Surprising Performances in Surprising Places: Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns

In the early part of the 90s visionary director Tim Burton tried his hand at adapting Batman to the big screen. He brought to life two films that, sadly, have been forgotten in the presence of Christopher Nolan's gritty reboots. Burton created two films brimming with gothic vision a whimsy that he seemed to really understand what a comic book adaptation is before the big superhero fad of the past 10 years, it's a shame that people dismiss his films so easily. This all to bring attention to Burton's second Batman film. Batman Returns is the continuing story of Bruce Wayne in his self proclaimed mission to save Gotham City from the wretches who inhabit it. This time, however, instead of one villain in The Joker we have two in Penguin and Catwoman. The film itself is a delightful and wonderful adaptation, but the real gem here is Catwoman, or should I say Selena Kyle, or better yet Michelle Pfeiffer. Catwoman as a character has always been one of the more innately complex villains in Batman's rogues gallery. Catwoman has never been a real enemy of Batman, just someone working in opposition to, a foil to him if you will, but in this incarnation her alter ego Selena Kyle is falling in love wth Bruce Wayne, thus the true drama of Batman Returns. While in many cases Catwoman, and more importantly Selena Kyle, could have been played as a sex object who seduces Batman it is Pfeiffer who gives true life and depth to Kyle. Pfeiffer plays Kyle and Catwoman as a conflicted woman slowly losing her grip on the person she wants to be. Pfeiffer has those wonderfully revealing eyes that capture every inch of emotion so that no one can miss it without her saying a word, and in those eyes she brings so much to the screen. In this film Pfeiffer becomes the definition of a scene stealer, there isn't one moment of her screen time that the viewer isn't infatuated with her over anyone else, including Batman. While Batman Returns is a good film, in many ways its wonderful, its still a superhero movie with all of its comic book-ness intact, there is no reason to expect a performance at the caliber that Pfeiffer delivers. There is one scene where Bruce and Selena are dancing and they both realize they are also batman and catwoman, Pfeiffer whispers to Bruce "Does this mean we have to fight now?" and in that one whisper she devastates the viewer with the sudden twist of her heart as she deals with this revelation. Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman is a surprising performance in a surprising place.

Surprising Performances in Surprising Places: Rosie O'Donnell in Harriet the Spy

Harriet the Spy is a nickelodeon film from the 90s that rode on the success of children's novels by the same name. The film itself if very typical childrens fare, but what it lacks in invention it gains in a myriad of able child actors and a surprisingly grounded performance by Rosie O'Donnell. O'Donnell here plays Golly, Harriets nanny of sorts. Golly is the kind of mentor character we see in most movies where she is given lines of insight to speak into young Harriet's life and the two have an endearing exchange of the poem "The Walrus and the Carpenter." While many of these lines and much of this character could have been sacrificed to triviality, it is O'Donnell that gives her character presence. Ms. O'Donnell looks at young Harriet with such undying parental affection that if you didn't see Harriets mother you might think that Golly was her mother. She is more than a mentor and we see this in just how O'Donnell carries her character and how she delivers her lines. It is also O'Donnell that takes what could have been a tirelessly sappy character and makes her a strong person who, even to this day, I wish was my nanny to guide me through the trials of elementary school. Is her performance oscar worthy? Perhaps not, but she takes a childrens movie filled with fluff and gives it a sense of gravitas, she gives a surprising performance in a surprising place.

Surprising Performances in Surprising Places

This is a new series of posts I will be starting covering performances in films that are surprising in the context of the film. Sometimes these will be good performances in plain awful films, other times it'll be a that one performance that makes the movie good and without it the film would be nothing or a lot less than it is. So here it goes.

Rebel Without a Cause

Every time we watch a movie we see actors doing their job. Some are good, some great, and sometimes by the sheer power of their performance a star is born. Rebel Without a Cause is the film that made James Dean a star. James Dean plays Jim Stark, a boy who lives in a suburban cage and can't seem to ever do the right thing. His family is constantly moving from place to place in an attempt to protect him. The film begins as they are getting comfortable in a new home and Jim meets the girl next door, Judy played by Natalie Wood (West Side Story). What follows is a superbly written and expertly performed tale of teenage isolation and rebellion in a world wrapped in plastic. The strength of the film is in its tight script. There are moments of such gripping honesty and rage that fly by with perfect subtlety in lieu of becoming a cheap melodrama. This isn't to say there aren't moments of melodrama, but when they come they're even more effective because of the moments of sublime subtext preceding them. The script is played out by a host of pitch perfect and skilled performers, but it is weighted and carried by James Dean and Natalie Wood. Dean here expresses an ability to act that became legend and the inspiration for many of todays contemporary actors, he reminds us why people remember him all these years after his death and after a resume of only three films. Natalie Wood is quite the compliment to Dean's sensitive bad boy as she plays a girl who has learned a long time ago that life isn't all sock hops and malt shops. What is even more fascinating about this film are two key elements in the subtext that couldn't be outwardly explored at the time. The first is in the character of Plato. Plato is a neglected boy who has clear psychological problems (the film starts right after he has shot dogs for no reason) and is the school nerd to boot. When Jim gives Plato a fair chance at a real friendship it becomes fairly clear that Plato is interested in more than friendship with Jim. There is one moment where the two are tightly framed almost as if they might kiss, but Jim isn't interested and the moment ends. The attempted exploration of homosexuality within the film feels pretty remarkable, even if it is a bit short sighted. The other aspect that fascinates me is the relationship between Judy and her father. In kissing her father when he gets home he gets upset, and after a second kiss he smacks her in the face and tells her to sit down and that a girl shouldnt do that. The whole scene implies the father has a growing sexual attraction to his daughter in a way that he doesn't want to be tempted. These two pieces of the story help to aid in the exploration of suburban dysfunction that wouldn't be as heavily explored for a good while. Rebel Without a Cause is an iconic film that stands up to its reputation.