Top Ten Treasured Performances Part 2: The Actresses (The Second Five)
In this series, I'll outline both the finest performances by an actress and those given by an actor in a motion picture. The criteria concerns actors of both genders who are able to communicate an idiosyncratic and thorough understanding of how their characters feel toward, and relate to, the people and situations with whom they are involved. These performances are delivered in an entirely natural manner without unnecessary affectation or embellishment. Their preservation on film gives the viewer an opportunity to keenly scrutinise each thespian's work. Therefore, the acting must not only be appropriate for the cinematic medium (as opposed to a more emphatic stage delivery) but allow for new character revelations to be discovered upon repeat viewings. These second five are listed in order of the film's release date, the earliest first. (For a further introduction on this subject please see: Top Ten Treasured Performances Part 1: The Actresses).
Hideko Takamine When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
The filmmakers’ (director Mikio Naruse and writer/producer Ryûzô Kikushima) deep concern is for widowed Keiko, who works as a Tokyo bar hostess and wishes to open her own similar type of business. She is considerate, clever and resilient but still struggles to make ends meet in this male-dominated, capitalistic consumed environment. Guided by director Naruse’s subtle but intensive expertise, Hideko Takamine gives a towering performance of poignant, earnest thoughtfulness and indomitable spirit.
Elizabeth Taylor Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962)
Like a previous selection in Part 1 taken from Long Day’s Journey Into Night, this stormy role, a kind of “Long Night’s Journey Into Day”, originated on stage, this time in the form of Edward Albee’s play. Actress Uta Hagen’s Broadway rendition was considered one of the most sensational theatrical performances of all time. Elizabeth Taylor had her work cut out for her as Martha having to sustain a long and wilful vitriolic attack on husband George (played by Richard Burton) all the while suggesting an under-the-surface vulnerability and at the end, hurtful resignation and underlying affection for her verbal sparring partner.
Jane Fonda They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969)
Somewhat like the preceding selection, Jane Fonda must make convincing her character’s final surrender toward life that opposes the rest of her tremendous fight to find just the slightest justification for living. That, she more than accomplishes. The scene with her missing stocking is, in particular, a transitional, revelatory and astonishing moment for the actress. Brandishing cynicism as a weapon against anyone who might see some value in existence, much less in her wellbeing, she successfully amplifies the story’s theme of futility, while conveying, right up to the end, the inner strength to soldier on. Gloria is a character permanently carved into the viewer’s consciousness thanks to Fonda’s unglamorous and gutsy portrayal.
Gena Rowlands A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Another performance of ferocious fury but utmost authenticity is from the real life wife of director John Cassavetes, the latter who here has scribed and directed Rowlands’ Mabel Longhetti from a rare perspective of loving intensity. Always the centre of the drama, Rowlands is captivatingly real, passionate and mesmerising as her character spirals out of control and disintegrates under an avalanche of stress, often at the hands of her poor behavioural responding husband (played by Peter Falk) while still managing to gain our immense compassion. Cassavetes originally wrote this for the stage but Rowlands rightfully determined that eight performances a week of such prolonged soul-stirring severity would prove too dangerously exhausting.
Isabelle Adjani The Story of Adele H aka L'histoire d'Adèle H. (1975)
Isabelle Adjani as Adèle Hugo (literary giant Victor Hugo’s second daughter) communicates an internalised growing romantic obsession of such complete conviction, one cannot help but sympathise with her feelings for another even as they lead to madness. This film is based upon the real diary of Adèle Hugo, and Adjani’s full investiture, under François Truffaut’s intuitive direction, manifests in a genuine portrayal of unrequited love, heartfelt and tragic.
Honourable Mentions: Ingrid Bergman Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), Olivia de Havilland The Heiress (1949), Bette Davis All About Eve (1950), Giulietta Masina Nights of Cabiria (1957), Sophia Loren Two Women (1960), Angela Lansbury The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Kim Stanley Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), Isabelle Huppert The Lacemaker aka La dentellière (1977), Meryl Streep Sophie’s Choice (1982), Diane Lane Unfaithful (2002)
A.G.
Next time: Top Ten Treasured Performances Part 1: The Actors (The First Five)