well he shows you better than i could articulate why he is a formidable force in two of the most powerful and engaging movies i have ever seen.
firstly, there is bent. the movie is based off of a play, that tells the story of two homosexual men during the holocaust. clive's character, max, is a self professed "horrible person" who meets horst on the train on the way to dachau. after horst gives him advice on how to survive, max seeks his friendship to the point of bribing a guard to put them on the same job: the mind-numbing work of rotating piles of rocks for no apparent reason. it is meant to drive them mad, and horst doesn't take too kindly to the arrangement...at first. the attraction they feel towards each other culminates on one hot summer day while on their 3 minute break that allows them to stand still at about face, they find a way to make love.
as a person who lives for language and is sensitive and aware enough to feel without touch, i appreciated this but also as a lover of actors. they commit and take you on this journey with them.
[so they it off youtube but its brilliant.]
secondly, is closer which is also a play, where clive played dan. this movie introduced me to him and proved natalie portman to be a beast in small packaging. two other well acted scenes where two actors are sparring with one another, totally committed to their roles and taking you with them. clive plays larry who has just been dumped by his wife, anna played by julia roberts for dan played by jude law who left alice played by natalie.
it is a circle of deceit, pain, and love that rips at these people and leads to some fantastically brutally honest dialogue. its the language, the body movement, the look in their eyes. here he is in two of my favorite scenes where he expresses the intense pain of losing someone the way only a man could.
he plays complex tortured characters so well, the lovable brute.
one fascination down, many more to go.
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