This is the new mannerism I noticed Pitt starting to do in Inglourious Basterds and Moneyball recently. It’s not that it’s necessarily a new thing he’s picked up—thinking back I’m pretty sure this was a face employed regularly in Fight Club and elsewhere—but when he was younger it just signified a certain youthful swagger. Now, it’s this gesture of authority and gravitas.
Is it clear what I’m referring to? Aldo Raine did it a lot, as if he had a wad of chewing tobacco in his lower lip. He very well may have. But then again as Billy Beane, Pitt always seemed to be on the verge of a long sigh, inhaling deeply in through his mouth and exhaling through flared nostrils. Pursed lips throughout. And he sat like this, with this expression, as everyone around him was telling him how foolish he was being. It was a countenance that suggested a quiet but stubborn confidence, a refusal to compromise what he was convinced was a winning strategy for his baseball club.
As Aldo, he had a little glimmer in his eye that made this confidence amusing and a little frightening, as if he had a certain degree of madness to his sly look. I’m not even sure how subtle this is, but it’s noticeable enough to get self-esteemy about and/or emulate.
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