Maggie Gyllenhaal demonstrates her range as an actress in the little-known but critically acclaimed Sherrybaby. Gyllenhaal is a household name by now, though she hasn’t been in too many blockbuster movies. In fact, as of 2011, her only film that earned more than $75 million at the box office was The Dark Knight, which would have made its money regardless of whether she had been in it. This statement doesn’t mean to take anything away from Gyllenhaal. She is a very talented actress and will be a Hollywood A-lister for the next decade and more. However, in the movies I have seen her in thus far (namely Stranger Than Fiction, Crazy Heart, The Dark Knight), I’ve seen her play the same sweet girl next store who is likable, urns heads, and puts the needs of others before her. There’s always a fear that if an actor repeatedly plays the same character, she will be typecast and find it difficult to break that mold. Seeing Gyllenhaal star as the lead character in Sherrybaby showed me that she has the range and won’t allow herself to get pigeonholed into that same sweet character we’re accustomed to seeing her in.
Category Archives: Addiction
Half Nelson (2006)
Ryan Gosling is quickly earning a reputation for playing characters with seemingly good hearts, but with deep flaws that prohibit his characters from achieving greatness. Whether it be his quick Ryan Gosling is quickly earning a reputation for playing characters with seemingly good hearts but with deep flaws that prohibit these characters from achieving greatness. Whether it be his quick temper, drinking, or lack of ambition in Blue Valentine, his unbelievably extreme case of social anxiety in Lars and the Real Girl, or his much too overly confident posture in Fracture, Gosling plays characters that you root for at one moment and sympathize with the next. At the same time, you are trying to figure out how he gets so entrenched in each of his roles. If you have not seen any of the movies mentioned above, do so. You’ll be in for a treat. If you want to see his best performance to date, check out Ryan Fleck’s (Sugar, It’s Kind of a Funny Story) highly under-appreciated Half Nelson. Now, I say highly under-appreciated loosely. Half Nelson has received a 90% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes but only $2.6 million at the box office, a somewhat disappointing number.