Recently, the new drama "West Out of the Jade Gate" starring Ni Ni was launched, and her performance in the play was once again criticized for "greasy acting" and "homogeneous characters".
Since her debut, the image created by Ni Ni has always revolved around the model of "sassy girl", whether it is Zhu Suosuo or Ye Liuxi, it gives people a feeling of "knowing that they are beautiful and having to act". In this way, is Ni Ni really caught in the strange circle of "self-circular interpretation"? If you want to get out of this acting circle, how can Ni Ni crack it?
On the first day of the broadcast of "West Out of the Jade Gate", Ni Ni's performance really caught the audience's attention. Her thin martial arts fight cleanly, her eyes are resolute and fearless, and her makeup is just right to bring out the freeness and coolness of a desert rose. This coincides with everyone's impression of "Desert Rose" Ye Liuxi, and it is also completely in line with Ni Ni's consistent "sassy girl" feeling, so that the audience's expectations of her are immediately pushed to a new high.
However, in this way, Ni Ni really buried hidden dangers for her performance - she must maintain such "sassy" energy throughout the show to meet the audience's expectations. Once there is a slight carelessness, contradictions will arise in the hearts of the audience: "It is clear that the acting skills are in place at the beginning, why can't it be done later?"
Sure enough, as the plot progressed, Ni Ni gradually exposed problems in her performance. For example, when expressing Ye Liuxi's pull, her performance is a little too exaggerated and contrived; For example, when Ye Liuxi suppressed pain in her heart, her emotional transformation was slightly stiff. This shows that Ni Ni's ability to grasp the transformation of characters' emotions needs to be strengthened.
In short, Ni Ni's performance in this drama gives many viewers a feeling that she has not fully integrated into this role. Or rather, this slightly contrived acting is more like Ni Ni deliberately "acting" than "transforming" into the character itself.
Ni Ni's performance in this new drama has triggered heated discussions among netizens about her acting skills. More and more audiences use "greasy" to describe Ni Ni's acting skills, commenting that she is obviously beautiful and has a good figure, but she deliberately exudes charm outward, giving people a sense of contrived to deliberately create a cool feeling.
Looking at the reasons carefully, netizens found that this is mainly because, from "Golden Years" to "Disappearing Her" to "West Out of the Jade Gate", the characters created by Ni Ni are too similar - they are all straightforward and generous, resolute and stubborn "sassy girls" in character. Even the costume styling and makeup are basically the same, which also leads to a reduced sense of substitution between the characters.
As an actor, it is understandable to play your personal charm appropriately. However, the character homogeneity is serious, and it is easy to give people a feeling of "I am me, and everything I play is me", thus weakening the audience's sense of substitution.
On the other hand, this homogeneous "sassy girl" role is indeed Ni Ni's comfort zone, and she can easily shape this type of character. This also brought two peaks to her career:
In "The Golden Years", Ni Ni was shortlisted for the Magnolia Award for Best Actress for her excellent interpretation of the straightforward and generous strong woman Zhu Suosuo; In "Disappearing Her", Ni Ni portrayed a jealous and affectionate Chen Mai, and eventually won the Golden Deer Award for Best Actress.
It can be seen that this typed role choice has indeed allowed Ni Ni to reach a new height in her acting career. But over-reliance on such a comfort zone also has hidden dangers to the growth of acting skills.
However, if an actor wants to thrive, he must constantly break through himself and try new roles. Staying in a comfort zone for too long will eventually cause visual fatigue in the audience.
For a time, many viewers were worried about whether Ni Ni would become a "female version of Yang Yang" and "a female version of Duanwang". Previously, Yang Yang and Duan Wang were also complained about for over-repeating their performance patterns. The audience is looking forward to Ni Ni getting out of this strange circle of "self-cycle interpretation" as soon as possible and showing a richer acting aspect.
So, if you want to solve this acting dilemma, how can Ni Ni save herself?
First, when choosing a role, you must dare to try a new character type and boldly cross the border so that the audience can see a different Ni Ni. For example, you can challenge gentle and restrained roles and show different acting potential.
Second, for each role, we must dig deep into the heart, use psychological analysis and emotional memory to understand the role, and reduce the deliberate sense of artificiality of the performance. It is necessary to grasp the rhythm of the character's emotional transformation.
Third, cooperate with other excellent actors and learn more delicate and restrained performance methods from them. Change your mindset to grow into a better actor.
Fourth, we must also diversify in the choice of scripts, not limited to the same genre. It is necessary to find a balance between commercial films and literary films.
Fifth, communicate and discuss with the director more and understand the characters from the director's perspective.
I believe that as long as Ni Ni really faces her problems in acting skills and actively looks for a breakthrough, she will definitely be able to get out of this "acting dilemma" soon and bring everyone a new surprise again. Let's continue to support the growth of this powerful post-80s actor!