Thursday 20 October 2011

Best Supporting Actor 1943: Claude Rains in Casablanca

Claude Rains received his second nomination for portraying Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca.

Claude Rains plays Captain Renault who is the head of the police in Casablanca. He is player of any side that gets him something being a self confessed corrupt official. Captain Renault is a very flashy role with all his scheming as well as his retorts and Rains decides to take this potential to its limit. This is the flashier performance by Rains that I have seen there is not a single scene where he does not appear to be trying to steal that scene no matter what. Rains throughout his performance is always trying to push himself and be the center of attention even when a scene has little to do with him.

Rains has basically no shame in his entire performance nor fear with his choices in this performance he always goes right out and says yes this is flashy role and that is exactly how I am going to play it. Rains does by stating each of his lines with a swift gusto, as well as when every moving on screen there is always something extra to what he does. Each of his reactions and just the way he walks has a certain extra actory quality to it only to really be flashier in the role and get even more attention.

Rains certainly through his flashiness make Captain Renault an enjoyable character to watch. He never quite makes Renault a villain rather always keeping him as a man gets only what he happens to want. Rains really shows a joy in Renault as he tries to get money and women from his position of power. Rains shows that nothing really gets Renault down to much even when he fails, which works well because it shows it as just mostly a game to Renault, a game he has lots of fun with.

Rains certainly has an enjoyable presence in the film and brings the right flash to this part. This as this exploiter who isn't quite good or even but a definite grey. He excels within the grey with great gusto. Rains of course could always play a more overt villain but here he has the right sort of intense fun with it that is appropriate for the part. He shows a man just living within the setting in a way and going with the flow of his strange position as a puppet with power in so many ways. The excelling of this is in the final moments which he makes work by really just little reactions throughout the film. This that are more than entertaining in showing how the character really feels and in moments of hesitation or calculation in what is a refined and proper showboating turn.   

1 comment:

RatedRStar said...

u farted in my face Louis Morgan lmao =D cant believe Rains loses again lol