Entering the first scene with an imitation firearm in hand, protagonist Luca (Yiannis Niarros) tells the audience, “This is just an acting exercise.” This could describe Antonis Tsonis’s first feature film, each scene is unevenly acted and universally overstated. An exploration of obsession and guilt turns into a freak show that is too big for its boots.
Luca is a young method actor from Athens. He lives with Alekos (Kostas Nikouli), his brother, who is frustrated by Luca’s all-consuming approach to theatre. In wanting to be like his idols, Marlon Brando and Al Pacino, he often ignores everything around him so as to practice accents or character ideas. Back at their place Stella Adler tapes encourage him with commands and parables about acting. He understands what sacrifices are required of a method actor and even agrees to quit Melina’s (Chara Mata Giannatou) play.
Both brothers are mourning their mother but the protagonist uses his family tragedy as a reason to go further in his craft, arguing with Alekos over whose fault she became an addict due to her past trauma with violence. Alekos wants them both let go however so he plans a robbery that will force them move on once it fails they’ll have no choice but face reality together realizing there was always more than meets eye about themselves and their relationship
When the heist goes wrong, guilt sends Luca on a journey through various characters that blend fiction with reality. In search of redemption he forms friendship with Ilias (Alexandros Chrysanthopoulos), a young man who got shot accidentally during robbery attempt. On paper this relationship should have provided main tension point but director keeps interrupting it by introducing new outlandish situations.
Brando With A Glass Eye is a crossbreed of genres, visuals and sensibilities; nothing sticks together in it. Not even Niarros, who is tireless. Luca has something unlikeable about him which affects how viewer relates to the story as whole. That’s not saying he’s unredeemable character his playfulness can be engaging especially when teaching Illias acting basics.
Luca’s journey is presented with experimental style that combines thriller with psychedelic visuals. The oddball imagery reflects main character’s disturbed mind and grabs audience attention. The powerful score by Alexandros Livitsanos underscores seriousness of situation in which Luca finds himself being wanted by police but at same time becoming friends with person he didn’t plan to hurt intentionally. However there’s roughness in editing causing gaps between scenes so one gets feeling watching separate sketches focusing on different personas of Luca while other characters get neglected thus failing establish strong bond between them and us
Even though Brando With A Glass Eye ambitiously explores intricate details associated with method acting, it doesn’t have captivating style that keeps people interested all through. The intended depth of an arc centered around losing oneself within art ends up being overshadowed by too much love for theatrics. While every aspect needed for examining method acting through nuanced eyes exists in the story about a guy like Luca its implementation seems more like a parody revealing unintentional self-caricature of both the hero himself but also his craft.
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