Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Signatures: Julianne Moore

Adam of Club Silencio here with a look at some of my favorite actresses and their distinguishing claims to fame.

Julianne Moore is like the Teri Hatcher of the movies. Calm down... What I mean is, she cries a lot. In private.

Her directors know she can pull out the waterworks on the spot, and at one time she might have considered writing it into her contract. The fact is she's brilliant and when Julianne cries, we cry. In private.


When playing the conflicted housewife (another signature) Cathy Whitaker in the majestic Far from Heaven, Julianne worked out with her auteur Todd Haynes that Cathy have a special place to cry. Since Cathy was a housewife and much of her pain stemmed from the home, Cathy would run outside to a tucked away corner of the yard where she could weep and still maintain that pleasant facade.

Amber Waves, Laura Brown and Linda Partridge, just to name a few, each get their hard-hitting (and private) crying jag moments. The back of the courthouse, the bathroom, the garage; it's hard to find a dry room in the house after Julianne's been there.


Even Julianne's real kids think she has a borderline personality because of this gift. Julianne says, "My kids have a vague understanding of what I do - it's pretend. We play these games where we fake cry and see who is the best fake crier. They go, 'Waah!' then say, 'I was acting!'" What she's really saying is that she always wins, but it's a master class for her kids nonetheless.

7 comments:

NATHANIEL R said...

I had no idea where you were going with this once i read "teri hatcher" but i love this post. And I'd never heard this story about Julianne's children before. Thanks for sharing.

also: that last still is my new favorite.

Scarlett said...

Beautiful post! I love me some Julianne Moore. Thanks for sharing. =)

Unknown said...

Wait to you guys get a look at BLINDNESS. It's a really dumb movie, a muddled pileup of allegories that doesn't add up to much of anything, but it takes off when the focus shifts to Moore's character and how she finds purpose through her ability to see. If I ever cared to write a book about this woman's work, I would most definitely title it: Variations on Mother Courage. Oh, and she has a great crying jag in the film.

ed gonzalez said...

That last comment was by me. Guess I was listed under a different account.

Anonymous said...

I'm one of the few people who prefers "Hannibal" to the other two Lecter movies, so I'm right there with the Julianne love. She impresses me.

Anonymous said...

Another trademark of Miss Moore is that shes fricking awesome, and the academy has a trademark of snubbing her.

Anonymous said...

I WAS NOT BLOWN AWAY BY THE HOURS PERFORMANCE UNTIL THAT BATHROOM SCENE ALTHOUGH SHE STILL DOESN'T MAKE MY TOP 5 BUT THAT SCENE EXCELLENT.