Friday, October 14, 2005
A Useless Moment Spent Thinking About Elizabethtown
I really have no desire to see this new picture. [There's really nothing opening for me to see this week. shame]. But back to Elizabethtown. I have this horrible suspicion that when Kirsten Dunst shows up on my Actresses of the Aughts list people will be pissed off since we all like to think in the present tense. And if people hate Elizabethtown and Dunst in it --will they be out for blood?
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15 comments:
Nah. I don't "get" what's so interesting about her irrespective of Elizabethtown, so I'll humour you with this one either way.
I'd include Julia Stiles though, so let's form a circle of mutual forgiveness.
Rob
ok. it's a deal.
Kirsten Dunst will be in the list?
oy...
And sehe will be in a higher position than Joan Allen and Maggie Cheung...
oy...
"Elizabethtown" was atrocious! Admittedly, I saw the film-fest cut, but I doubt cutting twenty minutes will solve the glaring issues. Dunst tries hard, but she's not working with very good material.
-Ali
Kirsten Dunst is a fine young actress. But the fact that she's in your Top 5 is one of the bigger mistakes of your mostly excellent list. Sometimes, biases need to be restrained a little in favour of some objectivity.
Forget Eliabethtown. Her bland, anodyne displays as Mary Jane in the Spiderman flicks, seem to be the major complaint in a franchise, that otherwise, most people love. Dunst is to Spiderman, what George Clooney was to Batman. A bad fit.
Eternal Sunsine Of The Spotless Mind. Great movie. But not because of Dunst (or Ruffalo, or Elijah Wood). It was strictly the Carrey/Winslet show (with a bit of credit going to the fantastic Tom Wilkinson).
Mona Lisa Smile? Wimbledon? Levity? Get Over It?
Gimme a break.
Dunst did good, notable work in Bring It On (though I can name half a dozen teen starlets who could have done this role well. It wasn't especially demanding).
She was good in The Cat's Meow and Crazy Beautiful. But Top 5 good? Methinks not. Objectively speaking, the vast majority of her work this decade has been competent or distinctly average, with a few standouts. Gwyneth Paltrow deserves a top 5 placement more than Dunst by this strange criteria, and I can't stand the woman.
-Alfred
I don't think that this really has anything to do with Elizabethtown specifically- it is merely that the film has arrived at the perfect time in your countdown to highlight the inadequacies of Kirsten Dunst, as we are awaiting and expecting her ridiculously high ranking on your list.
I think that, for many people, seeing Dunst ranked higher than Joan Allen, Maggie Cheung, Cate Blanchett, Uma Thurman, Francis McDormand, Julianne Moore, and Holly Hunter, will make them value this list much, much less. I know I will.
I don't think that she has done anything of note in her entire career, whereas all the women listed above, and many others on your list, have turned in one or more amazing, revelatory performances that will be remembered for years to come. I have seen nothing from Dunst's movies that could or should be compared to them, and I highly doubt that she will be remembered for anything except for being the worst part of the otherwise excellent Spiderman movies.
"Undefinables" and number of movies made should not override quality of work, as I believe has happened here. Very, very disappointing.
I dunno... I know I lot of people who hate Dunst. (a friend and I were once discussing who'd play us in the movies of our lives, and when I told her hers would most likely star Kirsten Dunst, she was totally depressed/insulted)
I myself have not decided how I feel about her. She's definitely a good actress. And like Spiderman costar Maguire, makes VERY good career choices. But great? I guess the jury's still out on that for me. Sometimes I can understand why Nate's so taken with her, and sometimes I'm just like "what's the big deal?" Still don't know what to think.
I do think Alicia Witt would've been nice for Spiderman. Though I think Dunst did fine.
And Dunst is definitely better than Julia Stiles. I mean, who isn't?
I saw Elizabethtown at TIFF. And I thought Kirsten Dunst was pretty bad in a terrible role.
Then again, I don't like her very much at all. One of the things Nathaniel and I disagree on. :(
Dunst is a hugely promising actress, though she wouldn't place in my personal Top 5 (Top 15 perhaps?)
Me would have liked to see Maggie Cheung a bit higher ;-)
promisses are made to be broken
kirsten dunst in the top five?
nooooooooo........
(that's my inarticulate way of agreeing with everything alfred said)
Don't worry about people disliking her placement on the list because of Elizabethtown. Worry about her placement on this list above 50 (top 5?!?) at all.
To be clear, Dunst is an actress who has shown talent, promise, and charisma in the span of her decade-old career.
She wowed in Interview with the Vampire (to date I still feel this is her best),
showed range in 1999 (her best year: Dick, Drop Dead Gorgeous, and The Virgin Suicides),
and has chosen each role since expertly.
She brings a charm to Mary Jane in the Spiderman films that's almost impossible to ignore...but alas, I am of the side of the tracks that thinks Miss Dunst is one of the worst popular actresses of her generation.
I can't watch a performance of hers without being able to tell that she's ACTING. There is RARELY anything behind those beautiful eyes of hers. She has exhibted a depth that most actresses could pull off, and, to date, has not done a single thing that someone else couldn't have done also.
That said, this is YOUR list. I applaude you for having your favorites and remaining faithful to them. We all have some favorites that others would hiss at.
Your site, your blog, your list. You put Kirsten at number one and damn the rest of us that think she sucks. Amen.
-Chris
I am a fan of Dunst, I would not rank her so high. I totally aggree with Chris, this is Mr. Rogers's list.
What I would like to report is that I have been really enjoying the discussions. Thank you very much Mr. Rogers.
Marcelo - Brazil.
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