Robert Duvall Seared Himself Into Our Memories Even When He Wasn’t the Star

 

 

 " The first time you watch the opening of Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather,” you may not notice the pale man with the hawklike stillness seated quietly in the room. There are so many other things to look at in this seismic opener, including James Caan’s Sonny as he waits restlessly in the background and Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone, who’s seated behind a desk in pooling shadow and holding a cat as he listens to a man ask him to murder someone. The Don declines to do so though promises to handle matters, and then both men stand.

As soon as the petitioner leaves, the pale man suddenly and silently takes his place before the Godfather, materializing from the inky black like an apparition. For the rest of this scene, these two men remain close to each other, the darkness enveloping them like a shroud. Don Corleone is facing the camera while the pale man’s face remains largely obscured. You can’t quite make him out, and he doesn’t say a word as the Godfather speaks, adding to his strange mystery. Yet by the time the scene ends, so much has already been expressed, including the men’s intimacy and the unwavering intensity of the pale man’s supplication. This is a man, you understand, who doesn’t just serve power but also helps make it happen.

In a sense, the same was true of Robert Duvall, who died on Sunday at 95."

read article by MANOHLA DARGIS