The Ben Kingsley Sensation
Where does one commence when describing the brilliance of Ben Kingsley? He stole the show as Mohandas Gandhi in Gandhi, put in a stellar performance as Meyer Lanksy in Bugsy, and further pained the hearts of viewers as Itzhak Stern in Schindler's List. The intensity of his work in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, however, continued on into the 2000s, with brilliant performances in Sexy Beast and House of Sand and Fog. His performance as Georges Melies in Martin Scorsese's recent adventure/drama Hugo, however, is no different.
Kingsley's performance as Melies in Scorsese's feature has reinforced, once again, the actor's aptitude for roles of intensity and portrayals of historical significance. Melies was a French filmmaker and magician, a pioneer in the development of the medium of cinema. The depression and angst with which Kingsley brings this figure of history to life onscreen is worthy of praise. His performance is also a nice detour from the poor projects he has been part of in the last half a decade, such as War, Inc., The Wackness and, the worst of them all, The Love Guru. Kingsley may have redeemed himself as Dr John Cawley in Shutter Island, but his second collaboration with Scorsese on the set of Hugo reinforced his return to cinema of grittiness and heart, rather than narratives of cheap gags, haphazard political satire, and boring stoner "coming-of-age" tales. The sadness with which Scorsese paints his cast in Hugo is brilliantly mediated and conveyed to audiences by his actors.
Kingsley is a cinematic genius; his collaboration with Scorsese on the set of Hugo has further reinforced this fact. He was brilliant as Gandhi, amazing as Lanksy, breath-takingly brilliant as Stern and just awesome as Don Logan and Massoud in films listed earlier in the article. His work of late, however, is a return to the intensity of roles he has undertaken previously. If anything, they are an extension on these in terms of their force and strength.
By Chris Traficante