To Uma on her 50th Birthday

Happy 50th Uma!by Mark Brinkerhoff 

There is the world before Uma Thurman, and the world after Uma Thurman—or at the very least for the world of actressexuals (unite!). A movie star like no other, her origins are almost as mythical as her stature. The daughter of an erstwhile Buddhist monk and a former high-fashion model—I kid you not—Uma, as mononymous as any great, was born on this date in 1970 and lived mainly in the rural environs of interior New England and upstate New York (Woodstock, to be exact).

 

A self-described awkward, introverted child, she nonetheless cut an arresting figure, catching the acting bug early. She followed in her mother’s footsteps as a professional model starting at the tender age of 15. 

 

Uma's early Vogue cover. Shot by Patrick "We have Patrick" de Marchelier

 

Soon enough she landed in magazines and on the cover—twice—of British Vogue, where her Amazonian proportions and striking visage were put to effective, glam ‘80s use...

I first recall seeing Uma in a 1988 teen comedy (?) entitled Johnny Be Good, which starred Anthony Michael Hall in that halcyon period when he was no longer a pipsqueak (à la Sixteen Candles), but not yet the scary, hulking jock who would appear before us in Edward Scissorhands just a few years later. Uma played, of course, the token girlfriend, and she, like the film itself, didn’t register too prominently. Little did I know then that this was an actress who’d be making big impressions and getting big opportunities to shine that very same year. 

 

Barely an adult, she embodied the Goddess Venus in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and rounded out the year as the nubile Cécile de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons, holding her own splendidly opposite…Glenn Close and John Malkovich. The ‘90s had loads more in store.

 

I am mother nature.

When I think of Uma, I think of the 1990s. Sure, she had her share of turkeys (The Avengers, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Final Analysis—oy), but she also had more than a few iconic star turns. And for someone with outsized star power, she met her match with those who, in her, found their muse. Be it a frisson of fluid sexual energy (as in Philip Kauffman’s Henry & June), a shot of pure adrenaline (Quentin Tarantino’s seminal Pulp Fiction), or a taste of poison (Joel Schumacher’s career-icing Batman and Robin), Uma came ready to deliver, with a wink and a nod, as needed. (Why wasn’t everyone else on her Poison Ivy’s wavelength?)

It’s weird to think of Uma, like Jake (or Maggie) Gyllenhaal, as only a one-time, best supporting acting nominee. Even in under-sung supporting roles in ‘90s movies that time forgot (Beautiful Girls, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, etc.), Uma is as winning and as wonderful as the material allows her to be. Which is what makes that rough, dry patch of lackluster projects from the late ‘90s to the early ‘00s ultimately tolerable. There was gold in them thar hills, and it came in the form of Mira Nair’s Hysterical Blindness, immediately followed by the film(s) that became her magnum opus, Kill Bill.

Yes, you should attribute the success of Quentin Tarantino's 2003/04 masterpiece as much to Uma as to him. “The Bride” is a creation that lives or dies on its depiction, and no actor could’ve done it more painful, brutal, brilliant, cathartic justice than Uma (or with as much intense, yet graceful, physicality, I might add). To say that The Bride, Beatrix Kiddo, remains unrivaled in the film, Uma’s filmography or, dare I say, Tarantino’s filmography as a whole, is an understatement. An incredible character like this comes around, inshallah, once in a lifetime, and Uma made the absolute most of it. Today, nearly two decades (!!!) on, Beatrix Kiddo remains as awesomely (re)watchable as ever.

For us Uma fans, the past decade or so has been… a little disappointing. But Hollywood, as we well know, has limited imagination and even more limited motivation to produce high-quality stories for actresses of a certain age, even for ones as talented as Uma. So, while there have been the occasional, scene-stealing ‘Mrs. H’ parts (though, having been thoroughly disgusted by Lars von Trier’s latest, I wouldn’t suggest she work with him a third time), we anxiously await her inevitable return to form. Because, seriously, the time is due. The time is now.

So on this, Uma’s 50th birthday, we wish her all the opportunity and the ability to do what she loves for those of us who’ve loved watching her do it onscreen lo these many years. And, hopefully, many more.

Comments

[Fabitof]

Happy Birthday, Uma! Although I love her in "Kill Bill", my favourite movie of hers is "Gattaca", such a masterpiece.

[Joe G]

She’s such a specific screen presence and one I really love. Her performance as Mrs. H is Nymphomaniac is still one of my favorites of hers, and one of my favorite supporting turns of the last few years. Her intensity is unmatched!

I got to see her on broadway, and watching her move is mesmerizing. I hope she gets some truly great roles (and hardware) this decade!

[NATHANIEL R]

Thank you Mark. This post brought back so many memories. I will never forget the first time I saw her (Dangerous Liaisons) on the big screen. and have loved her ever since,

[markgordonuk]

She's very much of that mid 90's era mega fame actress with no real hit movies.

[Gio]

She's not easy to cast, for sure. But perusing through her filmography, I was disappointed at the quality of most of the movies she got involved with. The problem was she was trying at first to be a star and then to be respected. She should've aimed to make movies with independent filmmakers out of the 90's and 00's. I would've loved to see what the likes of Spike Jonze could have done with her.
To me, her best straight performance is in Hysterical Blindness. It was cringy and painful to watch her desperately look for a connection with a man. And the way she and Juliette Lewis played off of each other felt so real. She really showed her range there... and playing a Jersey girl for goodness' sake!

[Tyler]

I love Uma Thurman!

Question for everyone - could you guys have seen her in some of Blanchett's more recent roles? Blue Jasmine, Carol, etc.?

[SoSue]

Total random thought...but I could see Uma playing Princess Diana.

[Jonathan]

... Oprah?

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[adri]

I love the idea of Uma Thurman as CAROL!!!

[Tyler]

Oh! I wanted to add that she is also really terrific in the little-seen Merchant/Ivory adaptation of Henry James' "The Golden Bowl." I quite like the film, too! Definitely check it out if you can find it.

[Bhuray]

Top 5 Uma Thurman performances and go!

[NATHANIEL R]

Bhuray -- I'll take you up on that.

1. Kill Bill
2. Henry & June
3. Pulp Fiction
4. Nymphomaniac
5. Hysterical Blindness

Tyler & Adri -- yeah omg. I can totally picture her as CAROL now. Not that I'd want any frame of that movie reshot but her career *could* be different if some auteur other than Tarantino were also obsessed with her.

[Cláudio Alves]

Bhuray -- My top 5 Uma Thurman performances would be something like this...

1. Kill Bill
2. Henry & June
3. Nymphomaniac
4. Pulp Fiction
5. Gattaca

Honorable Mentions: I love her camp grandiosity in Batman & Robin and as Medusa in the first Percy Jackson movie. The flicks may be lousy, but she's great fun in both of them.

[Travis C]

1. Pulp Fiction
2. Kill Bills
3. The House That Jack Built
4. Nymphomaniac
5. Tape

[thevoid99]

I do love Uma Thurman. I hope she gets a comeback and hopefully QT will give her a meaty role with her daughter Maya in a small part as she did appear in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Yeah, the last decade hasn't been great for Uma despite appearing in two films by Lars von Trier.

As Poison Ivy, it didn't work for me though I don't really think it's her fault. It was Joel Schumacher's fault for playing up the camp element that didn't work but it is also Akiva Goldsman fault for the awful dialogue she was given. At least Schumacher has taken responsibility for the failure of Batman & Robin but Goldsman is for some goddamn reason still gets work and that is bullshit. Plus, A Beautiful Mind fucking sucked.

[Mirko]

1) KILL BILL
2) PULP FICTION
3) BATMAN & ROBIN
4) EVEN THE COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES
5) NYMPHOMANIAC

But I never saw TAPE and HYSTERICAL BLINDNESS