The small face of Anthony Hopkins always unnaturally gives people a sense of evil charm. The small eyes of the spirit, seemingly kind, do not hide the knife in the smile, but can bring about a delayed horror effect like two hours after drinking .
This is exactly in line with the characteristics of Hannibal in his masterpiece "The Silence of the Lambs", cunning, perverted, arrogant, and fierce like eating people without spitting bones. Yes, he is indeed wanted by the police in the film. cannibal demon.
It is unimaginable that with only 16 minutes of performance in the film, 54-year-old Anthony won the 64th Academy Award for Best Actor, and is the pioneer and holder of the record for the shortest appearance time among the winners in history.
Because Hannibal's role is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, a lot of interesting things happened after winning the award.
Once, Hopkins saw a problem with a woman's car on the highway. He kindly stepped forward to ask if he needed help, but the other party called the police and said someone was going to eat her.
At a certain awards ceremony, the host also brought out a sheep brain for him to taste. Although he was a little unhappy, he politely took a bite, which attracted the audience below.
After Hannibal, Hopkins played a number of classic roles, such as the kind father William in "The Burning Years", the actor Nixon in "Nixon", and the mysterious Robert in the American drama "Westworld". Doctor, of course, Odin, the father of the gods in Thor, and so on.
Before "Hannibal", Hopkins had almost entered the dead end of his acting career. After "Hannibal", he opened a new path for himself and became one of the best actors in Hollywood and even the world. one.
After a lapse of 29 years, the 83-year-old Hopkins is gearing up to bring a "Father Trapped in Time" , which once again shows us what is called a master of acting who is not old.
If the film "Father Trapped in Time" is taken literally, you would think that it might be a fantasy or science fiction film about the concept of time, but it is not. The film is a complete drama.
Anthony, played by Hopkins, is an old man who has reached his old age , but old age is not scary. What is scary is the gradual confusion and even disappearance of memory. Because of Alzheimer's disease, Anthony's eldest daughter is going to live in London again, and Anthony has to be sent to a nursing home.
Due to his inner stubbornness and unwillingness, Anthony built a whimsical world , where he wrapped himself, as if he was still strong and independent, but reality kept impacting his disguise until he was "naked" and defeated.
His eldest daughter, Annie, repeatedly brought a nanny to take care of her daily life. This incident aroused great resistance from him. There seemed to be a lion in his heart, trying to roar and defend his dignity. He's not old, he's still healthy, he doesn't need to be taken care of.
But the next action ripped open his cover without reservation . When the eldest daughter said that she was going to live abroad and that if he could not accept being taken care of by a nanny, he would have to live in a nursing home, Anthony's inner fragile side was completely exposed.
" If I heard correctly, you are going to abandon me, what should I do ?" He still pretended to be calm in his words, but his eyes gradually became restless, and he even sucked his fingers like a child. An extreme lack of security in the heart.
Immediately after the daughter left, strange things began to happen frequently.
A strange man who claimed to be the husband of the eldest daughter appeared in the apartment, and Anthony asked who he was and why he appeared in his apartment . The answer was, "I've always been here, and you, Anthony, are the tenants who moved in."
Before someone rang the doorbell, another strange woman appeared. He asked the other party what was going on and where was his eldest daughter Annie , but the answer he got was: " I'm right here, father ."
What the hell does this happen? But if you guessed that this is a suspense movie, you are wrong.
Anthony began to perceive more out of the ordinary . While falling asleep, he suddenly had a hallucination, as if his daughter was calling him. When he walked to the living room, he heard the whispers of the eldest daughter and her husband.
"It's better for him to put him in an institution, a nursing home."
"Why are you saying this now, that girl will come to work tomorrow."
"No matter how well she does, that day will come. He's sick, Annie."
The argument was followed by a quarrel, and Anthony overheard the truth, but then the conversation between the two was interrupted by his presence.
The plot has developed to this point, and the audience has obviously understood the context of the story, and the reality that the old man is unwilling to admit has intensified his psychological defense. But more serious things are yet to come .
When her eldest daughter was away, her husband cursed him many times for how long he would be shameless in someone else's house.
On another occasion, he slapped him directly, and he cried and told him to stop until the eldest daughter came.
Obviously his psychological defense line is about to burst, and those countless small cracks have merged into huge cracks, and no amount of repairs will be in vain.
The film not only uses interludes and flashbacks to express the confusion of Anthony's memory, but also constantly switches the appearance of the characters and the tone of the scene to compare the two states of the old man.
For example, the appearance of the daughter and her husband is the appearance of the eldest daughter and her ex-husband when he is sober, and the doctor and nurse of the nursing home when he is confused.
The color of the apartment is a change of warm and cold. When Anthony is happy, its color is warm, and vice versa, it is gloomy and cool.
There are three scenes in the film, one is the old man's own apartment, the second is his daughter's apartment, and the third is a room in a nursing home.
Anthony has repeatedly emphasized that the apartment is his own, but he still unknowingly discovered the changes in the environment of the apartment. The paintings on the walls changed, the placement of the chairs changed, and the scene gradually transitioned from his apartment to the nursing home. . The tone also changes from warm to cold, a metaphor for the failure of its own defense.
When Anthony was in good condition, facing the nanny brought by his eldest daughter, he justly refused. He also said that the former nanny stole his watch, so he was driven away by himself. In the film, Anthony regards the watch as his life, which is obviously a metaphor for his desire to save the passage of time .
Until the eldest daughter brought the nanny named Laura, Anthony suddenly became happy . And had a strong desire to perform, drank red wine, and danced tap dance. She also said that Laura was especially like her little daughter who always likes to giggle, and said to herself that her little daughter hadn't come to see her for several years.
In his heart, Anthony wanted to accept the babysitter in the image of this little daughter, but he was unwilling to accept his fate to be taken care of. So he started to fight back again. He said that he bought this apartment more than 30 years ago, and that the eldest daughter was taken away by the man and wanted to leave him... He also vented his anger on the eldest daughter, saying that he did not love her.
After all, the conflict was resolved. He let go of some precautions , accepted the fact that he was taken care of by a nanny who looked like his youngest daughter, and waited happily for Laura to arrive the next day.
He was even a little flustered when he heard the doorbell, and told the eldest daughter who was going to open the door not to leave him alone. He wanted to change out of his pajamas and meet Laura in a decent manner. The eldest daughter even said it was okay, and immediately opened the door.
But the one who walked in was not the familiar girl , but another middle-aged nurse named Laura. He asked where is the eldest daughter Laura? The eldest daughter was at a loss as to what he was talking about.
But in the follow-up footage, we found out that the youngest daughter had died in a car accident long ago , and the nanny was imagining the image of his youngest daughter. Behind the irresistible, the big woman left him, and he tried to forget the fact that his younger daughter was dead, eager to keep the last trace of warmth for himself.
At the end of the film, in the cramped room of the nursing home, the nurse Laura comforts poor Anthony, and the audience finally recognizes that this nurse is the woman who started the film claiming to be the eldest daughter Anne, and the doctor who opens the door to ask about the situation is playing the daughter's husband. people.
In order to resist the fading memory, he imagined the two men as enemies who were going to drive him out of the apartment . It's just that the more rebellious, the more the helplessness and sadness of this old man are reflected.
" I feel like my leaves are all falling off. I miss my mother and I want to go home ." As Anthony's condition worsened, the world he had built with all his heart finally collapsed. The single apartment in his fantasy, the care of his eldest daughter , the care of the babysitter in the image of the little daughter, and the leisurely moment of listening to the symphony... all disappeared.
Everything dissipated, and a demented old man struggled in vain after all . And just outside the window, the leafy tree contrasted with the decay of the old man's inner world. It turned out that Anthony had been living in the nursing home for several weeks, and every day he would ask who other people were, who he was, where I was, and so on, and Laura would take the trouble to explain it every time.
Seeing this, it is inevitable to feel some sadness in my heart. Parents will eventually grow old one day. If they gradually become no longer aware of their children and no longer know themselves, what kind of mentality should they face towards themselves, and what kind of mentality should their daughters have? take care of them?
At the age of 83, Hopkins interprets the physical and psychological characteristics of a dying old man who is unwilling to accept the reality but has to face the truth, which makes people cry.
I think we should pay tribute to this actor for such a great performance .
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