4. Maura Gale - Fortune (Metal Gear Solid 2)
What We Should Have Got: Fortune is supposed to be a strange character, full of juxtapositions. She's a slender woman, but she wields a massive rail gun that you might expect a large man to carry; she's literally invincible, but she pities herself and cries all the time; she's black, but she's got blue eyes and bright blonde hair, including her eyebrows; and her heart is even on the right side of her body. I think the point is clear: she's not what you expect. We needed a performance that was heartfelt, raw, and able to convince us that Fortune is somehow a real person despite the juxtapositions. She seems totally unreal in her abilities and her appearance, to the point where other characters declare that it seems like a bad dream when they meet her. Being grounded and delivering lines in a natural way is key.
Why It Matters: Fortune isn't the most important character in Metal Gear Solid 2, but the part of the story that revolves around her (Dead Cell's arc, and the mystery surrounding her powers) demands a believable performance. Maura Gale's delivery was responsible for Dead Cell feeling like a serious part of the Metal Gear universe, rather than some Saturday morning cartoon baddies.
What We Got: Most people don't complain about Fortune or Maura Gale's performance, but that's because it blends in with the confusion and craziness of MGS2. She's an interesting character, and the way she's presented on screen is perfect (of course) so we don't notice the bad delivery as much, but there are a few lines that make the close listener squirm; in particular, the scene with Vamp by the elevator. The line where she turns to leave and says, "Later, Vamp?", is totally misread, to the point where it hardly even sounds like a question. It's like she divided it into two different sentences, and then added an exclamation mark at the end of both. Yikes. Also, the whole crying part where she holds Vamp in her arms and weeps is painfully false. Maura obviously feels the need to maintain a tough and soulful feeling, without realising that it was okay to have moments of real pathetic sadness. We got a strange kind of crying that doesn't match what real people sound like. It's the kind of "pretty" crying where your voice doesn't crack, you can control your tone, and it almost sounds more like chuckling. I know I'm not the only person who mistook her bawling for laughter - and that's not acceptable. I don't believe that Maura Gale was willing or able to understand and internalise the character of Fortune, so her delivery became generic and catch-all, but I also have the feeling that Maura would have gotten it right if she had just gotten a bit more instruction and done a few more takes. She just wasn't
fortunate that day. Har.