Posterized: Carey Mulligan
Friday, October 23, 2015 at 4:05PM 
Carey Mulligan at the Women in Hollywood Awards earlier this weekTwo Oscar hopefuls will hopefully dominate the conversation. Steve Jobs went wide today and the scrappy fighting-for-our-rights British period piece Suffragette is finally starting its US release in select cities. The movie has whethered some controversy of late and unexpectedly muted reception critically... at least in its first round. But release is a different challenge than pre-release buzz. If audiences like it, expect the Oscar buzz to reheat. At least for its leading lady who, we should remind ourselves, already had a minor unexpected hit this year with Far From the Madding Crowd.
Which means it's time to think about Carey Mulligan again. How many of Carey Mulligan's 14 films have you seen? The posters (and more commentary) after the jump...
Phase 1 - Who's the New Girl?
Pride & Prejudice (2005), And When Did You Last See Your Father (2007), The Greatest (2009)
Phase 2 - The Breakthrough. Oh Her...
An Education (2009), Public Enemies (2009), Brothers (2009), Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), Never Let Me Go (2010), Drive (2011), Shame (2011), The Great Gatsby (2013), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Her 'star is born' year was 2009 with her Oscar nomination in Best Actress for An Education. She didn't go supernova thereafter -- probably due to a few very minor roles (does anyone remember that she was even in Brothers or Public Enemies?) perhaps from contracts signed before the Oscar hit. With that vibrant ache in Shame (2011), though, she reminded everyone why they got excited about her in the first place. A turn as Leonardo DiCaprio's ideal woman in The Great Gatsby became her first blockbuster with $351 million globally.
Phase 3 - Leading Lady. 'Oooh, the new Carey Mulligan is out.'
Far From the Madding Crowd (2015), Suffragette (2015)
It took longer than some of us expected after An Education, but this year she's the star attraction and a headliner thrice over: a Tony nomination for Skylight on stage, and two first-billed gigs at the movies. Can she keep it up?
Thoughts on her career?
Reader Comments (41)
I liked her in Shame and An Education. Thought she was miscast in Drive but she definitely has star power / it factor / charisma.
My favourite performance of hers was in the Doctor Who episode Blink. An unknown at the time she carried off being the central character of an entire episode of such a big show with its leads essentially sidelined to a cameo. Impressive stuff.
"whethered"? Should be weathered
I feel like I need a Mulligan translator. I keep trying, and not getting, the supposed star quality. Anyone?
She had a small cameo in Brothers and wiped the floor with the star Natalie Portman.
"I feel like I need a Mulligan translator. I keep trying, and not getting, the supposed star quality. Anyone?" - San FranCinema
I think she's lovely on-screen and capable of good performances but *beyond* boring off-screen. Like no hint of a personality. I mean, it's not like everyone has to be Jennifer Lawrence but between her and Rooney Mara, I don't know who is less interesting as a person.
"I mean, it's not like everyone has to be Jennifer Lawrence..."
And thank goodness.
She is great actress, but sometimes she registers a little too blank, if you know that I mean? Like her charisma is on-off, even when her performance is well calculated.
I loved her in An Education, but today I hate the movie. It's judmental and moralistic.
I've seen her in nine movies.
I think she's a solid/lovely/capable actress who tends to impress me but I don't think she's a star. I'm okay with that.
She's done some great work with some interesting directors - and I hope she continues to do that. Her best performances were in Inside Lleweyn Davis, An Education, Shame and Far From The Madding Crowd. In terms of acting style, I think she is her generation's Glenda Jackson.
I have seen 6 and would rank her performances thus:
1. An Education
2. The Greatest
3. Brothers
4. The Great Gatsby
5. Drive
6. Pride and Prejudice
I've seen eight, including the most recent two, and I've never not liked her work, often loved it in fact. I'm jealous of the people who got to see her on Broadway with Bill Nighy; that must have been something else.
Having just experienced both Mulligan and Mara speaking at length during Q&As for their respective new releases, I echo Lizzy's sentiments above. Both actresses are lovely and articulate young women who let their performances do most of the talking.
She's very good in Suffragette, but An Education will always be her star turn for me.
"In terms of acting style, I think she is her generation's Glenda Jackson."
nobody* speaks of glenda anymore, and that truly saddens me
[*except abel, who i thank for reminding us]
I seen 9. She's a very strong actress but missing a certain pizzazz that would make her truly memorable. That's not bad, she's English and trained so she'll work forever I just think it won't be in the lead spot for very long. She reminds me in many ways of Emily Watson.
Mulligan to me= mmmeeeeuh...
One of my favorite performances of hers is as Isabella Thorpe in the BBC's Northanger Abbey, her other Austen role besides Pride & Prejudice. She's so funny in it, I eish she would explore more of her sunny side.
I've also seen her in An Education, Inside Llewyn Davis and The Great Gatsby.
She carried herself well in An Education, but that performance did not hit me as a revelation, as many regard it. I like Emma Thompson and Rosamunde Pike a lot better in their limited roles.
Inside Llewyn Davis is my favorite movie of the three, and Mulligan acquits herself in a lesser role. That movie is all about Oscar Isaac and the orange cat, with a great extended cameo from John Goodman.
The Great Gatsby was a bloated mess and Mulligan was miscast as Daisy. It is by far my least favorite performance by her.
A mere 2, "Pride and Prejudice" and I'm trying to remember her in it, and "The Great Gatsby" which I loved, because it's one of my favorite novels, but she was just like Mia Farrow, miscast in that role.
Soooo not much to say here.
I've seen a very respectable 10 - looking forward to SUFFRAGETTE being #11.
I'm a big Doctor Who fan, and it was very exciting to see her career explode with AN EDUCATION not long after she played a lead role in a memorable DW episode called Blink. Felicity Jones and Gugu Mbatha-Raw have also appeared in DW in recent years, before their breakthrough film roles.
I adore Glenda Jackson!!! IMO, she is the BEST Queen Liz I!! even betta than Cate & Mirren's turn. Her Elizabeth R is a must watch!! I tink among the contemporary actresses...Cate & Tilda channels her regal androgynous quality the best!!
I think she's a terrific actress and I've enjoyed her in everything I've seen. And I for one LOVED her in The Great Gatsby (her voice was so sexy and just reeked of a girl who had grown up in status and money).
I don't know if I would say she's a MOVIE STAR with STAR POWER like some think - I would put her in a group with actresses like Michelle Williams and Rooney Mara - actresses who care more about their craft and putting in compelling performances rather than being super charming and outgoing on talk shows and press tours. But I'm totally fine with that.
It took Cate six years to get to her second Oscar nom so seems about the right time for someone with a career like Carey's.
I wish she had never been involved with Wall Street 2 though. Those years with Shia were like the dark ages for us Carey fans.
Did anybody see Never Let Me Go ? In my opinion this was one of her very best performances (along with unforgettable supporting turns by Andrew Garfield and Keira Knightley), another true star turn. Too bad the film never found its audience because of mixed reviews i'll never understand.
I've seen seven of Carey Mulligan's films so far and loved her in all of them. She reminds me of the great Sarah Miles, an actress I could never get enough of. Loved her especially in "Lady Caroline Lamb" and "Ryan's Daughter". Mulligan looks a bit like Miles and certainly projects the same kind of magically alive quality onscreen. For my money, Carey Mulligan and Marion Cotillard are the two most exciting actresses on the scene today - and I look forward to more great work from both in the years to come.
Glenda Jackson, Emily Watson, Sarah Miles...hm.
Jackson had a sharpness Mulligan lacks, Watson a hyper-vulnerability and Miles a certain hauteur. I have to say it's more the late Susannah York she reminds me of.
I've seen them ALL except Father and Sufragette. I love her. She should have won for An Education and she should have been nominated for Shame.
I think Carey has a very good chance of an Oscar nom for the Suffragette. Just depends on how the film is marketed for Oscars.
Remember how badly the Oscar campaign was for Selma last year? A film that should have won the Best Pic and heaps of other awards scored just 2 noms.
Films about historical movements can do very well at the Oscars - as long as it is marketed well.
And yes - the film has to be good too.
Wow. I've seen everything except THE GREATEST.
I don't understand all the negative reviews for SUFFRAGETTE. For me, it is currently that one and INSIDE OUT that are the two horses I am getting behind this Oscars season. It's excellent.
Joel6 it's funny people assume she's trained but she never attended drama school, she applied and never got in but shortly after got the part on Pride and Prejudice which was essentially her training ground on that set.
7. She's one of my one favorite actresses, and I wish I'd had a chance to see her star with Bill Nighy in Skylight on Broadway.
While I'm certainly open to "Blink" being considered her best work, I think Never Let Me Go is moving and wonderful and that she and Andrew Garfield are outstanding in it.
@bettes streep I actually think the marketing for Suffragette is pretty stellar. It remains to be seen if it works, but it does a good job of selling the movie AND of actually selling what the movie actually is. It's a borderline thriller at many points. Also, it isn't opening at the ass end of December, so it has a leg up on Selma.
I'm lukewarm on her. She often has the unfortunate distinction of being outshone in her own movies, be it by Pike, Williams and Thompson in An Education or Knightley in Never Let Me Go. As mentioned above, barely memorable roles and miscasting have also diluted her star somewhat. But she's growing on me. She's spectacular in Shame, enough to make you wish people would start thinking outside the box with her casting. She's also strong in Far From The Madding Crowd, even if she's not quite able to portray Bethsheba's more emotional side.
I've seen four. The best performance is undoubtedly An Education. She's good in Never Let Me Go, but the movie itself is uneven. She was a bit too blank in Drive, though the movie was good. And she is completely unmemorable in Pride and Prejudice, which is a great film.
I expect I will get around to seeing Gatsby, Madding Crowd, Public Enemies, and Suffragette at some point. She has interested me enough to make me want to see more of her work, but I'm cautious (rather than eager) about her all the same.
I have seen her in a number of films and think she is a very skilled actress... I like her a lot;
however, I have to agree with others that she seems somewhat sheepish in some roless .. As far as her offscreen persona.... that should not matter
Haven't seen any of the Phase 1 films or Wall Street 2 and Inside Llewyn Davis but I've seen the rest. After my first viewing of An Education, I didn't get the big deal about her (or the film, honestly). Upon re-watching it, however, I became more of a fan. I really enjoyed her in Never Let Me Go and Shame; liked her quite a bit in Far From The Maddening Crowd and the rest of her performances range from solid (Suffragette) to meh (Drive, Gatsby). Overall, I think she's talented but I'd really be interested to see if she can play someone with a bigger personality.
Have seen all but two and loved her in most.
I always like her performances on film but they are nothing like the pure force of nature that she is onstage. Really incredible.
Looking forward to Suffragette! Many wonderful actresses and actors in it.
I've seen 8 - Pride & Prejudice, An Education, Drive, Shame, The Great Gatsby, Inside Llewyn Davis, Far From the Madding Crowd, and Suffragette. I just adore her.
out of the 1985 crop (Keira Knightley, Rooney Mara, Anna Kendrick, Amanda Seyfried, Léa Seydoux) Carey is the one!
I've been a big Mulligan fan for years, ever since An Education... then I retroactively realized I'd seen her in Pride & Prejudice, etc.. She's continued to distinguish herself consistently. Shame, Llewyn Davis, even doing as well as could be expected in the impossible role of Daisy Buchanan.
And let me state for the record: Never Let Me Go is my absolute favorite drama of the last decade. Yes, it's a heartbreaking, very sad film, but I don't understand why it's not better known given its cast. Besides its incisive commentary on what being a person means, it's an excellent adaptation of the source novel - I like it better in some regards.
@ Doctor Strange, Never Let Me Go is my favorite performance of hers. Great work from everybody involved, I'd say.
I've seen 5 but I also don't remember her in Public Enemies.
I liked her a lot in An Education, thought she was very good except for a few scenes in Shame, and am wondering why everyone thinks she was miscast in Gatsby. Who should have been cast instead?
But after Drive and Gatsby I'm glad to see she seems to be aging out of her usual 'fragile young woman who 2 guys fight over to win the right to protect her' thing.