again made a major business coup and outsmarted his buyer, while letting the old guy know it. I think his performance is nuanced. Though the character he plays always projects confidence (as he tells his mistress, that's a business essential) he also shows the underlying tension and fear of being caught out that he faces. As well, he is able to portray the character's flashes of humanity as he reacts to the sight of his dead mistress, embraces her mother, reacts to his daughter when she confronts him, only able to say "I'm sorry" when she's not able to hear him. I think Gere's acting abilities were never tapped earlier in his career. I'd have loved to see a good director remake Streetcar Named Desire with Gere or a foreign director do something interesting with him. He's quite good in Days of Heaven. His male model looks ave been a much a curse as a blessing in terms of roles he's played. I don't think he minds though as he has his causes and engages himself intellectually and artistically.
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