As Emily Dickinson in A Quiet Passion, Cynthia Nixon reveals her depth of range and skill as a performer — emotionally, physically, and technically. This is the third feature in our Special Issue on A Quiet Passion, which can be read in full here.
Performances
Top 5 film performances of 2016 that deserve a closer look
Actor-director-playwright Laura Anne Harris takes a look at five of the year’s best performances that deserve more attention: Rachel Weisz in The Lobster, Mahershala Ali and Andre Holland in Moonlight Margarite Breitkreiz in Marija and Rebecca Hall in Christine.
Matthias Schoenaerts and the art of not speaking
Though he’s made films in English, French, and Dutch, Matthias Schoenaerts tends to communicate his characters’ inner lives through physicality rather than dialogue. This is the 4th feature in our special A Bigger Splash week.
The queer cult stardom of Tilda Swinton
Explicitly playing with gender and gender performance has been foundational to Swinton’s career and identity as a performer. Swinton’s queer identity emerges from a person who is both presumptively heterosexual and who has largely chosen presumptively heterosexual roles. So what makes her a queer cult figure? This is the 3rd feature in our special A Bigger Splash week.
Not a girl, not (yet) a woman: Dakota Johnson and Hollywood femininity
At its best, Dakota Johnson’s acting reveals the restrictiveness of labels like “girlhood” and “womanhood”. Dave Crewe examines how she subverts conventional female stereotypes. This is the second essay in our special A Bigger Splash week.
Tom Hiddleston and the hollow charm thwarting the promise of a great actor
Tom Hiddleston could be one of our greatest actors, but he isn’t quite — yet. “If you want to know who I am, it’s all in the work,” Hiddleston insists, quoting Alan Rickman. In fact, that might be what’s holding him back.