Sorry, but the whole "I'm too cool for ....ANYTHING" attitude of this actress is wearing WAY thin!!!
I think she has potential as an actrress but a word of advice: DIVERSIFY!!!! This movie was really OK but the work required to get around her was exhausting.... More Christine Lahti- LESS EP!!!
Her character Vanessa was SUPPOSED to be an annoying, friendless young republican whose attitude gradually improved under the influence of her pot smoking uncle.
Her character Sylvia in An American Crime was the most pitiful victim you would ever want to see. Her character Tracy in The Tracy Fragments was a confused and probably psychotic teenager.
I would guess that Ellen herself is nothing like the characters she plays. As any good actor does - she merely follows direction.
OK. I will admit that I have never seen "An American Crime" nor "The Tracy Fragments" so I guess I'm just going on her performances in "Juno", "Hard Candy" and "Smart People". That having been said, I realize that just about ANY actor playing "an annoying, friendless, young republican" would be unlikeable as a character but it's just something about her hipster, bland demeanor that I find annoying. I will look for the aforementioned films and who knows? maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised...thanks.
shareI'm with you. I think she's good at what she does, but I was watching 'Smart People' thinking that she seems to play really unlikeable characters.
sharespparker was exactly right... Ellen Page was portraying a character with a pompous exterior... very much a carbon copy of her father, who has a very vulnerable, childish, and naive inner life. The fact that she tried to kiss her uncle speaks volumes about her hidden longings and her lack of understanding of how the world should really work.
I encourage the OP to look a little deeper into this character... and look beyong the snide words and sardonic facial expressions. I think Ellen Page did a great job!!
YR
I read that she only takes on roles that portray a strong-willed person, which is fine to a certain extent. I agree totally that if she wants to prove herself as an actor she needs to show diversity. I too have only seen her in Juno, Smart People, and Hard Candy. I think she does great work, really, but enough of the same character already! We get it. In real life you too are strong, smart, not like the typical young person blah, blah, blah. It's just tiresome seeing that same character portrayed over and over again.
share"It's just tiresome seeing that same character portrayed over and over again."
What? Her characters in Juno, Smart People and Hard Candy are certainly different. Haley, Vanessa and Juno are NOTHING alike.
As I said to the OP in my post up above, her filmography is really varied for a 22 year old. For example:
Her character Sylvia in An American Crime was the most pitiful victim you would ever want to see. Her character Tracy in The Tracy Fragments was a confused and probably psychotic teenager. Her character in Peacock will be a young single mother and of course her character in Jane Eyre will be very different to all of the above.
spparker, delighted to see you talking some sense in yet another thread! (I just finished watching "Smart People" an hour ago for the first time, primarily because of Ellen Page, and I wasn't seeing Juno or Haley here, either.)
Regarding the OP, it absolutely was the intent for this character to be thoroughly annoying. Same goes for the main character, her professor father. I had read in some early reviews about members of the family being completely unbearable, and wow--those reviews weren't kidding!
But that was kind of the point--introducing these screwed up characters, putting them into cringe-worthy situations, and writing a narrative in which they started to wake up to their flaws, though it took the whole movie to get there. By the end I'm not sure either she or her father have really changed that much; there's just a glimmer of hope, a possibility that they may one day work things out. That's enough, I think. I don't need the typical Hollywood ending with everything wrapped up in a bow.
The only thing I think they should have fleshed out more was why the doctor character was drawn to the father enough to keep giving him chances time and time again. I think most smart, attractive, and successful women in her situation would have had enough better choices that they would have dropped the guy early on for good.
Interesting characters, great cast, enjoyable experience. . .but it isn't as if I'm going to go out and buy the DVD for repeat viewings. 6/10.
Thanks. I agree with your assessment of the movie although I rated it slightly higher. It seems as if the director wanted to show Vanessa and her Dad changing from annoying self-centered "smart" people to somewhat more likeable characters with the triggers for change being the brother and the doctor. We get glimpses of a changed professor in the classroom at the end and a changed Vanessa accepting the new baby but not enough to convince us of any real transformation - especially with Vanessa. I did buy the DVD and I'll probably watch it again this year.
shareYes, I've noticed on many other threads too that people want movie characters to be either thoroughly likeable protagonists (white), or thoroughly villainous antagonists (dark). In other words, cartoonish characters.
As soon as people get confronted with any shade of grey, such as characters who are essentially good but flawed in a few respects (or vice versa) - interesting characters, thus - then come the WTF? reactions.
Thing is; casting directors paint her into that corner. Sometimes you have to take the best of what you're offered. As long as she keeps working with good crew and good scripts I think she'll be OK, even if some of the roles she accepts are relatively similar to one another.
It's better to be able to do one thing really well than never even rising above mediocrity. I happen to think she's capable of an impressive range, anyway, she just needs more opportunity to prove it.
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At the beginning of the film I also thought that her character was very annoying, but I warmed to her as the film progressed.
shareShe may play different characters but her own annoying, self-important, snooty personality shines right on through. Give her 10 years, we'll have another Janeane Garofalo on our hands.
share[deleted]
You mean: no she is great!
;b
If you want to see her in something different, then watch The East. Now, I am backing off before I get defensive like an obsessed person.
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