Emily Watson is nobody's mother (this time)
Thursday, September 3, 2015 at 8:33AM Here's Murtada on a favorite actress we'd like to see more of.
Watson at the press confrence
The paparazzi might have been more interested in jurors Diane Kruger and Elizabeth Banks. The trades were into what jury head Alfonso Cuaron had to say. Most of the press coverage had more pictures of her co-stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin and Jason Clarke. But on the first day of the Venice Film Festival we had our eyes for Everest star Emily Watson.
It was nice to see her smiling and looking good. As the only woman from the film making the press rounds - seems Robin Wright, Keira Knightley and Elizabeth Debicki had other plans - naturally eyes gravitated towards her. This is a far cry from the frumpy mothers she has played recently in The Book Thief, Testament of Youth and especially The Theory of Everything. The latter was the nadir of that niche that was carved for her by casting directors. It was no more than a cameo and was hilariously lampooned by Nathaniel & company on the podcast.
Watson was born same year as Nicole Kidman. She’s one year older than Naomi Watts, 2 years older than Cate Blanchett. Those actresses are still getting plum parts in major movies. It’s too soon for Watson to start competing with Julie Walters and Brenda Blethyn for parts. While she’s never been the glamorous star, her fantastic turns in Breaking the Waves, Hilary & Jackie and Gosford Park certainly make her the equal of the actresses mentioned. But perhaps the more apt comparison is with someone like Helena Bonham Carter - who coincidentally turned down Watson career-making role in Waves. Helena still manages a varied range of opportunities. (We acknowledge we might be blind to fantastic work Watson has done recently for TV in the UK.)
on the boat with her co-stars John Hawkes, Clarke and Brolin (courtesy of Brolin's instagram).
This is a long way of saying that we hope Everest is the beginning of a new exciting phase of Watson’s career. She plays the base camp co-ordinater who is the climbers' main contact to the world outside the mountain. The reviews have been mostly positive. Some singled out Watson as “heartrending’’, others expected more. We are just grateful she has more to do than be somebody’s mother.
What would you like to see Watson do next?
Reader Comments (13)
I don't know - even this role sounds like a dog.
I don't think I can think of a more undervalued actress in the world today.
Not that I otherwise much liked Theory of Everything, but it has a special place in my voodoo pin cushion for what it did to Watson.
I always think it was the emergence of Blanchett,Winslet,Scottt THomas and WIesz who got roles she may have been up for,she was almost cast as Knightley's mother in Atonement.
Favorite Watson film, The Luzhin Defence, want to see but can't find,Within the Whirlwind. Director I'd most like to see her work with, Jane Campion.
Emily Watson is so friggin talented! It is so sad that Watson is going the supporting route.
I want to see her as a badass detective in a crime thriller chasing mastermind crime queen Tilda Swinton. Directed by either Fukunaga or Jeff Nichols
Love her - my favourite role she has done is "Gosford Park", she manages to add so many layers to her character. I am looking forward to "Everest" because I'm a fan of "Into Thin Air".
I have heard that she has several good scenes and may be supporting actress material.
I don't have a particular director she should work with, I just want her to work more often.
I love her, really want to see her with a great role again, even if it's on telly!
I share your frustration with her recent mother roles, although the low point for me was THE BOOK THIEF. However, I just recently finished off the mini-series THE POLITICIAN'S HUSBAND, and she was great in that (she was playing a mother, but that wasn't the only facet of her character), which gives me hope of a career resurgence
I like her. She's an actress I engage with whenever she's present in a movie. But I don't look for her when she's not there. She's gifted at being anonymous.
So sexy in Synecdoche New York and so devastating in The Proposition.
It's very sad that she's already joining Walters, Staunton, Thompson and Blethyn in the hunt for 60-something roles, though you can understand why. When Smith, Dench and Mirren leave us, there will be huge roles in UK cinema and TV up for grabs...
She was so astonishing and heartbreaking in her Breaking the Waves! Really blew me away. IMO, she was THE best actress of 1996. Its a pity that her subsequent films never matched her talents. A case of Orson "starts at the top, the only way now is down" Welles
and now Emily is getting even more love. Career award at San Sebastian : http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emily-watson-receive-donostia-award-820389
Murtada -- Premature, if you ask me.
Peggy Sue - I hear ya in the sense that her best might still be ahead of her. But if Rooney Mara is getting one this year, Watson's doesn't seem so far fetched!