Last week, a little lost amidst the political roilings, I noted the passing of Sydney Pollack over at NewCritics. Pollack was one of preferred directors, classy and tasteful, the very notion of Hollywood Establishment, at least to me.
As I mentioned there, I think Tootsie remains one of the great screen comedies; and one reason for that, besides his assured direction, is Pollack's sharp performance as Michael Dorsey's agent.
There's a lot of great moments in there, but the one that I still think of first is the moment, at the height of the craziness, when Michael, having been groped by one man and proposed marriage by another (as Dorothy), goes to his agent and explains all of it to him. As he says in passing that he got a marriage proposal and oh yeah, even got a ring, the two of them stop and check out the ring. And Pollack compliments the ring and asks how he plans to handle it, and for a moment, they both fall into discussing Dorothy's life as if it's real.
In the comments there, Steve Barnes reminded me that Pollack's acting was, in many ways, as key to him as his direction:
There’s a good reason why Mr. Pollack was known as and actor’s (or star’s as the case may be) director. He was a very good actor himself. From appearances in several of his own films, to roles in Woody Allen’s “Husbands and Wives,” Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut” to the final season of “The Sopranos,” he put a pretty solid string of performances on screen. He deserve to be remembered for those, too.
I agree with Steve, and it's very true that Pollack was a wonderful, underrated and subtle performer, often the best thing in the works he's in. And I think his sensitivity as an actor does explain volumes about the trust he got (and deserved) from his actors, especially stars - like Redford - who were not necessarily famous for talent first (don't get me wrong, I love Redford as an actor... but let's not pretend the blonde and the baby blues aren't key).
In any case, this is a good time to recommend Steve's equally informative and thoughtful post over at his own blog, which I think merits regular visits. And to remind anyone in a position to schedule film festivals (like, say Film Forum) that a retrospective of Pollack, as an actor, would I think be a revelatory thing - like another facet on a diamond.
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