Overacting?
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jeffrey-friedman-1 — 18 years ago(April 15, 2007 10:14 PM)
I have to agree with duked.
Sandy Dennis by far was one of the greats. Her performances in the films that duked mentioned were clearly world class.
Perhaps what you call over-acting is really an exemplary dramatic flair that captures the attention of the audience and brings them right into the plot almost as a participant.
She was in a class by herself. -
BigGoon — 18 years ago(June 21, 2007 08:25 PM)
Absolutely!!! I've only seen her in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Out of Towners and am now consciously avoiding anything she's in (although she appears to be far enough down the credits list of Splendor in the Grass to make it safe).
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heberald26 — 18 years ago(February 12, 2008 08:31 AM)
Thank you for reminding me of this.I saw this years ago and I loved it.
I found Sandy's neurotic performancebrilliant. MAN. Three actress that I would have loved to have seen work together
Sandy Dennis, Geraldine Page and Meryl Streep. -
marbleann — 18 years ago(June 27, 2007 10:21 PM)
I liked her a lot. She was very good in Up the Down Staircase and The Out of Towners. But I can see how some people were not crazy about her. She was the type of actress you either liked or not. But no matter what she was a good actress.
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huweyjenkins — 18 years ago(July 10, 2007 10:35 AM)
I find her mesmerising in most every performance she gave. There is/or was a lovely interview with her on YouTube from a Canadian TV show and she appears very modest and down-to-earth. She gave some startlingly-good performances though i can see whey some people think she over-acted. The only performance of hers I didn't like was as a rather dippy nun in "Nasty Habits" and it appears that she was trying to pull everything out of the hat acting-wise to save this turkey of a movie.
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patchofblue65 — 18 years ago(August 10, 2007 09:12 AM)
She was great in an early Altman film, "That Cold Day in the Park" shot in my hometown of Vancouver,BC. She plays a disturbed middle aged lady who "kidnaps" a young man. It's rarely shown, but her performance is spectacular. Also, another favorite of mine is when she was in the original "Sweet November" with Anthony Newley much better than the crappy remake.
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SimplemindedSociety — 13 years ago(May 25, 2012 02:19 AM)
.. is her persona in films basically herself?
In WAOVW, did audinces think she was playing an extreme charcterization, and didn't know she would be basically the same personality(to a certain extent) in films to come? It doesn't make her a lesser actress, only means her range was limited. -
ToastedCheese — 1 year ago(April 17, 2024 11:37 AM)
I'd say its more her own persona that shines through than anything. She displayed range and nuance within each different character she played.
Up The Down Staircase
, she was completely believable as a high school teacher wanting to reach her students.
Dennis was an actress that made her craft seem so easy, as though she wasn't acting, but was just being present. I don't feel she had to prove any range.
Norman! What did you put in my tea? -
SimplemindedSociety — 15 years ago(September 23, 2010 11:39 PM)
I can see why a person would think in those terms due to her offbeat,idiosyncrasies when these qualities were basically her, not overacting,as such.
to quote:
'Sandy's signature quirks her stuttering, fluttering, throat gulps, eye twitches, nervous giggles, hysterical flailing are all a part of what made her so distinctive'..
'A dedicated exponent of the 'Method' technique via the Actor's Studio, her physical neuroticisms could either captivate or repel audiences.'