Congratulations Are In Order For Helen Mirren
Congratulations to my all-time favorite actress--Helen Mirren--for taking home the Oscar for Best Actress during last night's Oscar ceremonies. Did any of you happen to catch her acceptance speech? 'So classy.
After I congratulated Ms. Mirren for taking home the Golden Globes for Best Actress (in both a movie and a made for TV mini-series) just a couple of posts ago, I promised my readers that I would list some of my favorite Helen Mirren roles (in both film and TV). Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you my favorite Helen Mirren movies and TV series roles:
The Queen: If you have never seen Helen Mirren act before, I suggest watching The Queen, Prime Suspect, and Losing Chase all back to back. The only thing that could possibly remind you that you are watching the same woman act in all three roles is the sheer calibur of acting. Forget about knocking it out of the ballpark; she knocked this one out of the universe!
Prime Suspect (1-7) This series is a MUST SEE for anyone who enjoys Helen's acting, or just great acting in general. The stories are as terrific as the acting! If you've never seen Helen in anything except The Queen, start here!
The Cook, The Thief, The Wife, And Her Lover--I actually walked out of the theater with 5 minutes to go during it's run in New York City (circa 1989). However, I rented it a while ago just to see Mirren's work. There is one scene in particular, where her husband is berating her at the dinner table; she stops paying attention to him, looks across the dining hall towards her lover and gives him a smile. This is the single greatest act of defiance I have ever seen on film--she used only her eyes to convey the fact that she had the upper hand in the marraige, and that she was the one with all of the control. Incredible. Warning: This movie is not for the squeemish.
Losing Chase: I don't think I've ever seen or heard it mentioned with regard to Mirren's filmography; regardless, this is one of my favorite Mirren movies. In it she plays a married woman who finds herself stifled in a marraige: she knows that she has never truly known love before. Her family and friends think she has lost it, yet she's only coming to find her true self.
The Pledge: Who wouldn't love the chance to see Helen Mirren and Jack Nicholson on the same screen? Great plot; incredible acting.
So there you have it: a glimpse of some of my favorite Helen Mirren movie (and TV) roles. There's a little bit of something for everyone within the list: Mirren has a diverse a filmography as she has acting chops.
ALL HAIL THE QUEEN!
tags: Jaibhakti, bhakti brophy, Helen Mirren, prime suspect, movies, oscars, The Cook the Thief The Wife and Her Lover,
Labels: Bhakti Brophy, cook thief wife her lover, Helen Mirren, jaibhakti, losing chase, movies, pledge, prime suspect, the oscars, The Queen
posted by Unknown at 5:00 PM
7 Comments:
I love her too. I haven't seen all those things you mentioned, so I will have to search for them.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say there was some kind of Academy Awards going on.
Well done Dame Helen and all that sort of thing.
But I fear some people are getting a little carried away. See below.
Helen Mirren Day.
I just caught up with your last few posts...I had no idea your pain has become worse after the surgery!?
*cyber hugs*
I don't know how you feel about alternative therapy...I'm a firm believer, personally...have you considered trying any homeopathic remedies? Reiki? Acupuncture? ...Just a thought...
Well, take care of yourself...and send some cyber hugs to bhakti mom from me, too...for taking such good care of you!
:-)
I wasn't familiar with Helen Mirren's other films, but I had seen her in Prime Suspect. She's great. I wrote about her on my blog. She appeared on the cover of AARP mag.
All the ladies at work seem to love her, but unfortunately, the only thing I've seen her in was The Cook which I thought was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot of movies.
I'll probably rent The Queen.
ZOMBIESLAYER: PLEASE don't use The Cook the Thief... as a guideline! That was the first movie I ever walked out of.
Mirren is incredible as The Queen...but I don't think any actor could live up to all of the hype that surrounds that film.
I just watched Shadowboxer. Her acting was incredible--what a range! I didn't care for the gratuitous violence--and the sex scene between Stephen Dorff and the (seemingly) waitress of his nightclub was not only gratuitous, but it actually turned me OFF...not on!
I think you should rent the entire Prime Suspect series and watch that character (Jane Tennison)grow; then, compare that body of work with things like Shadowboxer, the Queen, Losing Chase, and The Mosquito Coast, for example. In my opinion, her range goes unsurpassed.
Enjoy!
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