While I’m on the subject of Gallic-flavoured Best Actress contenders, I usually try not to get too invested in an individual’s awards hopes before I’ve seen the film carrying them, but I must admit to one sentimental wish this year: that Michelle Pfeiffer and “Chéri” will live up to the delicate beauty of their source material, and in that event, that Pfeiffer will be duly rewarded for her pains.
Not to step on Nat Rogers’ toes, but we all have a fantasy list of people we want to see receive an Oscar one day — and nestled among the diverse likes of Mike Leigh and Samantha Morton, Pfeiffer is near the top of mine. Partly, I confess, because she was my first cinematic crush (I was nine, and our first date was “Frankie and Johnny”), but more because of the hope that an overdue career celebration might coerce her into working more often, and casting directors into offering her more tempting bait. (Why should Meryl Streep be the only woman headlining films in her fifties?)
2002’s undervalued “White Oleander” offered an intriguing glimpse of how the actress’s advanced years actually added nuance and fragility to her trademark froideur; “Chéri,” if played right, should do the same, and then some.
All of which is a long-winded way of pointing you towards this excellent interview with Pfeiffer in today’s Guardian, in which Geoffrey Macnab pays due tribute to her skill and versatility (I love his suggestion that she venture into the Western genre), and the actress explains that “Chéri” is a more complex beast than the bonbon depicted in the trailer:
“The scope of the movie turned out to be bigger than any of us had realised at the beginning. We were on a limited schedule, but when you see the film, the scope of it is huge. Usually, you have a couple of scenes where you might have pages of dialogue – but this film, every scene was five, six, seven or eight pages of dialogue. It took a tremendous amount of concentration.”
Although typically (and laudably) guarded about personal matters, she’s precise and astute when discussing her own craft and process. I particularly like her candid allusion to certain career missteps:
“I never had a big game plan. Maybe I should have. But, no. For better or worse, I choose my parts more instinctively, and it is not until I am committed to the project and starting to do my work that I begin to see huge holes in the script and think, ‘Nobody is going to see this movie.’ I tend to make those decisions on an emotional level.”
With any luck, she’ll have more to choose from in the coming years. Whatever the eventual fate of “Cheri” — I’ll have my own take on the film in the next fortnight, just after we kick of our Page to Screen series with Colette’s novella — it’s good to have her back.
Comments
13 responses to “Ma belle”
I saw the film last week and sadly it didn’t live up to my hopes. Pfeiffer and Friend are good, but there really isn’t much for them to chew on. Thus Pfeiffer’s most intriguing moment isn’t even due to her acting but created by her make-up and clever cinematography.
She might be a contender for a nomination, but a win would be a huge surprise. The film’s simply not good enough and her role too tame.
^^What about Kathy Bates?
For Michelle is just one thing missing: more ambition. She could easily be a great box-office gal, that would give her much more roles to choose, just like Meryl.
Very good info, thanks for the post.
Kathy Bates was alright, but quite over the top at times. her character surely suggested this, but you’d still miss the nuances of Penelope Cruz’s Maria Elena in VCB, to compare her performance to one that should have a similar effect.
Rottentomatoes has already got some positive review of the movie and her role
“Kathy Bates was alright, but quite over the top at times. her character surely suggested this, but you’d still miss the nuances of Penelope Cruz’s Maria Elena in VCB, to compare her performance to one that should have a similar effect.”
That means she’s a very possible Oscar nod for supporting — great.
I think Pfeiffer is already on the shortlist for the Golden Globe – Best Actress Comedy/Musical, but she’ll have to fight hard for a nom. Sadly an Oscar win is out of question (think Bening in Being Julia)
I have absolutely no desire to see Chéri.
CHRIS:
What about the other nom possibilities for othe categories? Is the movie this year’s Memoirs of a Geisha?
Certainly not. It’s much too small over all.
I can definitely see it grabbing a nod for “Costume Design”, but probably not for “Art Direction”, “Make-up” or “Cinematography”, unless there are many disappointments ahead of us.
My bets for now
Carey Mulligan/An Education
EmilyWatson/Within the Whirlwind
Penelope Cruz/Abrazos Rotos
Hilary Swank/Amelia
Maria Bello/Downloading Nancy
Michelle Pfeiffer/Cheri
Rachel Weiz/Agora
Saoirse Ronan/The Lovely Bones
Helen Mirren/Love Ranch
Evan Rachel Wood/Whatever Works
I thought she was ravishing and simply divine. Kirk Honeycutt thought so too as well as Mick LaSalle from the San Francisco Chronicle.