The Underrated

There are always those performances that go unnoticed/ignored each year in the hoopla surrounding awards season. This is usually due to another more known actors hogging the spotlight, or the film itself over powers the performance.

And the unsung heroes are.

Sergi Lopez – Pan’s Labyrinth.
The horrors within the labyrinth did not compare to the horror of Captain Vidal. Sergi Lopez plays him as a man so obsessed by his military position and unborn child that nothing will stand in his way. His disregard for the lives around him is shocking, but so are the glimpses of humanity Lopez subtle injects. Human monsters are always the most upsetting

Maribel Verdu – Pan’s Labyrinth.
The polar opposite to Lopez. Verdu’s Mercedes appears unfeeling and cold. She displays almost no emotion, and then slowly you begin to see her come to life. Hate, love, pain and fear come to the surface of her face and warms your heart. The subtlety of this performance lingered with me so long after the film finished, a true mark of an actress who understands her craft.

Leslie Phillips – Venus
Known for playing the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter, Leslie Phillips shone this year in his seemingly over the top performance as Peter O’Toole’s overly theatrical Best Friend in Venus. He shoots out numerous witty one liners, then, when you expect him to go overboard with emotion, he becomes quiet and true. In his silence, he gave years of back story….not an easy task.

Vanessa Redgrave – Venus
She make amazing use of her little bit of screen time. The moment she fills the screen you understand her, and know what she has been through with her husband, and why, after all he has done, she allows him back into her life. What Venus had over most other films this year were vanity free performances from its cast, and the result was emotional truth.

Toni Collette – Little Miss Sunshine
God I love Toni. Not once in the film did I notice Toni Collette. What I saw was Sheryl Hoover, a mother desperately trying to keep her family happy. Unable to juggle every task fully, she buys KFC for dinner. She's the emotional rock, but stays in the back ground while the other, more colourful family members take centre stage. A honest portrayal of being a mother.

Sook-Yin Lee – Shortbus
I really can’t think of a braver performance than this one. Lee gave herself to her directors vision fully, and gave a quiet performance of humor, desperation, and yearning. In the colourful world that Shortbus inhabits, playing it reserved can get your performance lost, luckily Sook holds so much power and emotional honesty in her face that she shone like a beacon

Stanley Tucci – The Devil Wear Prada
Oh how I wish there was more made of his performance. As Miranda’s right hand man Tucci shows the years of hard work behind their relationship, and the resentment he has towards her, and the tight rope he still has to walk. Genius! And he looked kind of sexy too!