Meanwhile I watched the movie Leaving Las Vegas again the other day. It's alright.
One thing that struck me though was that Elizabeth Shue was not particularly good in her role. I did not feel she was well-cast but that aside, I thought her work was not strong. What I want from a performance is to be completely caught up in it. I don't want to be thinking, 'Hey there is an actor acting.'
Many times, I was thinking that with Elizabeth Shue in LLV.
What is my point? Just that she got a lot of critical acclaim for that performance. She got an Oscar nomination and a bunch of other shit.
Sometimes I think that the Academy is not watching the performances. They see a role that sounds like it should be difficult - like an abused prostitute who falls in love with a hopeless suicidal alcoholic - and they think, 'Man that is going to take some serious acting. That has to be some good work,' without actually looking to see if it is.
Another example is Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole. Oscar nominee. She played a woman whose life is turned upside down by the death of a young son. Gotta be a range of extreme emotions right? Tough role. Challenging.
Only problem was she sucked.
That is all.
