Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson’s angry Cannes Film Festival 2023 appearance explained by a body language expert.
After A Man Called Otto actor’s snap looking angry at a man at the event went viral, his wife took to Instagram to share that it was not an “altercation.”
Wilson said that Hanks had difficulty listening to the man at the event because of the deafening sound. “This is called I can’t hear you,” she insisted.
Verifying Wilson’s remarks about the situation, a body language expert told The Mirror, “As anyone who is hearing-impaired knows, the facial expressions you pull when you’re struggling to hear someone speak can often mimic signals of anger or irritation.”
“Both are leaning forward towards the red carpet manager here and it seems the din around them made it difficult to hear their directions,” she explained the facial expression of the couple to the publication.
“Tom’s deeply-etched frown and the way his eye stare at the man’s face suggest he is trying to listen intently rather than be threatening.
“Tom jerks his right thumb backward, which would fit with the fact that he was asking if they should join the line-up behind them. In another shot he is pointing forward, as though checking.
“Rita appears to be pointing directly at the guy, which might have suggested anger, except her hand is palm-up and the finger is crooked, which would suggest ‘can I just check?’. Only her lower jaw-jut might suggest impatience,” the expert said.
James continued: “The body language does look dramatic from a man known as the nicest man in Hollywood but there is a bigger clue in another pic that seems to confirm their version of events when Hanks is actually cupping his ear, which is a sure sign of a problem hearing what is being said.”
“The contrast with the couple’s very stretched and rigid-looking showtime smiles as they pose up for the press a few moments later looks stark but I’d definitely give Tom the benefit of the doubt here, otherwise we’d be calling the well-documented niceness out as a sham.”
