Brad Pitt: 5 Awesome Performances and 5 That Sucked
5 Awesome Performances
5. Kalifornia - Early Grayce
Kalifornia itself was a bit of a flop. With a budget of around $9 million, it was never expected to rip up any trees, and it duly lived down to this expectation. But buried beneath this minor-leaguer was a revelation; Brad Pitt could act. So whilst Kalifornia is probably his most little known film on this list, its undoubtedly one of the most important. Ill clarify. Pre-Kalifornia, Brad Pitt was often perceived (probably fairly at this point) as a sort of Robert Redford-lite; good at looking impossibly hunky or glamorous in a role, but little else. His turns in Thelma and Louise and Johnny Suede were probably the most notably examples of this. Essentially, he was playing fluff. Often well-acted, well-directed fluff, but fluff nonetheless. Kalifornia really shook this up with a novel idea; they would take that clean-cut good guy and grunge the shit out of him. Gone was Pitts easy, charming persona, replaced with the leering visage of an unwashed sadist. He utterly dominates the film with his shocking behaviour and harrowing amorality. You actually share the other characters fear of him and his malevolent presence. Usually when an actor makes a concerted effort to play against type, you roll your eyes and expect the worst. But what was so truly shocking about this film was that not only could he actually do it, he could smash it out the park. And think, if it wasnt for this film, crazy, violent roles/films wouldve been off-limits to Pitt. There would be no compellingly unbalanced performance in Twelve Monkeys, nor a deliriously entertaining turn in the ultraviolent Inglorious Basterds. What a shame that wouldve been.