Last night I attended the movies. Having settled in with popcorn in hand, the previews started.- and as happens at least twice a year, maybe more, there was the trailer for another movie made in Boston. “Shutter Island”.
As always , I pay close attention to see what sections of Boston I may recognize in a movie, maybe they were filming in my neighborhood? Or maybe I can finally figure out why Beacon Street was closed down and traffic was clogged back in May.
Massachusetts and Boston area made movies are attracted to one very specific thing – the landscape. Landscape includes many things . The architecture, the tree lines streets, the gas lamps, the brick sidewalks, the 150 year old public buildings, the allure of the Berkshires – all these things make Real Estate an attractive draw for directors and actors to ply there trade .
I only have one issue with the whole thing. No, I am not going to debate the merits of having a film office in Mass. to lobby Hollywood to bring their films here. Whether or not the return of giving tax breaks makes up for the jobs created here is not my concern.
My real concern is the butchering of the Boston accent. We know it’s a difficult linguistic twist to achieve properly. It’s not as simple as substituting “ah “ for “er”. Or as simple saying the colloquial phrase, “Park the car in Harva……” Well, you get what I am saying.
“The Departed” had it’s moments, but Mark Walberg played himself so that wasn’t too much of a stretch for the kid from Dorchester. But Laura Linney as Sean Penn’s wife in “Mystic River”???? Borderline comical. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were a little over the top in “Good Will Hunting”. I haven’t seen “Mall Cop” yet, so I can not comment.
I’m sure there are many more movies that were made in Mass where you just cringed at the attempt of the Boston accent. I can’t think of anymore at the moment.
BUT after watching the trailer for “Shutter Island” , Leonardo Dicaprio caught my ear. I think he may have it down…..I think he said the word “scared” in the correct manner and intonation. Now if I could just hear him say Worcester…..
“All things real estate.”
