Girl Week 2018: Tully

Girl Week 2017: Atomic Blonde

The Fate of the Furious

Mad Max: Fury Road

Pointless Lists: Top 10 Portrayals of Real Women

In my last post I reviewed the 2002 film Frida (here) which is a biopic about the late Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. I gushed about how amazing Salma Hayek was in the title role. This got me to thinking about a number of other great performances of real women that have graced our screens. Of course, my next thought was where does Hayek’s rank, if at all. This is no definitive list as it is only based on movies I have seen. Still, these are my…

Top 10 Portrayals of Real Women

Honorable Mentions: 

(alphabetically by actress’ last name)

Hope Davis as Joyce Pekar in American Splendor

Faye Dunaway as Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde

Mariel Hemingway as Dorothy Stratten in Star ‘80

Lynn Whitfield as Josephine Baker in The Josephine Baker Story

10. Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II

In

The Queen

(2006)

As the iconic monarch Helen Mirren brings tremendous grace and dignity to the screen. Watching her really feels like we are looking at Queen Elizabeth II wrestle with the idea of how to address her nation about the passing of Princess Diana whom she is known have her differences with. Mirren was also outstanding as Alma Reville, the wife of The Master of Suspense in 2012’s largely lackluster Hitchcock.

9. Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe

In

My Week with Marilyn

(2011)

Williams captures Marilyn’s fragility and the manner in which she wields her sexuality as the only weapon she feels comfortable using. It’s remarkable work that threatens to reduce Monroe to a caricature but manages enough humanity to make her a sympathetic figure. (Review)

8. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher

In

The Iron Lady

(2011)

As usual, Meryl Streep keeps us engaged. She again demonstrates her ability to get lost within the character and draw out both their despair and their dignity. Like a number of others on this list, she also breathed life into another historic figure. In her case, she was delightful as culinary legend Julia Child in 2009’s Julie & Julia. (The Iron Lady Review)

7. Cathy Moriarty as Vicki La Motta

In

Raging Bull

(1980)

Moriarty quite literally came from nowhere to earn an Oscar nomination for playing the wife of boxing great Jake La Motta opposite Robert De Niro. It was a fiery performance nearly as raw and visceral as her iconic co-star.

6. Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla

In

Selena

(1997)

Lopez is simply phenomenal as the Mexican-American singer who achieved superstar status in Mexico and appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough in the United States before being gunned down by the president of her fan club. She brings an abundance of energy to her role and makes us love her. This is still her best work.

5. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter

In

Walk the Line

(2005)

It takes a tough woman to handle The Man in Black. In Walk the Line, Witherspoon gives us that plus a whole lot more. She was ridiculous feisty and perfect all the way through. By the way, give her extra kudos for doing all of her own singing.

4. Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo

In

Frida

(2002)

Salma Hayek is an unstoppable force of nature. She emanates an irresistible flame that torches the screen. Aided by a prominent unibrow, Hayek is simply impossible to look away from. It is a magnificent performance starting with the very first time we see her.

3. Hilary Swank as Brandon Teena

In

Boys Don’t Cry

(1999)

Swank’s role is, in my mind, the second most challenging on this list. After all, she’s playing a woman who isn’t sure she was really meant to be one. Swank does a masterful job making us feel empathy for a person whose actions eventually cause pain in others. Ten years later, Swank would also play famed aviator Amelia Earhart. (Review)

2. Angela Bassett as Tina Turner

In

What’s Love Got to Do with It

(1993)

Right before our eyes, Angela Bassett morphs from being a shy country girl from Nutbush, Tennessee to one of the most iconic women in the history of American music who also happens to be desperately trying to figure out how not to be a punching bag for the husband that made her a star. It’s a powerhouse performance if ever there was one and I will go to my grave saying Bassett was robbed of the Oscar for Best Actress in 1993. In a quieter role just one year earlier, she was also excellent as Betty Shabazz, the wife of slain Civil Rights leader Malcolm X.

1. Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos

In

Monster

(2003)

The one role on this list more inherently challenging than Swank’s in Boys Don’t Cry is Theron’s, here. Physically, she literally transformed herself. Always the glamorous sort with classic Hollywood beauty, she was just about unrecognizable. For the role, she gained thirty pounds and shaved her eyebrows. And that’s before all the makeup and prosthetics were applied to her. But that was only the beginning. She still had to sell us on the idea that she was a serial killer. Theron certainly managed to do just that with a flat-out disturbing performance.

I’m sure I have missed one or a dozen. Let me know some of your faves.

The Dellies - 2012 Best Supporting Actress

For this next category, you'll find that this is where I'm probably most divergent from the Academy's thinking. That's mainly because I slid two of the nominees over to the Best Actress category, as I explained in that post, and dropped another out of the running. Hey, I did say these were my awards, right? Anyhoo, on with the show...

2012 Best Supporting Actress

The Real Nominees: Amy Adams (The Master), Sally Field (Lincoln), Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables), Helen Hunt (The Sessions), Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

My Nominees:

Gina Gershon, Killer Joe

Gina Gershon is thoroughly skanky. She's practically the epitome of trailer trash royalty.

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

We get a wonderful turn by Anne Hathaway. In just a handful of scenes, she gives us a gut-wrenching few minutes of screen time.

Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman

She seethes, hisses and vampirically gains strength by literally draining it from others. Like the bloodsucker, she earns both our dread and the pity we reserve for one whose seemingly boundless power is really fueled by a fatal flaw.

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook

Weaver does an excellent job conveying her character’s raggedness from being pulled to and fro. She tries to do right by everyone and often winds up little more than an enabler.

Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

A sizable share of the movie’s funniest moments are hers. Her timing is rock solid and she has charisma to spare.


Honorable Mention
Samantha Barks, Les Miserables
Ann Dowd, Compliance
Carmen Ejogo, Sparkle
America Ferrera, End of Watch
Maggie Smith, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel


The Real Winner: Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

And My Winner Is...

Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect

This might be the best comedic performance of the last few years including 2011’s Oscar nominated turn by Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids.

Click Here for the Rest of the Dellies!

Snow White and the Huntsman

Directed by Rupert Sanders.

2012. Rated PG-13, 127 minutes.

Cast:

Kristen Stewart

Charlize Theron

Chris Hemsworth

Sam Claflin

Ian McShane

Bob Hoskins

Toby Jones

Eddie Marsan

Ray Winstone

Nick Frost

Lily Cole

Christopher Obi

Sam Spruell

The gang’s all here. Of course, there’s Snow White (Stewart) and, eventually, seven dwarves. It should go without saying that we have a wicked stepmother/Queen (Theron) and her knowledgeable, talkative mirror (Obi). Like any fairytale worth its pixie dust, there is also a prince (Claflin). Finally, there’s the guy who takes the dwarves’ place in the title, the huntsman (Hemsworth). The general parameters of the story are familiar. Mama White dies and a short while later her widowed hubby, the king, re-marries and finds himself all killed by his new bride. She takes over the kingdom, locks Snow White in a foreboding tower and brings in her mirror as her top consultant. Years later, Snow White manages a daring escape into the Dark Forest, a bit different from the most famous versions of the story. Since the queen’s powers are useless in that particular part of the kingdom, she hires the huntsman to track her down and bring her back.

Why the queen needs our heroine alive is part of the twist that provides this reimagining a darkness missing from the tale we’re used to, but a few steps closer to how it was originally told with regard to tone. The queen’s main purpose in life is maintaining her beauty, some semblance of youth and remaining fairest of them all. No matter what. To do this, she has young maidens hauled into the castle whom she robs of the qualities she desires, leaving them old, wrinkled and near death. She soon finds out that if she does the same to Snow White, she’ll no longer have that craving to satisfy.

There are some other twists, none hindering our recognition of the story we all know. The magic lies in the tricks played on our eyes. The purposefully drab interiors and pristine white snow filled exteriors make wonderful canvasses for splashes of color and quick striking, well executed special fx. All along the way we’re treated to images that seem sparse, but are deceptively lush. Our pupils dart around the screen grasping at fleeting flourishes of cgi goodness. Though not as big or overwhelming as in something like The Avengers, they’re perhaps more believable in their presentation. This includes our dwarves, all played by, for lack of a better term, normal sized actors. Apologies due to any little people who feel slighted by the phrase or being excluded from the cast. Still, it’s very nicely done.

Of course, fx alone don’t make a movie. The meat we readily chew on is the performance of Charlize Theron. She dominates the film much the way Julia Roberts does in the same role in 2012’s other Snow White flick, Mirror Mirror, but in a different fashion. Where Roberts’ queen cackles maniacally in the self-aware manner that lets us know she’s playing as much for laughs as she is menace, Theron’s queen has no clue she’s a character in a fairytale. She seethes, hisses and vampirically gains strength by literally draining it from others. Like the bloodsucker, she earns both our dread and the pity we reserve for one whose seemingly boundless power is really fueled by a fatal flaw. Perhaps, this flaw is really a thinly veiled commentary on our mass obsession with defeating Father Time. A less talented actress might have unconsciously imbued the character with more of the Roberts qualities, but being in the wrong movie, would undermine the seriousness with which this fantasy is approached. It would be like Cesar Romero’s Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight as opposed to Heath Ledger’s. Perfectly suited for the 1960s TV show, he’d be sorely out of place in the more realistic Gotham City. Obviously, the kingdom is not meant to be realistic but it is meant to evoke the Middle Earth of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy (and upcoming movie The Hobbit), not Gilligan’s Island.

Since we brought up vampires and less talented actresses, let’s talk about the person whose character gets top billing, Kristen Stewart. Unsurprisingly, she’s a weak link but not as much as one would think. Thank goodness for low expectations, I guess. She “Bellas” her way through another role, albeit less depressingly, as her character actually wants to live as opposed to just yearning to be undead. Our rooting for her is due to our Pavlovian conditioning to do so for “the good guy,” not because she’s the least bit compelling. Trust me, she isn’t. If there is a movie where she is, I’d have to say it’s The Runaways, an underrated biopic about the 70s all-girl rock band of the same name. Even there, Dakota Fanning acts circles around her.

Our heroine’s shortcomings aside, I find Snow White and the Huntsman an enjoyable spin on the old tale. Admittedly, Theron is hamming it up, but she is so good at it we can’t help but be spellbound. Then there are those enticing visuals. They help drive the story rather than smother it beneath an avalanche of pixels. Liberties taken with the narrative are fun, if a tad predictable. In any event, they enhance the telling of this version, not desecrate our memory of others. It is by no means perfect, but it is fun without the corniness and boring stretches of the kiddie-fied Mirror Mirror.

MY SCORE: 7/10

Young Adult

Directed by Jason Reitman.

Rated R, 94 minutes.
Cast:

Charize Theron
Patton Oswalt
Patrick Wilson
Elizabeth Reaser
Jill Eikenberry
Richard Bekins
Collette Wolfe
Hettienne Park
J. K. Simmons

Mavis Gary (Theron) is the ghost writer of a once successful series of books aimed at teens, hence the movie’s title. Fresh out of a bad marriage, she suddenly decides to take a trip back to her hometown in hopes of reigniting an old flame. His name is Buddy (Wilson), her high school sweetheart. The problem? Not only is Buddy happily married, he’s just become a dad and is absolutely smitten over his family. Another hindrance is the small bit of fame she’s garnered as the prom queen who went off to the big city and did good. Lastly, it becomes clear rather quickly that Mavis is an alcoholic, or at the very least going through a bout of self-medicating with booze. The local yokels, most of whom admire but aren’t particularly fond of her, wonder aloud what she’s doing back home. Undeterred, she makes play for Buddy against the better advice of her newly found drinking pal Matt (Oswalt). He’s a former high school misfit whom she barely noticed was alive and has to have her memory jogged to remember him despite having the locker right next to his. He has his own set of complex issues.

Hopefully, you haven’t gotten the impression that Young Adult is a plucky romantic comedy of the sort Jennifer Aniston might star. This movie resides in a decidedly darker neighborhood. A couple of characters indeed have romance in their hearts, but it’s all misguided and unreciprocated. When there is eventually sex, it amounts to damaged people simultaneously taking pity on one another and consoling themselves. Beyond that, when the credits roll these people still have severe problems. I certainly would not categorize this as a date movie.

I will categorize YA as the character study of a delusional woman. And, as delusional people often are, she’s oblivious to her own insanity. Theron plays the role without a hint of self-awareness about the ridiculousness of the mission her character has assigned herself. Even when someone else tells her she’s completely out of line, she easily explains her point of view, as much to herself as the other person. In the face of common sense and decency she will not be swayed. Nothing short of getting her man will suffice, regardless of the consequences and/or collateral damage. Theron once again delivers a masterful performance.

Patton Oswalt takes a different path to excellence. His portrayal of Matt is made up entirely of self-awareness and pity. He has no delusions of grandeur and resigns himself to the idea that he will forever occupy the lowest runs of the social ladder. As a person who suffered a life-altering trauma because of the misperception of others, there is a thread of bitterness throughout his entire existence. The tricky part is he puts up just enough of a front to not be totally unapproachable. We even trust him even though his motives aren’t always clear. Is he befriending Mavis in hopes of sharing anything more than a few drinks with her? Or, is he just happy to have the most popular girl from his high school days hanging out with him?

The DVD cover of YA purports it to be some zany comedy that might easily star Tina Fey and/or Anna Faris. If that’s what you’re looking for you’ll be sorely disappointed. The ever-trusty Wikipedia page for the movie calls it a dark comedy. I’ll take it a step further. Any comedy within the confines of this picture is very dark, at best. It’s not quite as aggressively depressing as Melancholia, which also deals with emotionally damaged people along with our always imminent mortality. However, YA is no ray of sunshine. It dives into some of the more desolate corners of the human soul. It is a very good movie as long as you understand what you’re getting yourself into. There will be times when you will laugh. Just don’t go into it looking to yuck it up.

Astro Boy

Directed by David Bowers.
2009. Rated PG, 94 minutes.
Cast:
Freddie Highmore
Nicolas Cage
Kristen Bell
Donald Sutherland
Bill Nighy
Samuel L. Jackson
Eugene Levy
Charlize Theron

Plot: After his son is killed during a demonstration gone awry, Dr. Tenma (Cage) builds a robotic version of his tyke outfitted with the latest weaponry and boosters in his boots.

The Good: It manages to be fun without being overly stupid. It doesn’t talk down to its target audience. It also resists the urge to cater to parents and doesn’t purposely put in a bunch of jokes that they know will go over the heads of the kids watching. When we get action, it’s a blast watching Astro Boy zip back and forth across the screen.

The Bad: The go-green subtext is a bit heavy-handed. However, the kids may not pick up on that. What they might notice is that both of our villains are a bit underdeveloped. They’re not as menacing as they could’ve been.

The Ugly: Did they really have to give him "butt guns"?

Recommendation: This is a fun, quick hour and a half. As far as kiddie flicks go, its not in the class of the best animated movies of the last couple years, but it’s successful in its own right. The kids will be thoroughly entertained and adults will probably not be squirming to get out of the room.

The Opposite View: Amy Biancolli, San Francisco Chronicle

What the Internet Says: 6.4/10 on imdb.com (6/23/10), 48% on rottentomatoes.com, 53/100 on metacritic.com


MY SCORE: 6/10