By Spencer Coile
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Back in 2017, I wrote about Kirsten Dunst’s “return to glory” with her performances in The Beguiled and Woodshock. What I foresaw as glory didn’t exactly materialize - The Beguiled had its ardent fans but no real awards traction, Woodshock was quickly forgotten. Two years later, and Kirsten Dunst receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is center-stage in the Showtime original series, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, but for Dunst, something still feels missing.
Her interview on SiriusXM’s “In Depth with Larry Flick” gave Dunst a chance to discuss how she feels slighted by the film industry - an industry that, she claims, pans her films and then celebrates them years later. Major awards? She’s nabbed two Golden Globe nominations and an Emmy nomination. She even won Best Actress at Cannes for Melancholia though that doesn’t necessarily translate to mainstream attention. It is our sincerest hope here at TFE that Kirsten Dunst’s performance on On Becoming a God in Central Florida starts getting her the credit she's deserved for decades...
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Dunst has played other kooky characters in the past. Look no further than her previous television work on Fargo. Her performance as Peggy Blumquist was an enigma wrapped up in big hair and a practically implacable accent. It was truly some of her finest work. But if you’re looking for off-kilter, look no further than Krystal Stubbs on Becoming a God. A wife and mother who is stretched too thin - between working part-time shifts at the local water park, caring for her daughter Destinee, and supporting her husband, Travis, as he “climbs” the ranks of a shady pyramid scheme called Founders American Merchandise (FAM); Krystal’s barely holding on.
When tragedy strikes the Stubbs FAMily, Krystal is left scrambling to pick up the pieces. And in the process, she starts to unravel. It’s a slow process, but one that picks up steam with each episode. Life is simply a system to be mastered, everything is an exchange of power, and Krystal will do anything to achieve it. That includes deceiving, bribing, blackmailing, and dancing with puppets (yes, it’s as glorious as you might expect).
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Dunst, complete with braces and a rather unfortunate haircut, has never been better. Krystal is a livewire, a woman who might snap at any moment. And we’re left anticipating it, hoping she will finally go off on the men who have wronged her, on a pyramid scheme that has cheated her for years. We’re in it for the long haul, to watch Krystal finally get what she deserves. The show itself might be (intentionally) off-putting and strange to casual watchers, but Dunst is magnetic. One second she is completely naive, but the next she is riding an ATV through the streets of Florida with Destinee on her lap, and a cigarette in her mouth.
After receiving her star on the Walk of Fame, Reuters tweeted (and then deleted) this lukewarm sexist take:
In response, fans came to Dunst’s defense. For instance:
kirsten dunst could do once upon a time in hollywood but leonardo dicaprio couldn’t do bring it on
— meg zukin (@bymeg) September 1, 2019
These hysterical (not to mention true) tweets came at the perfect time: to remind viewers that no one can do what Kirsten Dunst is doing with On Becoming a God in Central Florida. It’s a performance of sorrow and humor, of righteous anger and heartbreak, and Dunst is having fun with every single moment. Give the show a chance and celebrate an actress who’s been ignored by mainstream audiences for too long.