Journal 3 : Schindler's List (Actors)

I first have to say that despite the advice of Mr. K., I went into this movie with very high expectations for something great. Schindler’s List directed by Steven Spielberg completely surpassed all my expectations and is one of the best movies that I have ever seen. Spielberg gets you very attached to the characters and when something very emotional happens in the movie you feel it as well. I felt like the reason for this was the great acting jobs by the three main characters but especially Oskar Schindler’s character, by Liam Neeson, and Itzhak’s character done by Ben Kingsley.
(Itzhak is on left in picture and Schindler is on right)

Liam Neeson’s character (Oskar Schindler) was based off the true story of a man named Oskar Schindler that saved the lives of thousands of Jews. His character starts the film as a greedy Nazi that wants to use forced labor to become a millionaire. The transformation of his character is one thing that the movie does a really great job of showing. By the end of the film he ends up spending all of his money that he had earned, and uses it to save the Jews by letting them work for him at his factory in order to prevent them from going to Auschwitz and being gassed. According to an interview with Spielberg that I read, Liam was chosen to play the role of Oskar due to his personality and presence rather then his physical similarities to the real Schindler. Spielberg said that,

“I wasn't really concerned that he look like Schindler. Liam had the charm and the bearing of Schindler. And he had the presence of Schindler. He had the charisma, just existing there without doing very much. And he also had the humanity that would always be there, you know.”

He was also asked why he didn’t choose a “movie star” for the role and he said that,

“I didn't want the distraction of a whole bunch of other movies to cloud this one.”

I really felt that Liam did a great job as Schindler and that his transformation throughout the movie was very believable. A few other movies that Liam has been in include: Batman Begins, Gangs of New York, Love Actually, Gun Shy, and Start Wars: Episode I.

The other character that I thought did a really good job in this movie was Ben Kingsley (Itzhak), a Jewish man who is hired by Schindler to be his personal accountant. We can really see how Itzhak notices Schindler’s transformation throughout the movie especially in one of the last scenes when every Jew that Schindler saved hugs him. I think that Kingsley was chosen for this role because of his acting abilities and how he was truly able to turn into his character. His character was also very believable and the way he felt Schindler’s emotional transformation is also felt by the viewer. Kingsley has also been in: The Confession, The Assignment, Gandhi, and Bugsy.

Another thing that I learned from reading the interview with Spielberg was how the actors were off-set. Spielberg said that,

“Everybody just did their best work. They didn't even work - they just existed in these characters. And there never were any real questions or arguments or long didactic discussions about how do I play my character.”

Overall I really felt like all the actors did a great job of transforming into their characters and it really made this movie and the amazing story of what Schindler did everything that it is.