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a great movie let down by schneider's performance?

posted 17 years ago by Hudsucker111
34 replies | jump to latest

I just watched The Passenger and loved many aspects of it - Nicholson's wonderfully understated performance, intriguing story, great cinematography and evocative locations... BUT... it was let down terribly on the casting front.

I found it hard to watch Maria Schneider's painfully wooden performance. She is just so out of her depth, especially playing next to Nicholson that I think what could have been a masterpiece is seriously compromised.

Am I alone in thinking this? Or am I missing something? I'd love to know.

[–] zurichpoet 16 years ago

I felt pity for her in this movie. She was clearly heavily intoxicated and deeply unhappy.

[–] fhn15 16 years ago

Schneider was good. I don't know what there was to complain about.

[–] zurichpoet 16 years ago

And if you are fluent in mumble she’s great.

[–] Aloft 13 years ago

You should perhaps see an ear doctor. I'm not joking, I'm quite serious. There wasn't a single line of hers that I wondered about, even with the accent. The sound quality of this film in general was quite crisp and easy to listen to.

[–] m60green 16 years ago

I think so. She was a big nothing to me. In fact when she started talking I put the CC on just to understand her.

[–] vbelyshev 16 years ago

hmmm, i liked her in this film. she was enigmatic and extremely seductive. well, she was definetly my type...the looker, and i thought her acting was very appropriate to this movie, which i...i dunno what to say of it just yet, as i just watched it, but i know that i liked it.

Time is Luck. The Luck has ran out.

[–] destiny_gr14 16 years ago

She doesn't convince us that she could actually express verbally lines like the ones her character said. The dialogue seems from another world. Like she read the lines and she just repeated them.

Fortunately, Nicholson was great..

[–] Noir-It-All 15 years ago

I thought she was great.

A poster above spoke about Schneider's boyish body and waif-like look. Interesting because in The Last Tango in Paris, you didn't notice these qualities while other qualities were shown. It was well-known at the time that Schneider lost 20 pounds after Tango. (We women read and discuss this type of thing constantly.)

"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne

[–] gitan-leger 14 years ago

Someone finding PR a great movie but "let down" by Schneider's performance is definitely a total mystery to me !!!

[–] filterite 14 years ago

Especially when you read that she was under intense back pain and had to have tranquillizers to numb the pain, I thought it was an extraordinary achievement.

[–] princesstinymeat 13 years ago

I thought she was fantastic.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] Squeeth2 12 years ago

I thought that she was the cipher he was trying to be.

Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] udippel 10 years ago

Masterpiece!
No, I dare to disagree, to me Schneider is perfect in here, playing out even more of a character than Nicholson. For me, his performance is really on the weak side here, though I usually adore him.
Overall, she is more convincingly building up what her role offers than him. 'Wooden', yes, if you want to call it like that. But that's what I'd expect of a 'girl' at the side of a man 1.5+ her age. And convincing she is, and as far as I can see, intends to be.

No, you're not alone in this, but you don't have me on your side. Sorry.

[–] hemmo 10 years ago

I've met people like her character, and I think her performance is perfect.