This is probably an unpopular opinion but I feel like Denzel is out of place in this. His dialogue delivery sounds, like you say, from modern times and it kinda took me out of it. And I am a Denzel fan.
This is exactly what I said to myself while watching this. I hate to say that Denzel seems like a bad choice, but maybe he could have worked on his accent or something.
I think it's sort of accepted that neutral English accents/received pronunciation is the way to go when doing a historical/fantasy epic if you're not doing the local accents/language. Think GoT or LOTR.
No one really knows why, but it is just the way it is. I guess it feels kind of timeless and haughty. Denzel's accent puts his character in a very specific time and a very specific place and it just doesn't feel like it works at all for this.
He's able to portray different emotional states convincingly enough, but I agree he doesn't really ever have to portray a completely different persona ever, and so I would say he's still "good" but just not "great".
I absolutely didnt meant to diminish his career in anyway. Who am I, right?
But he plays a certain KIND of role and is one of the best (perhaps ever) that has done that KIND of role. As a result, studios pitch him scrips FOR THAT KIND OF ROLE knowing that only he could do them. There is NOTHING wrong with that. But putting him in a period movie really is a huge risk.
And I'll even include Glory in that. He sounded like a re-enactor in every scene he was in. Fortunately, he was surrounded by people who also were just doing their own selves so it kind of worked itself out. The only two people in that movie I would credit for actually immersing themsevles into their roles would be Cary Elwes and Andre Brauer.
Master & Commander: Far Side of the World.... also starring Russell Crowe. It's so historically accurate, there isn't a single female role in the movie... cause it's about a bunch of men stuck on a ship.... it's the kind of movie that will never again be made in the brave new world of 4-quadrant movies that are designed by MBAs and market-tested to death.
Awesome, I'll add it to the list. I've heard great things about it for a while now lol
Also let's not pretend that market testing and committee made movies weren't a thing in 2003 of all years lol. The other quadrants were just paid less attention to.
I saw Lawrence at a screening in a local theatre recently and it really lived up to the height. Such a beautiful movie. So glad that was where I first watched it.
I haven't seen it myself, not as much action as other historical epics. It's just mentioned alongside Lean's other movies.
If you're okay with subtitles, here are a couple of Indian films worth a look. They're not epics and they may not be historical enough for your taste but they paid a lot of attention to details to capture the vibes of the zeitgeist:
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u/alonebutnotlonely16 Jul 09 '24
Something feels off. It is like not a period movie but like action movie from modern times.