Revisiting—or in a few cases, watching for the first time—and celebrating the work of Michelle Pfeiffer, the best actress of my lifetime.
I Am Sam (2001) never entirely worked for me, mainly because at times its efforts to tug at my heart strings seem too obvious, even bordering on manipulative. However, Michelle Pfeiffer's costarring performance, alongside Sean Penn, is nothing short of excellent. The New Yorker review said it best, "Pfeiffer, enormously likable in the role, almost saves the movie." It's one of her most underrated performances, and also one of my personal favorites.
Pfeiffer is Rita Harrison Williams, an attorney and mother overwhelmed by these difficult duel responsibilities. She's a serious Type A personality, with compulsive, obsessive tendencies, and an extremely harsh view of herself and the world. She's cynical, taking on Sam's custody case to prove she isn't heartless, that she'll do pro bono work. Of course, as the film progresses, Rita grows to care about Sam and his daughter, putting her heart and soul into the case. Pfeiffer's brilliance in the film lies in how wonderfully she reveals Rita's fragile side, the aching vulnerability just under that hard exterior. As always, Pfeiffer's mastery of subtly phrased line readings, or her ability to express the weight of the world in her deep blue oceanic eyes is second to none here.
Late in the film, Rita's ability to conceal her constant state of emotional wreckage completely breaks down during one of the best and most devastating monologues of Pfeiffer's illustrious career. She sobs inconsolably about how deficient she feels as a mother, a wife, a woman. "I look around and everybody seems to be pulling it off, but I can't. No matter how hard I try. Somehow. I'll never be enough." It's the film's most organic and emotionally honest scene, with Pfeiffer's anguished admissions almost too difficult to watch.
In an interview with Charlie Rose from 2001, Pfeiffer joked that while it wasn't much of a stretch for her to play a Type A personality like Rita, she hoped she was at least a little softer than Rita. She needn't worry, as her innate warmth and compassion shine through in the work. Rita is flawed, even beginning the film as highly unlikable, but through Pfeiffer's superb acting, we end up actively rooting for her to succeed. We also just want to give her a hug, like Penn does during her emotional breakdown. We want to tell her it'll be okay, that she is enough, for her son, her job, the world. It's a well-written role, but Pfeiffer elevates it into the stratosphere, while crafting one of her most nuanced and deeply moving performances.
Pfeiffer is Rita Harrison Williams, an attorney and mother overwhelmed by these difficult duel responsibilities. She's a serious Type A personality, with compulsive, obsessive tendencies, and an extremely harsh view of herself and the world. She's cynical, taking on Sam's custody case to prove she isn't heartless, that she'll do pro bono work. Of course, as the film progresses, Rita grows to care about Sam and his daughter, putting her heart and soul into the case. Pfeiffer's brilliance in the film lies in how wonderfully she reveals Rita's fragile side, the aching vulnerability just under that hard exterior. As always, Pfeiffer's mastery of subtly phrased line readings, or her ability to express the weight of the world in her deep blue oceanic eyes is second to none here.
Late in the film, Rita's ability to conceal her constant state of emotional wreckage completely breaks down during one of the best and most devastating monologues of Pfeiffer's illustrious career. She sobs inconsolably about how deficient she feels as a mother, a wife, a woman. "I look around and everybody seems to be pulling it off, but I can't. No matter how hard I try. Somehow. I'll never be enough." It's the film's most organic and emotionally honest scene, with Pfeiffer's anguished admissions almost too difficult to watch.
In an interview with Charlie Rose from 2001, Pfeiffer joked that while it wasn't much of a stretch for her to play a Type A personality like Rita, she hoped she was at least a little softer than Rita. She needn't worry, as her innate warmth and compassion shine through in the work. Rita is flawed, even beginning the film as highly unlikable, but through Pfeiffer's superb acting, we end up actively rooting for her to succeed. We also just want to give her a hug, like Penn does during her emotional breakdown. We want to tell her it'll be okay, that she is enough, for her son, her job, the world. It's a well-written role, but Pfeiffer elevates it into the stratosphere, while crafting one of her most nuanced and deeply moving performances.
A couple of things about I Am Sam stay with me all these years after seeing it. The first is Dakota Fanning’s performance. She was a revelation. The second was Michelle. Rita was the damaged, flawed anti-matter to Penn’s pristine, entirely-good hero, and she played her role with quiet gusto and heart-breaking depth. I agree the emotional high point of the movie was when she broke down to Sam, about how “perfect” people like her actually aren't that perfect after all. That was one of the few emotional scenes in the film which I felt was well placed and not emotional treacle.
ReplyDeleteI love this write up, just the mention of Michelle's "deep blue oceanic eyes" has left me yearning to see I am Sam again.
P.S. Thanks for the tip on Twilight Time, I've just ordered Baker Boys and Paul Newman's Hombre, half price and region free!
Thanks, Paul. But those *eyes*, am I right? Wow. They're exquisite and Pfeiffer uses them masterfully to help tell you the story of her character, film after film. And I've gotten into arguments with people who despise this movie and for some reason believe that would negate her phenomenal performance. I try to explain to them that she can be pfabulous even if the pfilm isn't up to her magnificent level. It continually confounds me that so many people can't get a handle on that. Film is collaborative, and you can have a tremendous performance by an actor in a film that is otherwise problematic for various reasons. The two aren't mutually exclusive!
DeleteTerrific news on your orders! I'd never heard of the site before, but now I fear I'll be draining my bank account on more films!
"What would happen to your nervous system if you stared intently into the eyes of Michelle Pfeiffer for two minutes? One of several possible answers can be inferred from a paper recently published by Professor Michael Morgan in Nature Neuroscience...
ReplyDeleteThe eyes of Ms Pfeiffer, as you may have observed, are unusually far apart... Staring at Ms Pfeiffer would probably cause you to see the eyes of ordinary faces as unusually close together, like those of tennis player Bjorn Borg.
People in the trade call this kind of distortion sensory adaptation.
If the Pfeiffer be adapted as the unit of inter-ocular distance. I calculate the average overestimation by people of their own interocular distance as about 50 milli-Pfeiffers."
P.S. I like the new theme, very crisp and easy to read
I. Love. This. It’s perfect!
DeleteGlad you like the new theme here. I’m digging it, too. Feels good to spruce the place up. Now it’s a little more worthy of Michelle’s brilliance.