The most important aspect for experiential actors is the sense of imrsion. So thod School actors, when performing crying scenes, can cry beautifully. The skilled ones can even control which eye sheds a few tears. Additionally, to cry elegantly, they avoid having a runny nose, at most just frowning. A beauty frowning with tears can indeed create a good visual. But in contrast, it’s sotis more impactful to see soone crying with a full display of tears and snot.
Because of the imrsion, the performance feels earnest. In reality, people often ask: "If you had another choice, would you regret it?"
Reality doesn’t offer them a chance to regret, but acting does.
At least, at this mont, Bo Yan and Xia Siyu, even though they’re playing movie roles, can’t help but think about what if they missed a step back then, what their situation would be. Therefore, their performance isn’t superficial. Even if their first take was rejected and NG’d, the viewers can evidently feel: they are deeply imrsed. So much so that it feels like they’re not acting but displaying their own lives.
The more takes they do, the more pronounced their sense of fate and entanglent becos. Moreover, both of them can’t help but treat the characters as themselves. The male lead wants to approach, but is alone with nothing but passion and talent, unable to support the female lead’s life. The female lead wants to escape the quagmire but is in too deep and fears criticism, so she continually brainwashes herself and attempts to brainwash the male lead that their love is a thing of the past.
Li Yiru notices that Xia Siyu’s tone now differs from when acting with her. When refuting the male lead, her speech quickens, while it lowers when lanting fate. It doesn’t seem like a display of technique, but as if she’s experienced it herself, natural and lancholic. During their pull and push, their language, actions, and glances are all just right, with no contact whatsoever—not even a fingertip, let alone a kiss or a bedroom scene.
Yet, occasionally when the female lead turns her head, the male lead takes a soft sniff with closed eyes. After the male lead leaves, the way the female lead twirls the cup he drank from around her fingers needs no further explanation. Their feelings are like this tea: seemingly bland, but once tasted, it evokes a myriad of emotions deep within.
A scene originally planned to take a whole night to shoot. Even though the director had directed plays before, plays differ from films, and the script was revised in terms of romance scenes. He knew they were together, and precisely because of this togetherness, he feared they wouldn’t deliver the subtle regret and ambiguity. Yet ironically, they perford it exceptionally well, as if it had happened to them in real life.
That’s the art of film; unless it’s a comrcial film that relies on lust and violence for appeal. Otherwise, this enduring, elusive, and endlessly intriguing feeling is the hallmark of a literary film.
After tonight’s shoot, not only did Li Yiru fully accept it, but so did he.
However, there’s another reason true couples avoid acting together: it’s not just that actors might not be able to imrse themselves, but the roles can also backfire on the actors. So real-life couples acting out joys and sorrows is fine if they end up together in the story. But the fear is they might break up/divorce in the story, which could impact their real lives. Thus, many true couples avoid this situation.
But Xia Siyu, once the scene was over, imdiately dragged Wei Jingjing off to get so candy, completely different from her on-screen persona.
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