Women’s History Month is over and I had a great time chronicling some of my favorite female performances from film history. Thanks to abovethetitle for her guest posts and covering some of the great ones that I missed.
Thanks also to commenter Gareth for emailing me and sharing one of his formative performances by an actress. Email re-posted with permission:
In Mrs. Miniver, Teresa Wright played the daughter in law of the main character. Her scene in which she meets the man she will go on to marry has stuck with me, more so than most of not all other female performances.
I don’t know what you know of the film so I’ll elaborate. In this scene the young Mr. Miniver berates her for her social status, going as far as to belittle the charitable work she does on the grounds that she spends the majority of her life in a manor. It is her response that has stuck with me.
She doesn’t raise her voice, she doesn’t become angry or rude, she merely asks what he does to help people. He starts to stutter and apologise, realising he has made a fool of himself and throughout the whole conversation she keeps control. She smiles, she accepts his apology and says it is quite alright, letting him dig his own hole.
I think what I love about it (besides shutting up her future husband, who had made me stop watching first time round with his first scene when we meet the character) is the grace and intelligence she uses to control the situation. I imagine when people talk about behaving with class that this is what they mean.
She won an Oscar for this performance and while I don’t know who else was up for best supporting actress that year I can see why.”
Now I’d like to invite the rest of my readers to share some of their formative performances. Which film performances by actresses left an impression on you and why? Share in the comments!
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Like you, everything Emma Thompson has ever done ranks right up at the top of my list. Another that sticks with me is Juliet Stevenson in Truly Madly Deeply. This film is one of my all time favorites. Aside from the always awesome Alan Rickman and another personal favorite, Michael Maloney, Truly Madly Deeply gives us one of the most moving performances I’ve ever seen by a woman. Juliet plays Nina, a pianist, translator and language teacher who loves Bach and has recently lost the love of her life, Alan Rickman. She has multiple scenes that leave me variously gutted, elated, hopeful, devastated and ridiculously happy. Juliet is a fearsome and fearless actor. She throws herself headlong into each moment, isn’t afraid to take huge risks, and has a way of revealing herself on film that is truly amazing. Nina begins the film in a place of such loss and devastating sadness that it’s heartbreaking to watch. As she works her way through grief to healing, her journey inspires me to move through my life’s disappointments and devastating experiences, to let go of old hurts and griefs and to choose life. I’m hard pressed to think of a performance that embodies a more heroic journey to healing and opening of the heart. Yes, the late, great Anthony Minghella meant to make a simple Rom Com. In a way he did, but it’s so much more. The fact that the film was made on an insanely tight budget in about 5-6 weeks with virtually no time budgeted for rehearsal or prep on location (Juliet rehearsed the extraordinary scene with the therapist in Minghella’s car on the way to the set) makes it all the more special. Perhaps I consider it formative – though I was a grown woman when it was made – because it is both a magnificent performance by a great actress and also a story that inspires me to keep reaching for my life, no matter what.
Thank you for the recommendation. I’m going to have to watch this one soon, clearly.
Bette Davis for being an icon!
I actually read that TMD was made in 28 days. Almost all the film is from 1st or 2nd takes. Astonishing. It’s a film that either grabs you or it doesn’t. It’s on many Top 10 Favorite Film lists and many Top 10 Worst Film lists. Perhaps because it caught me in a time of the most profound grief I have ever experienced – and I revisited it during the time of the second most profound grief I’ve ever experienced – the film is cathartic for me in a way few films have been. Minghella said that was true of many people, which caught him completely by surprise. If you get the DVD version, listen to the interview with Minghella. As a writer, I think you would be interested in the development of the story. Ah, now… see… I may have to sit and watch it again. And along with Juliet’s tour de force performance, Rickman’s character ranks right up there with Colonel Brandon for me. Whichever of those films I’m watching at the time, Colonel Brandon or Jamie floats to the top of my Favorite Alan Rickman Role list.