Ive been trying to figure out how it works, he says.
How the people at the center of some of the most insidious situations in history are often very banal.
(His performance wonAARPs Movies for Grownups awardfor best supporting actor and scored De Niro his ninthOscar nomination.)
William Hale, hes very charming, very polite, De Niro continues.
He likes the Osage.
Or thinks he does.
And he feels that they like him, which some of them probably did.
He speaks their language, and he deals with them on a one-to-one basis.
Its almost like, Nothing personal.
This transposition of that old saw fromThe Godfatherinto 1920s Oklahoma cracks me up.
Awhats so funny?look darkens De Niros face.
Look, I dont pretend to understand it, he continues.
But what it really boils down to is:Theyre not people.
And they have something that we want.Hes not very self-reflective.
Well, it doesnt matter if the history is painful.Its what happened.
Hes handsome when hes mad, De Niro.
Wait, scratch that hes handsome, period.
He turned 80 in August.
Today hes blue on blue on blue: jacket, turtleneck and slacks.
The ensemble and the man pair well.
Both seem smart and unfussy.
Can I talk to you about the way you walk?
He finds the question suspicious.
Ive asked because there is something to the way Robert De Niro carries himself.
The shoulders slump, giving his spine a stiff, question-mark curl.
The camera rolls … he says by way of explanation and no more.
That laconic answer is vintage De Niro.
He remains unfailingly cordial and attentive during our time together.
He even becomes emotional at one point.
But from beginning to end, he responds; he does not dish.
And his voice never rises above a gentlepiano.
He remains immune to my provocations.
Still, one tries.
Id like to talk to you about your animosity now, I tell him.
And how funny it can be.
