♣ An appreciation post for our friendly neighborhood Tobey Maguire.

It is no coincidence that I bring up Tobey Maguire now, just a few weeks after the opening of the new Spider-Man movie, which I despised wholeheartedly. Yeah, I did, and when I couldn't exactly explain why my opinion had to differ so much from those who love it, a friend of mine casually said to me, "Hey, maybe you're not really a fan of Spider-Man. You're just a fan of Tobey Maguire".

Am I?

I don't know. I mean, I do enjoy his portrayal of Peter Parker more than Andrew Garfield's (but I think this is really just a matter of taste) but, no… I don't think so. The fact is I didn't even know him outside "Spider-Man". But, that simple statement from that friend of mine tickled me anyway. So, I did some research... and here is what I got.

Tobey Maguire is in fact a quite decent actor. He was known for a number of thoughtful, introspective characters in some late 1990s movies that are critically acclaimed, or even Oscar-worthy. That was even before he landed on the box-office hit "Spider-Man" in 2002. In 2010, he was nominated in Golden Globe for his role in the movie "Brothers". And all this time, I only knew him as Peter Parker? Really? Which universe did I live in? From then, my curiosity arose. I spent last weekend marathonly watching some of his best movies.

My first choice went to "Seabiscuit" from the year 2003. Maguire played Johnny "Red" Pollard, a jockey for the American legendary racehorse, Seabiscuit. It is truly heartwarming and inspirational to watch. The movie is about rebuilding your life after being torn apart. It is about holding on to your dream even when you seem not capable for it. It is also one of those movies which can make you really care about the animal in the movie, that is a horse. You feel really happy and you cheer when the horse wins. You feel really sad too when the horse loses or when he is wounded. Maguire also developed a believable chemistry with the horse, which makes every second they share on screen even more touching.

Next choice was "Pleasantville" from the year 1998. Rather quirky, this one. Maguire, bringing along his dorky persona, played a teenager, David, who, through a magical event, along with his sister, are sucked into their television set and find themselves trapped in the black-and-white world of 1950s style TV show where life seems so ideal and perfect. David, who feels unhappy with his real life, secretly enjoys this new society he lives in. But as the innocence in that place slowly fades, David begins to learn that there is no such thing called ideal life, unless we're the one who make it so. Because most of the scenes are in black and white (or partially black and white), visually this movie is a rare and fun experience to watch.

But the fun feeling didn't last long, because my next choice was one of the most depressing (and also one of the best) movies I've ever seen. That is, "Brothers" from the year 2009. Maguire played a marine captain. The main plot is not even something new. A husband, gone missing in war zone. Someone who is close to the husband (here is the brother), trying to take care of the wife and the children. Husband returns home, silent, detached, without affect, and finding out his own children would rather be with their uncle than him. He is also convinced that there is a romance going on between his wife and his brother. Like I said, nothing special. What makes it great is the performance of the actors and actresses, even the child actresses did an amazing job. Though in the beginning I felt that Maguire playing a marine is some sort of a miscast, as the movie progressed I got the idea that he is in fact a perfect fit to portray the role. He captured the damage, pain, and alienation underlying his character so genuinely. A must-see if you like watching movies with intense emotional experience.

The roller coaster ride of emotion was ended by "The Cider House Rules" from the year 1999, which is more of a lighthearted one. It's a great relief to watch an easier-to-enjoy movie after the emotionally-draining "Brothers". Maguire played an orphan who decides to leave the orphanage in hope of fulfilling the dreams of seeing the outside world. He delivered the combination of idealism and naivety of a young man in good portion. The movie has its moments of realism, and most importantly, it has real sweet romantic moments, which I cannot get from the other three.

Personally, I find it interesting, the way Tobey Maguire brings his characters to life. Although it is not uncommon to hear some people judge him as a flat and boring actor who always acts in the same way in every movie. To me, Maguire is just a very subtle actor. He rarely tries to be over-the-top. He prefers to let the character come out naturally and not play for the melodrama. Maguire doesn't need to overact at all. Instead, he is likely to let the audience see what is going on inside him simply by the look of his crystalline blue eyes, or by the movement of his jaw line. This is why his characters almost always look calmed down. But when it was really needed for him to lose it, he proved to be able to do a respectable job too.

Jim Sheridan, the director of "Brothers", said it the best way,

"He appears like a swan on the surface, and the audience likes him and trusts him. But there's a real [expletive] edge to him as well… In close-up, you can tell there's a lot going on in his head, but he's a bit of a poker player because you're not exactly sure what he's thinking."

So maybe next time, if I hear someone commenting about Tobey Maguire, I will make sure they know that he truly is a great actor to be a fan of. It's a pity that younger generation may never understand how adorable our Tobey Maguire's friendly neighborhood Spider-Man was.