My Homework assignment #37 for Professor Gordo

Homework assignment #37 ? Read Kael?s piece concerning Cary Grant?s sex appeal; compare and contrast Kael?s explanation with your own observations on Gabriel Byrne?s secret mojo.

Dear Professor: First let me confess that due to my on-going Attention Deficit Disorder that first revealed itself in the wake of my recently developed Byrnemania, I was, in fact, unable to read the entire Kael article. I know that this revelation is likely to result in my paper receiving a less than stellar grade, but I think its best to be honest before we begin. I will say that I did carefully read the first few paragraphs, then skimmed over the next 2345 pages, stopping along the way when I caught an idea or theme that I deemed relevant. So, I?ve written my observations below and captured some quotes that I believe highlight Grant?s similarities to Byrne as well as some that demonstrate their differences.

To begin, I believe that Kael?s comments about shyness, reserve and unavailability being among Grant?s strongest attributes, are points that come closest to being applicable to Gabriel Byrne. Kael writes:

?The little bit of shyness and reserve in Grant is pure box-office gold, and being the pursued doesn't make him seem weak or passively soft. It makes him glamorous--and, since he is not as available as other men, far more desirable. He draws women to him by making them feel he needs them, yet the last thing he'd do would be to come right out and say it. He isn't weak, yet something in him makes him hold back--and that something (a slight uncertainty? the fear of a commitment? a mixture of ardor and idealism?) makes him more exciting.?

But there are some ideas in the statements above that I?m not sure really apply to Gabriel Bryne. I concede that shyness and reserve are certainly Byrne traits, but I am not as comfortable with the phrase, ?the last thing he?d do would be to come right and say it?. I need to think about that one. On the one hand Paul Weston was guilty of holding back such admissions but that was due to professional constraints and in the end, he couldn?t hold them back forever. Furthermore, Gabriel Bryne, doesn?t strike me as someone that would hold back such feelings if they were there. He strikes me as someone that would wear them reluctantly, sadly blazing on his sleeve. He strikes me as someone that is incapable of hiding his caring or passion, even if it flies in direct conflict with the Irish-boy shyness he?s never outgrown.

In addition, some of his other comments about Grant only dance around explaining Byrne?s sexuality. They come close but they don?t quite hit the mark because, while Grant may share some of the qualities that we see in Gabriel Bryne, the two men are not exactly alike. Now Gordo please understand, I don?t know much about Cary Grant so I could be completely off base here, but I remember Grant being cool, debonair and funny. And as I read Kael?s article, he makes reference to Grant?s sexy-yet comedic persona several times.

?What makes Grant such an uncannily romantic comedian is that with the heroine he's different from the way he is with everybody else; you sense an affinity between them. In "The Awful Truth," he's a hearty, sociable businessman when he's with other people, but when he's with Irene Dunne you feel the tenderness that he conceals from others?..
The only trace of gloom in Grant's movies is in "None but the Lonely Heart," which he made in association with Clifford Odets (as writer and director) in 1944. The film was an ironic interlude in Grant's career, coming, as it did, between the cloying whimsey of "Once Upon a Time," in which he was a Broadway sharpie exploiting a boy who had a pet dancing caterpillar, and "Night and Day," the ten-ton Cole Porter musical bio, in which he skittered about as a youthful Yalie before facing life with stoic courage and inscrutable psychic hangups.?

Kael appears to be making the point that this type of role becomes Cary Grant?s trademark. Likewise, Byrne has a blistering sense of humor to be sure and he has been cast in some cool, debonair, even slightly comedic roles such as his End of Days Satan character. But for the most part, Byrne?s sensuality bubbles up from a sadder place, a more vulnerable place than I see in Cary Grant. Byrne can break your heart with just a hint of his sad crooked smile, whereas, Grant wins you over with a lighter hearted kind of sexiness.

Finally, I think Grant and Bryne both come off as well-read, intelligent men that appear to appreciate the deeper qualities of women while still being interested in their physical attributes. As Kael writes, ?With Grant, the social, urban man, there are infinite possibilities for mutual entertainment. They might dance the night away or stroll or go to a carnival--and nothing sexual would happen unless she wanted it to? This is definitely a Bryne characteristic. I could envision spending entire evenings with GB, just discussing favorite authors or observations on Ireland or America. And yes both of Grant and Byrne avoid demonstrating oversexed neanderthal male aggression qualities, instead preferring to sit back and wait for the inevitable moment when the woman begs to be conquered.

?Cary Grant is your dream date--not sexless but sex with civilized grace, sex with mystery?.Grant doesn't assert his male supremacy; in the climax of a picture he doesn't triumph by his fists and brawn--or even by outwitting anybody. He isn't a conqueror, like Gable. But he's a winner. The game, however, is an artful dodge. He gets the blithe, funny girl by maneuvering her into going after him. He's a fairy-tale hero, but she has to pass through the trials: She has to trim her cold or pompous adversaries; she has to dispel his fog. In picture after picture, he seems to give up his resistance at the end, as if to say, What's the use of fighting??

So professor, that?s my opinion of the similarities and differences of Cary Grant vs Gabriel Bryne. I do hope that before you mark up my paper with your red pen you will at least stop to consider my state of mind when I wrote it. I had, after all, just watched ?A Dangerous Woman?. In light of that fact, its really remarkable that I was able to concentrate on this assignment at all.

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Edited by TouchedByThPoet at 04/15/2008 10:48 AM PDT

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Edited by TouchedByThPoet at 04/15/2008 1:22 PM PDT