Acting in The Godfather

Acting can be the deciding factor in determining the authenticity of a film's mise en scene. Most general audiences are focused on the actors, whose abilities are critical to how emotionally involved we become. Obviously, all the aspects of mise en scene must cohesively bring about the "reality" of the film, but the acting ability of Marlon Brando in The Godfather was extraordinary in bringing the story to life.

Marlon Brando was incredible in his portrayal as Don Corleone, a role which won him a Best Actor Academy Award. Obviously, I believe this award was extremely well-deserved. I have seen him act in many movies, and in The Godfather he was able to once again completely transform his appearance and personality to an unbelievable level. Although at the onset of the movie, it was hard to ignore that it was just Brando acting (because of his star-stature), but after a couple minutes of sliding into the film's reality, it was just "Don Corleone" on screen to me. I thought his idea to use a mouthpiece to alter his voice (he originally used cotton wool stuffed into his cheeks during his screen tests) was very intelligent. It muffled his normal voice and made him sound slightly older, a good choice to play the mob boss. The appearance of the mouth-piece also separated the audience from the real Marlon Brando and molded him into a completely alternate figure, who only exists in the film. In hindsight, it was incredible how comfortable Brando seemed in the role of Don Corleone. Although perhaps insignificant in relation to the overall plot, the scene where Corleone is sitting in the chair stroking a cat, while simultaneously planning the illegal mob activity, is probably one of my favorites. Brando is able to juxtapose warmth and affection with the cruel reality of his characters' existence, all by just sitting comfortably in a chair. Overall, I don't think I could imagine anyone completing the mise en scene of The Godfather the way Marlon Brando did.