Alternate Best Actor 2013: Terence Stamp in Song For Marion

Terence Stamp did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Arthur in Song For Marion. 

A Song For Marion is a tad too cornball as a film about a widower trying to cope with the death of his wife by joining her choir group.

The film itself isn't especially good as it falls too often into scene after scene of "aren't old people wacky" in several scenes of geriantics. The saving virtue of the film is in its lead of Terence Stamp, who you might say is almost in the wrong film as he intends to deliver something that the writer of the film might struggle to comprehend. This is as the film itself isn't too assured in its methods of portraying the struggle of Terence Stamp's Arthur, who as the film opens is dealing with his wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave) who is dying from cancer, and is outgoing, while Arthur decidedly is not. This film honestly seems to what to treat this almost as something precious as well in the way a lot of scenes are framed, however Stamp's performance intends something far more dramatic in his portrayal of Arthur's general grumpiness. Stamp doesn't hold back in this regard putting a real intensity within the character's bitterness especially as it connects to the decaying state of his wife's health. Stamp doesn't brush it off as nothing, bringing something far deeper in creating the sense of anger in the man, and presents a harsh man in Arthur, who seems frankly not at all at ease with the general excessive goofy portrayal of most of the characters.

The film lacks a proper detail most points, take for example we get only some snippets of Arthur's relationship with his son James (Christopher Eccleston), which we're told is just generally tense, mainly illustrated through a scene where Arthur yells at him for being late, due actually due to Arthur's own confusion. Although the scene is lacking as written, Stamp manages to give it a bit more than is there through his work that offers the blunt disregard and particularly direct forcefulness of a father far too prone to discipline towards his son. Stamp finds just the right approach within this as he gives enough a reality even towards the rather thin material. He does not hold back, even when the film seems to. This is often what Stamp's work amounts to throughout the film, as he tries to consistently grant an honesty to the material that is rather lacking within it. When Marion does die, Stamp is able to find the real heartbreak in the loss, and the immediate hollowness of his state as he initially withdraws to nearly a nothingness at the point. This setting up of course Arthur finding his way towards life again through his wife's old singing group, and especially through their choir leader Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton).

The scenes become pretty obvious where they are going to go, as Arthur is going to become less of grump as he becomes part of the choir and becomes friends with Elizabeth. Again though Stamp is terrific as he does not fall into easy sentiment, in fact outright refuses it. Stamp, even in the somewhat overt humorous moments intended for him, stays true to his honest approach to the character by making his eases away from bitterness gradual. Stamp is so successful in this approach, as he only lightens his delivery a bit, his hard eyes, only a bit, granting appropriate ease in the transformation. He never jumps fully to a man he's not. Now the reason though I'm talking about this film, are the two main songs in the film, the one sung by Marion and then the one for Marion. These scenes are the obvious highlights of the film, and the reason being Terence Stamp's performance in each. The first being Marion's song to Arthur essentially of "True Colors", which takes place obviously before his transformation, however Stamp uses it brilliantly to suggest that possibility. Stamp is quite outstanding in the scene, as it is just the silent reaction to Marion singing. Stamp takes a subtle, so poignant, approach as he shows as the song goes on his look of callousness fades to this quiet affection that so strongly shows his love. What is most powerful though is as the words prod him, Stamp is fantastic in being able to just exude enough of that emotion on the edge, while still showing Arthur trying to hold it in. It's a marvelous moment, only bested by Arthur's solo performance of "Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel)", at the climactic performance of the choir group. Stamp delivers one of the finest moments of his career in his performance of the song. This is in every second of it as he depicts the initial hesitation of the introverted curmudgeon, before a prompting from his granddaughter, that gets him to sing the song. The actual performance delivered with such a refined passion by Stamp with such heart given to every word. The most heartbreaking touch being Stamp's way of keeping his eyes closed during the song, and with this quiet anguish across his face as though he is indeed singing directly to his deceased wife. Stamp offers only a real emotion in the moment that skirts any cheap manipulation, to grant something so much more potent. That is the highlight of his work, and if you took only the songs, you'd think this was a far greater film, given they focus so directly on Stamp. Although the bridge between these songs is shaky within the film, Stamp still never is, and even though the songs are far away his best moments, this stands nonetheless as a touching portrait of grief by Stamp that rises far above its material.