De Niro
September 29th 2006 08:58
This is the most recent biography to have been released about Robert De Niro, that reclusive actor who delves into rabid depths of method madness. Biographer John Baxter has done a pretty decent job here too... he manages to assemble a mass of material that would have entailed a LOT of research and he manages to say something new too, which is something all good biographies strive to do in order to be fresh and relevant I guess.
Is this one fresh and relevant? Pretty much.
Is it good? I'm not as sure about that one...
To present a clear picture of De Niro's early days is an achievement in itself, and this book's most interesting sequences are those that deal with De Niro's background, the formation of his character and his emerging dedication to his craft. For someone as shy and unknown as Robert De Niro, I'm amazed that this much can be told... I can't help but question how true it all is, but if Baxter hasn't been sued and the book still remains in print than I guess we have to take his word!
The big revelation of this book is that De Niro's father, New York artist Robert De Niro Snr, was in fact a homosexual. It sheds an interesting light on an actor accustomed to playing tough guy characters and giving reserved yet intense performances. And whilst De Niro has pushed his range in the manner that all the great method actors have done (eg. Marlon Brando, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Newman), he has never actually played anything remotely close to the kind of character that Baxter presents his father as. I found this very interesting, despite it's 'gossipy' nature.
Where the book fell flat for me though is in Baxter's re-telling of De Niro's career... Baxter is kind enough to show De Niro's struggle to fame in a fairly even light, detailing his breakthroughs and dedication to method-acting almost favourably at times. However, post-Raging Bull, Baxter has very scant praise for the actor - presenting De Niro's every effort as an actor, celebrity and person as ridiculous.
De Niro's employment of 'the method', for Baxter a source of mystery and unique skill when it wins the actor awards and widespread critical kudos, becomes a pinata of absurdity for the author in regards to the last 25 years of De Niro's career. The author is quick to add his praise when his peers have offered it in their marking of the actor as a screen legend in regards to his roles in films like 'Taxi Driver', 'Mean Streets', 'The Godfather II', 'The Deer Hunter' and 'Raging Bull', but aside from these instances he seems to have nothing but contempt for the man he has based his book on. Now, call me strange, but when I buy a book about Robert De Niro it's to be somewhat expected that I might be a fan of the man's acting... fair enough, his talent has slipped in the last ten years, but I think this John Baxter fellow might be forgetting his audience when he presents a reclusive actor like De Niro as a silly fool. It just seems a bit more subjective than neccessary and smacks of author-annoyance in regards to the lack of interviews De Niro grants.
Anyway, I think I've harped on about my problems with this book enough. I don't think you'll find a more up to date or detailed account of De Niro's career in print at the moment, but don't expect the author to endear himself or his subject to you.
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