An Acting Criticism I Do Not Understand

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:07pm

What does it mean when somebody says that a performance is "too mannered"?

[ConvinceMe2]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:14pm

Artificial or affected. Not real. Unnatural. Or, not befitting the piece. Think Meryl Streep in a lot of her films. She's often mannered. Her performances can often be apart from the rest of the film. Katherine Hepburn could be that way, as well. Many people love that. I'm not a fan of it. I'm too aware that they are "acting".

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:15pm

Someone just hit dictionary.com as well, I see. I was going to post nearly the exact same thing.

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:16pm

Ahh okay, so another example would be Danger in Million Dollar baby?

[ConvinceMe2]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:18pm

Oh, my! Is that the literal definition from Dictionary.com? Seriously, I didn't hit it. I'm well aware of its definition, as I've used the term, many times, to describe a performance. I'm sure I have on this Board on more than one occasion

[ConvinceMe2]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:21pm

I wouldn't call Danger, a mannered performance. It's a bit of a caricature, though. I suppose one could argue that it's mannered. Just not my idea of one.

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:27pm

I don't like it when I can tell that people are acting, but I think Meryl Streep is captivating in everything that she does. I don't think that her work is artificial at all. If anything, she disappears into each role. If her work is what you'd call "mannered", then I dig it.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:28pm

No problem, ConvinceMe2. It was just funny because one of the first things on dictionary.com were (verbatim): "Artificial or affected", followed by "unnatural".

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 10/17/05 at 7:29pm

I wouldn't classify Meryl as mannered either, but I agree with Katherine Hepburn. Maybe Kenneth Brannaugh as well?