August 27, 2004
he'll always be Gandhi to meFilm
if scary movies are your bag, baby, be sure to check out the latest film starring Krishna Banji (aka ben kingsley):
Kingsley's presence in "Suspect Zero" tells us it must be one of those brainy serial-killer movies in which the killer is much smarter than the FBI agent who has been hired to track him..."Who's the pursuer and who's the prey?" we ask ourselves, thoughtfully tugging our beards (imaginary or real) as we observe the agent-killer tête-à-tête and ponder the gnarled, twisted roots of humanity.
..."Suspect Zero" was directed by E. Elias Merhige, who previously made the inscrutable "Shadow of the Vampire."...Kingsley plays Benjamin O'Ryan, a serial killer: That's not a spoiler, since we know he's a lunatic in his first scene. (When he makes his entrance, Merhige shoots him upside down, in the rain, so the drops drip upward from a door frame -- please don't bump your head on the symbolism on your way out.) Kingsley does lots of silent-movie eye-flashing in this picture -- he's monstrously good at it, too.
via Salon.
anna on August 27, 2004 04:56 AM in Film · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
I want to have Ben Kingsley's babies. I have wanted to for quite a while.
I thoroughly enjoyed Gandhi, but Sir Ben completely BLEW ME AWAY in last year's The House of Sand and Fog, where he played an Iranian immigrant. In theory I'm opposed to Hollywood's ethnicity games, but BK carried off the demeanor, the expressions, the speech and the attitude of an ex-Iranian general like the TOUR DE FORCE that he is.
Check it out. And don't forget the Kleenex.
Sexy Beast was a damn good movie too. He was one mean mo-fo in that film.
The NYT didn't like the movie and barely mentioned the estimable Banji, OBE.
But I second the plaudits on House of Sand and Fog and Sexy Beast... Intensity, thy name is.
Salon.com didn't care for it either, but i was going to let our readers find out about negativity on their own. :)
i won't let myself see "sand and fog" until i read the book, and i haven't done that yet, so...
But you really should see "Sexy Beast." He's incredible as a psycho criminal guy, the right hand man of the boss, who everybody else is petrified of.
He does a very good scary bad guy, although you'd never expect it.
In theory I'm opposed to Hollywood's ethnicity games, but BK carried off the demeanor
not sure what you mean by this, but if you meant that BK is a white guy playing a South Asian/Iranian, it may be of interest to you that BK is half-indian. Birth name "Krishna Banji":
http://www.peacelink.de/keyword/Ben_Kingsley.php
I think 'j' means pitting the ethnic actors against each other for the limited # of ethnic slots. Kingsley's birth name is, of course, in the first sentence of the post:
this is so kool it helps with school projects 2!!!!