The Art of Subtle Acting

Photo from IMBd.

Violet Rhoades

I am a self-diagnosed film bro. The walls of my bedroom are littered with posters from Pulp Fiction, American Psycho, Fight Club, Taxi Driver, Donnie Darko, and the list goes on. Some of my favorite performances in all of media include Heath Ledger's “Why so serious” monologue in The Dark Knight, Daniel-Day Lewis’s “I abandoned my child” in There Will Be Blood, and Jack Nichlson’s “Wendy, darling, light of my life…” in The Shining. When you think of the best acting performances of all time, it's likely these scenes, and others similar to them, will come to mind. When I say this, know that I’m not saying these performances are inherently bad, but they have one thing in common: They’re flashy. Emotions are high, characters are screaming or crying, which results in a performance that you can’t tear your eyes away from. 

I truly believe the thing that separates great acting performances from brilliant performances is if the actor can utilize the art of subtleness. Whether or not they can also convey their emotions through little changes in tone, small facial expressions, and gestures you may miss the first time watching if you’re not paying close enough attention. Despite enjoying Heath Ledger's dramatic, over the top performances in The Dark Knight, my favorite scene from him in the film takes place when he tells The Chenchen, a Russian mobster who works and co-runs the city with the Joker, the plans he has of killing the Batman in return for $500,000. All of Chenchen’s henchmen start laughing, and he tells the Joker, “You’re crazy”, and the Joker's response of, “I’m not” is almost immediate. Seconds later he follows up with, “No, I’m not.” This time though, his response is slower, strained, and there's a hitch in his voice when he says “not.” As he clenches his jaw, his eyes wander around the room, looking at all the people who laughed at him. 

If we’re going off the theory that the Joker is hypersane, this small response Chenchen likely didn’t think twice about before saying would go against everything the Joker has tried to perceive himself as. By pushing the actions of people around him, plus their and his morality, he’s able to expose the flaws of those admired by others, causing people to question social norms. The subtlety of Heath Ledger's reaction is the only indication that the words truly affected him; meanwhile, many of his most remembered monologues from the film are of his dramatic performances, that more often than not are his attempts to manipulate the people around him or create more chaos from any given situation. The only time we have any revelations about his past, motives, or breaks in his motif are when there are these subtle reactions in his typically emotionally withdrawn character.

In my all time favorite Sofia Coppola film, The Virgin Suicides, Kirsten Dunst has nearly mastered the art of subtle acting. The story follows the five Lisbon sisters, who have spent their whole lives as victims to the male gaze. Trip Fontaine spends nearly half the movie courting Lux, played by Dunst, and convincing her that he’s looking for more than a quick lay. You can see Lux slowly change her mind, despite her constantly saying no to him, through the smallest, little smiles she sends to her sisters after he walks away, or the way her body language becomes more inviting when he walks over. After finally convincing her to go to the prom with him though, he does just that, leaving Lux alone on the cold football field of their school the entire night. The sisters are then banished from leaving the house by their extremely protective parents. Soon thereafter, they are censored from the whole outside world: music, friends, school, etc. You can see Lux slowly start to lose the person she previously was through subtle changes in her body language. Her eyes become void and emotionless, smiles are far and few, and her posture becomes reserved and isolated. Once so lively and warm, she’s now reserved and cold. Being isolated after the short-lived freedom their parents allotted them, mixed with the aspect of objectification by the many boys in their lives, the sisters decided to commit an act of a group premeditated suicide. 

The actions of the Lisbon sisters are still unknown, as the story is told from the point of view of the neighborhood boys, not only furthering the idea of suppression of the girls, but also idealization. The girls were simply seen as these unobtainable otherworldly beings, but deep down, people only cared to know their looks, not the girls themselves. Many people assume the girls inviting over the boys minutes before they each took their lives in their retrospective ways was a last act of defiance. Others argue it was their last connection with the outside world; they only made it to their teens, so outside of the boys, they didn’t really know anyone else. Lux was the last to go of all her sisters, and the only one to talk to the boys before she purposely subjected herself to carbon monoxide poisoning, sitting in the car of the garage. 

Before she does anything she asks the boys questions like, “Can I sit up front?” and “Can I steer?” knowing the answers before asking. The boys would do anything to obtain her, so she knows they’ll say yes to whatever she requests. Despite her confirming the boys don’t care about her or her sisters per say, but rather their looks, she still looks back before making her way to the garage, giving the boys a small smile before walking away. What many people miss though, is the tear that falls down her face. This discrete juxtaposition is the final reinforcement we get of the loss of joy and freedom from Lux’s life. Her last look back reveals heaps about her character's fate, just through small, barely noticeable actions. 

This subtle acting is what I believe makes Kirsten Dunst's performance so remarkable and empowering. As I said, we never truly know what the girls are thinking, but from the smallest actions of Dunst’s character, you get revelations about the emotions the girls are feeling, or ideas on why the girls made a certain decision at different points. Whether it be through a face she makes, the way her body is positioned, a small fray in her voice, or a nearly imperceptible tear falling down her face, Dunst is able to portray the detached Lux Lisbon in ways I think many other actresses would have never been able to achieve.

Flashy performances may catch the attention of the audience in the short term, but what truly resonates with viewers is the emotional depth shown with subtle acting. Something as small as a strain in the voice towards the end of a sentence, or a faint dimple covering someone's check, indicating a repressed grin, can make the world's difference in a performance, and add a whole new dimension to the film. Subtle acting may seem quiet, but it is truly the loudest technique an actor can utilize.

References 

Is the Joker Hypersane? | Psychology Today 

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