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A List of Forgotten or Underrated Performances. What Are Yours?

Posted by Cosmic Closet on December 15, 2008 at 13:53:35:
As it says, why not shine a light on roles and work, that perhaps came and went in films that were less popular, or not seen for other reasons.

I have two pairs of this, in two films I recently re-saw:

"Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me" and "Tideland."

In "TP", Sheryl Lee delivers an amazingly agonizing pice of acting as Laura Palmer. Why she hasn't been used more, I don't know. Her ability to 'turn it on' and go from quiet desperation to all-out aggresion to utter collapse in this role surely merits more work.

Her co-player in it, Ray Wise, as her father, delivers one of the scariest performances I can recall seeing. He was menacing in the series, and in the film, he concentrates the craziness and amps it up in ways that, at the hands of another director, could be considered 'over the top' but here just works right. Domestic hell at its worst.

"Tideland" by Terry Gilliam was not a success; it made a lot of people uncomfortable and downright angry. I think of it as some kind of masterpiece.

Jodelle Ferland carries so much of the film, going seamlessly from little-girl fantasy to almost-adult girlfriend fantasy with incredible skill, concentration and fearlessness. The only other child actor I have seen who could live the role like that is Victoire Thivisol in "Ponette."

Her "boyfriend" and soulmate, the handicapped boy, is done in what must have been absolutely exhausting days of acting by Brendan Fletcher. His ability to be real, pitiful, unpredictable and unsettlingly funny at the same time should have earned him an award somewhere.

So who do you have? Performances that really lived above and beyond the popular acceptance of the film? I'd love to add some more to my list.

CC.