Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
By Geoff Carter
He is a comedic genius, an accomplished dramatic actor, and probably one of the most underrated actors of his generation. His deadpan delivery, sublimely expressive silences, and impeccable timing make Alan Arkin one of the most unique screen presences of his time. From the broad comedy of The In-Laws and Simon to the dogged cluelessness of Mr. Boggs in Edward Scissorhands or Murray Samuel Abramowitz in Slums of Beverly Hills, Arkin displays a range of comedic intelligence that few others can touch.
Part of his uniqueness comes from the silence and calm that seems to radiate from his characters. In some cases, like his portrayal of Grandpa Hoover in Little Miss Sunshine, this quality comes across as deliberateness, even determination. Of course, Mr. Hoover is intent on (among other less noble activities) getting his granddaughter Olive ready for her beauty pageant competition. In other characters, like Mr. Boggs, the silences before his vacuous pronouncements communicates a sort of cosmic disconnection with the real world, a separation that far outdistances other inhabitants of that pastel suburban nirvana. He is the paragon of cluelessness.
As wonderfully engaging as he is in these roles, when Arkin takes on characters like the sadistic killer Roat in Wait Until Dark or John Singer in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, he exhibits a range that stretches far beyond, but which never precludes, the well of comedic genius at his core. Even Roat, the stalker out to murder a very sweet and helpless Audrey Hepburn, has a touch of ironic self-deprecations at his sadistic core. He’s not funny but is sort of entertaining in a creepy sort of way—kind of like Christopher Waltz’s Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds.
Then, in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Arkin found a role which exhibited his sublime nonverbal talents to the extreme. As a deaf-mute, Arkin is able to utilize every expressive tool at his disposal. A glance, a slight frown, a sideways look tells us volumes about the patient soul inhabiting John Singer. Or John Yossarian in Catch-22. Or George Aaronow in Glengarry Glen Ross. Perhaps his strength as an actor is the ambiguity of his method; after all, a picture (or an expression) is worth a thousand words, and Arkin has always been a master of the unsaid.
There is a deliberateness and a determination—a stillness—at Arkin’s core, an unspoken tenacity that anchors each of his characters, no matter if they’re dunderheads or sophisticates. Like a deep still pool, there is a mysterious part of him that draws in viewers, but which can never be plumbed. It is the subtle mystery of Alan Arkin.
The Ten Best Films of Alan Arkin
Wait Until Dark: In this psychological thriller, Susy Hendrix (Audrey Hepburn), a young blind woman, accidentally comes into possession of a substantial amount of heroin hidden in a doll. Harry Roat (Arkin), who owns the drugs, enlists the help of con artists Mike Talman (Richard Crenna) and Carlino (Jack Watson) to fool Susy into showing them where the doll is hidden. Taking advantage of her blindness, they pose as various people in an effort to win her trust. Gloria, (Julie Herrod) an upstairs neighbor girl who has taken the doll, tells Susy what the two men are actually up to. When he learns of their failure, Roat kills the two of them and goes after Susy, who turns the tables on Roat by smashing all the light bulbs in the apartment before confronting him in a thrilling climax. As Roat, Arkin’s typical nice-guy persona has been turned on its head. Instead of conveying bewilderment or cluelessness, Roat’s silences seem to contain unnamed depths of viciousness and brutality.
Starring: Audrey Hepburn, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Alan Arkin, Jack Watson, Richard Crenna, and Julie Herrod. Written by Robert Carrington and Jane Howard-Carrington. Directed by Terence Young.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter: In this touching drama, Arkin tackles the role of John Singer, a deaf-mute whose only friend is a mentally challenged deaf-mute named Spiros. When he is committed to a mental institution by a cousin, Singer offers to take on his friend’s guardianship and moves into a boarding house to be closer to his friend. He becomes acquainted with Mick (Sandra Locke), the teenage daughter of the house’s owners. John attempts to befriend Mick, and Dr. Copeland (Percy Rodriguez) and his estranged daughter (Cicely Tyson). Through attempted acts of kindness, John becomes enmeshed into the lives of Mick and the townspeople, and through no fault of his own, is visited with tragedy. Arkin’s portrayal of the naïve and earnestly helpful Singer is beautiful.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Sandra Locke, Laurinda Barrett, Chuck McCann, Cicely Tyson, and Percy Rodriguez. Written by Thomas C. Ryan (based on the novel by Carson McCullers). Directed by Robert Ellis Miller.
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming! : In this political comedy, at the height of the Cold War, a Russian sub accidentally grounds itself on a sandbar outside a small New England town. The Russians sent a small landing party led by political officer Rozanov (Arkin) to find a boat to haul them off the sandbar. The Russians enter the home of Walt Whittaker (Carl Reiner) and his family and tie them up before entering the town. Confusion ensues as Romanov and his crew evade the town sheriff and his militia, but when the two groups have to band together to save a small child, an international crisis is averted. The scene where Romanov meets the Whittakers and attempts to obtain a boat, explaining to them that they are not Russians, but Norwegians, is hilarious. When the Whittaker keeps calling them Russians, Arkin does a great piece of business where he scratches the screen door in front of the boy’s face, as if to shut him up. This is one of Arkin’s finest performances.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Carl Reiner, Eva Marie Saint, Brian Keith, Jonathan Winters, Theodore Bikel, and Tessie O’Shea. Written by William Rose. Directed by Norman Jewison.
Simon: In this very odd, offbeat comedy written and directed by long-time Woody Allen collaborator Marshall Brickman, a group of scientists hoodwink psychology professor Simon Mendelssohn (Alan Arkin) into participating in a brainwashing experiment which leads to him believing he is an extraterrestrial. Part slapstick, part situational comedy, part social commentary, and part zingy one-liners (There is clear proof there is a God—and that he doesn’t know what he’s doing) this film tends to sprawl all over the place, but Arkin’s performance in the titular role is nothing less than stellar. From reenacting the history of man in five minutes to earnestly trying to understand the nuances in human society, this is a great performance.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Madeline Kahn, Austin Pendleton, Judith Graubart, Wallace Shawn, and Max Wright. Written and directed by Marshall Brickman.
Catch 22: Because Joseph Heller’s bestselling black comedy about the absurdity of war was such a hit, expectations for the film were perhaps set inordinately high. In a star-studded cast that included Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Jon Voigt, Art Garfunkel, and Bob Newhart (among others), critics were perhaps blinded to the greatness of the film by all the residual glitz—and it is a great movie. John Yossarian (Arkin) is a combat pilot who no longer wants to fly and feigns insanity but is informed that he is a victim of Catch-22, that a pilot cannot be drummed out of the service for insanity, since anyone who flies combat missions is insane to begin with. Arkin’s turn as Yossarian is both poignant and hilarious. Playing mostly straight man to the absurdities around him, Arkin has ample opportunities to play a man bewildered and disgusted by the world around him.
Starring: Alan Arkin, Jon Voigt, Richard Benjamin, Bob Newhart, Art Garfunkel, Norman Fell, Jack Gilford, and Martin Balsam. Written by Buck Henry. Directed by Mike Nichols.
Glengarry Glen Ross: In this harrowing film, based on the David Mamet play, four real estate salesmen try desperately to hang onto their jobs after Blake (Alec Baldwin) informs them that only the top earners will remain. The team of Tony Roma (Al Pacino), Shelly Levene (Jack Lemmon), Dave Moss (Ed Harris), and George Aaranow (Alan Arkin) attempt to scratch, claw, coerce, and plead their way to success, ultimately resorting to unsavory manipulation, bullying, and crime to merely stay afloat. Although a lesser actor may have been overshadowed by this towering cast of heavyweights, Arkin’s portrayal of George Arronow shines as a mostly decent man suddenly overwhelmed and bewildered by the circumstances beyond his ken who is trying to cope with a suddenly vicious cutthroat world.
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Kevin Spacey, Alec Baldwin, and Jonathan Pryce. Screenplay by David Mamet. Directed by James Foley.
Slums of Beverly Hills: In this dark family comedy, Murray Abramowitz (Arkin) is a hapless car salesman who is very nearly destitute. Striving to ensure that his children Vivian (Natasha Lyonne), Ben (David Krumholtz), and Rickey (Eli Marienthal) go to the best schools, Murray keeps moving to cheap apartments in the Beverly Hills city limits. Trying to juggle his children’s needs, his brother Mickey’s (Carl Reiner) nagging about money, and his irresponsible niece Rita’s (Marisa Tomei) insane behavior, Murray’s patience—to say the least—is tested. Arkin does a great job injecting this sad sack with a hefty dose of dignity and fatherly compassion. He seems alternately astonished and bewildered by his children as he does the best he can for them. Like many of Arkin’s characters, Murray always seems one step behind.
Starring: Natasha Lyonne, Alan Arkin, David Krumholtz, Eli Marienthal, Marisa Tomei, and Carl Reiner. Written and directed by Tamara Jenkins.
Edward Scissorhands: In this suburban fantasy, Edward (Johnny Depp) is a humanoid constructed by an amiable inventor who dies before completing his creation. As a result, poor Edward has only scissors for hands. Exiled in a lonely castle on a hill overlooking an impossibly pastel suburban neighborhood, Edward is rescued by Peg (Diane Wiest), a kindly Avon lady who takes him to her home. There, Edward finds it extremely difficult to adapt to his new circumstances. Simple actions like eating or dressing are very hard, and he struggles to fit in until he discovers a talent for hairstyling and creating topiaries. Edward falls in love with Kim (Winona Ryder), Peg’s daughter, who is repulsed by him until she eventually begins to appreciate his beautiful nature, but their love leads to tragedy. As the eminently clueless but lovable Mr. Boggs, Arkin is at his classic best. He is hilarious as he dispenses his little pearls of paternal wisdom—all completely useless.
Starring: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Alan Arkin, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall, and Vincent Price. Screenplay by Caroline Thompson. Directed by Tim Burton.
Little Miss Sunshine: In this dark family comedy, the dysfunctional Hoover family is taking the youngest sibling Olive (Abigail Breslin) to the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Patriarch Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a wannabe motivational speaker, mom Sheryl (Toni Collette) is desperately trying to hold the family together, son Dwayne (Paul Dano) refuses to speak, and Uncle Frank (Steve Carrell) is recovering from a suicide attempt. The grandpa Edwin (Arkin) is a lascivious old man who is addicted to heroin and devoted to his young granddaughter, even coaching her musical routine for the pageant. The journey from Albuquerque to California is full of surprises, disappointments, discoveries, and tragedy but when the Hoovers finally come together as a family, the trip becomes worth it. Arkin is perfectly cast as Edwin. To say the man has no filter is an understatement, but Arkin brings a gnarly sort of charm to this dirty old man.
Starring: Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, Steve Carrell, Abigail Breslin, Alan Arkin, and Bryan Cranston. Written by Michael Arndt. Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris.
Argo: In 1979, after the Iranian Revolution, six Americans avoided capture and were given shelter in the Canadian Embassy. In this biopic, the plot to free the Americans through the ruse of an American film company looking to shoot in Iran is conceived and implemented by Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck). Enlisting the help of make-up artist John Chambers (John Goodman) and Lester Siegel (Alan Arkin), along with some reluctant aid from the CIA, Mendez is somehow able to spirit the six Americans out of Tehran. Arkin is hilarious as the irascible Siegel, who is instrumental in constructing the cover story necessary to allow the escape to proceed. His specialty line, “Argo f… yourself” is golden.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber, Clea DuVall, and Kyle Chandler. Written by Chris Terrio. Directed by Ben Affleck.