MovieChat Forums > Deception (2008) Discussion > Michelle Williams wrong for the role!

Michelle Williams wrong for the role!

posted 16 years ago by sweetsaintz
24 replies | jump to latest

Am i the only one who thinks that Michelle Williams is entirely wrong for the role? She's an alright actress, but i think there are other actresses who can pull off the sultry femme fatale role much better than her. Maybe someone like Catherine Zeta-Jones, Mary-Louise Parker, or Natalie Portman. Actually, even her co-star Maggie Q would be more suitable for that role!

Can anyone think of other actresses who could do more for this role than Michelle Williams?

[–] scot3121 16 years ago

I thought she was quite good in the role of S.
After seeing Michelle in the part, I can't think of anyone else I would want to do it...
She had a sweetness about her, and I think that is the way she was supposed to play it...Otherwise, Jonathon wouldn't have fallen in love with her.

He could have sex with the other gals without much meaning, but he fell for S, and there is a difference.

[–] hammond806 16 years ago

Sweetsaintz,
I just finished watching Deception and I enjoyed the film more then many in the recent cue. I came on IMDb to see how it did at the box office and I am surprised to see it only grossed 20% of its cost. Anyway, It is interesting that you thought Michelle was entirely wrong because I thought she was entirely right. I fell in love with her character as I watched the film. She is exactly what most men want. An example, I was at a 6 day Date With Destiny seminar with Tony Robins and 1200 other people. He asked which woman in the audience thought they were sexy and a few hundred went up on stage to prove their sexiness in a contest. There were woman who were beautiful, who moved sexy, who were dressed sexy, but as soon as this one nondiscript woman entered the stage I noticed her, a woman who was not dressed sexy and was kind of shy or not trying too hard. I thought it was just my taste that I was completely drawn to this woman. The contest was won by applause by the 600 or so men in the room. Some of the sexy acting and looking woman got hardly any applause. The woman who seemed to not stand out brought the house down. There was no doubt that most of the men absolutely felt she was the sexiest woman in the room. I think it has a lot to do with vulnerability and chemistry that exists between the sexes. I thought she played the part just right. I am a filmmaker and I always look at films to see how they get us to feel emotion, maybe someday I will learn that secret.

[–] Scott-o-bot 16 years ago

I agree with both responses... she was perfect. Not just on the "sweet" level to capture Jonathan's interest, but she has an innocence about her that makes being a victim believable. She was not only a victim in the eyes of Jonathan (being helplessly kidnapped) but also to the audience because in the end she was clearly uncomfortable with Wyatt's entire scheme.

Maggie Q and Natasha Henstridge are both very sultry women who were also perfectly cast as the "office fantasy" women. They are gorgeous but also very strong and both of them would have soured Williams' role. Jonathan would never see them as women to spend his life with. Ewan McGregor and Michelle Williams were perfect "halves" of something the audience can invision as a couple.

I think every single upper-tier actor in the film was cast perfectly.

And for what it's worth, I've never seen her look better... she was stunning.

[–] Alar170-1 16 years ago

i wasn`t too happy about the script too, but one thing that made me watch this film glued to my seat was Michelle Williams. she looked exactly like a girl i would fall in love with.

Maggie q or anybody else could have not been better for the role. if i remember correct Maggie and Michelle auditioned for a part in some film at some point and Michelle got it. And i love what maggie said- she was happy to be second choice, because first choice was hugely talented actress, and it kinda made her see where she stands in her career.

[–] reverendB 15 years ago

I just read elsewhere that singer Nina Persson from The Cardigans was originally cast in this role, then she changed her mind. I've never even HEARD of this movie, but when I read that, I was curious to see who had replaced her in the cast, and what the movie was about.

[–] Alar170-1 15 years ago

Nina Persson? I am pretty sure Michelle Williams was first choice. U are mixing something up.

[–] scot3121 15 years ago

Some very interesting comments about Michelle, and I agree that she was
perfect for the role of S.

Ewan was shy and vulnerable, and Michelle was quiet and sweet.
After she met Jonathon, she could see what a sweet guy he was, and
wanted out of Wyatt's scheme.

I had never seen Michelle in any film, but I really love her acting
in this film.
I know Ewan and Michelle did Incendiary together, which is getting
blasted, but I hope they will do another film together someday.

[–] jbarrettucd 15 years ago

What is a Date with Destiny seminar?

[–] luvmoviesandmusic 15 years ago

I thought she was very good!

[–] plumlogan 15 years ago

I have to say that I was kind of distracted by her beauty in this movie. I wasn't exactly sold on her character (nothing agains the acting, just wasn't sure if the character was right), but I've never really thought of her as hot, more or less cute, but she was dead gorgeous in this film.

"Illusion, Michael. A trick is something a whore does for money...or cocaine!"

[–] dancingishi 15 years ago

well, personally i was never convinced that her character was anything actually good nor real. and i don't think she was bad for the role. but the one thing that kept replaying in my head was how thin her legs were. too skinny, i thought she should have been wobbling on her legs.

[–] cornelia123 15 years ago

Yes, it looks like indeed Nina Persson was first asked to do The Tourist (which later became Deception):

http://www.cardifans.com/?p=82

Feb 2008,

Nina Persson tried out for the movie “The Tourist”. She decided to leave after she was asked to make her hair more blond and that she would have to do a nude scene. ”It was the worst thing I’ve ever been a part of”.

The original article is in Swedish:

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article873458.ab

[–] UnprodigalSon 15 years ago

Nina Persson was up for the role of Simone which ultimately went to Natasha Henstridge. She never had the role, she decided to drop out of the auditions.

[–] iseepinkelefants 15 years ago

Natlie Portman would have been great. She can do sweet girl next door and she can also be sultry. Many other actresses can too. I just didn't buy MW's part.

I also didn't really care about S. I mean she was a girl he met on the subway and that's it. There was nothing to her. If anything he fell in lust and you could tell right from the start that she was in on it. If the writers or whoever wanted us (the audience) to believe that they were in love they could've beefed up their interactions before the "kidnapping".

The whole story was just kind of dumb. McGregor and Jackman seemed under used and I didn't buy some of their scenes. I know they're great actors, but in one part I was like 'geez they suck', they seemed to just be reading lines.

If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.

[–] jungles13 15 years ago

Terrible movie but MW was actually really good. I used to think she was almost verging on ugly but she looked real good here. Lucky Spike!

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] jjquinn 11 years ago

I also thought she was fabulous for this role!
She did appear innocent but oh so sexy!
He blond hair and how it draped over her was absolutely perfect. She displayed just the right amount of vulnerability.

[–] Lana25 12 years ago

No, you are not the only one. Though she looked way better than in her other roles she was just wrong for this part. She looks and acts just like a girl next door, nothing mysterious about her. Still, this is not the weakest link of the film, not by far. It`s just bad all the way.

______
"movies go directly to our feelings,deep down into the dark rooms of our souls." I.B.

[–] ElectricKoolaidAcid 12 years ago

Just because she looked great here doesnt mean she was- or IS- a great actress. If anything, she was just playing her usual self. Smug, quiet, depressed, then angry, then smug again.

[–] 12 years ago

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