Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting

Good acting. Like pornography, you might not know how to describe it, but you know it when you see it. Having directed a couple of films in my day (and thinking I know a thing or two about it), I thought it would be fun to do a series on acting. In this series, I'll highlight performances that I really liked or disliked and tell you why or why not I thought they were effective.

Acting is organic and humane; it's something that is ineffable for most people because it draws upon our experience of fellow human beings, something we're all so accustomed to dealing with. Slight vocal inflections, longing gazes, sly smiles are elements that make up a great acting performance. An actresses' job is to communicate with their body the character's goal in a scene. They characterize these goals within a scene and carry them over the length of a film portraying that character's changes (some people call this change an arc). Now, my acting experience is limited to a couple turns as the Cowardly Lion and Ebenezer Scrooge back in elementary school, but having worked with numerous actors, directors, and listened to hours of commentary I think I've centered on a good barometer of Truth in acting. Hopefully, you'll have a few things to look for after reading this.

Robin Williams as Sean Maguire

It's fair to say that he was the inspiration for this list. Specifically, this scene right here.

To set this scene up a bit, Robin Williams plays Sean Maguire, a widowed therapist tasked with counseling Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a genius mathematician with a violent past. After Hunting flippantly mocks Maguire in their first meeting, Maguire takes him to the park to show him that he's not another therapist that will put up with Hunting's behavior.

The first thing I want to point out in this performance is Williams' use of his eyes. They tend to peer out to the distance during the scene, like he's surveying. Contrasting his eyes with Damon's, whose eyes are staring down and forward, you can immediately gather that Williams is older, wiser, and more experienced. He's going to use these qualities in his speech. There is also a sadness and gravity that you can feel through the screen. I believe an actor's greatest tool is his eyes. It's very hard to lie with your eyes; that's why they call them the windows of your soul.

If you look at his facial expressions, you'll notice that his eyes sparingly change though his mouth and cheeks may show a slight smile or purse. This is contrast. Complexity is another important element in an actor's arsenal. In my experience, we don't always say what we mean or portray the emotions that we feel. Maguire's face portrays a mix vulnerability, pity, and wisdom. He doesn't overplay his pity for Will. Early in the film, Will has scared away therapist who have tried the pity card already. In order for us to root for him as Will's therapist, he has to straighten out Will Hunting with empathy, strength, and care. That is what Will needs. At this moment, for me at least, you really buy him as the only guy who can save this kid, the only guy who can help Will save himself. That is Williams' goal in this scene.

What's exciting about this scene is the intensity of it. If you noticed, Gus Van Zant doesn't cut away from Williams. He just leaves the audience there in that moment entranced. Music, often used as a crutch of emotion for lack-luster performances, doesn't cut in until the last 20 or so seconds of his speech. You just kind of stare, hanging on to every word, like Will Hunting. Williams' goal of getting through to Hunting is complete by Damon's performance.

I think Williams' success in the scene and the film is accountable to his career as a comedian. Comedians have the propensity to be amazing dramatic actors. Comedians and actors share one crucial element, something that I respect a lot: vulnerability. Standing up and making fun of yourself, your life story, and your personality to a roomful of hostile, drunken, paying customers is a frightening nightmare for most people; they do it every night. Acting involves a similar amount of bravery, especially when your acting in front of an exhausted, hungry crew of people waiting for you to remember your lines so they can break for lunch. That's why I think Jamie Foxx, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jim Carrey are such great dramatic actors. You can't fake that vulnerability.

Good acting is about bearing a character's soul. In order to tell a good performance from a bad one, you just have to think, "Did they commit?" "All the way?" Take a look at Williams performance, you can see in his eyes that he's not remembering those lines, he's getting at the root of what his character is trying to say in that scene. He's bringing every ounce of heart he can to that role.

So I hope this was helpful. I'm going to try to keep this series up as much as I can.