``Benny & Joon'' A bouquet of flowers instead of words, a masterpiece from Johnny Depp's early years

"Benny & Joon" Synopsis

Benny has a sister who suffers from mental illness. One day, an eccentric young man named Sam appears before Benny and his sister. Although Sam cannot read or write, he is good at pantomime, and he opens June's closed heart. Eventually, the two fall in love, but Benny, who cannot let go of his sister, objects to their union...

Index

• Johnny Depp's formative years
• Reversal from the norm
• comedy and sadness
• instead of words
• bouquet of roses

Johnny Depp's formative years

"I fell in love with Johnny Depp. No one could predict what he would do next or what he would do next. But when you watch the movie, you understand. What you see in it is... It's the image of an actor immersing himself in the pursuit of his best performance.'' (Aidan Quinn) *1

In his early years, Johnny Depp chose his work carefully, avoiding easy participation in Hollywood blockbusters, and ``Benny & Joon'' (1993) was an unexpected opportunity. Depp, who was originally partial to Chaplin and Buster Keaton, and the film's director, Jeremiah Chechik, hit it off from the planning stage. To play the role of Sam, who admires Buster Keaton, Depp and the director rented out a movie theater in Los Angeles. It was here that he devoted himself to researching silent comedy actors for six weeks.

"Benny & Joon" preview

In addition, with the help of pantomime actor Dan Kamin, who has written about Chaplin, Depp spent his days training in the body language of comedians. Kamin also collaborated on the Chaplin biopic `` Charlie '' (1992), starring Robert Downey Jr. Depp was originally offered the role of Chaplin in `` Charlie ,'' but he turned down the offer because it was ``too heavy''.

For Depp, who had already learned how to express emotions without words through his role as Edward in ``Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), ``Benny & Joon'' was an extension of that work. The gestures he learned as a comedic actor in this film were applied to masterpiece black-and-white films of the 1990s such as `` Ed Wood '' (1994) and `` Dead Man '' (1995). The fact that he co-starred with the great comedian Jerry Lewis in `` Arizona Hidden Figures '' (1993), which was released in the same year as this film, is also an important topic that shaped Johnny Depp as a rare actor.

The filming location for "Benny & Joon" is Spokane, Washington. After the scheduled filming was completed, the filming proceeded in a homely atmosphere, with the staff and cast playing music and having a meal together. The peaceful environment of Spokane and Depp's silent performance serve as the main tone of this film.

“The city itself influenced not only the story, but the way the story was told and our sense of being there.When we were filming in that city night after night, the neighbors would sit in their chairs and They came to see us and brought us food. We were able to make the film in a very warm and wonderful environment.'' (Jeremiah Chechik) *2

Reversal from the norm