Verity's Book

Character Portrayal Tag

nightwraith17, who is the supreme inventor of cool tags, has come up with a tag where you list your top five favourite character portrayals in movies. Not character; not actor; just the way the character was played.

I haven't watched a whole lot of movies in my wee young life, but I'll give this a shot.

Elizabeth Bennet played by Jennifer Ehle

I love, love, love the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. I always have. I will probably watch the other version someday, but the BBC episodes nailed Jane Austen's sweet, satirical romance better than any two-hour film possibly can in my opinion.

Elizabeth is played so truly to the original. Lively, headstrong, warm-hearted, full of spark and wit. Lively -- Ehle NAILS her lively, fun-loving nature. Without the classic, blonde beauty of her sister but pretty in a vivacious way all the same. And so real. I connect intensely to her each time I watch the movie.

Aragorn played by Viggo Mortensen

I never looked twice at Blond Pretty Boy when I first watched LOTR at age eleven. While I didn't dream of crushing on any actor at that age(a true boon) it was Aragorn who had and still has my heart.

There is something extraordinarly genuine about Aragorn. Battles, orc chases, responsibility -- he lives under massive stress almost 24/7 throughout the movies, but rather than handling it like a superhero, Viggo Mortensen shows the humanity beneath. Perilous, kingly, he is still vulnerable and fallible and he knows it. The subtle expressions of a character's face say so much on screen, far more than their words, and Viggo's say it all.

Mary Lennox played by Kate Maberly

I dislike various aspects of the Secret Garden movie. Like, the whole weird sorcery deal? And Archibald Craven's dead wife is CREEPY. On a major level of creepiness. But I adore Mary. She's done so well: her childish obstinacy, and her unchildlike coldness, her secret need to be loved. Her possessiveness of the things she finds and wants to keep. Her wonder when she finds the garden, her petulant tantrums, her blossoming. When Mary freezes up, you can feel her freeze up. When she tentatively makes friends with the robin, it's like the most wonderful moment in the world. And so, despite how much I dislike the Secret Garden, for the sake of seeing Mary Lennox I'd watch it again.

Woody voiced by Tom Hanks

Night said animated characters were an option, sooooo...

I. Love. Woody. I'm worried I'm going to get incoherent here because I have so much I could say. It doesn't help that in some ways he makes me think of Mordred.

There is so much to Woody's character. And it just oozes out in every facial expression and every word he says. The diabolical look he gets when the lightbulb goes off in his brain to knock Buzz behind the dresser. His urgent need to retain his status as "top choice". I love how he gets hysterical. And the flat tone when he's sunk to his lowest point is so flat, so dead.

George Bailey played by Jimmy Stewart

Thank you Night for mentioning old movies. It's A Wonderful Life is one I watch every Christmas and every time I love George Bailey more. And I've watched three or four Jimmy Stewart movies, but none of the other people he acts, period, are as real as George Bailey.

The guy was immersed in the character. You can just tell. Every nuance is soaked in the background and situation of George Bailey. His idealism, enthusiasm, his frustration, his anger and despair are purely, painfully real.

I've watched the movie as many times than I have LOTR, and each time the finis still makes me want to cry. Because the joy at the end is as real as the frustration and fear before. The reunion is where I always tear up.

I know, I'm so lazy with tagging these days, but I hate doing it. I tag EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO DO THIS. @@@@@@ ad infinitum.