That Scheming Seducer

Subject: Richard III
At times I find it extremely difficult to watch certain film actors with any sort of seriousness simply because of the celebrity that is often attached so strongly to them. It is always a challenge for me separate or simply blend my high-esteem for the arts and my frivolous obsession with pop culture. My comment on Al Pacino being a sexy beast may have come off as a bit shallow. Yet it actually encompasses many other non-physical aspects of the famous actor. I admire the “balls out” technique that he has employed in approaching a vast majority of his work including the documentary “Looking for Richard.”
At the start of the film, Pacino asks, “What’s this thing that gets between us and Shakespeare?” I enjoyed the film because it is so raw in its attempt to answer that very question. From the portion we saw in class I think they were coming up with quite a few good answers and also helping out with the somewhat difficult text of Richard III. My favorite part of the film was probably that crazy yet insightful homeless man they interviewed. He says that Shakespeare teaches us to feel through words. He explains that people now do not know how to properly use words and this abuse of language leads to societal problems. He claims, “If we said less, we’d feel more.” I think his statements about Shakespeare are particularly important in the context of Richard III where words are misused in an attempt to gain power.
Richard’s main tool of manipulation is the spoken word. Nowhere in the play is this more apparent than in the scene between he and Lady Anne, portrayed in the film by Al Pacino and Winona Ryder. He has recently murdered her husband and father-in-law, but still manages to win her. He does this very systematically with statements such as “’Twas thy beauty that provoked me.” I will be the first to admit that I melted a little when Pacino delivered this line and also when he said “This hand, which, for thy love, did kill thy love.” Simply chilling and yet simultaneously seducing. Such flattering language could even win over an audience if it weren’t for his soliloquies that expose his sinister intentions. Thanks to Shakespeare for including those, otherwise I could totally fall for that psycho.