Eliza's acting ability

[deathisyourgift]

First I'll announce my vote was for option #2: Eliza did great.

Now I'll explain why.

Echo is a doll who's un-imprinted state is slowly developing a character of her own, and this doll character is bleeding into the imprints and vice versa. She is not a multiple personality in the true definition because of the nature of her personalities. Therefore I don't think she should be going into such extremely different personalities as the other dolls because they are not experiencing this imprint-overlap, as she is.

Eliza is very good at slight nuances, as opposed to obvious differences, which the other dolls are quite good at. I do agree that Eliza is much more adept at portraying the "badass female butt-kicker" roles than anything else, however I do think that her acting is spot on with the imprints so far. Eliza can tell entire stories with just her eyes, and that's where I find her distinctions between imprints.

In other words, it's not a question of personalities with Echo/Eliza's character, it's a question of parts in a whole, since Echo has developed her own identity and has carried over some of her imprints' distinctions.
-Jen

[buffyrocksmylife]

May 11, 2009 20:46:55 GMT -5 Just Willow said:

May 11, 2009 20:45:02 GMT -5 snizapman6294 said:

if there were an option between #'s 2 & 4 i'd choose that... my mom hates the episodes where she plays sweet, little innocent Ellie Dushku (my mom's convinced her name's Ellie) from boston... and i kind of have to agree. i mean knowing Eliza as Faith, the baddass butch slayer-bitch for how many years, now? 5? (BtVS s 3, 4, 7/AtS s1, 2, 4) so (1998-2003?) yeah...

hell yes! badass Eliza is so much more fun to watch!

Okay, the "Faith" character is way more exciting and fun, but's it's also cool to see her as something that's not faith, a different person. Especially a normal person that's not so normal (if that makes sense, lol)

[Skeptic]

In my opinion, Eliza did well. I believe she has grown as an actress while under the tutelage of Joss more than anyone else. I attribute most of the stuff I didn't like about her portrayals, to the first few eps which were Fox-bland, and some of the imprints she gets which seem designed more to get her into kinky outfits than showcase her talent.

I think she's improving. I like that. But I also feel like focusing too many eps in a row on Echo makes me tire of the character a little. But based on Joss' track record, and evidence I've seen already in the show, there's a balancing effect happening now that we have a foundation for the main character, and more of the supporting cast are moving center stage.

[buffyrocksmylife]

Well, I agree with that too. That's really true.

[worldofshrimps]

Could have done better! Her acting was phenomenal and I was so impressed with how she had to change every episode and managed to do it almost flawlessly! Plus, it's Eliza Dushku, she the personification of amazing! I love her when she's Echo in her tabula rasa state and how she's so blase about everything

/does Echo's wave

[October Bantum]

I thought she was perfect in it.

[Reluctant Hero]

I think she's doing an amazing job as Echo. I really didn't care for her that much the first time I went through the Buffy season but after Angel and then seeing this I realized she's a very talented actress. I have a lot of respect for someone who can play the kind of role as Faith now. Someone who is supposed to be hated and feared yet understood and loved at the same time. A difficult part if I do say so myself. I'm just so glad to see her again in Dollhouse.

[drusillacakes]

^^ Second that. After all these years seeing her as the rogue slayer, or even the cheerleader with an attitude in "Bring it On," there are just certain roles she plays better than others. It's also hard to shake that impression. But you continue to watch and slowly you develop new impressions... and Eliza's definitely improving.

[Hellbound Hyperion]

May 19, 2009 8:10:39 GMT -5 AndrewCrossett said:

Remember that they were trying to balance the concepts of having a different starring character each week, with the need to have one unifying character that the viewer could follow from story to story. If she'd disappeared into a new character Tracey Ullman-style each week, it would have looked like an anthology show, and you can't do an anthology show with an overarching mythology because the viewers will lose interest in the characters.

Eliza had to balance the need to be a different character each week with the need to be recognizably the same person each week. I'm not sure how she could have done that much better than she did.

Astoundingly, I haven't posted in this thread yet despite being a voter, but Andrew really hits the nail on the head here. This show is just a tad left of standard TV; there's a lot of different sci-fi elements being played out amongst the usual Whedon drama-humor. I don't know how Eliza could have done a better job without breaking the suspension of disbelief (well, leaving a mark on it anyway).

[buffyfan21]

Hmm, I thought I already posted in this thread? Guess not.....

Anyways, to answer the question, Yes, I think Eliza has done a remarkable job on the show. In fact, I am surprised that there is criticism to the contrary...

The beauty of DH is that we get to see Eliza in so many different roles. I feel that this has really allowed Eliza to show her abilities as an actress. With each role you can see that she really takes the time to get in that character's head and find out what they're all about. She fully becomes that character and gives %110 to whomever she is playing at the time. Or, at least, this is how it comes across to me when I watch. I believe this is the hallmark of a good actress, someone who is able to take on such versatile roles, Eliza sometimes having to do it many times in a single episode.

Speaking off, I wonder if it is ever difficult for Eliza and other "actives" to keep track of what character they are supposed to playing that day or that scene? I imagine it would get confusing during shooting day and day out, to remember, "OK, whose personality am I being imprinted with today?" With all the other things that actors/actresses have to do like, memorizing lines, etc., on a special show like DH it is probably easy to lose track. "Oh, I'm playing this character today? I thought was yesterday? Oh wait...

But seriously, they all do such a spectacular job on the show. Eliza and the others commit a %100 to the characters they play. I can imagine that a show like DH can be challenging at times, but you can tell that they all so proud of it and are having fun giving their best each day. Great actors and great stories are what make the show so interesting to watch. It's why we are getting a second season. I hope and pray for many more to come...

[snizapman6294]

So i'm realllyyy bored and i just finished my movie review articles for school so that's how i'm gonna do this, review.

okay, so it's 12:30 and i can't sleep so i'm gonna ramble a bit, m'kay?

Okay so comparing Eliza Dushku in Buffy/Angel, Dollhouse, Tru Calling, Bring it On, Wrong Turn, & The Alphabet Killer

Buffy/Angel - Faith is my favorite character in either 'verse. I think Joss did a perfect job casting her. From what i've seen from Eliza, she is Faith... minus the superpowers... She's street smart and can kick some ass and be a sweet girl at the same time. Season 3, Eliza Dushku did an excellent job. I was actually really surprised at how amazing of an actress she was. Season 4 was a bit worse. And season 7 was Eliza's low point, in my opinion.

Eliza's Acting:

Season 3: A+
Season 4: A-
Season 7: B+

Tru Calling - Eliza, acting in a role in a show in which her character speaks to dead people... She's a beautiful girl... really beautiful. And she still doesn't find supernatural roles beneath her which is sooo sexy. What happens a lot with actresses and actors who have roles in supernatural shows, after a while, find themselves asking themselves what the fuck they're doing with their lives and stop trying... With Eliza, this never happened.

Season 1: A-
Season 2: A

Dollhouse - Not Eliza's best work in my opinion, but i could easily be persuaded. She's playing so many diverse characters while playing one character, which is no easy task. Other than the characters that are sweet and innocent, Eliza pulls it off astoundingly. Each lead actor has an episode in which i recognize as the reason they have the job. For Eliza, this was "Gray Hour". Not an amazing episode, but Eliza's monologue when she's trying to open the vault and explaining what a "gray hour" is, to me, is why she's such an amazing actress... But when she's playing someone who has no chance of kicking some ass, she's kind of boring. But that, most likely has nothing to do with her, but the fact that she is so used to playing the badass chick and flip-flopping is not easy to do.

Season 1: A

Bring it On - it's a cliche... but classic Eliza Dushku... not a great movie. but Eliza was solid in it

A-

Wrong Turn - One of my favorite movies... Eliza is amazing at playing the character she plays in wrong turn. She kicked ass. Both that of mutant hillbillies and that of her acting ability.

A

The Alphabet Killer - ... Not a great film... But that has a lot to do with the writing being so-so... Eliza's acting wasn't awesome, but she hadn't had a leading role in a while, so she's getting back into the swing a bit... Hey Eliza, what the hell ever happened to "You got a better chance of seeing God than seeing me naked?" not that i'm complaining, but i was a bit shocked.

B- but this is due to the preposterous writing.

[BuffyisLife]

May 11, 2009 20:27:29 GMT -5 Just Willow said:

i think she was really good. in the first little bit of Dollhouse, i could see that little bit of Faith still in her, but perhaps that was just because i was sort of looking for it, but she's really some out of that shell and done bits of everything, and she's awesome in all of them.

I agree I think she is great. There was really only one episode where I could see Faith was still apart of her and that was the robbery episode. Especially when that guy was staring at her breasts and she said "They're called breasts, and yes they are exceptional" the first thing I thought was that was such a Faith line. Otherwise, I thought she did a fabulous job at playing the individual characters in the episodes.

[wytchcroft]

Jul 30, 2009 23:53:58 GMT -5 snizapman6294 said:

So i'm realllyyy bored and i just finished my movie review articles for school so that's how i'm gonna do this, review.

okay, so it's 12:30 and i can't sleep so i'm gonna ramble a bit, m'kay?

Okay so comparing Eliza Dushku in Buffy/Angel, Dollhouse, Tru Calling, Bring it On, Wrong Turn, & The Alphabet Killer

This was a real nice layout of your views - but you didn't talk about Angel 1 and 4 as much as Buffy 3&4, i'd like to know your opinion.
For me, Five by Five is Eliza's best work by a country mile.
She was pretty nifty in Angel 4 too, stole her episodes from David easily, (but S4 was maybe Boreanaz's low point, i've always agreed with Joss that his performance roared up again for the final season).

And yeah, Eliza's so underrated, she was great in Tru Calling, especially once there was a little distance from Faith. I guess she's in a rock and a hard place now - i've seen forums praising her in Dollhouse for those moments where she's closest to being Faith - and other forums that have been very negative of exactly the same thing.

[Skeptic]

I think Eliza's strong suit is something very focused, in an ensemble. And primarily doing angst and action, and working the sexy angle. I don't think that she has a lack of range, just that she needs to really start working those other muscles and going farther on more than just her looks and the angst/fighting. I think she has it in her to go higher and push harder, with the right director. Joss is definitely one of the right directors.

[ilovewillow]

From what I've seen of Dollhouse, I think her acting was all right, but at times I did find it difficult to believe that she was once again a blank slate and then believe in her new personality. I think it's a very challenging role since she's not one personality for very long.

[Becki]

I thought she was excellent.