Monday, October 9, 2017

The Emmy goes to Reese Witherspoon

I know. The Emmy actually went to Nicole Kidman. I think Reese Witherspoon deserved it more. Make no mistake here, Nicole Kidman put it an award-worthy performance in her role in Big Little Lies. However, for me the award would go to Reese Witherspoon. I get that Nicole Kidman played a more understated, albeit more nuanced performance compared to Reese Witherspoon which I imagine was based on their characters but still for me, Reese Witherspoon played the more consistent and authentic role in Big Little Lies. Her lines, on comparison were more endearing. It is possible that Nicole was favoured over Reese because of the physical investment in her role, the violent sex scenes and the physical assault taken from her co-star. Reese truly inhabited her role and was utterly believable. At times it seemed an effortless performance. Like this was trully Reese Witherspoon in real life. And that is the mark of fine acting. Kevin Spacey said an actor should never be caught 'acting' they should seamlessly inhabit the character and be one with it. Reese Witherspoon fit the bill. They said Big Little Lies was 'desperate housewives' fare but I found it a more sophisticated take. The series actually reminded me of American Beauty-the 2002 hit starring Kevin Spacey. American Beauty-look closer.