The last few weeks have seen a whirlwind of activity in the entertainment sphere and most of it is related to news that indubitably makes the general public lose the little faith we had in the giants we call celebrities.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, one of the greatest acting talents of our generation, overdosed on heroin. Hoffman has served as one of the most brilliant character actors of all time. From smaller performances in classics like Boogie Nights and The Big Lebowski to leading roles in acclaimed films like The Master and an Oscar winning performance in Capote, Hoffman has expertly captured the ethos of many distinctly complex characters.
Perhaps the persona he paid the least attention to was the one facing him in the mirror.
It is not an easy thing to assume a personality other than one’s own, to essentially become someone else. Total immersion in a separate personality often leads to the most authentic and riveting performance an actor can give. It is also has the potential to be incredibly destructive.
The most recent example that comes to mind is that of the revered Heath Ledger. Ledger gave a disturbingly accurate performance in Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece The Dark Night, in which he played the Joker, a performance so genuine that it was both simultaneously brilliant and terrifying. Soon after production was completed on the film, Ledger took his own life.
Hoffman’s situation does not entirely parallel that of Ledger’s but there are similar tones. In Ledger’s case, the work brought out his inner demons; Hoffman threw himself into his work to try to escape those very same. Hoffman developed a drug problem in his twenties but was able to kick it for the majority of his acting career, a “sobriety” streak that spanned 23 years.
Hoffman did many amazing things during this period: he started a family, acted in and directed numerous films and shorts, and cemented his legacy as a legend in the film industry. However he was found with over twenty baggies of heroin when police investigated his apartment to perform an autopsy. Go figure.
How could such a respected figure be so unhappy? How does someone with everything in the world relapse into such destructive behavior? Is Hoffman the victim of disease in this scenario or is he the ungrateful perpetrator? These questions all yield nebulous responses. Who can really ever know?
Another unfortunate piece of news that has reared its ugly head over the past couple of weeks is that Woody Allen allegedly molested his daughter when she was seven years old. Allen is indubitably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time; his work transcends traditional genres and gets categorized as it’s own entity. Allen is a cultural icon. He has become a societal archetype likened to every nerdy, funny boy with glasses.
When Dylan Farrow published an open letter in the New York Times two Sundays ago, in which she accused Allen of molesting her at such a young age, Allen diehards didn’t know quite how to react. Now, after Allen has published a letter essentially claiming that Dylan’s mother, actress Mia Farrow, brainwashed her in contempt of Allen, we’re still not sure. The whole situation sucks, period. If these allegations are true, how can we possibly separate the artist from the man? Is it possible to enjoy Annie Hall (one of Allen’s landmark films) without being reminded of the terrible things that the maker is accused of?
This leads to a broader question in terms of art in general. To what extent does an artist’s personal life affect how we view their work? Can we enjoy Chinatown without being reminded that it’s director, Roman Polanski, was accused of statutory rape all those years ago? Should we feel that we are morally reprehensible people for continuing to watch Duck Dynasty despite egregious remarks made by the show’s star Phil Robertson? All of these quandaries are too subjective to be answered effectively.
On one hand an actor is acting. He is pretending to be someone he is not, and therefore the man should have no bearing on the art. Conversely, to what extent do we let people get away with their moral corruption? At a certain point, pressing issues become too large to ignore.
