‘Telegraphing’ violence onscreen

DANTES AND SORIANO. In-your-face believability. FACEBOOK PHOTO

Last week’s telecasts of “Ang Dalawang Mrs. Real” must have been exceedingly painful for fans of Dingdong Dantes to watch because their hero’s heretofore unmarred and perfect facial features were “rearranged” by fierce blows courtesy of Maricel Soriano, after her character had (very belatedly) discovered that he had a second wife in the person of Lovi Poe’s much younger character—with a spanking-new baby to further complicate their already tempestuous lives!

It was all done “for art’s sake,” of course, but some of Dingdong’s fans are still empathetically “hurting” —and wondering: Did Maricel really have to go that far to make her betrayed character’s anger and pain in-your-face believable?

—Well, let’s see: Stage actors will tell you right off the bat that most highly charged emotional and physical moments can be “approximated,” instead of actually depicted with full force and painful consequence. It’s all about the angle and apparent force of the assault, as perceived by the viewer.

So, stage thespians have become experts at believable simulation rather than actual physical depiction, keeping in mind the principle that the viewer’s perception is limited or “edited” by any foreground action or object that “masks” the actual force of the slap or blow that is being done, as per script or directorial instructions.

We have, in fact, acted in plays where we weren’t just physically assaulted but even “stabbed” or “shot” in full force and fury by a coactor, only to instantly and fully “recover” at the end of the scene—none the worse for wear!

However, film and TV are different from the stage situation, because the angles that the camera either reveals or conveniently masks are affected by new considerations like camera placement and movement within the shot, how the other actors in the scene are positioned or made to move, etc.

Close-up view

Thus, it’s more difficult to do “pretend violence” for the camera than in the theater situation, where the viewer is farther away from the action than the filmgoer’s often close-up view.

So, yes, Maricel could have “telegraphed” or muted the force of her blows, but it would have taken greater skill and care on her part, without the violent scenes coming off as “faked.”

In addition, there’s the complicating factor of the actor, either the “attacker” or the “attacked” (or both!) who is a stickler for complete physical and emotional credibility and “unction,” and needs to play everything “for real.”

Sometimes, it’s the “attacked” actor who prefers this, despite the fact that he has to cope with the pain and welts he gets, because he believes that he can “use” the pain to “trigger” the extreme emotions required of him in a particularly intense dramatic “moment.”

A third consideration is some directors’ penchant for resorting to anything and everything, just to make an emotional confrontation not just believable but powerfully persuasive—the sort of thespic “highlight” that viewers will talk about for days, thus boosting his melodramatic masterpiece’s cachet!

Movie oldtimers still talk about the acclaimed director who would himself slap a recalcitrant star to instantly produce a cascade of tears on demand! And another famous megman who was known for his ability to get the best performances out of child actors was rumored to painfully and secretly pinch his young wards to similarly cry on cue!

So, which situations or factors were specifically operative in the case of “Mrs. Real’s” slapfests last week? Only Dingdong, Maricel, Lovi and their director know for sure —and it doesn’t look like they’re about to spill the beans and spoil the melodramatic “fun” by telling!