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Matthew McConaughey, Dirk
Pitt and the Hollywood struggle to tell it how it is. Before I begin, I would like to tell you I am writing this as a long-standing fan of Matthew McConaughey's. However, I am not your average fan! I am capable of critiquing his performances objectively without interference from what is perceived as his off-screen persona. My purpose is to argue the case for Matthew McConaughey being right for the part of Dirk Pitt, the role that the author, Dr Clive Cussler, created. I would also like to give my perspective as to why I feel his casting is advantageous to the movie. I have heard and read many negative comments about Matthew McConaughey being cast in this role. It is my hope that this piece will illustrate to others that the casting of McConaughey is not a bad thing. I pull no punches in this discussion piece, as it is my view that some of Matthew McConaughey's most loyal fans are also his most unbiased critics. Let me start at the beginning and give you a run down of some McConaughey's work so far. 'A Time to Kill', adapted from John Grisham's book, was the movie that labeled McConaughey the hot new thing. The 1996 movie starred Hollywood veterans Donald Sutherland and Patrick McGoohan and the popular, Samuel L Jackson and Sandra Bullock. Before the movie was cast, McConaughey was viewed as an outsider, a no name who had to prove himself. Many in Hollywood thought the young Texan could not portray the lead character of, Jake Brigance. The casting Executives felt that an older actor would be more suitable for the role. McConaughey gave the audition all he had. I saw a clip of it once, and it moved me to tears. Joel Schumacher and the producers, of which Grisham was one, were awed by McConaughey's audition. They were sure he could bring depth to the role.
He had a lot to prove, especially since
Grisham's other books had been given the Hollywood treatment and
succeeded.
The director and producer's et al, were right to believe in McConaughey, as the movie received wonderful reviews. The McConaughey doubters were left to skulk into another corner, hoping that the young Texan would fall on his behind sooner or later. They didn't have to wait too long. McConaughey was finally riding the wave of success after paying his dues in eight previous films. He was finally being taken seriously as a lead actor in Hollywood, rather than a character or bit piece one. He also found his fan base swell, as his sweet Texan charm and oceanic blue eyes melted the hearts of many. At some point though, it all went terribly wrong in terms of the projects he chose and his acting. This is where I get down off the fence and walk away from what you perceive would be fan worship. I know that McConaughey can fall flat. It is now that I will tell you all about it. In 1997, two movies were released that I think need to be put in McConaughey's sour point file. The first one is 'Contact', with Jodie Foster. The character McConaughey played was that of a religious minister who was given the job as one of the Presidents advisors. It was a classic tale, of religion versus science. Jodie Foster played the scientist who believed that there was intelligent life on other planets. The two meet up and have what I would describe as, a half- baked relationship. Although script writers will claim McConaughey had a purpose in the movie other than being eye candy and love interest, I don't buy it.
It's a part I dearly wish he had not agreed to
do. The critical wolves began to slowly salivate at the thought of
McConaughey falling on his face. I could almost hear them say things
like, 'no match for Foster,' and 'totally miscast.'
First and foremost, in my opinion, McConaughey was miscast. I feel he was directed toward this movie by something other than his good sense, mostly to set him against the talented Foster and bump him up a rung or two in the Hollywood sweepstakes. Foster only seems to do strong individual roles, where her fellow actors can either watch and learn, or complement her character with their own gutsy performance. McConaughey was doing neither in this movie. He was just there filling in space. Any other actor could have done the same thing. This was a very poor judgment call, by McConaughey and his advisors. The lesson that was taken away from that movie is : McConaughey needs to look good, gel with, and feel at ease next to his leading lady. If none of those things fit, it shows. (You may be now hoping he smoulders with Penelope Cruz? Well if you get down to the end of this piece, you will find my views on Cruz and her ability to look convincing next to McConaughey.)
Next we move on to, 'Amistad.'
The movie was set in 1836. McConaughey was cast as yet another lawyer.
This is a story based on true-life events regarding a revolt of African
slaves onboard the slave ship, 'Amistad.' The story focuses on their
subsequent trial after the slaves arrive on American soil. This was a
huge movie for McConaughey. His co-stars were Morgan Freeman, Nigel
Hawthorne, Anthony Hopkins, and it was directed by Steven Spielberg.
McConaughey was out of his depth as someone who could work along side masters of the acting craft. He looked like a lost child in the middle of Hollywood's ‘Walk of Fame.’ His accent was tainted with the odd southern twang, and if the reports are to believed, Spielberg was less than awed with McConaughey's performance. Now, it's not all doom and gloom. McConaughey had to stop resting on the 'A Time to Kill' role, which had made him a household name in the States. He had to step out of the box and, to some degree, reassess his direction. He went away and ploughed some time into his production company, j.k. livin productions whilst also looking at the roles that interested him and he felt he could make his own. Whether the next installment was pure fluke, or part of McConaughey's master plan, I cannot say. What happened next was an opening to something his fans had seen before, very briefly: Comedy and he was good at it. It opened him up to a wider audience and placed him beside popular actors such as Woody Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez and Kate Hudson.
' Ed TV' was a vehicle that
should have been McConaughey's comedic debut. It was directed by Ron
Howard and starred Jenna Elfman and Woody Harrelson, so it had
everything going for it except one thing. The movie got lost in the
shadow of Jim Carrey’s ‘The Truman Show.’
You may be asking yourselves, "How can Matthew McConaughey add any dynamic flare to the role of, Dirk Pitt?" Well the work I have just described is varied. He has to show he can play characters older than himself and can turn on the charm, where a character demands it. You will notice that Dirk Pitt is older than McConaughey, and, yes, Dirk is a charmer. It's important for you to know about Matthew McConaughey as a person. McConaughey strikes me as a man who sees failure as a point of growth and maturity. This growth and maturity was evident in the movies I will discuss next. Matthew took action by the throat in U571 and personified suaveness and sophistication in 'Thirteen Conversations about One Thing.’ If you've ever judged Matthew as dull or stale, please look long and hard at the following movies, and then come back and tell me that he plays the characters in a dull and stale manner.
'U571' was released in 2000. It was one of
those movies that McConaughey slipped into with ease. The movie is based
on the capture of the Enigma. It did well at the box office but had a
lot of harsh reviews. This was due to the fact that Hollywood had
rehashed the story as an American adventure. British war veterans were
less than happy at Hollywood's story telling. However, despite the fury
over the plot, McConaughey sealed his reputation as an actor who could
play an action part with conviction.
Thirteen Conversations about One Thing' was released a year later. It was low budget movie that faired well at many movie festivals. McConaughey played a suave, successful lawyer, whose world is turned upside down by an accident. His performance, albeit small, was flawless. Now we come to the present
day, where the opinions on Matthew McConaughey are mixed. Following on
from the rom-com/chick flick, 'How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days', we have
news that McConaughey is cast in 'Sahara'. Dirk Pitt is the action hero of Clive Cussler's books. Fans of Cussler have grown fond of Dirk, and his adventures. They were, I read, deeply disappointed, as was Cussler over the movie adaptation of another of his books, 'Raise the Titanic!' 'Raise the Titanic!' was released in 1980 and was immediately slammed by critics. Fans of Cussler's and critics united in their view that the late Richard Jordan had been miscast as Dirk Pitt. In light of this, it's easy to see why some are getting uptight about McConaughey taking on such a role that has by all intents and purposes, a massive following. My view on casting is this: When people read about a character, a picture is cemented in the minds of the readers. It's hard to budge. As the adventures keep coming, the reader's feel almost as if they know that character back to front and inside out. Fans of Dirk Pitt are wondering how they can identify with McConaughey in this role. Dirk Pitt is adventurous, suave, deep, a handsome ladies man. I think I may be describing Matthew McConaughey! The actor's job is to step into the character to the best of their ability while not taking anything away from the writer's character overview. McConaughey will not step, he will slide into this role. I get the feeling he wanted this part more than his left arm. My question is, why put yourself through that if you feel you are not up to the task? He has a lot to lose. No pressure here, but if McConaughey does not make Dirk believable to Cussler's fans, he may as well pack up and move to Outer Mongolia. I've become a bit of Cussler fan since I heard McConaughey was taking the role of Dirk Pitt. I have been very interested about how Cussler writes about the dynamics of Dirk's relationship with others.
Part of McConaughey's job as Dirk will be
gelling with the other characters. Now, it's not his call whose cast in
the different roles, although I am sure he has an opinion. I am not
concerned too much with Steve Zahn; I think the two will work nicely
together. Zahn is cast to play Dirk's best friend, Giordino.
I am more concerned that reports tell us Penelope Cruz has been cast as Dr Eva Rojas. I simply cannot believe this is true, and if it is, please could someone have a stern chat with the casting people? This is not good! I suspect now I will get Cruz's fans, stating her case. I would invite them to convince me she is the only actress who can pull off this role. Let them argue she is not a flat actress with limited range. I suppose, yet again, it depends on how the scriptwriters of Hollywood view her character and write her in. From bitter experience, we know how Hollywood can change things. What I don't want to see is a similar, uncomfortable chemistry that was seen in 'Contact'. McConaughey has grown up quite a bit since 'Contact' and has finely tuned his charm, but will it work with Cruz? Go back to my comments about McConaughey and Jodie Foster in 'Contact' if you are in any doubt about how chemistry can affect a movie. If the two don't gel on screen, I fear two things may happen: Cussler's fans will get irate and claim miscasting of both McConaughey and Cruz; or they will dismiss the love affair on screen as being too difficult to swallow, thus putting them off the rest of McConaughey's performance. I really hope I am wrong on both counts, but we movie-goers are fickle things at times. This is one project McConaughey has to get right. He cannot rest on just his looks, and he cannot rest just on his charm. He has to bring something much more to the table. To be fair, an actor can only work with the script he or she is given. The most respected actor on earth can fail with the wrong script and miscasting. I remain optimistic that the script will come together. I have heard that Dr Cussler doesn't like the script that the producers have picked. It does not look too good, does it? I hope for all involved a resolution is found; if it is not, the movie may bomb. However I am a strong believer in, "where there is turmoil there is hope!" I hope by now you can see how an objective review of McConaughey’s past roles provides evidence that McConaughey can play Dirk Pitt. I am not a clairvoyant though, and if I had a crystal ball it would be misty, but I can say this: McConaughey has had his moments, ones that are worthy of being placed on the cringe wall. He has had successes with a myriad of entertaining and thought provoking pieces. He's fallen on his knees on a number of occasions, but when getting back up, he sees his mistakes, learns from them and takes his knowledge to the next character he plays. He is in this business for the long haul; he isn't going to let a few bad movies take away his love for the craft, or his passion for learning more about it.
He's determined, just like
Dirk Pitt. He's resourceful, just like Dirk Pitt. He's an adventurer,
just like Dirk Pitt. Add to that a reputation with the ladies, and you
have Dirk Pitt!
He's a giver, a believer, and a hard worker. He will research, I am sure, all aspects of Dirk Pitt and immerse himself in Cussler's thoughts on bringing this book to life. You don't need to worry about his intentions regarding his taking of the role. I feel his agenda is good and true, and the only thing that will make the whole thing come unstuck is the script. Can Hollywood keep Dirk Pitt and the story the same? Can they trust the actors to play the parts as Dr Cussler wrote them? Does Hollywood listen? Well, they do have a problem with telling it how it is from time to time, but that will not be the actor's fault. I ask all Cussler fans who have reservations on McConaughey's casting to come to the table of 'Sahara' with an open mind and remember there are many factors in making a book to movie a success. Unless you can study every single movie McConaughey ever made, you cannot judge him too harshly. From past experience, McConaughey has this knack of surprising his critics. Let's hope this is one occasion he will do just that.
© Vanessa Reece.www.awriterssoul.com2003. All rights reserved. |
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