Monday, August 2, 2010

Best Actress 1968: Vanessa Redgrave in Isadora



Vanessa Redgrave received her second Oscar nomination for playing Isadora Duncan, a controversial dancer with an out of control private life in Isadora.


Isadora is an extremely exhausting, and long movie which doesn't really work because it never tells it's story in a way that makes the story feel complete. Isadora Duncan is a selfish, annoying woman who is really unlikeable, but strangely, Vanessa Redgrave gives a superb performance despite being in a trainwreck of a movie. She pretty much plays multiple roles since the movie constantly flashes back and forth. Redgrave captures Isadora's free spirit and intelligence and how she treats her life as though it were a stage. Her best scenes, I think, are in the beginning, when Isadora is first starting out to be a dancer. Isadora catches people off guard with her unusual views and strange personality and Redgrave makes us see that Isadora is a fiery intelligent woman who does what she wants to do. She also is totally convincing as her older self, a washed up, unhinged woman who is very hard to control. She does show how Isadora is also a deeper person at times then she seems , like for example, when she has children, you can see she loves and cares about them deeply.


Vanessa Redgrave gives a superb, completely real performance which rises above her mediocre movie which gets


And I'm REALLY sorry about this huge delay which can be explained by one word: LAZINESS! I was bored and slacked off when I watched the film, but the fact that's it's so long added to my stalling of finally finishing it. Anyway, Kate's profile will hopefully be up tomorrow and I might do Neal after her, but I'll make one last try to find The Subject Was Roses before then.

5 comments:

Fritz said...

I pretty much agree with everything you said!

Anonymous said...

I've been liking Vanessa Redgrave alot more lately...gonna try and rewatch all her nominated work soon...I don't know, I've grown a new found respect for her recently.

Louis Morgan said...

Do not be too hard on yourself Joe, some boring films are just very hard to get through sometimes.

joe burns said...

Fritz: Glad you do!

Sage: Will you rewatch Morgan also?

Louis: Yeah, it was hard to get through, but I could have finished it a long time ago

Andrew K. said...

I saw this a very long time ago, but I do remember Vanessa being lovely as always. I do love her (Isadora's life was just freaky).