The_Film_Cricket If you want to talk about natural performances, no one could claim to have done better work in nineteen-eighty five than Eric Stoltz, who gave a brilliant performance through heavy make-up in Peter Bogdanovich's Mask. Based on a true story, he plays Rocky Dennis, a teenager who was born with craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, or "lionitis", a rare sclerotic bone disorder that caused disfigurement in his face. But the movie isn't about clinical details, there are no overriding strides to make him "normal". This is simply the story of a young teenager and his often frustrating world.When we meet him, the movie doesn't point to his ailment. Our initial reaction is only natural but once we get comfortable with his personality, we hardly seem to notice. He is an average kid who lives with his mother Rusty (Cher) who travels in a circle of biker friends, takes drugs and has a never-ending series of rotating boyfriends. She is irresponsible, but a good mother who loves her son and we get a sense of routine when she tries to enroll him in school and the principal (visibly shocked) suggests that he might be better off in a school that would "be better suited to his needs". "Do you have algebra?", she asks. "Yes", the man says. "Those are his needs." she tells him. There is a tone to her voice and an urgency that suggests that she has had this conversation over and over and over. What makes the moment special is what Rocky says next, smiling at the principal he tells him "Don't worry, Mr. Simms. I look weird, but otherwise I'm real normal. Everything'll be cool." Rocky has a specific personality, he has a way of disarming the initial shock of his looks the moment he begins to speak. He's smart, he's sensitive, he is growing aware of the world outside, of motorcycles and of girls. He writes poems about the things that he likes and has a dream of someday riding motorcycles across Europe with his best buddy.His mother has always instilled in her son the constant reminder that he is completely normal, "You're more beautiful on the inside than most people", she tells him. He has a way of disarming people's reaction like a scene at his locker at school when he notices a group of kids staring at at him. "What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen anyone from the planet Vulcan before?" Later, on his first day at summer camp, the counselor instructs him to take off his mask and Rocky, in good spirits, responds "I could try but I don't think it'll come off". I love the way we see the principal's initial reaction and then later we see the same man approach him as if he were an old friend.The movie rarely points to Rocky's looks, it only comes into the story sideways and only at specific moments. There is a moment at a carnival when he and his friends are looking in a funhouse mirror when he sees himself, he sees what he might look like with a normal face. The only time it ever becomes a hindrance is when he gets a girlfriend for the first time. Rocky becomes a counselor at a summer camp for the blind, where he meets Diana Adams (Laura Dern) a blind fellow counselor and the two falls in love in one of the most beautiful teen romances that I can remember. They share the kinds of wonderful moments that teenagers share, when love means having time together, not with sex, but just together doing the same things. The stumbling block happens when he meets her parents who are shocked by Rocky's looks and don't want their daughter involved with him. Returning home, he tries time and again to call but is told that she can't come to the phone.Most of this comes from Stoltz who plays this role outside the make-up, as if he's playing a character without a disability. He creates a specific character that we care about from the moment that we hear him speak. I have a litmus test for a movie like this: Would the character be as interesting if he didn't have this disorder? My problem with The Elephant Man is that if you looked under John Merrick's physical deformity, there isn't much of a character to care about. In the case of Rocky Dennis, he could have been portrayed as a teenager without a disfigurement and he would have been just as interesting.

TheLittleSongbird I saw Mask because I like Peter Bogdanovich's films, and also it was on a subject that I identified with. I had been told so much about Mask, how moving and how great it was. And after eventually seeing it, having been behind with my movie watching, it fully lived up to expectations. Mask is a wonderful movie, very moving and Bogdanovich's second best movie after The Last Picture Show. Mask is beautiful to look at, with crisp cinematography and evergreen and autumnal images. The soundtrack is memorable and is careful not to be overpowering in key moments. The scripting is touching and honest, and the story has a subject that will resonate with anybody with a disfigurement, knows somebody with one or neither. More importantly, none of the film feels forced or in your face. Bogdanovich's direction is superb, and he sensibly focuses on mother and son's strengths and weaknesses. The two leads are superb. Whether it is her best performance or not is up for debate, but regardless Cher's performance is wonderful. That's not to dispute Eric Stoltz either, he is just heart-wrenching as he struggles with his disfigurements and faces death. Overall, Mask is such an achingly moving movie, and sadly one of the the 80s most overlooked films. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Isaac5855 MASK is the 1985 comedy-drama based on the true story of Rocky Dennis, a sensitive and highly intelligent teenager who, because of a debilitating disease, has a severely disfigured face that has made him an outcast outside of his family and the social circle surrounding them (basically a biker gang, who are savagely protective of Rocky). The film focuses primarily on Rocky's relationship with his mother Rusty (Cher), a free-spirited independent woman whose history of drug and alcohol abuse and sexual promiscuity has been such a concern to Rocky that it's sometimes hard to tell who's raising who in the Dennis household. The film is basically unfolds as a series of vignettes, highlighting the ups and downs of Rocky and Rusty's relationship, which seems to rise above everything else that happens in their lives. No matter what Rocky and Rusty go through, their love for each other rises above everything and makes all their fallacies fade to the background. Peter Bogdonovich's evocative direction is a big plus here, knowing where to mine the laughs and the tears and the film contains plenty of both. Cher gives the performance of her career as Rusty Dennis (even better than her Oscar winning turn in MOONSTRUCK) and an unrecognizable Eric Stoltz hits all the right notes as the soulful and intelligent Rocky. Sam Elliott is solid as Rusty's on-again, off-again boyfriend Gar and Laura Dern shines as a blind girl who Rocky falls for. Mention should also be made of Dennis Burkley as a slow-witted family friend and of Richard Dysart and the late Estelle Getty who register in one scene as Rusty's parents. Don't miss this lovely emotional drama that perfectly blends laughter and tears to maximum effect.

kayehall312 This is the best performance by Cher I have seen. One the best movies by all actors. Very realistic!!! I really don't understand why you need to have ten lines if you just want to make a statement about a movie that you really enjoyed. So here goes...I think the Cramps are a really great band, if you ever go on YouTube check it out. My African Cichlids just a babies we were afraid that the little sucker was going to die, he made it through about three days and he is growing stronger and bigger. My super, smoking, sexy, hot boyfriend made two turkeys today we have yet to eat them....smells good, also mashed potatoes, stuffing with sausage, greens beans, nice rolls and butter and we didn't even need gravy in a can...homemade gravy. Oh, by the way Mask was a great movie and totally recommend it.