SUPPORTING ACTRESS BLOG-A-THON: Natalie Portman as Leslie in My Blueberry Nights

Film criticism is a subjective topic, which is why I find it so interesting. People get different things out of movies, directors and, in this case, performances. What one person sees in a performance, may not be the same thing that another sees in it. The same is true in terms of quality; where some people see a horrible performance, others see a thing of beauty, depth and clarity.

Ironically, Natalie Portman's performance doesn't really fall into the area between that; she is one of the few parts of this movie that has been consistently praised. Which makes it kind of odd that it's getting none of attention at year's end. However; the movie is a thing of calm divisiveness. Nobody loves this movie, and nobody hates it. I fall into the 'sort of love' category, even though this is the 'least strong' of Wong Kar-Wai's films. (I just feel a little bit traitorish calling any of his films weakest.)

Onto the point; Natalie Portman's performance in the role of Leslie is my favourite of hers, and she's had an underrated career with Leon, Closer and Garden State under her belt. But, this performance is all of the things I described above: A thing of a beauty, of depth, and of clarity.

As a character, Leslie is a quiet mess. She's a gambler, with her cards held close to her chest. Excuse the pun. She has no big scenes, except maybe the confession scene, but Portman illuminates parts of her character with simple gestures, like the way she stands or even tilts her head and her line-reading of: "But always cut the cards." is my choice for the best line-reading of the year.

To bring things full circle; Portman's performances is a thing of greatness to me because it touches me, it speaks to me. There's something about the character of Leslie, and how Portman interprets it, that makes me empathize. She's a bunch of contradictions; wanting to achieve but not wanting to compromise herself to get that; cynical but with enough core ideals that she's not flat, and much more overtly and to reuse the pun, to keep her cards close to her chest while bravely playing them.

Come and see more performances at StinkyLulu's!

SUPPORTING ACTRESS BLOG-A-THON: Sarah Brightman as Blind Mag in Repo! The Genetic Opera

A few disclaimers before I go into why I chose this performance:

• Repo! The Genetic Opera is not, by any means, a good or well-made movie. There's a very good reason why it was released practically nowhere: It sucks. It's a messy, shoddily made piece of trash that features a few decent-to-good performances from it's cast. If you can get it on DVD, I recommend just ignoring any bit that doesn't focus on Ms. Brightman.
• I love Sarah Brightman. Her voice is one of the most unique, instantly recogniseable and gorgeous on this planet, and it doesn't hurt that she is one of the most beautiful people walking the earth right now. Both of these impact upon why I chose this performance.
• This is a grand performance that could well go unnoticed without devotees like me.

So, here I go.

Brightman plays Blind Mag, an opera singer who is set for organ reposession and I can't really decipher any more of the plot than that. But it's hardly important, because Brightman is the shining spot in this mess of the film. If you haven't got it yet: This is not a good film. Unless you want to see Brightman, do not see this film.

Brightman is good, perhaps even great in this role for several reasons. The first of these is obvious: She spends practically all of it singing. Brightman is an excellent vocalist, and she nails these songs with stunning ease; this is the woman who hit the high Es as Christine, remember. Still; the emotion and class she brings to songs such as "Chromaggia" and "At The Opera Tonight!" is to be admired.

She also aligns herself physically to the role, and by that I mean that she moves naturally and looks natural. Here I must give note to the movie's best special effect: Blind Mag's robotic eyes. They really do look amazing and beautiful and Brightman's porcelain-esque face frames it neatly. Brightman also looks amazing in the role, not only in terms of her physical lokos, but her costume and make-up. I really shouldn't give her credit for this, but she manages to be the one vivid point among more shades of black, brown and red than I've ever seen.

I find it hard to judge this along the standards of a normal performance, Brightman really doesn't have any chances to simply stand there and 'act'; she's almost always singing when she's onscreen and the movie is hardly calling for her to pull a Streep. But, the reason why I love it, and the reason why I'm doing a post on it for this blog-a-thon; is that she manages to be a truly unique part in a film that strives to be unique but ends up just being a pile of muck and disorder. And, even in some moments, she gives a palpably human and tragic layer to a character that should be so; but the film hardly allows her to act as such. Basically: Brightman works against the film to give a great performance, and I pray, I pray that this isn't her last venture onto celluloid.

Go and see the other performances mentioned by bloggers at StinkyLulu's!