Ingrid Magnussen resides in a unique corner of Michelle Pfeiffer's filmography. Rarely has Pfeiffer been asked to play a character this unlikable, this sociopathic, or this narcissistic. Which is, frankly, a shame, because she's an absolulte revelation in White Oleander (2002).
Pfeiffer's performance is so starkly rendered, so devastatingly powerful, that it’s almost
uncomfortable to watch. Ingrid is an artist, a free spirit, yet also resembles a coiled snake, ready to strike at any moment. It's that ability to ignite Ingrid's inner fury with such sudden force that makes Pfeiffer's work here so astonishing.
Early scenes establish Ingrid's free spirit, yet also expose her bluntly caustic worldview ("Love humiliates you."), and much of why these moments work are due to Pfeiffer's excellent acting. Over the course of the film—much of which Ingrid spends in prison, serving a life sentence for murdering a boyfriend—Pfeiffer gradually reveals the insecurities fueling her contempt for much of the world.
The film's most powerful scenes are between mother and daughter (Astrid, played by Alison Lohman), as Astrid visits Ingrid over the months and years the film spans. These scenes, more like confrontations at times, are fraught with the anxieties and dysfunction found only in the most contentious of mother-daughter relationships. It’s easy for us to hate the selfish Ingrid in these moments, but Pfeiffer is so adept at subtly revealing how complex Ingrid’s conflicting emotions really are that your heart also breaks a little for her. Pfeiffer physicality, always a strength, is utilized brilliant here, as she makes Ingrid's facial expressions representative of her fear of completely losing her daughter to a new family—a new mother.
Early scenes establish Ingrid's free spirit, yet also expose her bluntly caustic worldview ("Love humiliates you."), and much of why these moments work are due to Pfeiffer's excellent acting. Over the course of the film—much of which Ingrid spends in prison, serving a life sentence for murdering a boyfriend—Pfeiffer gradually reveals the insecurities fueling her contempt for much of the world.
The film's most powerful scenes are between mother and daughter (Astrid, played by Alison Lohman), as Astrid visits Ingrid over the months and years the film spans. These scenes, more like confrontations at times, are fraught with the anxieties and dysfunction found only in the most contentious of mother-daughter relationships. It’s easy for us to hate the selfish Ingrid in these moments, but Pfeiffer is so adept at subtly revealing how complex Ingrid’s conflicting emotions really are that your heart also breaks a little for her. Pfeiffer physicality, always a strength, is utilized brilliant here, as she makes Ingrid's facial expressions representative of her fear of completely losing her daughter to a new family—a new mother.
White Oleader is about the damage that parents' suffocating love can cause to a child's life, especially when complicated by mental illness. That Pfeiffer manages to make Ingrid even the slightest bit sympathetic—for a brief moment here, or there—is all the proof you need that she's a world class talent, and one of our finest living actors.
If there was justice in the world, she should have walked home with the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award that year. Instead, she wasn’t even nominated. Another reminder that awards are meaningless. Today, more than fifteen years since the film's release, Pfeiffer's performance has aged incredibly well, and is widely considered one of her finest.
If you’re looking for a film that magnificently typifies just how extraordinary Pfeiffer’s range really is, stop whatever you're doing and watch White Oleander.
If there was justice in the world, she should have walked home with the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award that year. Instead, she wasn’t even nominated. Another reminder that awards are meaningless. Today, more than fifteen years since the film's release, Pfeiffer's performance has aged incredibly well, and is widely considered one of her finest.
If you’re looking for a film that magnificently typifies just how extraordinary Pfeiffer’s range really is, stop whatever you're doing and watch White Oleander.
I agree Michelle’s Ingrid is one of her most powerful performances. Her eyes are so icy and cold here, and you wouldn’t need both hands to count the number of times she blinks during the entire film.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I sit down to watch all the Michelle Pfeiffer scenes in White Oleander and skip through the rest. It's delicious in order, or out of order. The individual scenes and line readings are so searing and unforgettable. There's really nothing like it. She is just a master of screen acting.
Thanks so much for all the recent Pfeiffer articles. I couldn't love them any pfarther, pfurther, pfantastically!
I like that idea about watching only Michelle's scenes! That would be delicious, no doubt. I'll have to do it soon!
DeleteThanks for dropping by when you can, leaving smart, thoughtful, and pfunny comments, and for organizing a blogathon for our girl. You rock, my pfriend!