A Filmmaker's Guide to: The Natural Dramatic

In this chapter of ‘the filmmaker’s guide’ we’re actually going to be learning about literature and film together. I understand that many of you are sitting in university during difficult times and finding it increasingly hard to study and I understand that many of you who are not at university or not planning on it are possibly stuck of what to do, need a break or even need to catch up on learning film before you get to the next level. This guide will be brief but will also contain: new vocabulary, concepts and theories, films to watch and we will be exploring something taboo until now in the ‘filmmaker’s guide’ - academia (abyss opens). Each article will explore a different concept of film, philosophy, literature or bibliography/filmography etc. in order to give you something new to learn each time we see each other. You can use some of the words amongst family and friends to sound clever or you can get back to me (email in bio) and tell me how you’re doing. So, strap in and prepare for the filmmaker’s guide to film studies because it is going to be one wild ride.

The Natural Dramatic

What is it?

In this article we are looking at acting that is both naturalist (in which the acting is almost a part of natural feeling) and dramatic (intended to draw in the audience to the drama and tension of the film). This is focused on the way in which the acting abides by the intentions of the film and so, we will investigate the best actors and their roles that commit themselves to this way of filming, way of acting and way of presentation of themselves.

Who are we looking at?

Various actors. Actors who enhance the films with their acting. Actors such as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. Naturalist actors who seek to be as natural and as human as physically possible. I think that Al Pacino is quite possibly the greatest example of this in all of human history. Why? Well because of his reputation for versatility and his reputation for being one of the greatest actors in human history.

The films and the acting

When we look at films, I think that when it comes to Al Pacino there are many films with the most important being "Scent of a Woman" which are important in the realm of naturalistic acting. "Scent of a Woman" is based on a novel, but the film won Al Pacino the Oscar for Best Actor at that years' Academy Awards, beating the legendary Robert Downey Jr. to his Oscar for Chaplin.

"Scent of a Woman" is not the only great piece of dramatic yet, naturalist acting of Al Pacino, films like "Dog Day Afternoon", "The Merchant of Venice", "Two for the Money" and even "Donnie Brasco" are also examples of this.

The dramatic conveys the drama and the naturalist shows us that there is no forcefulness involved. Let us take for example "Donnie Brasco". Al Pacino shows no sign of forcing the crime situation, yet we can see that he is perfectly aware of the tensions involved within the storyline in order to build up the way in which the story flows.

When we come to all of his other movies, notably “The Godfather” trilogy, “The Devil’s Advocate” and even his minor roles in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and “Ocean’s Thirteen” I think that we can definitely see that Al Pacino and other dramatist actors plan their roles almost meticulously in order to set up the tension with perfect timing and brilliance. I personally believe that naturalist yet dramatic acting is something of the best acting you can commit yourself to as that it requires almost a Shakespearean look at drama and we all know that, through the performance of Shylock in “The Merchant of Venice” and others, that Al Pacino is perfectly educated in the way in which almost Shakespearean acting impacts the way in which the audience views the drama.

Even though Al Pacino is one, he is one of many. Including Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant, James Stewart and even Peter Lorre, these actors know and hone their craft from theatre and vaudeville to suit the audience that they have evolved as an actor, to work with.