There's No Cryin' In Movies

I hate to see crying in movies. It never really rings true.  But a lot of actors are very proud they can cry on cue. Since film school, I’ve seen many people who’ve auditioned turn on the water works, for which I’m impressed at the skill. But is corny. Call me an insensitive clod, but silent stoic bravery I think rings more honest to me. Is it an Asian thing? I’m not sure.

The ones that really do ring true is if they manipulate it to be a hard indifference. Then the character breaks down. In “Saving Private Ryan” for instance, Tom Hanks’ character portrays toughness under fire. His hands shake after D-Day but he’ll never let his group know how much it affects him. We think he’s a lifer in the military. Turns out he’s like one of them. And when his team starts to get killed. He reaches a breaking point where he disappears away from the crew and just lets it go. But he doesn’t weep like a bitch. He still maintains it in silence, so much so it shakes his core. We feel it for sure. To me, there are two types I think people really rally behind. 1) the guy who is ridiculously skilled in his trade but has flaws 2) a guy who exhibits decision making even though he knows the risks will mean his life or others but still takes the harder one.

I always like the guy who is defiant to the end. I’ve got this story a friend is pounding out now about that. People who face adversity to the bitter end, fascinate me. While others run or sidestep bad events, these people are actively putting themselves in harm’s way.

An example would be a movie like “To Live” directed by Zhang Yimou. It tells an epic story of the life of a man who loses everything in life through bad decisions and some with bad luck, is determined to keep living. The bottom line being that life is going to have awful tragedy. Most of the time it happens despite anything you do. You can ball up and die or keep moving forward. Good fortune could be bad fortune in disguise. Resiliency is an admirable quality. Which is why I think crying in movies tend to feel phony. Yes, it happens. A lot most likely. Maybe what I’m getting at is that a lot of times when people cry in movies, it should probably take more than one event. The breaking point is raised, I think if you want to attempt this. It should take a lot, where the audience always believes the next bad moment will make the person crack. But it doesn’t. I think when it pours out of the person despite themselves, is when it really feels the most honest.