The Death of Method Acting

So much for tapping into emotional truths—today's acting greats tell lies; long live Damon and Streep

By DAVID THOMSON
WSJ

Something odd is happening to our actors. No one seems to talk about it, but it's there, and it has to do with our uneasiness over "sincerity." Now, we'd like people to tell us the truth—whether our president or our spouse—yet we find it hard to trust "sincerity." After 100 years and all those movies, wide eyes and an unwavering look too often seem like a proof of acting.

This line of thought set in a few days ago when I went to see "The Box." Why did I go, when I guessed that it was going to turn a seductive overture into a terrible disappointment? For two reasons: "The Box" is the new work from writer-director Richard Kelly, whose first picture, "Donnie Darko," a dark and disconcerting film about high school, is something you really should see.

My other reason was, quite simply, Frank Langella. You see, I had been relishing the television commercials for "The Box" where Mr. Langella, elegantly dressed in gray, playing a man named Arlington Steward, arrives at a tidy, happy suburban house (with some money worries) and tells the wife and mother (Cameron Diaz) that he has an offer for them. An offer they can refuse. It's a box with a red button: press the button and you get $1 million in cash—but someone, somewhere, dies. Though half his face has been stripped away by lightning—don't ask, just study the wreckage—Mr. Langella is so suave and serene that I was in love. I wanted to see the film just to hear his gracious speech, to see his Vatican-like politesse and to feel the assurance with which he offered his lurid bargain.

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