Hollywood: The Greatest Showman

Chapter 108: Madness

Even as a director, the scene just now truly astonished Rodrigo.

In fact, during the performance, Renly altered the lines. Many parts were improvised on the spot. The most noticeable was in the final stage of the performance. In the script, Paul actually spoke even after being shocked. He couldn't help but swear. Moreover, after despair, he said, "You brought me here," which then triggered the apology from the other end of the phone call.

But in the actual performance, Renly remained completely silent. He cut off all the lines, relying solely on subtle changes in his eyes and breath to vividly convey the despair to helplessness. Compared to angry retorts or resentful accusations, this silent disillusionment brought even more profound shock. The faint smile at the corner of his mouth further portrayed this mockery and helplessness vividly.

The power of performance was amplified to its extreme at this moment. The strong aura even affected the co-star, Alex Villagrassa. He was only there to assist on-site and would later find professional actors to record the voice on the other end of the phone call. But even Alex, who wasn't considered a professional actor, deeply felt the overwhelming despair, to the extent that his voice acting became even more lifelike.

After suppressing and restraining emotions, the burst of energy multiplied, leaving every bystander in shock.

Rodrigo had to admit that Renly's performance surpassed the script, reaching a higher level. Not only in the final scene but throughout the entire act, there was no trace of deliberate carving. The whole performance flowed naturally and seamlessly. However, the reflection it brought to the audience was overwhelming:

Paul's sense of responsibility towards his family is his greatest driving force deep inside. Even if the audience doesn't understand what went wrong between him and Linda—Linda never answered the phone call, and the company even falsely accused Paul of having an affair with Pamela—the audience can deeply feel Paul's dedication and affection towards his family. He might have made some wrong choices, he might not have a very likable personality, but undoubtedly, he is a good family man.

He chose to come to Iraq for the sake of his family, but now he's going to die here.

The indifference of large companies towards powerless employees is chilling. Not only are they ineffective, but they also try to shift blame in every possible way. The coldness and cruelty driven by interests are vividly displayed in this phone call, stripping away the sugar-coated shell, revealing the evil nature of prioritizing interests. Every employee is merely a tool to them—even the person calling, the HR manager, Alan. In front of the national machinery and large institutions, individuals are as insignificant as ants.

He believed in the company's protection when he came to Iraq, but now even his right to compensation after death is being deprived.

Furthermore, what's the difference between these large companies and the government?

In this scene, Rodrigo clearly felt two layers of performance, just as Renly said: one layer is the genuine emotion, and the other layer is Paul's characteristics. The restrained performance contained such terrifying energy. The power of acting made his soul tremble.

The filming of "Buried" had entered its sixth day. He originally thought he wouldn't be more surprised, he originally thought he had become accustomed to Renly's performance, he originally thought Renly couldn't be more outstanding. But apparently, he was wrong.

Looking back, the other members of the crew were still stunned in their places, seemingly unable to turn their thoughts around, or perhaps shocked beyond measure. Each one stood there with a vacant look, soulless and lost. Especially Alex, he seemed unable to regain his senses, his face blank, utterly lost.

Rodrigo looked at Renly again, unable to conceal his concern in his eyes. Although the quality of the shot exceeded expectations, the joy in his heart had engulfed him, but Renly's state... even a layman in acting could see, it was bad, very bad, as if he had personally experienced Paul's torment.

"Renly, are you sure you don't need a good rest?" Rodrigo asked again.

Renly lay back down, the fatigue in his eyes impossible to hide. He shook his head gently, but his head felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. A simple movement almost exhausted all his strength, the exhaustion of oil running out and the exhaustion of the spirit, making one worry. "Let's continue shooting, wrap up early, I can take a good long vacation, a long, long vacation."

The teasing voice was weak, even the curve at the corner of his mouth was like a wisp of smoke, as if it would dissipate at any moment.

Rodrigo wanted to say something more, but Renly had already picked up the script again, lying in the coffin and starting to prepare for the next scene. The words of dissuasion were ultimately stuck in his throat, and he turned around, shouting loudly, "Next scene! Get ready!"

Now the only thing he could do was to speed up the shooting progress and finish as soon as possible. After all the work was done, Renly could rest properly.

Renly knew he wasn't in the right state now. The poor quality of sleep had been overdrawing his physical strength, and the haze of confusion between reality and illusion was extremely dangerous. He knew he was losing control—

He originally thought he could control the situation. After all, he came from the school of performance-based acting, even if he tried method acting, there wouldn't be too many surprises. More likely, he wouldn't be able to break away from his own framework. While performing, he would return to performance-based acting because that was the most familiar style to him. So his attempt to merge the two styles failed.

But in fact, once he immersed himself in method acting to understand the character, things began to get out of control. Involuntarily, his mind always associated with the experience of the previous enclosed experience, those eight hours of time seemed like a century, yet as brief as a moment, deeply imprinted in his mind, walking in every cell of his body. During the performance, there seemed to be invisible threads pulling him, swaying him. All the performances seemed natural, seamless, and before the brain could think, the body's instincts had already reacted, even the well-rehearsed lines became a part of the body, coming out naturally.

It was like a wild horse breaking free, any controlling force was insignificant. But what's worse was that now even the thought of control was disappearing. Everything was so natural that excess control would only deviate the performance from its path, releasing the brake and letting oneself enjoy this bumpy journey, which made it more relaxed and more real. The idea of control sounded like a big joke.

Things were becoming increasingly unpredictable. He knew he should stop, he should immediately stop trying, he should, as Rodrigo said, rest for a while.

But he didn't want to.

In the last moment of the scene just now, a subconscious force suppressed his urge to speak, plunging into silence. He didn't know why, but he followed the guidance of reason, cutting off all words, allowing emotions to ferment in silence.

This state was strange, completely opposite to the "The Pacific." At that time, he was controlling the rhythm of the performance, but seeing the dying woman, emotions became somewhat uncontrollable, as if truly entering Eugene's world. Just now, he was in chaos, confusion, and loss of control, grasping the last chord of reason, pulling back emotions, and the momentary control made all chaotic orders clear.

Now thinking carefully, it was actually the feeling when reading the script before. He thought, there should be silence here to win over sound.

If following the script's instructions, Paul's cursing and powerless accusations indeed fit the scene, conforming to the scriptwriter's setting for Paul, and also highlighted the main theme of the entire plot. But he thought it was too commonplace. Truly excellent scripts don't preach but bring reflection through the power of the plot itself, leaving the thinking part to the audience rather than telling them how to think. Therefore, silence is more powerful, and it also elevates the core of the whole movie.

During the performance, the last moment of restraint was like pulling on the reins of a galloping horse, bringing the out-of-control back into his palm. The scene of thousands of horses running wildly instantly became orderly, even if only for a moment, the new world presented before him was astonishing, unbelievably wonderful. This made Renly realize that such elusive attempts were real and he could do it!

So even if he still couldn't determine the difference between reality and dream, it's very likely that all this is still Paul's dream, and he is still trapped in the coffin. Or it could be Renly's dream in a hotel room, dreaming of completing an excellent shoot. Even if he still couldn't define his identity now, the boundary between Paul and Renly seemed to have disappeared, the confusion of memory fragments exhausted him. Even if his physical and mental strength had reached the limit, seemingly on the brink of collapse...

But he still didn't want to give up, wanting to firmly grasp the fleeting inspiration just now, continue exploring on this path, pushing open the door to the new world, glimpsing the mysterious, unpredictable, and profound beauty. Isn't it true that you have to be a bit crazy to survive?

Closing his eyes again, Renly plunged into the struggle of pain, as if his soul was torn apart, half Paul and half Renly, half movie and half reality, the piercing pain seemed to directly smash open his brain, forcibly tearing it apart, the surging pain swept over, muscles all over his body began to tremble slightly, sweat seeped through his forehead.

Standing at the dark door, he was unsure whether the other side was a nightmare or reality, despair or hope, but he clenched his teeth, taking another step forward, resolutely.