Chinese actress Bai Lu recently starred in the period drama “Northward”, and her appearance and acting skills in the drama became the focus of discussion. The drama is adapted from Xu Zechen’s award-winning novel. This time, she tried hard to get rid of her past image, but her performance attracted a lot of controversy.
She faced doubts about her acting skills last year for starring in the fairy tale drama “White Moon Fanxing”. This year, she still could not escape criticism. The audience complained that her acting skills were exaggerated, and even said that her “facial features were flying” in the drama. “Northward” is set in the social changes in China from the 1990s to the 2010s, telling the story of industrial and agricultural development, as well as the prosperity and decline of canal shipping. Bai Lu plays the “Little Bully of Flower Street” Xia Fenghua in the drama. In order to create this image, she chose the appearance of no makeup, short hair, dark skin and braces. Although director Yao Xiaofeng praised her for “crushing her appearance with her soul”, her deliberate ugly way aroused the disgust of some viewers.
In fact, Bai Lu has often been criticized in the past for over-pursuing “beauty” in her works and ignoring the rationality and setting of the plot. This time, she did not hesitate to dress ugly in order to prove her strength, but many viewers pointed out that her makeup and styling were too deliberate and her performance was unnatural. Some people even criticized that “she did not play a tomboy, but a funny play imitating a boy”, and some people mentioned that the fairy image she created in the costume dramas in the past has been deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Not only did she find it difficult to fit in the role, but her exaggerated acting also made the audience feel out of the play. However, some people defended Bai Lu, saying that “I finally saw a different Bai Lu” and believed that her breakthrough performance was quite interesting.
When promoting this work, Bai Lu said that actors should focus on acting, and as for the makeup, it was the director and production team’s consideration, and she did not interfere too much.
