Rapid Eye Movement

[kant1781]

Hej there, I thought about: why not use all of these forums instead of cramming everything into one.

Spain_1 wrote this in a different thread:

Rebecca, ¡Wow!, how she scratches her nose while she listens to the philosophical aspects of preparing O’boy, or her half smiles all over the film.....but the best, the stuff that could make melt a huge, huge, huge iceberg are her eyes.
I don’t have to tell it to you, but I never saw eyes that expressive. Each time she is thinking about something, like for example if she should go to the party, she moves around her eyes in a way that a normal person can't remain untouched.

And this is so true. So if you'd like to be touched a little bit more, you may want to download and watch this (if you don't know it already). It will make your day:

http://www.goodwin.ee/ea/ea7-3.mpg

There's more here:
http://www.goodwin.ee/ea/screenshots.html

[JimmyC]

Thanks a million, this is GREAT! omi! esp. the link to more rebecka!

[Spain_1]

Thanks for the link.........you know, when I see Rebecca in all her interventions I'm amazed by her mastering of timing. She's never in a hurry to make appear her dialogues as many other actors, she takes time to make you try to discover her thoughts before she finally reveales it to you........even in that simple TV series............well, nothing new to you, Iguess.

[kant1781]

Exactly!... even in a simple TV series. What is typical is that I watched this scene with the Swedish dialogue many times before I found out what exactly it is that they are saying. And of course it turned out that the dialogue is absolutely everyday, even trivial. It's nothing more than somethig like "Hi, how are you doing, listen, would you join us to play minigolf this afternoon, Tobbe is going to be there and my girl-friend, yeah, why not". A scene like does normally really doesn't involve any acting. But if you watch Rebecka say her lines without knowing their meaning, it always looks like it must be Shakespeare.

[Nemo_Me]

I have to say the best eye moment she has is when Elin walks into the school and hugs Jessica. In that one moment, that she looks up and then back down you can see more emotion than most Oscar winning actors could make with an hour speech, crying, screaming and all the package.

[PackDude]

Yeah, one of the things that I find so amazing about Liljeberg is that she has such multi-faceted facial expressions. She almost looks like a different person in each scene, depending on the message. Even though in the back of your mind, you know she is the same person. It's uncanny -- she's like a human kaleidoscope. I see glimpses of other girls I have known in the past, other actresses, too. It's so freaky that it's cool.

I seriously think she should have had top billing for FÅ instead of Alexandra. Not that Alex is a bad actress, but Rebecka is absolutely incredible.

[Ian]

To be fair, I imagine it was simply an alphabetical privilege rather than anything else.

[snaps]

Yeah, one of the things that I find so amazing about Liljeberg is that she has such multi-faceted facial expressions. She almost looks like a different person in each scene, depending on the message. Even though in the back of your mind, you know she is the same person. It's uncanny -- she's like a human kaleidoscope. I see glimpses of other girls I have known in the past, other actresses, too. It's so freaky that it's cool.

I seriously think she should have had top billing for FÅ instead of Alexandra. Not that Alex is a bad actress, but Rebecka is absolutely incredible.

Top billing is in this sort of case determined by number of lines, scenes etc and quite rightly Alex is first. It is not anything to do with talent or experience. I know Rebeckas style is very naturalistic and understated. In only a few glimpses do we see her stray out of her very carefully managed internal shell. I think Alex had the more difficult part to play with a greater range required of emotional tonality. The line and change in mood tone Elin delivers on her revisit to Agnes when she says (an almost impossibly mature reflection for a drunk 14-year old) ''Maybe I should go home now'' lasts only a few seconds but should be shown repeatedly in acting master classes.

Acting styles change over the years and at the time FA/SML was made a lot of attention was being paid to ''eye acting'' as a window to the soul etc outward expression of inner feelings as represented in the concurrent interest in neuro-linguistic programming. By the time ''Water Lilies" (which should be viewed for comparison) came to be made emphasis had moved from the naturalistic to the realistic, hence the emphasis on tonality in breathing as a substitute for awkward direct verbal communication.

[fish]

What she said.

(still trying Google translate on it though, might have to swap. )

People's opinions on the "who's the better actress" question are often coloured by their affection for one over the other.
My view is that Alexandra certainly had the more demanding role because Elin's was a more dynamic personality while Rebecka's Agnes was the more passive.
As far as the "eyes" are concerned, how could anyone not see into either Elin's or Agnes' soul through those performances.

A true test of their respective abilities comes at the end, in the "O'boy" scene. It's a nothing. A little scene of a young girl waffling on because she's a bit nervous, doesn't know what's in the future but has confidence in the decision she has made. Another young girl drinking a glass of chocolate milk, happy at last. But look closer at the hand gestures and facial expressions. This is not a performance in front of a film crew, this is real life. This is how to waffle on about nothing. And this is how to drink a glass of milk.

Who's the better actress? When two performances near perfection you don't even ask.

[Ian]

Beautifully put, fish.


Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something in my eye...

[PackDude]

Thanks for the great comments snaps and fish. I really appreciate your additional insight into the matter. I admit I'm biased towards Rebecka, but now that you point it out, I can see how difficult it might be to play Elin's part. It's always good to get at least two sides of the argument.

Snaps, I watched Water Lilies tonight, which is another very well-done and beautiful film. It is comparable in a many ways to åmål with regard to the characters, plot, and such. Interesting to note the differences in acting/filming styles that you pointed out. Thanks again.

[kant1781]

Rebeckas style is very naturalistic and understated. In only a few glimpses do we see her stray out of her very carefully managed internal shell. I think Alex had the more difficult part to play with a greater range required of emotional tonality. The line and change in mood tone Elin delivers on her revisit to Agnes when she says (an almost impossibly mature reflection for a drunk 14-year old) ''Maybe I should go home now'' lasts only a few seconds but should be shown repeatedly in acting master classes.

Ay snaps!