Anyone else think her best work is still in "The Cake Eaters"?
I thought she was amazing in that. It's certainly unlike anything she's done before or since.
shareYes, I have maintained for years that Kristen's performance in The Cake Eaters was indeed her best work, even surpassing her performance in Speak, the film that made me a fan of her. In addition, as good as she was in other films like Clouds of Sils Maria (for which she won a Cesar award -- France's equivalent of an Oscar), Personal Shopper, The Runaways, On the Road, etc., etc., I don't think that they surpass her performance in The Cake Eaters either.
I first saw The Cake Eaters on the big screen at The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival in early November 2007, a week or so before it was announced that Kristen had been cast as Bella in Twilight. The audience, which was mostly comprised of folks from the "silver haired generation" (they primarily came to see a film with Elizabeth Ashley and Bruce Dern, two of Kristen's co-stars in the film), were extremely impressed with Kristen's work. So much so in fact, that most of the questions asked by the audience to TCE director Mary Stuart Masterson in the Q&A session following the film were about Kristen and her performance. And largely because of her work, The Cake Eaters was voted Best American Indie at the festival.
All that being said, it is possible that my feelings on this might change once Against All Enemies gets released later this year. That is the film where Kristen plays Jean Seberg, and there has already been some talk that she just might earn an Academy Award nomination in the Performance by a Lead Actress category.
But for now however, I wholeheartedly agree with you, AngularTurnip.
EDIT: Since I posted the above, Against All Enemies has been renamed Seberg.
It will premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, which begins August 28th.