I think Brando's great performance in 'Last Tango In Paris' must have taken something out of him and he decided to let himself (and his art) go. His performance here is not one where he becomes his character, rather one where he does on screen whatever foolish thing came into his head and everyone called it great acting. Brando had done this before in 'Mutiny On The Bounty' and 'Candy'.
In his greatest movies, Brando not only becomes his characters, he owns them for all time. No one will ever do the part of Stanley Kowalski, Terry Malloy or Vito Corleone as well. Most stars create one indelible persona and make a career playing variations on that character. To his credit, Brando created several such characters and tried not to repeat himself.
What Brando did in Missouri Breaks is the equivalent of Picasso urinating on a canvas and passing it off as art. Brando must have been laughing on the inside at what he was able to get away with. The director didn't do his job and rein him in. Would John Ford have allowed this? Hardly.
What's wrong with his performance? To start off with, why cast such a fat man as a bounty hunter/regulator in a Western? Every old picture of the old west shows mostly lean wiry people. The only overweight people were some politicians and some of the rich. Bounty hunting was hard, dangerous work. Dressing up like a granny, the changing accents, etc.? Yes, Brando's character is an insane killer, but even an insane killer has to have a veneer of normalcy to succeed. These over the top eccentricities might have been tolerated in New York or San Francisco but would have gotten him lynched elsewhere. All the other actors, Nicholson, Stanton, Quaid etc. seem to be have a different idea of where this movie is going from Brando.
I think Brando gave up on himself and on taking acting seriously with this movie. With the exception of 'Apocalypse Now', nothing that came afterwards is of lasting value. Unfortunately, by helping to trash this movie he hurt not only the Movie Industry (which he always hated) but the rest of the cast as well.
I don't know what happened to Brando. Perhaps there was self loathing for his eating problem and his dysfunctional family.
I contrast Brando's career with that of another less talented but harder working method actor, Paul Newman. Newman started with less talent but has done more consistently good work than Brando.
In his greatest movies, Brando not only becomes his characters, he owns them for all time. No one will ever do the part of Stanley Kowalski, Terry Malloy or Vito Corleone as well. Most stars create one indelible persona and make a career playing variations on that character. To his credit, Brando created several such characters and tried not to repeat himself.
What Brando did in Missouri Breaks is the equivalent of Picasso urinating on a canvas and passing it off as art. Brando must have been laughing on the inside at what he was able to get away with. The director didn't do his job and rein him in. Would John Ford have allowed this? Hardly.
What's wrong with his performance? To start off with, why cast such a fat man as a bounty hunter/regulator in a Western? Every old picture of the old west shows mostly lean wiry people. The only overweight people were some politicians and some of the rich. Bounty hunting was hard, dangerous work. Dressing up like a granny, the changing accents, etc.? Yes, Brando's character is an insane killer, but even an insane killer has to have a veneer of normalcy to succeed. These over the top eccentricities might have been tolerated in New York or San Francisco but would have gotten him lynched elsewhere. All the other actors, Nicholson, Stanton, Quaid etc. seem to be have a different idea of where this movie is going from Brando.
I think Brando gave up on himself and on taking acting seriously with this movie. With the exception of 'Apocalypse Now', nothing that came afterwards is of lasting value. Unfortunately, by helping to trash this movie he hurt not only the Movie Industry (which he always hated) but the rest of the cast as well.
I don't know what happened to Brando. Perhaps there was self loathing for his eating problem and his dysfunctional family.
I contrast Brando's career with that of another less talented but harder working method actor, Paul Newman. Newman started with less talent but has done more consistently good work than Brando.