Lynn Lee revisiting Junebug, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this week…

Junebug is best known as the film that launched Amy Adams’ into the A list, and deservedly so.  Her wonderfully layered portrayal of the bright-eyed, meerkat-loving Ashley, should have taken home the supporting actress Oscar for 2005 (with apologies to Rachel Weisz).  But for a change let's talk about the best scene in the movie, in which another, more elusive character suddenly, if fleetingly, comes into focus. 

I’m referring to the scene in which George (the always-welcome, perennially undervalued Alessandro Nivola), the returning native who’s brought his new wife Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) to visit his small North Carolina hometown, attends a church social with his family.  By this point, Madeleine’s outsider status has already been made starkly clear: a long-limbed, graceful, effortlessly stylish and posh-accented art dealer whom George met and married in the big city, she stands out without even trying, like a greyhound among border collies.  George’s status, on the other hand, is more ambiguous. 

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