Robert De Niro
One of the giants of contemporary cinema, Robert
De Niro only knows how to make great movies. A master of method
acting, when he accepts a role he embodies the character and
adds the X factor. In Scorsese's taxi Driver, for instance,
for De Niro to get under the skin of a taxi driver he drove
taxis for three months. I would like to say that Robert De
Niro is a genius and I believe there is genius evident in
his work, but if it is genius, he works damned hard at it.
As the young Don Vito Corleone in Godfather
Part II he grabbed my attention so fully that I was annoyed
everytime the film cut back to the old Don Corleone played
by the great Marlon Brando. In Raging Bull, De Niro doesn't
play Jake LaMotta, he is Jake LaMotta. And for my money, De
Niro's portrayal of Al Capone in The Untouchables was as close
as we are going to get to experiencing the famous mobster
for real.
But we all know Robert De Niro's portrayal of
gangsters is par excellence... So I'll leap forward here to
roles where Robert De Niro has surprised me with his utter
brilliance. From the excellent Awakenings to the superb The
King Of Comedy to the truly hilarious Meet The Parents and
the follow up Meet The Fockers, Robert De Niro never fails
to steal the show, but not only does he steal the show, he
grabs the attention of the audience so forcefully that, I
for one, never want a Robert De Niro film to end. I don't
think I have experienced an actor with greater screen presence
that Robert De Niro and it is that formidable presence that
compound every movie he appears...
I can't leave Robert De Niro without having
mentioned Michael Mann's Heat, a film that has had an important
influence on my own writing. Robert De Niro, as ever, is sublime...
Tim Rees
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