Top Ten: The Best of Kristin Scott Thomas
Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 2:01PM DON'T LEAVE! Don't check out of the movies now.
I'd like to speak to your manager."
-Kristin Scott Thomas as "Crystal" in Only God Forgives
As you may have heard a few days ago, the great Kristin Scott Thomas, who first broke through as Hugh Grant's best friend in Four Weddings and Funeral and was Oscar nominated for her ice-hot sand-blasted eroticism in The English Patient and who has elevated countless films since has rather casually tossed off a 'good riddance' to cinema.
I just suddenly thought, I cannot cope with another film. I realised I've done the things I know how to do so many times in different languages... I can't do it any more. I'm bored by it. So I'm stopping
Oh come on Kristin, Only God Forgives wasn't that bad. [More...]
The cinema needs you!
We will miss her if her departure sticks though we hope she was just in a mood when she said it. Having previously interviewed her I can attest that the things that they say are true. She does not worry about what she says aloud and there is extremely minimal publicist interference. She just speaks her mind.
MY TEN FAVORITE KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS PERFORMANCES
(IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
with Rupert Graves in A Handful of Dust (1988)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Angels & Insects (1995) -- such a goodie. and no one ever speaks of it!
The English Patient (1996) - Oscar Blessed
Gosford Park (2000)
I've Loved You So Long (2008)
Partir/Leaving (2009)
Confessions of a Shop-a-holic (2009)
Kristin on her experience making Confessions of a Shopaholic:
I hated it, hated it ,hated it."
Nowhere Boy (2009)
Only God Forgives (2013)
I'm suddenly feeling tremendously guilty for not yet screening François Ozon's In the House which she stars in. You can currently see Kristin onscreen in The Invisible Woman (though Joanna Scanlan steals the show) for which she was nominated for a BIFA in Supporting Actress. Her next two films (and possibly her last) are Suite Française (2014) with Margot Robbie and Michelle Williams and My Old Lady (2014) with her Gosford co-star Dame Maggie Smith.
Let's hope they're as beautiful as swan songs can possibly be.
What do you love about Kristin Scott Thomas most?
Reader Comments (38)
Next time carry a book.
LOVE Gosford Park. I feel bad that she seems not be dealing so well with the whole aging thing, but I don't blame her. It must suck.
I like her performance in "Life as a House" also opposite Kevin Kline. maybe she will get her long over-due 2nd nomination in Supporting next year thanks to her friends Weinstein "Suite Francaise " and then she'll feel encouraged again.
Hopefully this is only a phase for her, but if it is permanent I hope that this means she'll be continuing her fabulous stage work, with which she has had great success. She is a wonder to see in person.
She's delightful in "In the House," but it's not a showy part; she is more of a well-acted cog in an Ozon contraption. I've been avoiding "Only God Forgives," but maybe I should give it a try if you think it's one of her best? I do wish actors (and directors, like Steven Soderbergh) wouldn't make retirement pronouncements, especially if they are still doing good work. I wish they would just take time off and get recharged instead. It sounds from the Guardian interview that Kristin Scott Thomas herself doesn't see the wonderful and varying nuances that she brings to many of these parts. Boredom is often self-inflicted. Can't she think of something better to do with her time in the trailer on set than making cushions or tapestries?
She's been one of my favorites for years, and was particularly strong in I've Loved You So Long and Gosford Park. I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers Handful of Dust and Angels & Insects.
Owen Walter -- agreed. i mean she could write fabulously bitchy memoirs about how much she hates each movie she is making and sell them when a movie comes out. I would buy every one. --- but please do NOT see "Only God Forgives" on my behalf. It is terrible.
Bia -- agreed. People who are extraordinarily beautiful have a lot more to lose when they age. (though if you ask me they usually age better too so they shouldn't complain too much ;)
My dad refers to her as the "elegant and pretty actress", even though he never remembers her name he always remembers her. She's a fabulous actress.
"You must be very proud" cracks me up in FW&AF. Love Katharine forever (I love The English Patient more and more every time I watch it) also hilarious in Salmon Fishing in The Yemen
I was obsessed with her after The English Patient. I sat through Random Hearts and The Horse Whisperer because of her. Love her icy demeanor and her I don't care attitude. I had the pleasure to see her in Harold Pinter's Betrayal on stage a few years ago and she was brilliant in it.
Thanks for mentioning Angels & Insects--a movie definitely worth revisiting.
One of the problems I always had with Four Weddings was the idea that Kristin Scott Thomas's character was some kind of lonely spinster--or that anyone would choose Andie MacDowell's annoying character over her. The woman is drop dead gorgeous.
She's great but if she feels tapped out I appreciate that she isn't going to just continue on giving phoned in performances like some once great actors, DeNiro & Cage are the perfect examples of that. Maybe she'll do some stage work and it will recharge her batteries or perhaps she'll pull a Deanna Durbin and completely withdraw from public life. I wish her well in whatever she choose and will now go watch her delicious turn in Four Weddings and a Funeral.
No, say it isn't so!
She's one of the very few actresses out there who exude elegance without even trying. And to those who find her icy, I know what you mean, but see "The English Patient" for direct counterpoint.
I love the idea of her in Pinter's Betrayal. Saw her in the Broadway run of The Seagull, where she was great.
In The House is SO good. She doesn't have a major part, but go watch it for the film itself, it's brilliant. One of my favourites from last year.
She's so wonderful, I hope some amazing role (I don't care in which language) comes up and she comes back to us soon!
Her performance in "I've Loved You So Long" was the best performance by an actress the year it came out. She was haunting. It was a travesty that it wasn't even nominated, at least the Golden Globes had the decency to nominate her.
Her best performance is I've loved you so long
My favorite movie with her is The English Patient
Her icy turn in Four Wedding and a funeral is a classic turn
I think she will return and get a mafiabella role. Imagine her as the matriarch, thirsty of revenge and power
My father always remember her name and says she is the most beautiful woman after my mom he he
Mike - totally agree. If I remember right, she made some nasty comments about Winslet in the press. She always says whatever's on her mind, which makes me think her retirement is more frustration than actual retirement.
Kristin can exude iciness when called for, but I see her more as "classy" than anything else. I DO wish that she would have hooked up with an (English language) auteur who really saw her value a la Woody Allen or David O. Russell.
Lylee I meant icy in the best possible sense and you are right she plays other sides of course , she is one of my all time favourites :-)
The talent + the bone structure
PS I'm so sure she'll be back and that also goes for Soderbergh and Gosling.
eurocheese, are you referring to the time when KST called Kate Winslet out for her 'The Reader' category fraud? Because I thought that was awesome.
One of my favorite KST cinematic moments is her dance with Emmanuelle Seigner in Bitter Moon. She is such a joy to watch in the scene, and the chemistry between the actresses is incredible.
If she wants to get back on Oscar's radar, given the Academy's affinity for biopics, she should play Lee Radziwill.
She is excellent in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Under the Cherry Moon (her feature debut), but I wouldn't be surprised if she hates both of them too. UtCM is a real stinker.
She was nominated for a Razzie for Under The Cherry Moon which is just eugh. The Razzies are the worst.
"...ice-hot sand-blasted eroticism in THE ENGLISH PATIENT..."
and that is why i love the film experience. lovely, tribute nathaniel :)
from the middle of the article (not the headline):
"She says she will still make some films, but only those she absolutely can't resist."
dela - glad someone mentioned "bitter moon"! I liked her in that too (and the movie).
I have been a fan of hers ever since Bitter Moon, and then a few years later everyone was swooning over her in 4 Weddings. She is always intrinsically elegant, and supremely sexy. I believe she will follow the Angela Landsbury model and have a long career on the stage and do the occasional movie. If you want to see the fun side of KST check out her appearance on Top Gear, on youtube. Or her interview with the BBC for Desert Island Discs. I just hope that one of these days she gets a part in some movie where she could the appreciation she she deserves, and not just in France where she is revered.
Noooo! please pretty please no.
She is so amazing. I love her most in Gosford Park and yes, Salmen Fishing in the Yemen.
What about Tell No One? Her dashing across the street just to bum a cigarette was one of my favorite cinematic scenes of that year.
dear kristin scott thomas
あなたが大好きです。ほとんどの映画をいました。
暫く、休養して、また映画に帰ってくることを望んでいます。
すばらしい女優です。すばらしい、帰ってきてください。
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