The local tongue, sealed with a Boston kiss-off
Re “What are the best — and worst — Boston accents in the movies?” (Sunday Arts, Aug. 4): I’m always happy to see Robert Mitchum recognized for his Boston accent as Eddie “Fingers” Coyle (“Hurt like a bastid,” says Eddie/Mitchum, describing how he got his nickname). I would add to the list, for TV, James Badge Dale as State Police Detective Ray Abruzzo in “Hightown” — understated, but clearly so Boston. Aside from the accent, the most Boston line of dialogue I’ve ever heard in a movie was delivered by the Boston-born actor Dennis Lynch as a city clerk in “Spotlight.” Lynch’s clerk is at his post when Globe reporter Michael Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) comes in wanting to obtain a crucial document. When he is denied, Rezendes says, “Look, I work for the Globe!” To which the clerk/Lynch says simply, “Good for you.”
Jon Garelick
Somerville
Worst and best Boston accents: And the nominees are …
First, just test your actors beforehand. Let the best two-thirds of them do their fake Boston accents, but tell the ones who can’t cut it to just use their natural voices. Lots of longtime residents, even native Bostonians, have no accent!
And yes, the TV series “Ray Donovan” had some bad ones (Paula Malcomson, who played Ray’s wife), but it also featured three of the best, by three of the top actors alive: Liev Schreiber, Eddie Marsan, and Jon Voight. They come across as real people who just happen to have accents rather than one-note, AI-programmed accent bots.
Also, natives such as Mark Wahlberg and Ben Affleck are often the worst. Either they slip out of the accent or they oversell it egregiously.
Finally, no one mentioned Robin Williams in “Good Will Hunting”?!
Rich Feinberg
Boston
