John Cazale plays men who cannot hide how uncomfortable they feel. We rate his quiet, watchful acting for the way it makes their weakness painful to watch without making them any less responsible for it.
Fi1m perspective
Cazale's characters look uncomfortable in their own bodies. He works through his eyes and small gestures, letting us notice the unease rather than announcing it. Beside stronger leads, especially Al Pacino, he gives us a reason to watch the man who seems least equipped to cope. We trust him most when he allows an unappealing man to remain unappealing.
He began in films as Fredo Corleone, the weak older brother in The Godfather (1972), and Francis Ford Coppola gave the character more room in The Godfather Part II (1974). That expansion suits an actor whose small gestures deserve attention. Fredo's visible hurt in the second film upset us because Cazale never makes moral weakness look harmless. We can understand why this man feels wounded without agreeing that he deserves what he wants. Coppola gets Cazale's most troubling work by allowing us to feel both things at once.
Alongside Pacino and Robert De Niro, he helps make the Corleone family's criminal power distressing to watch. The film has cumbersome stretches of intrigue, but Cazale's Fredo remains a compelling reason to give it close attention. Elsewhere, he played Gene Hackman's assistant, Stan, in Coppola's The Conversation (1974). In Dog Day Afternoon (1975), he was beside Pacino again as the bank-robbery partner Sal.
The Deer Hunter (1978) was his final film, with Cazale playing Stan in Michael Cimino's account of friendship and war. We recommend it for the time it spends establishing those friendships, despite the length and occasional heavy-handedness. Such patience suits an actor whose effects depend on our noticing small changes rather than waiting for a speech. The pleasure lies in watching the group together and believing the time they have spent in one another's company.
We have only five features by which to judge him, and their concentration on vulnerable supporting men should restrain claims about all the parts he might have played. There is enough here without inventing a longer career for him. Start with The Godfather, then give its sequel a whole evening. Watch Cazale when somebody else is speaking.
Biography
John Cazale was an American actor. He began his career in theatre in Boston before moving to off-Broadway and Broadway productions, appearing alongside Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.
Cazale made his feature film debut as Fredo Corleone in The Godfather (1972). He reprised the role in The Godfather Part II (1974) and appeared in The Conversation (1974), Dog Day Afternoon (1975) and The Deer Hunter (1978). All five of his films received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture.
