MovieChat Forums > Beowulf & Grendel (2006) Discussion > Selma

Selma

posted 16 years ago by rmouts1
11 replies | jump to latest

After the other roles were cast, the filmmakers realized they could afford only a D-level actress to play Selma. They got what they paid for! The film was rolling along nicely for me, and then Selma was introduced and she said a few lines and, crikey, I thought I was watching a grammar school production. Selma's performance represents the ultimate in wooden acting. Not only was her accent (American or Canadian) out of place in such a period piece, but her lines were delivered as if reading from a cookbook. A few turns on the casting couch are what landed her the role, I think!

[–] varialectio 16 years ago

I think Sarah Polley is a good actress (if I remember right, she was in the Dawn of the Dead remake and I thought she did a stellar job there), but I do think she was miscast in Beowulf and Grendel. I did find her accent rather distracting.

I didn't mind the addition of the Selma character, but I do wish they had chosen a different actress, maybe a Scandinavian, British, or Scottish actress.

[–] starrywisdom 16 years ago

They could have picked a better name for the character. Something that sounded, you know, more NORDIC? Supposedly "Selma" is a Germanic name meaning "helmet protection" or something similar, but it sounds more to me like the name of some little babushka grandma from the Bronx... When you have all these heroic names like Beowulf and Breca and such, couldn't they have managed something like Signe or Ingunn or Thorhild?

Plus the accent was awful as well.

[–] Lopsided55 15 years ago

I think it's weird people think she should have faked an accent for 6th century Daneland. It's not like they would have been speaking English. It's not any more out of place than Scottish.

[–] ChaosPayne 14 years ago

She was brought to the country as a slave she could have been from anywhere.

[–] Lilibetp 15 years ago

Yeah, I was pretty distracted by Sara Stanley using the f and c words. Might have worked if she had played the role in a different way. But then, I've never been as impressed with Sarah Polley as a lot of people are.

[–] Blue_Jaunte 14 years ago

Couldn't agree more. I actually came here to see if anyone else had already mentioned it.

[–] harvey-57 14 years ago

I think the whole Selma thing was done on purpose.
She was suppose to be a modern woman...with a totally anachronistic accent, outlook, belief system.
She's the "modern person" reading the dark ages story.

I'm not sure it worked exactly, but I think that was what they were going for, and I'm sure that's how Polly was directed in it.

Randy lay there like a slug. It was his only defense.

[–] thisandthatintx 14 years ago

I loved this movie and all the actors were great but Selma had "ZERO" sex appeal...IMO.
What was going on with the hair on the back of her head? Was that a big tangle or a braid? The warriors had better hair than her. She was just a mess...but I still love the movie (:

BEOWULF
By Odin's will...

UNISON
...let us find our way home.

[–] seree 13 years ago

The hair was definetely scary. I could only imagine was sort of creatures were living in it.

I agree that she was all wrong for the role. She went overboard with the "modern" attitude at times, and she had more chemistry with the troll than she did with Beowulf, and she and the troll hardly interacted. I still can't decide which love scene was weirder.

I thought the character had potential, and was actually quite interesting. The actress is the only thing, for me, that brings the general movie performances down a bit.

[–] sugarteacream 13 years ago

blah blah blah, she was the most attractive thing about this awful, dirty-looking film. All the men looked like they were from a 70s Macbeth remake, that they make you watch in school - dirty, dull and disgusting. However, I suppose Beowulf was passable. But you people must be so used to boring fake, plastic, edited playboy images; or like straightened hair flat to the head - which is way worse and more *beep* repulsive looking than the character of Selma's hair.

[–] NameoftheGame 8 years ago

You're dumb as hell. Do you understand anything about acting? Sarah Polley was the best thing about this movie. Get your *beep* together and learn a thing or two about drama, you moron.