Seeti Maar
Jack Nicholson-90′s & Beyond
Ratnakar Sadasyula
In 1992 Jack did another of his scene stealer acts in A Few Good Men , where in a negative role, he stole the show from Tom Cruise , as Col Nathan Jessep, a US Army officer who covers up a murder. His outburst in the “You cant handle the truth son” scene ranks as one of the greatest.
His next biopic Hoffa directed by his friend Danny De Vito , about the controversial trade union leader Jimmy Hoffa, was however a critical and commercial dud, followed by disappointments like Wolf and Mars Attacks .
And just when we thought that we had the seen the best of Jack, he comes up again with a superb performance in 1997’s As Good as It Gets , as a paranoid, cantankerous, homophobic writer Melvin Uddal . Funny, sympathetic, cranky, sensitive, paranoid, Jack gives one of the finest performances which would stay with you forever. He thoroughly deserved the Best Actor award for that movie.
Usually noted for his often over the top acting, Jack Nicholson, came up with a restrained subtle performance in About Schmidt(2002) , as a retired insurance official, who has to question his own life, and attend the wedding of his daughter to a guy he never liked. Watch his expressions at the last day of his work, when he knows he will retire soon, and he strikes a chord somewhere with you. As also when he tries to dissuade his daughter from marrying the guy she loves.
And of course the dark, cynical, Jack of old was back in 2006’s The Departed as mob boss Frank Costello , giving a total knockout performance. But somehow I fail to understand how he was not even nominated for this. But then nothing will change the fact, that Jack Nicholson a.k.a Frank Costello a.k.a Melvin Uddal a.k.a Jack Torrance a.k.a The Joker will always remain one of the greatest actors from Hollywood.
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Ratnakar Sadasyula is full time techie, part time writer. Presently based at Hyderabad, Ratnakar writes on films, cricket and politics. Bihar days is Proud to have him in our team of regular contributors.
Here is the link to his blog
Seeti Maar- Diary of a Movie Lover
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