Paul Cole finds himself stranded in a mysterious small town with no memory of who he is or how he got here. As bits and pieces of his past slowly emerge, he attempts to find his way home, but time is slippery, appearances can't be trusted, and it's unclear which of his identities is real.
Memory, Актёр, 디 액터, Actorul rătăcit, 演员
USAR 
American Samoa 
Guam 
Northern Mariana Islands 
Puerto RicoR 
US Virgin IslandsR USAR American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands USA
Co-directed by Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, 2015’s “Anomalisa” told a walking nightmare of a story about a motivational speaker who perceives (almost) everyone he meets to be the same identical stranger. They all share the same face, they all speak with the same voice, and they all reflect the inescapable self-absorption of the main character, whose hell is that he can only see the world through the prism of his own two eyes.
“The Actor” — Johnson’s solo feature debut — is a similarly dream-like film about a man suffering from the exact opposite problem. His name is Paul Cole (a fantastically dispossessed André Holland, mining rich layers of terror from the fear of forgetting one’s role in life),…
The Actor had always intrigued me from all the mysterious synopsis I had seen scattered around film s on IG. While it may not have lived up to my expectations, I do still think that it has a seriously unique atmosphere that helps carry it across the finish line.
The performances are solid and Holland does a good job in the titular role, but it’s Gemma Chan who (unsurprisingly) steals the show.
As I said the atmosphere is really unique and “vibe-y” and it’s easily the films biggest strength. I wish the story itself had been a bit stronger, but as a whole the actor still gets the job done and for this film in particular, I feel like that’s sufficient.
may calamawy playing multiple characters and is still being underused is criminal
Calling something weird when Charlie Kaufman is involved feels like an understatement, but The Actor wasn’t as strange as I expected. It certainly had its surreal and existential moments, but it felt more restrained compared to Kaufman’s other works. I liked it for the most part, though I wouldn’t call it great.
My expectations were fairly high because the director, Duke Johnson, had previously worked with Kaufman on Anomalisa, which I really loved. That film had a unique, emotionally resonant quality that made its surrealism feel deeply personal. The Actor, on the other hand, didn’t hit me in the same way. While it still had an interesting narrative and some creative storytelling choices, I found it lacking the same level…
42/100.
Highly forgettable amnesia drama.
Andre Holland and Gemma Chan had a potential chemistry. Cinematography's good enough, but increasing the blur was not a good option. Director wanted to create an effect similar to a fever dream, but efforts became meager.
The film could've effectively utilised the concept of amnesia with still more solid moments. The scenes set in fictional town lacked a proper detailing and disclosure. Despite its setbacks, The Actor is a good experiment which can be watched once.
If Synecdoche, New York and Memento had a pointless baby. 🎭
The Actor is one of those movies I heard of but never seen any trailers for until last week and after seeing this I was curious of it as I love movies from Neon. However after seeing this, I was confused on what the plot or if Paul Cole was playing an actor who was amnesia but really doesn’t or not and how it rarely has any character interactions. On a positive note, I thought Andre Holland was terrific as he’s an actor who should get more recognition for the work he contributes to Hollywood.
As much as I wanted to love this movie, I found it to be an ok mystery thriller that can be seen when it streams
5/10
Curious; head-scratching; mysterious; oneiric; quirky; short; stylish; thrill-free; unsatisfying; well-cast.
I was curious about this because it’s directed by Duke Johnson, who co-directed Anomalisa with Charlie Kaufman. They set the movie up like a Twilight Zone episode (they even do the classic Rod Sterling-style narration breaking down the setup). The whole movie frustrated me. I hated the way the movie was presented with several actors playing multiple characters as a disillusionment for our amnesia-stricken main character. Duke Johnson’s directing came off kind of amateurish at times. Even though it had a unique visual style (with some clever transitions) some of the scenes were shot like a student film. And a good portion of the second act seemed to go nowhere. I ire the creative risks Duke Johnson made, but they didn’t all work for me. I really liked Gemma Chan’s performance though and wish she was in it more.
we have memento at home
An amalgamation of pointless vignettes that are among the worst looking cinematography that I’ve seen for an independent film in recent years. Horrible sepia filter (giving RuPaul’s drag race season one level of quality) and overbearing score that never worked in favor of establishing the intended whimsical atmosphere.
Despite the name The Actor, there is nothing substantial about art making or performance. Nothing compelling about the premise either. In fact, I couldn’t stop thinking as to why Andre Holland’s character has never interacted with any other black person, considering that this film evokes a 1950’s New York aesthetic. Poor choices on every front.
Pretty head-empty movie. The plot is basically nothing except for the main character trying to things, but that takes a backseat at some point to fill in the quota of titling your movie "the actor." Everyone is great here, but the script needed, like, three more revisions before they even considered filming.
