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| Won: Academy Award - Best Actor | Golden Globe (Drama) - Best Actor |
Years ago, before Oscargasms came to fruition, I was haphazardly watching and reviewing various movies that piqued my interest. One of those films was Wings. For a picture that had very little surprises outside of Buddy Rogers' drunken hallucinogenic bubble episode, one moment that I can usually recall is that of Gary Cooper’s cameo at the half hour mark. We see Cooper waking up from a nap, hair perfectly coiffed, where in typical old-Hollywood fashion, he then smolders his way through his 2 or so minutes of screen time. Moments later, Cooper's character dies in a plane accident while practicing figure eights. While brief, he had about him a radiant energy in those moments that are effortless yet impactful. I ramble on about this because I find it ironic — and fitting — that my journey with Cooper should end at High Noon. For what Cooper delivers in the film is heavily silent, and there is a forcefulness in his presence I’d not felt since that very cameo in Wings.
I suppose this archetype of the courageous idol who bravely sets off to fight the good fight would come to define Cooper’s most distinguished work. Familiar readers of this blog know that my viewing journey of Cooper’s Oscar-nominated performances has been nothing short of rocky; from Mr. Deeds Goes to Town to his Oscar-winning work in Sergeant York to the godawful The Pride of the Yankees to the dull-as-paint-drying For Whom the Bell Tolls, Cooper has carved out a speciality in stoic, solemn and (seemingly) unchallenging performances, portraying oft-detached man's men.
Where High Noon differentiates from the aforementioned films is simply due to the fact that it is a far superior picture, concisely ideated and honest. Cooper, visibly older (perhaps because I was watching a Blu-Ray version of the film) and a smidge ramshackled than last we left off with him, does not deviate from his usual quiet, pensive, unemotional persona here. But whereas this very persona does not pair well against the inspirational tone of Yankees or the flightier vibe of Mr. Deeds, it's well matched here with Fred Zinnemann's isolating direction.
The overall sense of dread is laid on thick in High Noon, and central to this is Will Kane's own cocktail of desperation and borderline-expired sheer will. Each of Cooper's 51 years of age are made obvious through every close-up the camera makes - the lines in his face a jarring contrast to an otherwise adolescent Grace Kelly - and yet it complements the broader film and the character quite nicely. While he has never been an emotive performer, his weathered mug serves as a nice canvas and window into the quiet storm that brews inside of Kane.
Cooper has certainly played action-savvy heroes before, but he's different here. High Noon is not a film crippled with a corny, propagandist agenda (Sergeant York), nor is it a dull, dawn out epic wherein Cooper is surrounded by a supporting cast more colorful than he (For Whom the Bell Tolls). High Noon is a breath of fresh air in that it's a picture wrought with anger; bookended by Frank Miller's vengeful anger and Will Kane's own anger towards Hadleyville for turning its back on him, Carl Foreman's pointed allegory to McCarthyism summons an honest, "human" hero out of Cooper, as opposed to the superficially "perfect" heroes he's played in York or Yankees.
As silly as it sounds, there is something very magical in watching a loner remain undaunted and overcome all odds to defeat the bad guy, and I'm tempted to credit Zinnemann's sharp direction for my own enjoyment of Cooper's performance. As usual, I don't think Cooper is a masterful actor here; his acting still reads as really simplistic at times (which is one of my biggest issues with him overall), and there're moments in his performance where I felt a more intense actor could have really packed a punch (curiously enough, Brando turned down the role, as did Monty Clift, which is baffling and awe-inspiring if only because I'm now playing out in my mind how both men would've handled the part). But for once, Cooper's general limitations as an actor fit inconspicuously into his film. I've spent a lot of time over the years crankily reviewing Cooper, so how lovely that we get to end on a high note.
I thought he was very good here. Nothing masterful, but a solid, respectable, quietly powerful turn. I'd give him a 4 actually. What did you think of the two ladies? I remember being very impressed by Jurado and not caring much for Kelly, who I thought was a little jarring.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought about giving him a four at one point, though I revisited it and there are a few too many bits and pieces peppered in the film where it's clear Cooper just doesn't have the acting chops to sell some of the more tenser moments. I get the feeling that a stronger actor could have really upleveled this one.
DeleteGrace Kelly was....okay at best. I think Jurado was better between the two, though I'm not sure she was good enough to warrant a nomination (not that Grahame was either, but I think you know what I mean)
I dislike the film and Cooper in it. As an actor, he has little range and tends to do better with the silences than the dialogue, so the fit of this role is almost perfect, but Cooper was never capable of deep-digging or nuance in his characterizations. What you see is what you get. He fits the bill (except for looking like Kelly's elder father) but there's nothing Oscar-worthy here.
ReplyDeleteI get what you mean with Cooper's acting. Disagree about the film - I thought that holistically, High Noon was wonderful!
DeleteYikes, it's almost a decade since I saw this. I remember thinking highly of the film (that build-up to the final shoot-out is intense), but I don't remember anything remarkable about Cooper.
ReplyDeleteCooper, from published accounts, was aware of his limitations. (He noted that Franchot Tone, his co-star in two pictures, was a better actor than he was; Cooper was mystified why Mr. Tone didn't have a bigger career.)
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree that Cooper's acting skills align well with "High Noon". (I like the picture a lot.) But I think it's a mistake to put too much weight into this thespian's or that thespian's Oscar win. The Academy Awards have been political since their beginnings. Who gets the Oscar in any given year is always a case of merit mixed with the whims of the Academy's membership. (When the studio system was firing on all cylinders, there was heavy politicking by the majors for their employees to vote for their employers' product.)