Article two by Ma Qingyun

a headline article published https://weibo.com/2492353974/5289363082051607. This based on the first five episodes.

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How is Xu Kai's acting after 5 episodes of "Within 800 Meters"? A performance without dialogue says it all.

Original 04-19 03:31
Reads 9869

On April 19th, the TV series "Within 800 Meters" aired its 5th episode. In my initial review of the series, I argued for its clever use of suspense and narrative, while also affirming the relatively good acting performances of young actors such as Xu Kai and Deng Enxi, believing they have become powerful actors among young actors, and that this transformation into a realistic drama is successful. Of course, my initial review only touched on the actors' acting skills briefly, lacking specific examples to support my assessment. (Due to copyright restrictions, this article only includes the posters released for free distribution by the production company and does not include screenshots of actual scenes.) The final scene of episode 5 of "Within 800 Meters" is a good opportunity to demonstrate Xu Kai's acting skills. Especially the dialogue-free portion of the scene showcases Xu Kai's relatively high level of acting. I'd like to elaborate on this scene in detail, and I welcome any corrections.

The scene is preceded by a middle-aged murderer connected to the male and female leads, who drives up to the male lead's video arcade. The scene then shifts indoors, where Deng Enxi's character wakes up, notices movement outside, and wakes Xu Kai's character, telling him there seems to be someone outside. The rest of the performance is entirely Xu Kai's. Let's examine how well Xu Kai executes and realizes this scene. Let's first discuss the overall requirements of this scene. From the moment Xu Kai's character gets up to the moment he discovers the fire, this entire sequence is devoid of dialogue. The actor must create a tense and terrifying atmosphere through physical actions, and this atmosphere needs to escalate, not remain static. This dialogue-free performance, with its gradually increasing tension and terror, relies not only on the director's cinematic aesthetics but, more importantly, on the actor's physical performance. Let's see how Xu Kai accomplished this.

Xu Kai opens his eyes, decisively looking outside with a sharp gaze. Notice the decisive look and the sharpness in his eyes—these are layers of performance. Don't underestimate this decisive head turn and the sharpness conveyed in his eyes simultaneously. Most young actors couldn't achieve this. Even many middle-aged and older actors can't portray this decisiveness and sharpness so crisply and effectively. Therefore, I say that this scene, from Xu Kai's very first performance shot, was already a success. This actor understands the play and is exceptionally skilled at acting, delivering a truly expressive performance. Then comes the slow drawing of the knife and the slow rising, with a calm yet radiating gaze that seems to radiate outwards, accompanied by a coordinated movement of the body. This slow drawing of the knife and slow rising are generally easy for actors to execute; the calm gaze isn't too difficult either. However, conveying that radiating feeling within that calmness is much harder. Many actors, when performing similar scenes, tend to have a unfocused gaze, which doesn't convey a sense of danger being confronted directly, but rather a thief's expression. I won't name names. It's easy to say someone is good. Saying someone is bad will likely result in a verbal attack. I'll just say... Xu Kai's radiating gaze "broke the window" in this scene.

What does "broke the window" mean? The shot in this scene, seemingly filming Xu Kai's character indoors, is actually, with a skilled actor, no longer just filming indoors. It uses the character's reactions indoors to reveal the outdoors, especially something unseen by the audience. The more radiating the actor's gaze, the easier it is to achieve this "broken window" effect. Some young stars lack this ability; their eyes look like a thief's, failing to create this sense of "broken window" in the shot. The scene shifts, and Xu Kai's character walks slowly outside, knife in hand, his eyes scanning in multiple directions. He leaves the room and enters the outdoors. At this point, the tension and terror need to be heightened. Xu Kai's character looks around but finds nothing amiss. Now, pay attention to Xu Kai's eye performance; he adds another layer of terror to the already intense, sweeping gaze. The less he finds, the greater the danger. Xu Kai's escalation of terror through his eyes is spot-on.

Xu Kai's character notices something amiss at the doorway and approaches, knife in hand. His eyes are now alert, yet also fierce. This is another escalation of tension. Hearing his girlfriend's voice, Xu Kai's character turns, his eyes conveying a seamless transition before he rushes towards her. Xu Kai's performance of this transition is also excellent. This is the mark of a professional actor. Especially this transition, achieved without dialogue, solely through body language and eye contact, truly tests the level of acting skill. Xu Kai's character sees the female lead running out amidst the flames and calls out his girlfriend's name—this is a performance with dialogue. Shortly after, another performance without dialogue begins. The male lead is attacked, and he looks at the attacker's face. This "looking" is unspoken, but it's conveyed through descriptive movements and the male lead's gaze corresponding to each movement. Xu Kai looks up at the assailant, looks down at his wound, and falls to the ground—these three shots convey three different expressions, and each expression is perfectly nuanced. Looking up at the assailant expresses confusion: "Why did you kill me?" Looking down at the wound expresses helplessness: "The knife has already stabbed me so badly, there's no hope." Falling to the ground expresses resentment, because his girlfriend is still in danger, and no one is there to help. These emotions are expressed without dialogue, solely through his eyes.

After this scene, I think discerning viewers can see Xu Kai's exceptional acting skills. What do you think? (Written by Ma Qingyun