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re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 12:18 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End - JereNYC 11:33 am EST 12/06/13

That's fascinating, JereNYC, and of course I've noticed that about Plummer's very cold line reading.

Still, I can't imagine that insulting Rolf's manhood was Plummer's intention with that line reading. I've always interpreted the contempt we hear in his voice as being aimed towards the Nazis, as in, "You'll never be one of those evil swine."

I wonder if the moment would have worked if Plummer had given the line an entirely praiseworthy inflection, as in "You're a good man, and you'll never be one of them," and if Rolf had had the same slap-in-face reaction because he so desperately wanted to be one of them. Do you think that might have worked?


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re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End

Posted by: JereNYC (JereNYC@aol.com) 12:45 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End - Michael_Portantiere 12:18 pm EST 12/06/13

I don't think Rolf's slap-in-the-face reaction would have worked in that instance, but we would have to then see Rolf make the decision that he DOES want to be one of them. It would pass the acting assignment difficulty to the actor playing Rolf, who would have to deliver a much more complex moment without a single line to help him.

If that could have happened, I think that would have been better.

But it's possible that Lehman designed the entire scene around that slap-in-face moment because it's very dramatic and the underscoring that is cued on Rolf's line just forces the viewer to attention in a way that a subtler, more truthful version may not have.

URL: Jere-Rigged

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re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End

Posted by: Michael_Portantiere 02:39 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End - JereNYC 12:45 pm EST 12/06/13

Yes, and I'm sure Lehman felt it necessary to have Rolf blow the whistle on the family so that the film could have the "frantic escape" moment that's not in the show.


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re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End

Posted by: LegitOnce 05:52 pm EST 12/06/13
In reply to: re: SOM's Rolf: His Behavior at the End - Michael_Portantiere 02:39 pm EST 12/06/13

Bingo. The chase is a cinematic moment that would be pointless in stage production.


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