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When the audience knows you’re naked
By Lisa | October 23, 2007
From filmstew.com
A fellow critic at the press screening I attended yesterday and a cross-town projectionist I was talking to today both agree: how the heck did Sidney Lumet get Marisa Tomei to show so much boobage?
Though by no means the heart and soul of the new psychological drama Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, the trio of topless Tomei scenes occurring during the first half of the film cannot help but stir up the old “character-driven vs. gratuitous” debate. At the very outset of the movie, it’s courtesy of some vigorous, mirrored doggie style action; later on, it’s post-coital, with the camera lingering on the actress as she is seen getting out of bed and then standing in a kitchen area, conversing.
A fellow critic at the press screening I attended yesterday and a cross-town projectionist I was talking to today both agree: how the heck did Sidney Lumet get Marisa Tomei to show so much boobage?
Though by no means the heart and soul of the new psychological drama Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, the trio of topless Tomei scenes occurring during the first half of the film cannot help but stir up the old “character-driven vs. gratuitous” debate. At the very outset of the movie, it’s courtesy of some vigorous, mirrored doggie style action; later on, it’s post-coital, with the camera lingering on the actress as she is seen getting out of bed and then standing in a kitchen area, conversing.
Is it essential to Tomei’s trophy wife character? Sort of. Married to Andrew (Philip Seymour Hoffman), brother of Hank (Ethan Hawke), Gina is very much someone whose self-esteem is tied up in how much a male partner lusts after her body. She is at heart an uncomplicated, sexual being, so it makes sense that she would be free and easy with her body behind closed doors.
This is not the first time Tomei has appeared topless in a movie. In fact, she was semi-naked as recently as 2005 in the little seen Matt Dillon drama Factotum. But her work in Lumet’s latest film takes it to a whole new level of titillation, as evidenced by the excitement in some circles when early trailer footage was leaked online. All in all, it’s the kind of thing that keeps Mr. Skin in business.
Predictably, the press notes make no mention of this aspect of the film. The closest thing is a quote from Lumet that describes Tomei as, “an enchanting actress. There are no two takes that are alike with her and all of them are real.”
Much more revealing is the interview article published in this past Sunday’s New York Daily News. To Marshall Fine, the actress confesses: “I haven’t decided yet [how I feel about the Devil nude scenes]. I felt fine when I was doing it, but there was no playback on the set so there was nothing for me to see. Sidney is such a class act that I had a feeling that he was watching out for me. I’m getting older; I guess I figured it was now or never. You could say it was the right director, the right time, the right body and the right age (42).”
In its own way, Tomei’s freedom with her body in Devil exemplifies the white collar nature of her character, just as her exaggerated accent in My Cousin Vinny tapped a blue collar vein. Meanwhile, for the 83-year-old Lumet, it’s business as usual, though the necessity of Tomei’s scenes pales in comparison to his use of nudity in other films such as The Pawnbroker, Equus and the 2004 HBO offering Strip Search.
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Topics: 'Before the Devil', Articles & Reviews |