No Act Is Braver Than The Beginning: "Actor" TV Series Review
No act is braver than The beginning. When a seed is sown, half the work is done, and the other half is the path of growth. In fact, it must be said that a beginning can have a significant impact on the future trajectory of a project, whether it be an artistic endeavor or an important life choice.
The "Actor" TV series directed by Nima Javidi, has been airing for over a year but remains captivating and acceptable to its fans. "Actor" is a TV series with an intriguing drama that, in my opinion, has been somewhat overlooked in reviews by some media outlets. The story revolves around two young men named Ali (Navid Mohammadzadeh) and Morteza (Ahmad Mehranfar) who are striving to stage their play. However, the performance requires the cost of renting a theater, and smaller stories intertwine with the main narrative as these two young men seek to secure the funds and perform their play. How they obtain this money and the events that await these characters become the challenges of the story, creating new complications in the main plot.
The challenging screenplay, the casting, and the beautiful cinematography in The "Actor" TV series have attracted the audience. Although some media and critics deemed the series unsuccessful and low in viewership, it has actually won prestigious international awards and attracted a significant audience. Perhaps the reason some critics consider it unsuccessful and low in viewership is due to criteria influenced by targeted and personal policies.
The story of the "Actor" TV series has a main plot and several subplots. These subplots and smaller stories advance the main story. The beginning of The "Actor" TV series is very strong and solid. I can boldly say that this beginning is the main hook that keeps the audience in front of the screen. As we continue, we gradually delve into the lives of each character, which leads to a better understanding and characterization of them.
Nima Javidi has acted very cleverly in casting because the actors in The "Actor" TV series are renowned figures in Iranian cinema and television. These include Navid Mohammadzadeh, Ahmad Mehranfar, Hasti Mahdavi Far, Hanieh Tavassoli, Hooman Barghnavard, Gelareh Abbasi, and Majid Potki. Although, except for Hooman Barghnavard who gave a beautiful performance in his new role, the other actors maintained their common roles, these roles suited Javidi's TV series well, which is why I call it a smart choice.
However, unfortunately, the character development, except for Ali, Samadian (Hooman Barghnavard), and to some extent Morteza and Alma (Hasti Mahdavi Far), was not flawless because the characters had predictable reactions to actions, stemming from their common roles. This reduced believability, suspense, and attractiveness for the audience. In fact, it is said in new storytelling that the more unpredictable a character, the more real they are. For example, imagine we have an angry character who always resolves challenges with anger. We place this character in heavy traffic and they have an accident with another car. But this time, due to the physique of the other driver, our character behaves calmly and politely. This character is complete and can be considered real. In the The "Actor" TV series, we have no understanding of some characters, like Nazi's Uncle, a former policeman played by Majid Potki, whose personality and reactions to challenges are unclear (here, I want to say that it might not be necessary to fully develop all characters, but at least they should have defined reactions to challenges).
However, the story has a good flow, and one of the The "Actor" TV series strengths is advancing a play within the TV series. A play that we follow episode by episode within the main story and subplots, and with a little reflection, we can see that the play the main characters are rehearsing is not unrelated to the TV series's main theme.
Regarding the acting in The "Actor" series , one could use the phrase: acting a role, or displaying a performance. The actors in The "Actor" TV series are all performing another role. To put it more clearly, I will use Shakespeare's poem that appears at the beginning of each episode: "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts." These lines encapsulate the main concept of the TV series because we see people in The "Actor" TV series constantly performing and playing roles, just like each of us in real life.
Navid Mohammadzadeh's performance was as captivating and likable as his other roles. Using his previous common roles for this performance does not diminish his artistic value but rather showcases his abilities further. The same applies to Ahmad Mehranfar to some extent. Other actors in this home cinema series mostly delivered smooth performances, but due to weak character development, they were not entirely believable.
Finally, the TV series's good cinematography added to its polish. For example, the opening scene (first sequence) reminded the audience of Hollywood cinematography, or the close-up shots under the car in the first episode created memorable images for the viewer. Another strength of The "Actor" TV series was its distinct makeup. In each project that the actors took on, they had good makeup that suited their characters, reflecting the director's theatrical viewpoint.
However, a few points that the director should have paid more attention to in the review are:
Firstly, what was the significance of Ali being born in France? What plot point did it resolve or create? Why did Javidi choose France instead of Germany or Russia? If there is a sneeze in the story, its direct and indirect impact should be evident in the plot.
Secondly, if the subplots had been more connected to the main plot and the rhythm of the stories had been more consistent (meaning the story's pace should not change abruptly at the beginning or end of subplots, which often happened), we could have witnessed a much more cohesive TV serie. For example, the sudden transformation of Maryam's character (Gelareh Abbasi) was too quick and unbelievable.
Thirdly, sometimes the subplots were abandoned, causing confusion for the viewer. For instance, the reason for Ali's mother's suicide was never clearly explained, or there were many ambiguities about Ali's brother's death, making it unclear for the audience. Or why and how Ghafour (Majid Potki) was present at that party in the second episode and why he had no further connection with them later. There is much to discuss regarding how Morteza's character resolved his challenges, whether he is comedic and solves issues humorously or not (especially regarding Sara's departure from his life).
It's true that Javidi has somewhat removed this TV series from its Iranian essence, but the reality is that it is still an Iranian work. I suspect this was more of a tactic by Javidi to win international awards rather than anything else.
Ultimately, despite its shortcomings, The "Actor" TV series managed to win over its audience's hearts. Additionally, it's worth mentioning that besides the Iranian and international awards it won (which is a new phenomenon for an Iranian home TV series to win a foreign festival award), it is still among the top 10 most-watched home TV series. For those who haven't seen The "Actor" TV series, I recommend watching it because it is worth seeing. I conclude The "Actor" TV series's file with a score of 6 out of 10 on IMDB.
Shayan Iroomloo Tabrizi