‘The Actor’ Review: ‘Anomalisa’ Co-Director’s Muddled Donald E. Westlake Adaptation Loses the Plot

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Stepping out from under the influence of a creative partner can be challenging, as Duke Johnson experiences in his first live-action film, “The Actor.” Despite a career spanning nearly two decades, mainly in stop-motion animation for television, Johnson gained significant recognition co-directing “Anomalisa” with Charlie Kaufman. Ten years later, Kaufman’s input is noticeable in Johnson’s solo directorial effort, albeit it feels somewhat forced onto a film noir-style narrative – adapted from Donald E. Westlake‘s novel “Memory” – about a man regaining his memory and figuring out his identity.

The man is identified as Paul Cole (André Holland), a member of a New York City theater group in the final stretch of their Midwest tour. As the story unfolds, Paul is about to engage in an affair with a married woman when her husband unexpectedly enters and strikes him with a chair, causing a loss of consciousness. Upon awakening, he can’t recall his identity or current location; instead, he learns his name and profession from medical personnel and law enforcement officers who are helping him, but they soon push him out of town following the adultery attempt.

Due to not having enough funds for a bus ride home, he lands a temporary job at a local tannery in another town instead. There, he encounters Edna (Gemma Chan), a quiet newcomer whom he develops a budding romance with as autumn transitions into winter. However, his longing to regain lost memories becomes too strong near Christmas, prompting him to return to New York, hoping to rekindle his acting career and old friendships despite lingering memory issues.

In “The Actor,” it’s evident from the start that its grand ambitions are laid bare in the opening scene, featuring a monochrome city backdrop with diminutive buildings subtly outlined against the sky. Following the main titles for Holland and Chan, the rest of the principal cast is collectively introduced under the label “The Troupe,” which includes 12 names such as May Calamawy, Toby Jones, Simon McBurney, and Tracey Ullman. It quickly transpires that, much like how “Anomalisa” utilized Tom Noonan’s voice for all characters except the lead duo, most of the roles in this production will be essayed by one of these talented actors, each donning different disguises to portray their respective characters. In a humorous twist reminiscent of a sitcom, the concluding credits present miniature cutouts, cleverly showcasing these intricate transformations.

Johnson firmly sticks with this strategy by predominantly using studio sets. Contrasting “The Brutalist” (though it might seem implausible), the movie is supposedly set in 1950s America but was actually filmed in Budapest, Hungary. Unlike that film, there’s a lack of effort to make these backlot settings appear as authentic, believable, and lived-in environments, regardless of their time period.

In the scenes, the camera often moves from indoors to outdoors and back, following characters as they move between different sets. This is done more for creating a quick feeling of disorientation rather than breaking the imaginary barrier between the audience and the film. Joe Passarelli’s cinematography gives a dreamy feel to Paul’s environment, often giving any light source a soft, halo-like appearance instead of a sharp, defined look.

The creative aspects, including some fantastically strange animated scenes and Johnson’s habit of rapidly flashing back to previous images at crucial points, could be more impactful if “The Actor” had a deeper understanding of its protagonist’s journey. Despite the frequent references to Paul’s mysterious past, there seems to be little exploration of the disconnect between his past and present selves. Instead of delving into experiences that would have been meaningful to him in the past, the film primarily shows Paul shaping his identity by incorporating new experiences. The idea appears underdeveloped, with the focus often on a conventional character study, where Paul expresses confusion about his former self more than truly experiencing it.

In the first part of “The Actor,” Paul’s low-key interactions in the quaint Ohio town, particularly with Edna, offer a charming contrast to Johnson’s flamboyant performances. However, as the story shifts to New York, it becomes bogged down by harsh accusations and weak satirical portrayals of show business. A prolonged scene during a live TV broadcast, meant to mark Paul’s comeback to acting, tries to mimic the flashy single take of films like “Birdman,” but instead creates an unnecessary and generic feeling of escalating tension that doesn’t fit with the film’s generally understated tone.

In part, ‘The Actor’ recovers from its lowest point, but the sugary emotional ending makes it evident that Johnson’s directorial choices seem more like unnecessary embellishments, appearing as superficial quirks used unsuccessfully to mask the depth of exploration required to delve into identity in such an intense situation. The final scenes set in a blank space unfortunately reflect the limits of Johnson’s understanding.

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2025-03-11 16:19