Film Experience Blog

Saturday, May 15, 2010

31 comments:

/3rtfu11 said...: I make no secret of my disdain for Gwyneth. However, I actually believe she gives the best performance in the movie – I love her character and it shows how talented she is – usually un-likeable actresses can’t play likeable characters well – their true bitch often crops up.; 2:51 AM
Philip said...: I think poor Gwynny is just very misunderstood.; 3:09 AM
joy said...: Paltrow at her least whiny and self-conscious, should be nominated that year over Connelly.; 3:22 AM
Mirko said...: She hasn't been nominated, but she was in my personal line-up.
it's one of my favorite perf from her (but I must say that I like her quite a lot!), I also love the movie very much!; 3:45 AM
James T said...: She used to be my favorite actress. I think she has some incredible performances in her but I don't think she will ever give them :(; 8:02 AM
NATHANIEL R said...: james t -- yeah, it's weird how she gave up. i mean how can GOOP be more fulfilling than delivering a great performance?; 8:19 AM
Robert Hamer said...: I am so glad I'm not the only one who thought this was her best performance.; 9:43 AM
Sadner said...: I started liking her when she got on board for "the danish girl" , but since she quit , I'm back to hating her, especially since the movie may not be made after all because of that move.; 10:02 AM
Sadner said...: I started liking her when she got on board for "the danish girl" , but since she quit , I'm back to hating her, especially since the movie may not be made after all because of that move.; 10:02 AM
Hayden said...: I'm one of the biggest fans of Gwyneth on the internet, I think. She's fabulous, no matter what anyone says about her. Few actresses can internalize depression onscreen without going completely flat, and that's Paltrow's specialty.

Also, Blythe Danner is the most underrated American actress of her generation. There, I said it.; 11:09 AM
Hayden said...: And furthermore, I think Gwyneth's apathy towards her career is what allows her to give those unselfish performances.; 11:13 AM
Anonymous said...: If she didn't win an Oscar so young, she wouldn't have given up her acting career...she was very Grace Kelly--she made like 6 movies in a year, won her Oscar by 26 and then floated off to pampered princess land.; 11:19 AM
Ben said...: I think Gwyneth still has some potential for a comeback and future good roles. Did anyone else really like her in Two Lovers?

She's in a bit of a tough age spot for today's Hollywood though. Maybe Sandra Bullock's success will help her as she soon enters her 40s....; 11:27 AM
jimmy said...: i think she's pretty awful - a real bore. never really had to work for anything - rich, pretty, well-connected. kind of kate hudson-ish. would never be a success had it not been for her parents. the only child-of-a-star that i think ever would have made it on their own would be liza minnelli. fondas, paltrow, hudson, etc - never would have heard from them.; 12:10 PM
/3rtfu11 said...: "Maybe Sandra Bullock's success will help her as she soon enters her 40s...."

Ben, Sandra Bullock is someone the public embraced -- no one but online film people embraced Paltrow.; 12:52 PM
/3rtfu11 said...: "Maybe Sandra Bullock's success will help her as she soon enters her 40s...."

Ben, Sandra Bullock is someone the public embraced -- no one but online film people embraced Paltrow.; 12:52 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: jimmy -- fondas? you gotta be kidding me. I see where you're coming from for some of them but Jane Fonda woulda been a star in any situation. Totally herself and totally talented.; 1:22 PM
Amir said...: i'm not a huge fan of gwyneth, although i do think that her performance in this movie is really good.
but i'm a BIG fan of the movie. i can endlessly rewatch it and never get bored.; 1:47 PM
Lucky said...: I'm surprised nobody has mentioned her perfomance ind Proof yet. I don't hate or like her, but I do think she's a good actress. How she got into acting? Ok, yeah, the same way Jolie and others did, but that does not mean she's not good.

She was great in Proof, and best-in-show in Royal Tenenbaums. I think she does not care anymore, she has a family and is not taking more chances...; 1:54 PM
Hayden said...: I love an actress who isn't afraid to play hard to get with her own career. I think there's an elusive quality performers like Julie Christie, Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Fonda, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Gwyneth can nail onscreen that's really rare. When actresses have more priorities in their lives than just acting, they're more willing to take a "take me or leave me" risk with a performance, to dial back, to make themselves less immediately available to an audience.

I think that there's a certain amount of confidence that comes from championing causes in a big way, or taking a hiatus, or becoming a lifestyle guru, or doing something public OTHER than acting with a capital "A." And I think it's a really liberating thing onscreen that we may never see from Streep, Winslet, Blanchett, etc.; 2:02 PM
Hayden said...: And I think Gwyneth would tactlessly (and, in my opinion, rightfully) say that actresses who earnestly hammer out prestige performances year after year are really kind of insecure and ultimately approval-seeking.; 2:07 PM
adri said...: What a perfect movie "The Royal Tenebaums" is! Everyone in it shows off their best.; 2:19 PM
jimmy said...: yeah - jane fonda. if she were some girl pulling into NY from lincoln, Neb with no connections - i don't know if she would have made it or not....yet another pretty, talented actress - among thousands. what really would have set her apart? her first film role was a lead / as was her first broadway role. i like her very much / great actress - but i doubt if her name was Jane Murphy that she would have ended up where she is now. the only child-of-a-celeb that i think would have made it on their own would be liza minnelli- uniquely talented / distinctive personality.; 3:20 PM
Hayden said...: Just because Fonda's fame might have looked somewhat different (the butterfly effect--different starting points, different timing, what have you) doesn't mean she wouldn't have been just as unique a success as she is today. She has undeniable gusto and talent.

The same can be said for Minnelli.; 4:47 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: Hayden -- i dunno. I get where you're coming from but the thing i've never understood about that is that's their profession. Most people in some way or another LIKE to work (as long as they're in a career that they enjoy). Most people don't like to be unemployed for years at a time.

I guess maybe when you have more money than God a life of leisure would be a different thing that civilians who are unemployed for years.

but in truth i've never understood how they fill their years.; 6:22 PM
cal roth said...: It's strange how Oscar set imaginary competitions: Swank vs Bening, Platrow vs Blanchett. Now I'm reading yout blog and see Paltrow and Blanchett back to back and I can only think that you also put them together in your mind.

That said, I believe she is a marvelous actress, stronger and more subtle than Blanchett, and the most underestimated performer of her generation. Oscar only done her wrong (but she earned it!).

You didn't talk too much about it, but I LOVE her in Two Lovers. Love the movie, too.; 7:26 PM
Hayden said...: She's a trooper for keeping at it even though none of her brilliant work from the past 12 years has been recognized by anyone. I'd give her five Oscar nods post-Shakespeare (a win I have no problem adoring), three in supporting and two in leading for her one-two punch of Sylvia and Proof last decade.

Gwyneth has received almost zero gratitude for any of the work she's done in more than a decade. And so much of it has been excellent.; 9:06 PM
JoFo said...: I'll fess up. I love me some Gwenny. It wan't an obvious thing either, I just noticed one day that she popped up in my lineups alot, including for this gem of a performance.; 9:31 PM
NATHANIEL R said...: Cal -- the weird thing is that i didn't think about that at all (cate & gwynnie back-to-back) until it was already posted and then i was like. uh....

so these things seep into our collective subconscious when Oscar sets up the dynamic.; 10:24 AM
aclp said...: Oh God, I worship this movie. Fabulous soundtrack, brilliant performances, amazing costume design, clever, deep and complex screenplay, honest bittersweet atmosphere, likeble characters, Salinger influence, good pace, heart and brains.

I cant put into words how much this movie means to me.; 8:20 PM
aclp said...: And Gwyneth is so good in this role. The bland, indifferent, depressed expression in her eye, combined with dry irony, a constant sense of deslocation, the memories of her kinda crazy past, her lack of expectations and the warm sweetness towards her loved Richie- everything is so complex, layered and yet subtle.

I'm not in love with you anymore.

I didn't know you ever were.; 8:25 PM