Deniro is pathetic
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Mission
fubared1 — 16 years ago(December 11, 2009 05:50 AM)
I mean his acting, of course, not his character. Aside from being totally out of place in a period film, with his heavy NY accent, his performance is unbelievably bad. Just look at the scene where his character breaks down and cries. Acting at it's worst. Luckily he has very little to say, so he doesn't totally destroy the film. Aidan Quinn, as his brother, is also very much out of place here. Only Irons' performance manages to save the film. Too bad Deniro didn't learn anything about acting from Irons. He certainly could have benefited from the experience.
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MariaLoathesDTWig — 16 years ago(December 12, 2009 02:04 AM)
De Niro was magnificent as Mendoza.A poignant and subtle performance.Besides,there was nothing wrong with his accent.It was definitely not "heavy".I mean what about Jeremy Irons?He was still carrying his british accent and he's supposed to play a Spanish priest!
I respect your opinion but I think it's one of De Niro's most underrated performances.
The entire Horror genre was destroyed by sequels -
EuropeanEjaculation — 15 years ago(May 02, 2010 02:08 PM)
I wouldn't say "unbelievably bad." Nor would I say "acting at it's [sic] worst"
Also, regarding his accent, I always find it embarrassing hearing American and English actors put on accents to play parts. If they go that far, they might as well just hire native speakers and subtitle the whole thing.
I'm a fan of De Niro, but I agree that he was weak in this film. I'll admit it'd be hard to convince the audience of a 'break down and cry' moment, but even DiCaprio nailed it in Shutter Island recently, and I was never a fan of him. De Niro's attempt was awkward. I didn't even buy his anger. -
mail-2775 — 15 years ago(August 11, 2010 09:54 PM)
I wouldn't say the worst ever, but he has played the exact same character in 700 films over 10,000 years and it has pretty much become him. When you see his face, you know how his voice is going to sound. Any other actor would have been better in this role.
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marcha2510 — 14 years ago(October 06, 2011 08:40 PM)
So what type of accent would you suggest? I see you have no problem with Irons performance so maybe an English accent would satisfy you. But what exactly would be the point of that? Or maybe a Spanish accent since he is after all playing a Spaniard (or was he Portuguese, not sure). Well that would be pretty much pointless too as Spaniards in 18th century South America probably spoke Spanish and not English with Spanish accents. So what is the point of even attempting an accent it just doesn't bring anything to the authenticity, not in this case. If there is anything that would give authenticity to the film it's all actors speaking Spanish (or in some cases Portuguese), including Irons of course. But if some people like yourself find it distracting, so be it.
And about that breakdown scene I don't really think of it as a breakdown scene in a sense. It's a scene of redemption, being relieved of burden he was carrying, aknowledging it and finally forgiving himself which is the hardest thing to do, because being forgiven for something doesn't matter, if HE can't make peace with himself. And that's what he is expressing tears of sorrow for what he has done mixed with tears of joy, looking forward to a new begining you know, the usual deep stuff. In my opinion wonderfully portrayed by De Niro in an overall great performance. -
rzaxlash — 12 years ago(April 25, 2013 12:05 AM)
I tend to agree. His intonations were too aggressive for the time. See the scene where he challenges the guy on the street before he fights his brother. He says something to the extent of "do you laugh at me?" In the same way he had delivered lines for scorcese. Not awful, just out of place.