Saturday 31 October 2020

Alternate Best Actor 1994: Tom Cruise in Interview With The Vampire

Tom Cruise did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview With the Vampire. 

Interview With the Vampire, which tells the story of the life of a southern plantation owner as a reluctant vampire having been turned by a far more eager vampire.

Much casting controversy ensued in the casting of star Tom Cruise in the role of Lestat from source material writer Anne Rice. Cruise, though still had some forays away from it beforehand, largely was working within crafting and maintaining his still ongoing star persona. This persona that in no way has anything in common with the fancy vampire who loves being a vampire in Lestat, seeming more befitting a more off-beat actor perhaps just on the surface. The thing is though despite Tom Cruise being a great star, he has shown the ability of an actor throughout his career. I think perhaps Rice should've been more concerned by Brad Pitt in a more standard leading part as Louie, the more reluctant vampire, where he seems a bit lost at times particularly in the early scenes of the film, more so than I feel is the intention for his character, whereas Cruise seems right at home. Now as usual though Cruise's portrayal actually isn't entirely alien to his star persona as one would assume, though this is probably one of the bigger stretches of his range. This as Cruise does do an accent here, smartly he doesn't overplay his hand fashioning a slight English accent, perhaps better described just a historically refined accent that honestly simply works for the part. It does more than that though in that you can easily accept him within the role with that touch. This furthered by his physical manner here that takes a distinctly classical patrician manner, that again Cruise is believable in crafting and importantly consistently realizing his Lestat as a classic vampire villain, of sorts. 

Now where there is an overlap between Cruise as his persona and in the role. This is that Cruise typically delivers a particularly type of intense personality. Intensity though specifically related to a personal drive that almost comes through in every Cruise performance, this one included. The difference here though instead of trying to win a race, hustle pool or be the top gun, he wants suck blood, a lot of blood. Cruise's particular intensity serves the character as his eyes just have that certain manner of a man, well a vampire, who lusts for the undead life of the vampire. Cruise's sort of energy he brings is ideal in crafting this idea of the man who just loves the state of being as such. His initial intention in trying to get the moody Louie to be part of this life with him. Cruise makes this a particular sort of villainy as he brings that star presence but instead wields it here as part of the power of the persona through that willingness just to go head first, into a feast. Cruise's performance really is quite essential, as the film takes quite awhile to find a plot, more of just having random acts of vampirism for awhile. Cruise though is what makes these engaging as throws himself into every scene, and honestly, in a rare instance of it, I kind of forget its really Cruise in this part despite technically having those remarkable traits of his presence present. 

The film finds its direction once Louis randomly bites a juvenile plague victim and Lestat blithely turns the victim into a vampire, Claudia (Kirsten Dunst). This where we have the two vampires becoming parents of sorts to the little girl slowly becoming a woman stuck in a little girl's body. Cruise is fantastic in actually managing to find the right balance in these scenes between a flamboyant humor and actually selling the general concept of it. This in portraying Lestat's genuine fascination with the new vampire, as he did with Louie, and the sincere, though devious, joy that Cruise portrays in every fiendish smile of his. This though with a certain cheekiness that is overtly comical when scolding Claudia for randomly killing people, and Cruise again plays it nicely with that balance he finds. Eventually though Claudia turns on Lestat attempting to kill him leaving a more feral vampire in the wake. Cruise once more does not lose the state of the character showing sort of those edges of viciousness in his manner as it comes full front. This switching to sort of the overt monster which Cruise pulls off with a genuine ease. Cruise then disappears for much of the film, with only an enjoyably creepy Stephen Rea to pick up the slack, before appearing in the denouement. These are two scenes honestly at odds against each other one a more repentant Lestat recognizing his past mistakes and the other a flamboyant return to evil. As much as there is the hypocrisy Cruise is effective again in showing an even more dreadful state in presenting Lestat with none of his pomp or circumstance to hide behind. Cruise finding just the right hint of a depth there, carefully not showing a fully regretful side of Lestat but at least a slightly understanding one of how he got to his dismal state. This against his final scene where Cruise is magnificent again in just throwing himself into the sheer bliss again at Lestat embracing his life again. Despite being at odds with his previous scene, it works because of Cruise's performance again that honestly owns both the role but also the needed tone for the material. He shows that quite frankly Lestat enjoys himself too much to really ever better his ways. Again I think it is almost easy to forget that really none of this should work on paper, and in a way one can understands Rice's concern. Tom Cruise as a flamboyant vaguely European vampire does sound positively ridiculous, but Cruise not only pulls it off, it does it to the point you just accept the character and forget this is Tom Cruise, which is something quite special in itself.

92 comments:

Luke Higham said...

Pleased you liked him. :)

Ratings and thoughts on the cast.

Tim said...

that was fast

Tim said...

how would your ranking for a top ... let's say 15 Cruise performances look like now?

RatedRStar said...

RIP Sir Sean Connery

RIP to the most beloved Scot I think who ever lived, as a fellow Scot myself I told my mother and she nearly burst into tears because she was a huge Sean Connery fan.

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: What would be your top ten...umm..."vampiric" performances in film?

Mitchell Murray said...

Rest in peace, Sir Sean Connery. May we continue to remember James Bond with a thick Scottish accent.

Tim said...

R.I.P. Sean Connery, my childhood grandfather figure from Indiana Jones 3 will always be held in strong memory

Maciej said...

RIP Sean Connery

Aidan Pittman said...

R.I.P. Sean Connery

Calvin Law said...

‘Indiana...let it go.’

RIP to a legend

Luke Higham said...

RIP Sean Connery

One of the greats.

Matt Mustin said...

He's terrific here, and he kinda surprised me with how much he pulled this off, although really, it shouldn't be surprising because Cruise almost always commits completely.



RIP Sean Connery.

Matt Mustin said...

And again, how did the costumes not get nominated?

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

RIP Sean Connery. One of the greatest.

Bryan L. said...

RIP Sean Connery

BRAZINTERMA said...

RIP Sean Connery

Anonymous said...

RIP Sean Connery

Calvin, would you be so kind to give La Reine Margot a watch, I'm curious as to what you'd think of the cast there.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Who would you've preferred as Louis.

Matt Mustin said...

Luke: Pitt could've done it had he actually cared.

Louis Morgan said...

R.I.P. Connery, Sean Connery

Robert MacFarlane said...

RIP Sean Connery

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

I'll save Rea for the moment.

Pitt - 3(Actually probably is higher than expected though this is one of those rare performances that gets better as the film goes along. This as he's pretty terrible in his early scene seeming completely lost or just not seeming to care much about anything. This taking a one note approach in his portrayal of depression. Having said that his late scenes with Dunst, perhaps helped by her performance, and his big revenge scene I actually saw Pitt trying and he actually delivered I felt in bringing the needed sense of emotional intensity. It doesn't make up for just how boring he is for most of it, but I'll give credit where its due. Also based on that sequence I'll say Pitt wasn't miscast, but rather, as Matt noted, just needed to care.)

Slater - 3(Does a fine job in offering sort of the modern perspective in setting up the narrative.)

Dunst - 4.5(An altogether terrific performance that very much alludes to her talent from a young age. This as in her earliest scenes she's moving in just portraying just a heartbroken little girl. She then effectively moves on to a somewhat comical quality in portraying that same sort of manner but in a blood sucking vampire. Dunst combining a genuine sweetness with an almost playful, bratty viciousness. She though is convincing in seguing into portraying first almost a teenager state of the frustration of her consistent age, and bringing that intensity in her manner no longer befitting her years. This in creating a real sense of the anguish within the frustration of not being able to age. She's great though in her final scenes in portraying the final maturity of the character this being a more calculated woman stuck in the little girl's body. Dunst finding this natural progression particularly in her manner towards Pitt that changes naturally in each state. This finding a real power within this character by granting an honesty within the idea of the ever changing state.)

Banderas - 3(He's just fine in bringing a certain style to his character, and later enough a sense of the emotions that compel him. I'd say in those scenes though he is very much overshadowed by Rea.)

Tim:

1. Collateral
2. Magnolia
3. Edge of Tomorrow
4. Interview With The Vampire
5. American Made
6. Risky Business
7. Jerry Maguire
8. Tropic Thunder
9. A Few Good Men
10. Mission Impossible: Fallout
11. Rain Man
12. Minority Report
13. Mission Impossible
14. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation
15. Taps

Mitchell:

1. Max Schreck - Nosferatu
2. Willem Dafoe - Shadow of the Vampire
3. Klaus Kinski - Nosferatu
4. Kirsten Dunst - Interview with the Vampire
5. Catherine Deneuve - The Hunger
6. Tom Cruise - Interview with the Vampire
7. David Bowie - The Hunger
8. Bela Lugosi - Dracula
9. Lina Leandersson - Let the Right One In
10. Gary Oldman - Bram Stoker's Dracula

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Your rating for Leandersson in Let The Right One In.

Emi Grant said...

R.I.P. Sean Connery.

I hate this year.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: I can’t believe I’ve never asked you about this one before, but your thoughts on the ending of Thelma & Louise, and the Zimmer score?

Calvin Law said...

Also Pitt apparently was absolutely miserable the whole time when filming this and didn’t feel like he ‘got’ the films which definitely comes through in his performance.

Bryan L. said...

"The difference here though instead of trying to win a race, hustle pool or be the top gun, he wants to suck blood, a lot of blood." Lol

Louis: Your thoughts on the ending for this film? It actually might be my favorite scene of Cruise here.

ruthiehenshallfan99 said...

Watched Plan 9 from Outer Space, and I regret it.

Houndtang said...

I actually preferred Pitt in this, thought he was surprisingly good whereas Cruise was ok if still miscast

Matt Mustin said...

Louis: What did you think of the production design and costumes?

Mitchell Murray said...

Louis: On another note, is Weaver still a 2.5 for "Death and the Maiden", or has she gone down? Personally, I MIGHT still be willing to give her a 3, on the grounds that she has such a strong screen presence, and I do feel a lot of her silent reactions are well handled.

Matt Mustin said...

Mitchell: The .5 is even a little high, I think.

Matt Mustin said...

Also unrelated, but I just watched The Innocents and mostly loved it. I hope Martin Stephens can get a review for it eventually.

Kerr-5
Stephens-5
Franklin-5
Jenkins-4.5
Redgrave-3
Wyngarde-3

Luke Higham said...

Matt: I'm certain he will.

Calvin Law said...

Matt: Glad you loved it, Kerr gives one of my favourite performances in anything.

Calvin Law said...

Has anyone been watching The Good Lord Bird? Been hearing great things about Hawke in it.

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: I take it Schreck is a definite review for the pre-1928 rounds?

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Louis: Your thoughts on Vivien Leigh's screen test for 'Rebecca', with Laurence Olivier?

https://youtu.be/2qU_JnSp7qw

Reading up about the production of that film was depressing, apparently Fontaine was mistreated by most involved (Olivier included) for 'stealing' Leigh's role. Ironically enough, I think that might have factored into her giving such an amazing performance that I don't think Leigh was *quite* right for.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: You don't mind adding James Woods in Killer: A Journal Of Murder to the winning requests page.

Anonymous said...

Louis: your thoughts on the teaser trailer for Willy’s Wonderland?

BRAZINTERMA said...

Hey guys!
We arrived in November ... It's time to talk about Oscar 2021 predictions in the main categories and which are the favorites to win:

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Father
Hillbilly Elegy
News of the World
Nomadland (WINS)
One Night in Miami

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mank (WINS)
Minari
On the Rocks
Soul
The Trial of the Chicago 7

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy (WINS)
Olivia Colman - The Father
Saoirse Ronan - Ammonite
Amanda Seyfried - Mank
Helena Zengel - News of the World

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen - The Trial of the Chicago 7
Charles Dance - Mank (WINS)
Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami
Mark Rylance - The Trial of the Chicago 7
David Strathairn - Nomadland

LEAD ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Hillbilly Elegy
Viola Davis - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman (WINS)
Frances McDormand - Nomadland
Michelle Pfeiffer - French Exit

LEAD ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (WINS)
Tom Hanks - News of the World
Anthony Hopkins - The Father
Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods
Gary Oldman - Mank

DIRECTOR
David Fincher - Mank (WINS)
Paul Greengrass - News of the World
Regina King - One Night in Miami
Chloe Zhao - Nomadland
Florian Zeller - The Father

PICTURE
The Father
Hillbilly Elegy
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank (WINS)
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Soul
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Comment on your predictions!

Luke Higham said...

I'm waiting another month though I don't see Dance winning at the moment and god help us if Close wins for what is sure to be a horrendous turn from her, I hope the critics don't fall for Hillbilly Elegy.

Calvin Law said...

I honestly think Close and Adams, or Hillbilly Elegy overall, is not going to be a thing.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Father
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mank
Minari
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Soul

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Olivia Colman - The Father
Saoirse Ronan - Ammonite
Amanda Seyfried - Mank
Helena Zengel - News of the World
Youn Yhu-jung - Minari

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen - The Trial of the Chicago 7
Charles Dance - Mank
Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami
Mark Rylance - The Trial of the Chicago 7
David Strathairn - Nomadland

LEAD ACTRESS
Viola Davis - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand - Nomadland
Michelle Pfeiffer - French Exit
Sophia Loren - The Life Ahead

LEAD ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins - The Father
Delroy Lindo - Da 5 Bloods
Gary Oldman - Mank
Steven Yeun - Minari

DIRECTOR
David Fincher - Mank
Paul Greengrass - News of the World
Regina King - One Night in Miami
Chloe Zhao - Nomadland
Florian Zeller - The Father

PICTURE
Nomadland
Mank
The Trial of the Chicago 7
One Night in Miami
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
The Father
News of the World
Minari
Soul

Louis Morgan said...

Calvin:

The ending is great, though I do agree with Roger Ebert that Scott fades away a little faster than he should in terms of letting it soak in. Even with that though it certainly is powerful in hopeless last resort at freedom which essentially compelled both characters after the first act.

Zimmer's early scores I think are a little dated in terms of the use of the amount synth, and I'd say you can sense some one trying to find their style than already realized it. Having said all that this is one of Zimmer's better scores within his early period, even with that trademark, particularly the guitar that screams early 90's perhaps a little more than it should. Even with that though it definitely works in terms of crafting sort of kind of a neo-western sounding quality, maybe leading towards too closely towards overt sentiment at times, however largely effective if definitely again something very specific to its period, maybe too specific at times.

Bryan:

The ending is great even though it is basically setting up a sequel that we never got to see, with you know Cruise that is, not pink slip Aragorn.

Matt:

The production design is fantastic (Dante Ferretti naturally), this in realizing particularly eye catching Gothic opulence. This balancing between an idea of period with also just some magnificent style, particularly that of the Vampire catacombs and theater. There's a remarkable sense of detail in every set though granting a real sense of period and place that is notable.

My guess at the costume design snub is perhaps the voters felt it a combination of their previous winners of Dracula and Age of Innocence therefore wanted to ignore it, I guess. Although they were in an off-beat mood I suppose given the win for The Adventures of Priscilla. The costumes of Vampire though are fantastic, like the production design they are both excellent in period and sense of style. This in the eye catching working of really almost everything everyone wears, once Louie transforms, with the work being vibrant and detailed as the very best type of costuming.

Mitchell:

I'd lower her to a 2, honestly I don't think her presence does much either there, her reactions I think are part of some of her over the top ham she's delivering there.

Tahmeed:

A weird thing about Leigh and Olivier, as neither were at their best when pared together. Hard to say the exact reason, but it was what it was. Leigh is more than decent in the screen test, but she lacks the sort of intensity of vulnerability in Fontaine's portrayal that is so essential in realizing the state of alienation the character feels. Leigh's honestly too confident in the scene which is wrong for the part. She's not obviously bad, but Fontaine was perfection.

Luke:

I do mind actually.

Anonymous:

I....see....

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Well, if you have no intention to re-watch it, may I switch my request then.

Louis Morgan said...

Hey, never said I would re-watch I just know I'm not going to forget about the request.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: My apologies, you know by now I do sometimes jump to the wrong conclusion.

Luke Higham said...

Louis: Is Ben Whishaw's work in Fargo potentially a career best.

Anonymous said...

Luke, what was the performance you were going to switch Woods with.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I was gonna pick Ben Whishaw in Bright Star but I'll have to save it for the next win.

Louis Morgan said...

Luke:

I wouldn't put it above Richard II at this time, but so far it's among his best work.

Mitchell Murray said...

In other news, I just revisited two horror themed films to celebrate Halloween. The first was the original 1976 "Carrie", which is most certainly a strong adaptation of one of Steven King's best novels (not to mention, one of Sissy Spacek's best performances). The second was "Friday the 13th: Jason Lives" and I'll admit, while the series has never been known for its quality, I do enjoy the 6th film in particular. This is mainly because of it's tongue-in-cheek humour, a rather likable performance from Jennifer Cooke, and an awesome Alice Cooper song.

Bryan L. said...

Louis: Your Top Ten screwball comedy films (so far)?

Shaggy Rogers said...

Brazinterma: My predictions

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Father
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Mank
Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Palm Springs
Soul
The Trial of the Chicago 7

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Glenn Close - Hillbilly Elegy
Lily Collins - Mank
Olivia Colman - The Father
Amanda Seyfried - Mank
Helena Zengel - News of the World

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sacha Baron Cohen - The Trial of the Chicago 7
Charles Dance - Mank
Bill Murray - On the Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr. - One Night in Miami
Lakeith Stanfield - Judas and the Black Messiah

LEAD ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Hillbilly Elegy
Viola Davis - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand - Nomadland
Michelle Pfeiffer - French Exit

LEAD ACTOR
Chadwick Boseman - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Tom Hanks - News of the World
Anthony Hopkins - The Father
Gary Oldman - Mank
Steven Yeun - Minari

DIRECTOR
David Fincher - Mank
Paul Greengrass - News of the World
Shaka King - Judas and the Black Messiah
Chloe Zhao - Nomadland
Florian Zeller - The Father

PICTURE
The Father
Judas and the Black Messiah
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Nomadland
One Night in Miami
Soul
The Trial of the Chicago 7

Calvin Law said...

Adventures of Priscilla winning Costume was actually pretty cool, not gonna lie, it’s nice when they make quirky but deserving choices like that.

Louis Morgan said...

Bryan:

1. It Happened One Night
2. The Strawberry Blonde
3. Sullivan's Travels
4. Arsenic and Old Lace
5. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
6. Love Crazy
7. Bringing Up Baby
8. Ball of Fire
9. Dumb and Dumber
10. The Palm Beach Story

Calvin:

Oh that definitely was an inspired win.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Louis: Have you ever watched any SCTV skits from the 80’s? Their film parodies were funnier than anything SNL has ever done. Also, it’s hard not to love seeing Moranis, Candy, O’Hara, and Levy together.

Matt Mustin said...

Robert: I consistently come back to the "3D movie" sketch they did.

Robert MacFarlane said...

Matt: The two I come back to are Dr. Tongue’s 3D House of Stewardesses and The Nobel. Which reminds me in regards to the latter, has anyone seen The Oscar from 1966? It’s on YouTube, and it is wonderfully awful.

ruthiehenshallfan99 said...

Tahmeed: Vivien Leigh gives an excellent performance in her screen test, but, like Louis said, she would not have been the perfect casting that Joan Fontaine was. It pains me to say that, as Vivien Leigh is my favorite actress of all time.

Matt Mustin said...

Liked Fargo quite a bit tonight. MVP to Jessie Buckley for those couple of minutes of creepiness, but Jack Huston is right behind her. I also loved Timothy Olyphant again and this was probably Rock's best work so far.

Calvin Law said...

I watched Babyteeth and it's definitely worth checking out for Eliza Scanlen's performance. Mendelsohn is very good too.

Tim said...

so i have finally come around to watching Little Women yesterday. I did buy the DVD at last, went home and re-watchede the 1994 version for preparation.
That way i managed to compare the versions very well i would say.

Anyway, i really really really liked the 2019 version, but i expected that. I especially loved Gerwigs screenplay which is ... fucking genius honestly. But there i have nothing to say that Patrick Willems didn't put to words perfectly anyway. Also, the acting was mostly fantastic; Ronan and Pugh were just as perfect as you all said they were and my man Chris Cooper could never disappoint me. I mostly have nothing to say about that film that has not been said yet. It is better than 94 in pretty much every aspect.

Except for one; one aspect were i absolutely have to disagree with Louis. and that is Mr Babyface himself, Timothee Chalamet.

I absolutely HATED him in here.
Let's compare him to Christian Bale, who was asked to do a lot less, ut at least he did it. His Laurie is somewhat uninteresting as his own character, but at least genuinely likable and you could see why Jo and Amy obsessed over him.
The 24-years-old 12-year-old was supposed to play Laurie as a shadier character, and in the end just came about as an absolute prick.
In the scenes were Amy is supposed to be mad at him it made sense, but otherwise i just found him completely unlikable even though were are supposed to love him. to me, he has the charisma of a brick. I could not see why anyone would be so head over heals in love with him. And his proposal scene almost made me laugh. He comopletely rushes from a normal conversation into a whiny brat within the blink of an eye. And whenever he tries to be charming in his interactions with Jo he is just one thing for me: goddamn obnoxious!

If he plays Paul Atreides the same way, i am going to sue!





ALSO, HE WORE GODDAMN SPORTSGEAR TO THE OSCARS! THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS FILM BUT IT JUST MAKES ME DISLIKE HIM EVEN MORE AND THAT MAKES ME MAD!!!



... sorry, got carried away there ...

Tim said...

chances for Dustin Hoffman as a 5 in Tootsie?

Robert MacFarlane said...

Tim: Did he like steal your girlfriend or something?

Anonymous said...

How did I miss Timothée wearing the sportswear? That is brilliant.

Mitchell Murray said...

Robert: I'm no where near as passionate about his performance as most, but even I would say Chalamet was a good Laurie. Really, I think when the seemingly endless infatuation of his fanbase simmers down a little, his professional career will be all the better for it.

Side note; I saw an article mentioning how Chalamet would be great as Robin, and I'm still disheartened that we'll never get to see Robert Pattinson as Nightwing, who would be my choice if I were casting the part.

Calvin Law said...

Jesus Christ lol.

Calvin Law said...

Rock was easily the MVP for me from that last Fargo episode. Everyone was great though, even Schwartzman was less bad than usual.

Emi Grant said...

Tim: I still haven't gotten around Little Women, but I'm guessing you could join me in the Hedges > Chalamet Club. There's not many of us here, lol.

Mitchell Murray said...

Emi: Could I join as well?

Calvin Law said...

I think both Hedges and Chalamet are great and both have similar heights for me. I guess I like more Hedges performances and films, but honestly Chalamet and Laurie for me was a combo made in heaven. Him, Chris Cooper, Laura Dern and Eliza Scanlen were EXACTLY as I’d imagined them when reading the novel as a kid. Ronan and Pugh are great of course, just different takes.

Emi Grant said...

Mitchell: Come on in, we have cupcakes.

Bryan L. said...

Mitchell & Emi: Room for one more?

Emi Grant said...

Bryan: Go ahead, we are starting to run out of chairs, though.

Mitchell Murray said...

Calvin: I never read the original novel, so I don't have the same viewpoint as yours when it comes to how the characters were written.

As for Chalamet and Hedges, between their oscar nominated performances I do prefer the formers, but like many of us here, it's not the same degree as his most zealous fans. Honestly, it was there 2018 output that really cleared things up for me, as Hedges' work in "Boy Erased" is genuinely great and moving, and in a completely separate league from Chalamet's misguided portrayal of Nic Sheff.

Mitchell Murray said...

Emi and Bryan: Awesome.

Mitchell Murray said...

ALSO, to add to my point about Chalamet's infatuated fanbase, if you type his first name into the Youtube search engine, the third most popular result is "Timothee Chalamet kissing scenes".....

Take from that what you will.

Bryan L. said...

Emi: I always bring one with me, don’t worry.

I should say, Chalamet has the slightly higher height for me, as he’s my #6 for 2019 Supporting. I’ll admit, it’s a little hard for me to give thoughts on his performance in CMBYN, because......I’ll just say it: I’ve never cared for that film, to be honest.

Hedges has only been shaky in Three Billboards and his Oscar scene in Manchester, but outside of that, he’s been solid to very good.

Calvin Law said...

Mitchell: You should, it’s a classic. As for his fanbase I see no issue, every young handsome actor has those in spades. Honestly the Chalamet fanbase is no different to the Holland fanbase, the Wolfhard fanbase, etc.

It’s all pretty harmless at the end of the day, I don’t know why you guys are so annoyed about it lol

Luke Higham said...

Calvin: I agree with you, Yes he's being built up by his fans as the next DiCaprio-esque star which does him no favours, but I'll give him credit if deserving of it.

Mitchell Murray said...

Calvin: Fair enough. I will admit...he is a good looking bloke.

Robert MacFarlane said...

I’ll be honest, I’ve had zero run-ins with his fanbase on social media, so I have no clue what the hell you guys are even talking about with how “annoying” they are. They’re probably teenage girls. Let them have their idol.

Also, part of the reason Chalamet was my Supporting Actor win for Little Women as *because* he played Laurie with a sense of gawky awkwardness. I loved how he was literally tripping over himself to impress his crush. I love that his big proposal comes off as so desperate and pathetic. I love that he grew into being kind of a shithead. But one thing that struck me on the second viewing was the way he looked at Pugh in their scenes together. You can see him gradually come to these sort of silent epiphanies the more he talks to her. There’s nuance in between Laurie’s teenage theatrics. It may not be a 1;1 faithful interpretation of the character, but it’s one that I found fascinating and refreshing.

Mitchell Murray said...

Robert: To be fair, "gawky awkwardness" sort of describes Chalamet's personality in general, so it likely came very naturally to him. Just watch his Variety interview with Emma Stone, where he couldn't go two minutes without gushing over her.

Tim said...

Emi: I have never really thought about Hedges that much, but now that you're saying it, yeah sign me up!

Tahmeed Chowdhury said...

Tim: I love Chalamet's performance in Little Women (and I'd give him a 4.5 for CMBYNM), so I'd say his charm there worked for me perfectly. It was the perfect mix of an over-confidence and being genuinely endearing.

And also, while I like Bale too, I've always found his performance of the confession scene to be really, unintentionally creepy. Chalamet on the other hand, was actually pretty heartbreaking for me in the moment, because of the youthful immaturity he showed there.

Louis Morgan said...

Thought that Fargo episode was great. I'd give MVP to Huston, brilliant couple minutes again from Buckley. Although I will say Rock was definitely strong here, and Schwarztman even kind of worked finally.

Robert:

I've seen a few, including the directly lifted by SNL jeopardy parody, and have enjoyed them.

Tim:

No.

I'll also say the Chalamet fans were a bit intolerable during 2017 where they seemed to want to destroy anyone who dared even suggest Oldman was going to win, even in purely objective terms. A bit despicable as well in the contingents who drudged up the properly adjudicated accusations against Oldman for the sake of an Oscar race. However nowadays less so, they just think everything he does is amazing....which let em have their opinion.

Anonymous said...

Louis, If you haven't seen La Reine Margot yet, would it be possible to watch the 160 minute version if you could find it.

Calvin Law said...

Louis: Schwartzman’s scene with Rock was when I finally started to feel something ‘click’ in his portrayal, so to speak. It’ll be interesting to see what these remaining episodes will be like because there seems like there’s a LOT to get through.

Anonymous said...

Louis: Thoughts on the theories regarding about who's the Thing (A lot of people defend that Childs was infected) in the end of the movie?

Calvin Law said...

Anonymous: that’ll be pretty tricky for Louis I imagine, the only ones I’ve managed to find are the 2 hour and 20 minute versions.

Luke Higham said...

Anonymous: I managed to find the longer version of it on a Russian video site but there's no english subs I'm afraid. I think the 2h20m version will be sufficient when it comes to Auteuil and Anglade's reviews as I saw that version 5 or 6 years ago and I found both of them to be pretty impressive along with Lisi and Adjani.