Marlon Brando makes speech sound difficult, as though admitting a feeling costs him something. We rate him most highly when that struggle makes a character painfully human, though his later work does not always repay such close attention.
Fi1m perspective
In On the Waterfront (1954), Brando makes Terry Malloy struggle to say what he feels. The docker and former boxer seems so accustomed to protecting himself that he can barely acknowledge his own hurt. Brando delays the words without making the difficulty look rehearsed. We were moved by that hesitation, because he makes speaking honestly seem like an effort Terry might not manage. We want to hear him finish before we have decided what to make of his choices.
He entered films with The Men (1950), then played Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The latter helped establish him as a major screen actor, bringing a raw physical expressiveness that challenged the demand for neatly spoken lines. His early work brought method acting to prominence, and his mumbled delivery was widely imitated. But copying the sound is not enough: in On the Waterfront, we can hear a man trying to work out what he feels.
Elia Kazan's film gives him actors who make that uncertainty harder to hide. Eva Marie Saint's Edie Doyle pays attention rather than simply waiting for her turn, and Brando has to respond to it. Rod Steiger's Charley Malloy is a demanding partner too, keeping their exchanges from becoming a solo display. Budd Schulberg's screenplay settles questions of right and wrong more readily than Terry can, and we find its moral lecturing less persuasive than the performances. The acting gives us enough to think about without the extra instruction.
The Godfather (1972) and Last Tango in Paris (1972) revived his profile, with Don Vito Corleone in the former giving him the authority of an ageing patriarch. That weight is a substantial reason to see The Godfather. His later appearances were sporadic and uneven, and some show too little effort to reward close attention. Start with On the Waterfront, where Saint and Steiger have as much right to our attention as Brando does, and accept the sermon that comes with it.
Biography
Marlon Brando was an American actor. Born on 3 April 1924 in Omaha, Nebraska, he died on 1 July 2004 in Los Angeles, California.
He gained acclaim for his Broadway and film performances as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Brando won Academy Awards for his roles as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954) and Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972), declining the latter. Other notable performances include Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now (1979) and Jor-El in Superman (1978). He studied with Stella Adler and helped popularise method acting in mainstream cinema. Brando was also an activist for civil rights and Native American causes.
