American Hustle's Jennifer Lawrence Problem
Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 2:00PM [I am proud to announce that Matthew Eng, who we've heard from twice as a guest columnist, is now an official member of Team Experience. Here he is on a soon-to-be three-time Oscar nominee! -Editor]
By now, Jennifer Lawrence is well on her way to scoring another Oscar nomination for her supporting performance as the unstable, self-dramatizing Reel Housewife of Long Island Rosalyn Rosenfeld in David O. Russell's American Hustle. Despite initially wary expectations regarding role size, divisive reactions towards both film and performance, and a slowly-surging sense of fatigue regarding America's Sarcastic Sweetheart, Lawrence has already been embraced by two major critics groups (NYFCC and NSFC), was the only actor in her prized ensemble to gain individual recognition from SAG, and, depending on how AMPAS feels about Oprah, June Squibb, and Lupita Nyong'o, might very well be on her way to copping yet another golden boy.
I like Lawrence a great deal, have absolutely no qualms about the Silver Linings victory, and think she's often quite good in Hustle. I laughed heartily watching her blame game her way out of that “science oven” debacle and friskily shove her “sweet and sour” nails in Jeremy Renner’s face. She's lovely in that warm, teary-eyed bayside confessional during her lunch date with Jack Huston. And I contemplated dropping out of college and devoting the rest of my life (or, you know, at least a semester or two) to watching her stick it to Amy Adams in that ferocious bathroom kiss-off/actress throwdown.
And yet, if there is any one viewer who can honestly say that they believed - even for a second - that Jennifer Lawrence was ever really that woman, unhappily married for years to that man, counting the days in that house, and nearly burning down that kitchen, can he/she please stand up? [more... ]
In the weeks since I first saw Hustle, I have found it increasingly difficult to resolve what is inherently fun and entertaining about the performance with what is so blatantly inadequate about Lawrence's stunt casting, not to mention the type of age-inappropriate casting it can only further enable.
American Hustle represents an interesting and fundamentally self-aware step forward in Lawrence's career. Rosalyn, although clearly not the female lead of Hustle, is a role that's all but built for scene-stealing and maximum attention, and Russell calls upon Lawrence to fully utilize the type of silly, self-deprecating, and utterly un-self-serious sense of humor that by now we are all well-acquainted with from awards shows, interviews, and red carpets, but which has heretofore gone missing in her brief but notable filmography, save for the spurts of it we saw in Silver Linings. But even in the film her most memorable, Oscar-clinching scenes were more fiery than funny. Hustle is perhaps the first movie, post-Oscar, that knows and willingly presents not only Jennifer the Bona Fide Silver Screen Star, but also Jennifer the Jokester. The Comedienne. The Ham. In essence, Jennifer As We Know Her, except in period garb; nothing less, and yet nothing much more.
This doesn't entirely feel like Lawrence's fault. It never looks like she's coasting, nor does it look like she's actively trying to hijack the movie (a la, say, the Notorious Ruby Thewes), as some detractors have suggested. Save for one utterly misguided bit of improvisatory dancing to "Live and Let Die" (ridiculous in conception more than performance) and the Slip'n Slide she does with that Long Island accent, Lawrence doesn't seem to be doing anything that Russell isn't simply requesting of her. When he asks for sex kitten, she whips off her caftan and writhes around on that marriage bed. When he asks for life of the party, she slaps the table, shakes the bouffant, and takes a tumble out of the booth, cackling till she hits the ground. When he asks for a loopy, catchphrase-spouting comic side gal, she cracks "Thank god for me" till the cows come home. She's Russell's obliging muse, and aside from feeding into the unshakably sexist treatment of Rosalyn-as-scapegoat, nothing in Lawrence's performance choices seems wrong, per se, or even remotely disastrous. I just didn't believe any of it.
Is it that the film (as scripted) never settles the age issue, specifically whether or not Lawrence is supposed to be reenacting the Diary of an Older, Madder Housewife, in which case the believability factor instantly becomes an issue, or if she's actually a former, Vickie LaMotta-like child bride to Bale's hulking, hairpieced husband, in which case ewww? It's easy to laugh at Jennifer but hard to take her seriously as Rosalyn, especially when Russell often places her, in shot after shot, right next to Elisabeth Röhm, who, from dress to highlights, offers a fabulous portrait of 70s middle-aged housewife verisimilitude. How is any twenty-three-year-old supposed to compare, and so, for the first time, Lawrence, who has always exuded adult, is suddenly showing her age, despite remaining the only actress of her generation who probably never has to play a high school heroine or a drifting postgrad if she doesn't want to? In a film that occasionally if not deliciously feels like an opportunity for David O. Russell's Merry Band of Thespians to play dress-up, Lawrence all too often comes across as the ingenue attempting to stretch into older roles, who slipped into a form-fitting evening dress, slapped on a wig, put her hands on her hips, and called herself a Grown-Up. She sure looks gorgeous and the costumes, cosmetics, and wigs themselves are all flawless, except that, on Jennifer, they look like costumes, cosmetics, and wigs. Lawrence's Rosalyn frequently feels less like an embodied characterization than an elaborate dress rehearsal for one.
What's more, the re-casting opportunities seem infinite, and I continue to fantasize about what an older, less ubiquitous actress might have done with this schematically underwritten role that nonetheless presents a lot of fine opportunities for some showy actressing from the edges. How about Marisa Tomei, an eminently gifted, highly respected, and yet bizarrely underused actress, who hasn't gotten to flex her Oscar-winning comic chops so prominently since, arguably, Mona Lisa Vito? What about Maria Bello, who is no one's first idea of a funny lady, but whose knack for both effortless sensuality and potent, forceful toughness might've made her an interesting match for the sex-wielding, long-suffering Rosalyn? Or what about (dare I suggest it?) Cameron Diaz, one of our most continually-squandered comediennes, who remains in dire need of a role that can both challenge her lazy typecasting and utilize her perky, involving, and reliably-game onscreen persona? Or, if you want to go the typecasting route, The Sopranos' Drea de Matteo would both look plausible and be age-appropriate. (My god, can you imagine that bathroom encounter?)
It's also a bit unfortunate that Lawrence's fine but unfulfilled shtick is being ballyhooed in the same year that gave us two benchmarks of broadly comedic yet deliciously detailed supporting actressing, in the forms of Scarlett Johansson's gum-snapping, shots-calling Jersey Girl in Don Jon and Emma Watson's crafty, Juicy Coutured Calabasas Nightmare in The Bling Ring. I must also admit that I'm more than a little frustrated with how much focus Lawrence pulls, both in the current awards conversation and in Hustle itself, from Amy Adams, whose Sydney Prosser is just as vivacious a presence as Rosalyn but whose character is ultimately a much more evocative and astutely-personified one. Lawrence gives the film humor, at times relentlessly and needlessly so; Adams gives it humanity.
Indeed, for all the hilarity that Lawrence elicits by merely bugging her eyes out while puffing away on a cigarette or popping up in a neck brace, there's a troubling lack of interiority to the performance on the whole. Lawrence problematically omits major, potentially illuminating traits about Rosalyn, including the debilitating social anxiety we hear so much about yet which is totally eclipsed by her brash exterior, or her relationship with her son, who never actually feels like her son, much less someone she lives in the same house with, or, you know, gave birth to. Say what you will about screen time and supporting characters, but in the same movie Bradley Cooper manages to find poignancy and concealed depths in what could've easily remained a surface-bound comic creation. There is always the promise of concealed depths within Rosalyn's character, but seldom the unearthing.
Lawrence's screen persona is too vital to ever be anything less than engaging, even when it's irreparably miscast or overworked. Her Rosalyn is a mixed blessing of a performance, one that we can admire Lawrence for attempting in the first place and even enjoy for its most basic elements, if not one that necessarily warrants the current over-abundance of praise and prizes it has received thus far. Lawrence-as-Rosalyn never feels like anything more than a fun but thinnish acting exercise, a giddy but gimmicky comic spectacle where a real, full-bodied person could have been.
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Reader Comments (136)
Why do we have to use the word "hate" when someone disagrees with us. I don't think anybody here hates Jennifer Lawrence.
Lawrence is distractingly bad in this film. Very out of place and not in tune with the rest of the ensemble. She never felt right in the context of the film, blatently lost when the others knew how to fit. Think Mila Kunis in Oz. Baaaaaddddd.
Given that she did get great lines, her delivery was always felt big but never real and believable. What she did do with the character felt far more fitting to a film set in the present. The actress was lost (and drowning) from beginning to end, but I suppose that *is* Roslyn, but umm no. That's not how you sell a character. She sold movie tickets, but not the character or the era. Terrible acting.
I've been reading a lot on this blog and didn't expect to have an article like this. First time I saw a site wrote an article about AN actress and a performance. This simply is too cheap. Whether I like lawrence or not, it doesn't matter. This simply is a cheap article. Very disappointed.
@gbocampo I agree. Just watch the movies. Don't talk about the actresses and the performances. So cheap. SO CHEAP.
I'm disgusted. With a capital D.
Disgusted. Shame on The Film Experience!!!
* STANDS UP *
Lawrence's character is a vulgar woman and a caricature. JLaw plays her like one. It's pure OMG actressing! Perhaps all the awards she's been getting are overkill, but hey, lighten up. It's just a crazy comedy. IMO Cooper is just as ludicrous as she is but nobody complains about him.
This article is the most disappointing one I've ever read on this blog.
I understand your points, but is Lawrence really that much harder to believe than Amy Adams as a cold-hearted con woman or Bradley Cooper as a bumbling cop? In each of those performances, I was keenly aware of the actor/actress playing their part. And while he suits the role better, Christian Bale's seriousness has become such a well-known entity that he too is quite clearly "ACTING" in every role he takes these days.
At least JLaw was a hoot...
This is an excellent article with well-articulated points but I totally thought Jennifer Lawrence nailed this role. Frankly, I thought her performance in Silver Linings Playbook was highly inferior to the work she does here. I agree with what Pitry expressed so beautifully...there is an impulsive, animalistic quality to both Roslyn and Richie's (Bradley Cooper) characters that both actors really delve into. Roslyn is supposed to be playing dress up and never fully at ease within the environment she's in. She's not a mother to her son because she's a child herself and rids the child and parent rearing to Irving, who feels a responsibility. I think Lawrence brilliantly encapsulates the deep inferiority and self-denial of the character with her constant justifications for her stupid actions (and she does it hilariously so). And seriously, the scene where she gives away Irving to Jack Huston is so subtly and convincingly acted by Lawrence--the look of fear and regret on her face when she says to "take it easy on him"--she's entered the big girl world now and perhaps sees a sliver of how her actions and words will affect what she's taken for granted. I didn't know Lawrence had it in her, honestly, to deliver a scene like that. Roslyn is all artifice, but purposefully so. We don't see or know much about her internally (maybe because of her age? her insecurity? her selfishness?), but that's what makes the performance so interesting for me.
You know, I remember hearing an interview with director Phil Morrison (of Junebug) several years ago and his decision to cast Amy Adams in the film. His reason was because Adams didn't approach the character with the mindset of "what is she hiding?" which was key to the role...and obviously, she was absolutely brilliant in the role. I've kind of thought about that recently with the criticism of Jennifer in American Hustle and I think there's a similar approach to the character (although I prefer Junebug much more). Some people are all artifice and rarely ever show who they truly are--sometimes not even a hint of what's underneath--and wouldn't Roslyn fit this description?
Aaron, for me, Adams' character in Junebug appeared to be trying so hard to be open to people that she lost herself. Which is an interesting counterpoint to her and Lawrence's characters in AH. I felt Russell used the premise of self-delusion in this story to avoid a coherent script. That pissed me off. The film didn't work for me at all.
Dear Nathaniel--I know you went off to do fun things in L.A. and Utah, but your friends, Glenn and Matthew, have opened up a wicked can of worms/words (albeit well-written ones). Please come back soon 'cause we got to get over all these guys, these commenter guys.
P.S. Gotta catch up on Scandal so bye for now. Please hurry back safe and sound with tales from Sundance.
The argument is laughable for reasons already stated. But it is fun to seem contrarian. Still it is nothing more than the reviewer's (poorly conceived) subjective opinion which is magically supposed to trump everyone else's (Lawrence was brilliant; deal with it).
All well and good. But the kiss of death is that this article was linked by ONTD. Those are easily the dumbest, most miserable, pathetic haters on the internet living in their little, insular internet bubble. They detected the tone and intent and the haters gave their approval, because we just cannot have anyone be too popular or receive too much praise, especially a young acteress.
If she loses Lawrence will be ROBBED of Oscar.
winston,
was it really linked there? lol I pointed it out that ONTD would love something like this.
Ignore the melodramatic Jennifer Lawrence fan boys and girls. This a fantastic article which perfectly articulates my own problem with Jennifer Lawrence in the film. I love Jennifer but in this film she just didn't fit, and it was distracting.
Henry- I still don't get it. 'An idea'. That idea was Russell and Singer working loosely off a script loosely based on events. And Miss Pettigrew was a light snooze of a movie. Inoffensive, well-cast, but disposable. As much as I run hot and cold on Russell, to take this movie from his hands is taking a lot of the heart and ideas of the film. The PTA-lite and Scorsese-lite stuff is sophomoric, remedial, film snob insults.
While I think this is an articulate and thoughtful commentary, I do have some issues with the focus on her age as a criticism (both here and elsewhere). I find it slightly bizarre that one of the most common criticisms of Lawrence in both SLP and AH has been her miscasting based on the age-difference between her and her co-stars. Casting much younger women with older men isn't exactly a new thing in Hollywood (not that that makes it ok) and is by no means exclusive to her career. At this very moment Wolf of Wall Street also features a 23-year-old actress (Margot Robbie) married to 39-year-old actor (DiCaprio is incidentally the same age as Christian Bale) and I haven't heard anyone raise that casting choice as an issue. And they shouldn't because Robbie was great in WOWS. But so was Lawrence in AH. She walked the line of being a caricature, but kept the character grounded with a sense of overwhelming vulnerability, especially in the scene with Jack Huston at the restaurant. I found that pretty impressive.
In terms of her believability in the movie as Rosalyn, I don't think she was any more or less convincing than any of the other main players. When the cast of a movie includes five of the biggest stars working in Hollywood today it's kind of hard for any of them to completely disappear into a character, at least in the eyes of the audience. I can't have been the only person who's first reaction to the opening scene of the movie was 'Wow! Look how bad Christian Bale looks with that combover!'.
I enjoyed American Hustle a lot, but it wasn't without issues. I just don't think one of those problems is Lawrence.
CMG--"The PTA-lite and Scorsese-lite stuff is sophomoric, remedial, film snob insults."
I haven't made any comparisons of this film to the work of either of these directors so I would guess you are speaking of another post and poster.
Shall we just agree to disagree on this and move on?
gbocampo + anthony mai -- are you guys doing comedy or are you actually serious? The Film Experience always talks about both actresses and their performances... so i'm confused why suddenly this is a shameful thing to do. LOL. In my mind not enough websites actually go into detail about performances and actresses, they just post photos or press releases or rave about somebody without actually analyzing it.
anyway love this article. happy to have matthew eng aboard.
for the record i loved Jennifer in this BUT as i said on the podcast... i don't know if it's actually a "good" performance but it's damn entertaining.
At this very moment Wolf of Wall Street also features a 23-year-old actress (Margot Robbie) married to 39-year-old actor (DiCaprio is incidentally the same age as Christian Bale) and I haven't heard anyone raise that casting choice as an issue.
Maybe it's because Margot reads older? If you told people who didn't know anything about her that she was 30, no one would have trouble believing it. JLaw doesn't look particularly young but is too much of a star with very youthful persona in real life, and maybe she's too much of a star now for people to approach her without that baggage onscreen.
Rosalyn's childishness was a big part of her character, but detractors will probably say Russell was just working around Jennifer's limitations or offer up some other logic for why a woman in her mid-twenties couldn't possibly be married to a man pushing 40, as if that's never happened in the history of Hollywood, or life, before.
Personally, I think that if Rosalyn had been played by an actress pushing 40 she would have come off as a total obnoxious Real Housewife figure, but maybe that's what people wanted. I get the sense that some are hung up on the movie they wanted American Hustle to be, while Russell and its stars were shooting for something else. I could picture other actresses playing Sydney or Irving or Richie as well but that doesn't mean I think the actors who were cast did a bad job.
nathaniel i think gbocampo was serious while anthony mai was sarcasm but since we have no facial expressions or voice intonations to go by who knows. insert one of these after their comments and it should clarify everything:
;) :( ;( or my favorite ;-/
Jennifer is both the best and worst thing about this film and this piece nails why. Well done.
Actually this review deserves a paragraph by paragraph fisking. Let's begin:
In the second paragraph admits that when he saw it he loved Jennifer's performance. Only allegedly later he started having "reservations." What were they? This is bizarre. He loved it when he saw it but now thinks its problematic upon "deep reflection."
LOL! Actually what is problematic is that she is outshining the reviewer's other favorites, including Adams. His "problem" coincided with the moment Lawrence became an awards threat. Not very honest. It was great when he saw it but she became clearly inadequate only subsequently when he started to think about it. No agenda there.
But to continue.In the fifth paragraph we get that old standby that she is only playing herself. It's amazing how she does this across the spectrum. She was "only herself" in Winter's Bone and "only herself" in SLP or AH which are completely the opposite. Apparently Lawrence has more selves than Eve.
In the sixth paragraph we are told (after a pointless reference to an LI accent; it's NJ actually) that she did no more than what DOR asked her. Of course what the reviewer is trying to say is that she did not elevate the role. Well in mine and many, many other opinions Lawrence clearly does elevate the role, moreso than any other supporting actress did this year. Could another actress pull of the scenes Lawrence does as effectively, that showdown with Sydney; that hilarious bedroom scene with Bale that was the film's highlight? Doubtful. And isn't it amazing how many times Lawrence seems to nail doing "just what the director asks": Poker House, Winter's Bone, The Hunger Games, SLP/AH. Except these are all different directors with very different styles. And frankly, every actor is potentially subject to the same line. For example, did Streep ever do more than the script and the director asked? Prove it.
The next two paragraphs are dedicated to the reviewer's highly scientific conclusion that he "just didn't believe it." (Except when he actually saw it and easily did. LOL). He is somehow confused by her age, although she is playing the too young wife of Bale and the part was specifically written to fit her age. He misses the nuance of the role (Rosalyn is this too young wife who has to cope with an older world and hustles to survive in her own way), and then tells us declaratively but with nothing more to show than his on again/off again subjective feelings that he just didn't buy it, which matters...why? As with anything subjective what matters is the broad consensus, not one person's private opinion expressed as somehow magically authoritative.
The next two paragraphs are spent naming actresses that would have been better because the reviewer says so.(short answer, hell no), and performance that should be rewarded instead (short answer: LOL!!!) Watson?).
In the second to last paragraph we are told that Lawrence showed limited "interiority." Actually she pulled this off best of all the cast, and did it with limited screen time. For example when she talks about being afraid of change. Or expresses fear and hurt about her husband's infidelity. Or when she passively rebels against her husband's faithlessness and acts to manipulate him through acts of sabotage and destruction. Or when she confronts Sydney. Or when she confronts Bale and cries that she just wanted him to love her...Come to think of it, the genius of her performance was just how much internality Lawrence brought out with limited screen time. That is one of her gifts as an actress; that she can convey emotion and feelings intuitively, without words. The reviewer is using a term he doesn't apparently understand or is willfully misapplying it. Lawrence brought real humanity to a potential caricature. She had more depth than anyone else in the film.
Anyway, now I'm done. Critics should be open to criticism. But remember, when audiences react ecstatically Lawrence in this film, when critics have too, when she get nominated for a third Oscar, she just wasn't right for the part. Because this reviewer went out of his way to say so. Someone should post that gif of Lawrence holding the Oscar giving the reviewer the middle finger.
Completely disagree, in fact I find Lawrence to be the best thing about this, in my opinion, otherwise disappointing film.
I think the article is terrific, and part of why I think that is that I don't know if I fully agree or not. I'm not worried if Matthew's opinion matches mine because I'm so interested in HIS case, which he makes in refreshing detail and a completely generous tone even when he's criticizing. More of this, please! Excited to dwell on this piece and to rethink the movie and the performance with these words in mind. In the same age range, I think Mila Kun is would have been great in this part. Skewing a bit older, I'd have loved Maggie Gyllenhaal or Gabrielle Union.
@Winston 100% agree
I enjoyed reading this but I really loved Lawrence in Hustle. I think Russell is to blame for the flaws, not Jennifer.
Henry- That was just my general statement regarding some of the criticisms in the comments of this post and in general about the film.
Also, I don't really take the criticisms of the film too personally. I'm clearly in the minority.
Winston, I think it's fine to have issues with the criticisms but saying Lawrence brought the most humanity to her part is purely subjective. She had no backstory. She had no moment like Bale combing over his toupee, no moment like Renner reacting to being caught in a bribery, or any of the interactions like Cooper and Adams had. She's not a caricature, I agree but it's a part by design made to be a scene-stealer. The underestimated dumb blond is one of the oldest tricks in the book. To me she is playing one of the most old school archetypes and doing fine but she ain't a Jean Hagen or Judy Holliday.
Wow. Somebody get Jennifer Lawrence a library card, because Matthew Eng just READ HER PERFORMANCE FROM COVER TO COVER. Terrific piece!
@Everyone: You guys, my mixed feelings for her performance in Hustle aside, I think Jennifer Lawrence is one of the most exciting actresses working today and, even more than that, I love what her refreshingly frank, outspoken, and good-humored personality represents for the future of the business.
@Winston: Jennifer Lawrence giving me the middle finger, or even giving the middle finger in my presence, would probably be the highlight of my life. So your criticism is both noted and appreciated.
I love this assessment, it syncs perfectly with my own feelings on the role. Where you really won me over was in your alternate casting choices (any of them, all of them, hell, add Elisabeth Rohm to boot!) and in recognizing the seriously accomplished similarly characterized performances of ScarJo and Emma Watson. Both should have been in the conversation for their performances. And Scarlett would have been a dynamo Rosalyn, still young for the role, but the right target for where she is at right now. Man can she get in with Russell next???
@Nick Davis-I'm just not detecting the generosity of tone you allege. What it comes across as to me is that a reviewer at what is supposedly a reputable film discussion site wrote a hatchet job review specifically trying to target one actress. ONTD likes it, which is Exhibit A. They see it as a hate article.
Now I understand the game. Writing critically about Lawrence is right now a form of trolling. It's a way to seem controversial, to generate page views and to generate comments. Rex Reed has done this for years.
But there seemed to be more to it than just internet trolling. By the reviewer's admissions It brings very much to mind Sasha Stone from Awards Daily. When she first saw the film she had nothing but praise for Jennifer. But then Jennifer won a major critic's award in NY and a meltdown ensued. Likewise Kyle Smith all but admitted that he trashed the movie and Jennifer because he was outvoted in NY. It is no coincidence at all that the reviewer here admits to changing his mind and that he makes prominent mention of Jennifer's critic's awards success right up front. It gives away the derailment game.
Beyond that this is meant to impress us with its word count, but there is nothing of substantive value. Distilled to its core what remains is that this reviewer subjectively/ulteriorly "didn't buy it." Subjectively maybe you agree, maybe you don't. If you are a hater even better. And we certainly get the same tired litany-she's miscast (apparently in every film according to the haters, her success on all counts be damned); she just plays herself; she is the director's puppet; other actresses would be better because anyone can duplicate Oscar worthy performances that seem to please everyone but the subject critic.
This article is as cogent as saying "overrated." Of course the haters will join the chorus because desperation makes convenient bed fellows.
CMG--"Also, I don't really take the criticisms of the film too personally. I'm clearly in the minority." We agree to agree as I feel the same.
I like discussing film and hearing different opinions and have all the room in the world for someone to have a differing opinion from mine. I actually like hearing them because I often see something new that I hadn't before. But perspective is in order tonight (not just this thread--selfies has become toxic). This is a film, an entertainment, not a decision on nuclear war.
@Matthew Eng-Hope I'm not being too harsh. But the haters flock to this type of piece saying "bravo!" with clockwork precision. In the end its your opinion. Then I saw the ONTD link. If you say "Lawrence sucks!" a lot of bitter, resentful people will join in. She's young and ultra successful so it is inevitable.
winston - now sasha is back to effusive praise for j-law on twitter... I really don't get her. (she has a good piece on meryl streep though)
I go away for two weeks and almost miss the most troll-friendly post in TFE in a while!
Warring factions of pro and anti-JLaw (even though the actual post is quite clever in It's rising above the usual Internet polarized fans x haters belicosity), random pot shots at Renee Zellwegger with extra points for a Cold Mountain lover popping up, a torrent of TL;DR analysis of O'Russell x Scorsese x PTA, awesome casting direction talent going to waste (whoever suggested Marisa Tomei and Lisa Kudrow was a genious), people who otherwise never post here crawling out from under a rock to scream SHAME ON YOU I HAVE A CAPS LOCK ON MY KEYBORD AND AIN'T AFRAID TO USE IT, and even some crazy questioning of the blogs actressexual cred!
Gurl, let me break it to you! Actressexuality is just that! Is going for it, breaking it down, pointing out the good and the bad, butting heads when we disagree, loving it thoroughly warts and all and never feeling the need to have consensus in anything (only that the ladies don't get nearly the attention they deserve). If you want more focus on the male counterparts, you have the whole goddamn movie industry!
Honestly, this thread reads like a great long sex romp! I'm exhausted, delighted, and quite sweaty and dishevelled! Cate Blanchett should play me now!
People took serious offense to the criticism of Lawrence that I'm thinking that someone might BE Jennifer Lawrence.
JLaw and Disorder
A well-constructed, persuasive piece. Enjoyed reading it. Jennifer Lawrence knows how to play to the crowd. That's for sure. But you're right; for all the audience-pleasing zing she packs into it, her Rosalyn never seems like an actual character. Still, I think that Oscar Lupita Nyong'O seemed certain of a month ago now appears to be headed for a spot on JLaw's shelf. It's starting to look inevitable.
P.S. So glad to see some praise for Elisabeth Rohm as Mrs. Polito. I just loved her look - and that warm Lainie Kazan-ish lamboyance she emanated. Had no idea till I read the credits that this was the cool, soft-spoken Serena from "Law and Order". A marvelous coup for her! She and Renner were both terrific.
Cast any of those actresses you named above, and American Hustle probably would've died in limited release obscurity.
Aside from being excellent as always, Jennifer Lawrence is a HUGE reason this movie went mainstream and will cross $100 million at the box office. Posters, trailers, TV spots make it look like she is one of the main characters. Not taking anything away from the other stars, but JLaw has proven she can put butts into seats. It's ridiculous to think about someone else in the role; the movie might be different, but it'll be a movie not many people would've seen.
I've been saying this about Jennifer Lawrence's DREADFUL performance from day one! She acts like a child saying "Let's PRETEND to be adults and play Dressup!" She shamelessly walks around with a NEW YAWK accent, acting more like a stoned underaged drag queen with nothing better to do than mimic the woman she thinks she is.
When I went to AwardsDaily and tried to express this opinion, of course I got shot down by the JLaw fanwhores- who said I didn't know how to judge good acting, and that "her character is supposed to be over the top." Uh - these idiots apparently dont understand that there's a difference between Over-the-top Good (Sharon Stone, Casino) and Over-the-Top HAM, which is Ms. Lawrence.
If she wins the Oscar for this role, it will be the Worst Best Supporting Actress Performance EVER. She deserves nothing for this. And she's better than this. I find it appalling anyone under the age of 12 would think this was fine acting. Indeed, it's of course because they're just in love with Lawrence the Hunger Games Queen. They don't actually watch the character- they watch to fawn over her.
Thank you Nate- for this truthful and NECESSARY article.
I'm shocked!! A negative article about Jennifer Lawrence on The Film Experience? Well, I never...!
I wonder if there will ever be something positive written about her on here?
Well, a lot of parse through here, article and comments.
Don't know if I have much to add, other than that casting Jennifer Lawrence in this part was in some ways a very canny move re: avoiding cliches, because the part, as written, is basically "the old, nagging, unglamorous who prevents the hero from getting with the sexy young heroine". Think about it. It's more of a Melissa Leo part than a JLaw part! * Casting an actress who is much younger than Bale or Adams and has such an likable onscreen and offscreen persona makes the character into less of an old, and frankly, kind of sexist cliche.
On a mostly unrelated note, why is no one talking about how AMERICAN HUSTLE takes many more liberties with facts than WOLF OF WALL STREET, and in doing so perpetrates some pretty offensive ideas, when you think about it? The end of the movie asks you to cheer for the Mafia getting off scot free, and asks you to feel bad for a bunch of bribe-taking politicians. It's really weird, and left me with a bad taste in my mouth as I left the theatre. If I'm being cynical, I'd say that it's because is AMERICAN HUSTLE is coated in a nice, phony Hollywood sheen that allows its pretty icky message to pass by most people, whereas WOLF thrusts you into the darkness, forcing the audience to engage with the ugly side of humanity intellectually. But maybe that's just me...
* Not that Melissa Leo is old or is anything less than beautiful. Just that she fills one of Hollywood's "types."
I also didn't like Meryl in August: Osage County. But Lawrence was worse. When actors make audiences so conscious of their decision-making and blatant struggle, it becomes very difficult for us to see them as *being* their characters. It was like they were being forced to act for their lives. Some great scenes by both, but mostly distracting, inconsistent and shallow. Going big but not far.
I don't get the talk about casting someone else, like it was a possibility. wasn't the part written for her?
and TFE should start a series on "recasting every j-law and meryl streep role!" with all the comments about those two.
No, the part wasn't written for her. Rewritten for her, maybe. But this script's been around for years now, and the 'Rosalyn' character is patterned after a real life woman, Marie Weinberg. Look her up, and read up on her, but be warned, it's a very sad story...that the movie kind of reduces to a sitcom. *sighs*
doesn't the movie have a disclaimer in the beginning, something like "some of this actually happened"? I read that somewhere (haven't seen the movie).
I'm guessing that's the reason it managed to stay away from controversy - that russell basically used the real story only as inspiration, and ultimately did what he (and the actors) wanted with the characters?
Right. And that's totally defensible, it's just disappointing (to me) that they had this intriguing story a lot of fascinating nuances that they basically sculpted into a boilerplate Hollywood con-man movie, even if it was a good one.
wasn't the real Rosalyn 26 or 27 at the the time? Marisa Tomei is great and looks great but shes FIFTY!! Lawrence wasn't too young to play a 27 year old.. go away haters ..
No, she was in her late forties. She committed suicide at the age of fifty in 1982, while the ABSCAM trials were occurring.
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20081447,00.html
Wow..great article and great discussion! My two cents about JLaw's performance - I knew I would not like it the moment I saw the science oven clip. There was too much of her real life personality bleeding into her performance (probably my fault for watch ALL those delightful Catching Fire press tour interviews). I thought she was terrific in the scenes with Jack Huston, but otherwise I thought she was not very believable as Rosalyn.
I was convinced this was a case of miscasting, but honestly, until I read this article and started thinking about alternative casting choices, I did not realize how much I really like the dynamic between the Bale and Lawrence, so much so that I can't think of casting an older actress as Rosalyn.
Bear with me, as I know I might be contradicting myself, but Lawrence does a fantastic job of conveying Rosalyn's loneliness, immaturity and desperation, giving plausibility to Irvings frustration with his marriage and his desire to go for an older, more sophisticated mistress. I guess my problem with Lawrence is her execution - perhaps some changes in costume and hair ( do we really need that bouffant in EVERY scene), a little focus on the accent and dialogue and maybe shaving off a few scenes ( the Live and Let Die really took me out of the movie) would have gone a long way in making this performance a success for me.
A delicious read, though I can't say I entirely agree. In particular, I'm not bothered by the age issue -- I didn't feel that Lawrence was playing someone particularly older than she is, and didn't find it hard to believe that a man as insecure about his own status as Irving Rosenfeld would have pursued (and possibly even knocked up) a teenager.
I also prefer the interpretation that there's a significant age difference between Rosalyn and Sydney, who certainly appears to be the first grown woman to respond to Irving -- making the film a belated coming-of-age story of sorts. And how often do mainstream films show us male protagonists leaving their wives for older women? That must count for something.
Anyway, looking forward to reading more from you.
100!