Journal: News & Comment

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Lost in Translation is an excellent movie. It's slow, with big pauses, and it's sad, but it's also quite funny. And how did Bill Murray sneak into being such a good actor? He's astounding in the subtle way he plays his character—and subtle is the last thing I would have imagined in his days of Saturday Night Live, Caddyshack, and Ghostbusters.

His role as Bob Harris reminded me of his earlier (still good, but not as good) performance in Rushmore, though without the earlier character's nastiness. There are even similar scenes in swimming pools, where you expect something significant or at least slapstick to happen, but all Murray does is think as he swims. It takes skill to play a scene with no talking, yet where the audience knows what you're thinking anyway.

See the movie.

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