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March 06, 2006
Judi, Judi, Judi, an actress in her prime
Now, a baseball player hits his prime in his mid- to late-twenties, but what about an actor?
The recent film Mrs. Henderson Presents proves that when it comes to acting, age is certainly not the factor in distinguishing an actor’s prime.
Starring Dame Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson tells the tale of a woman who yielded an enormous wealth upon the death of her husband, who puts on an all-nude review in London during the Second World War.
Dench is certainly a legend on both sides of the pond, now, but that wasn’t the case a decade ago.
Dench, 71, has been appearing on stage and screen for five decades, primarily in the United Kingdom, and was made a Dame in 1988.
Yet it wasn’t until her gut-wrenching 1997 performance in Mrs. Brown as Queen Victoria that anyone in the States gave her much notice.
Suddenly, after her royal role, she was everywherečwinning an Oscar for her portrayal of another English monarch (fiery Queen Elizabeth) in Shakespeare in Love, starring opposite Hollywood A-listers like Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, and Halle Berry, and schmoozing with James Bond.
Although she’d appeared in previous Bond outings, the prominence of her “M” character significantly increased.
Although Dench is now in her seventies, she is undoubtedly in the prime of her film career. Mrs. Henderson Presents is just another turret in this Dench renaissance.
The film itself is rather bland. Bob Hoskins is quite one-dimensional as the yin to Dench’s yang, and the film’s preachy attitude toward morals and patriotism are saccharine.
However, Dench is in top form, and she gained a well-deserved fifth Oscar nomination for the film.
She starts out with a shrewd comedic wit, throwing off quips as casually as she does her fur coat, but as the film moves along, her charming Mrs. Henderson shows a thin layer of sorrow behind her jolly exterior.
In one scene in particular, Mrs. Henderson dances in front of a mirror, which is fantastically moving. Dench doesn’t utter a word; she barely lets her facial expression shift, and yet her eyes and smile bear the sadness that she’s been hiding the entire movie.
It’s a masterful turn and truly one of Dench’s best.
Dench has many movies to pick from for her best, not just those films made after Mrs. Brown; she’s never really been at the bottom of her game.
Perhaps unlike athletes, truly great actors are simply always in their prime, waiting for their careers to catch up.
Character actors like Jim Broadbent and Imelda Staunton, who had breakout roles after years of blessing character pieces, can attest to the newfound depth of their parts.
Legends like Paul Newman and Meryl Streep, who, decades after they first shot to stardom, continue to amaze and blind us with new incarnations, show that a prime is sustainable.
When it comes to legends, whether they’ve been unseen for decades or continuously working, given the right amount of movie magic, they can nail the worthy roles with stamina and excellence.
So, go catch a legend at the pinnacle of her career in Mrs. Henderson Presents. The film may disappoint, but Judi Dench never does.
Posted by dwright at March 6, 2006 09:33 PM
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