战鼓轻悄

The music in Bang the Drum Slowly is absolutely fantastic, it not only accompanies the mood, but actually builds on top of it. The film is beautiful, even though not much really happens in it, and often feels like it is lacking of something to make it really go. Nevertheless, the it brings the audiences in by showing us the inner dynamics of a baseball club, and how one person could change it. It is both sad and funny that it requires someone to be on the heels of his life for others to truly"bang their drums", a beautiful and fitting analogy. Although Bruce Pearson isn't the brightest chap around, he is the character that unites the team when nobody believes in him. Robert De Niro plays the role perfectly and his persona shines through, though there are notable misshapes in the film as well.

看《战鼓轻悄》我一直在想一个问题：一部体育片，到底需不需要热血沸腾的逆转胜？这片子反着来——主角Bruce从第一幕就注定了死亡。豆瓣7.0，不到1000人评价，冷门得对不起德尼罗后来的地位。但正是这个冷门片，让我看到了德尼罗最细腻的表演：他演的不是绝症患者的悲壮，而是那种“我知道自己要死了，但别让任何人可怜我”的别扭。关键场景在更衣室，Bruce对队友说“我比你们想象的更累”，德尼罗的脸完全松弛，连眼袋都在演戏——那是一种放弃抵抗的疲惫，比任何哭戏都狠。导演汉考克把镜头对准了球员之间的沉默和尴尬：队友得知真相后，没人敢正眼看Bruce，训练时故意多给他扔几个球。这种细节的真实感，来自幕后资料里说的“原型纽约洋基队”——当年的球员没现在这么光鲜，兼职卖保险的Henry就是时代缩影。但我也要吐槽：节奏是真的慢。中间二十分钟简直像在拖时间，队友们一个个跑来跟Henry谈心，对话重复感强。有人说戏剧张力不足，我认。可绝症对人的消磨就是这样——没有戏剧性，只有日常的磨损。Henry要求球队把自己和Bruce绑定的设定，放在今天看不可思议，但正是这种“不自由”成全了友谊的厚重。结尾没有奇迹，Bruce死了，Henry继续打球。最后一个镜头是投手丘上Henry的背影，配乐轻得像叹气。这比任何口号式的“生命万岁”都戳人——活着的人只能继续投球，而镜头已经提前完成了告别。如果你能忍受体育片不燃，这片子就是德尼罗早期最被低估的演技课。