Thursday, April 1, 2010
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Thursday, April 1, 2010
FILM PERFORMANCES
2010
The First Quarter
Leading And Supporting
Ladies Especially Strong
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
FOLLOW
Thursday, April 1, 2010
As the month of March and the first quarter of 2010 has concluded -- amidst a
group of largely forgettable 2010 films came noteworthy performances from women
on the big screen. One of these films opened last year. Some are
playing in only a few U.S. cities, and will make their way across the rest of
the country in the coming weeks and months. Some of the performances
listed below may be considered supporting performances, or vice versa.
Leading Ladies
Giovanna Mezzogiorno, "Vincere"
IFC Films
In what could have been an overdone, theatrical turn, Ms. Mezzogiorno is
powerful and haunting as Ida Dalser in "Vincere", as she fights for legitimacy
as the wife of Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. One of the
year's very best performances for its range. The "Vincere" review appears
here tomorrow.
Bryce Dallas Howard, "The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond"
Palladin
Her best work on the big screen came back in January in
"The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond" as Fisher
Willow, in Tennessee Williams' lesser-known play from the 1950s. Ms.
Howard brings a steely self-containment and heartbreaking vulnerability to
Fisher, in the story of a debutante who rebels against her upper-crust life.
Olivia Williams, "The Ghost Writer"
Summit
As Ruth, Ms. Williams is brilliant in Roman Polanski's
"The Ghost Writer", the year's best film so far,
and the best directed. Ruth is the wife of embattled British prime
minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). Quiet, conflicted and suspicious, Ms.
Williams is the resolute engine that drives this film. It's an
intelligent, sexy, precise bit of acting that will earn her an Oscar nomination
next year. She's the leading acting contender thus far in 2010.
Kate Jarvis, "Fish Tank"
Premiere/Artificial Eye/BBC Films
Playing a polarizing character in a first-time feature film performance is brave
enough, but in "Fish Tank" Miss Jarvis, who isn't
20 yet, is bold and intense as Mia, whose dreams of break-dancing collide with
the onset of adolescence during a summer in Essex, England. Raw and richly
authentic, Kate Jarvis is absolutely fearless, bringing truth to her troubled
teenager portrayal in Andrea Arnold's sophomore effort following her debut film
"Red Road".
Noomi Rapace, "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Music Box
Arguably the most feminist (?) character on the big screen thus far, Miss Rapace
plays Lisbeth, who isn't a stock figure or a cliché. A galvanizing role
for an actress who is taken through the ringer in "The
Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" the way Demi Moore was in "G.I. Jane".
Miss Rapace plays a professional cyber-hacker turned sleuth as she investigates
a decades-old murder in a rich Swedish family. Miss Rapace explores the
multiple facets of her character and does so well, bringing bravery, toughness
and magnetism in spades.
Supporting ladies
Greta Gerwig, "Greenberg"
Focus
The most natural acting performance in 2010 so far, Greta Gerwig just is
as Florence Marr in "Greenberg". She plays
off Ben Stiller's title character very well and leaves you wanting so much more.
A fully-realized performance for an authentic character that more than a few
women will likely identify with.
Mamie Gummer, "The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond"
As Julie in "The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond" she
has only a few minutes on screen, but she is memorable, already proving that
good acting runs in the family. Julie projects a knowing southern
belle-type hospitality, but there's a lot more to her than that. Her
juxtaposition and co-existence with Ms. Howard's character in Jodie Markell's
film is particularly riveting.
FOLLOW
Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar
here.
Read Omar's "Far-Flung Correspondent" reports for America's pre-eminent Film
Critic Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times -
here
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