Born on December 3, 1960, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Julianne Moore is one of the greatest actors of our time, and in my opinion, ever. With one of the most compelling and distinct filmographies of any working actor today, Julianne Moore has consistently taken risks and made bold choices. She has worked with a slew of lauded directors, including Todd Haynes, David Cronenberg, Robert Altman, Pedro Almodóvar, Lisa Cholodenko, Paul Thomas Anderson, Rebecca Miller, and many more.
I can still remember watching her on-screen for the first time in The Hours (2002), way back when Blockbuster was still around. My mom had taken me to rent a movie, a Friday night treat. It was one of her favourites, she’d said. And it quickly became one of mine, too. For I was so struck by Moore’s performance, by her presence, by the way she moved, by all that she communicated with her eyes in a way that I hadn’t ever seen before. With that performance, she showed me all that acting could be, and I never forgot it.
Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of watching a great deal of her filmography. I distinctly remember watching her win an Academy Award for her performance in Still Alice (2014), my entire family and I, erupting into cheers as she went onstage to accept the well-deserved award. I was, and still am, endlessly inspired by her work, and well, her. So for her birthday, I’ve compiled a list of (some of) my favourite Moore performances, which I think showcase her talent, versatility, and that always make me feel something. Julianne Moore is an actor who always imbues her characters with infinite precision and an expressive face; she is always redefining what it means to be great, so it was nothing but a pleasure to write this piece in celebration of her.
Safe (1995)
“I love you. I love you. I really love you.”
A 1995 film directed by Todd Haynes, marking Moore’s and Haynes’ first of what would be many collaborations, Safe follows Carol White, a young housewife living in suburban California in the 1980s who comes down with a debilitating illness with no clear diagnosis. As a huge fan of both Haynes and Moore, Safe is one of my all-time favourites, and I believe a film everyone should see, as it’s just as relevant and just as poignant as it was when it was initially released. Having done a few films before Safe, many regard this as Julianne Moore’s breakout role. Though it was received poorly at the box office, by the end of the decade, it was named one of the best films of the 1990s, and for good reason. Safe is, from start to finish, an incredibly gripping and all-consuming story, but what makes the film as memorable and haunting as it is is Moore’s performance. As Carol White, Moore gives one of her most breathtaking and nuanced performances, and we watch her completely transform over the course of the film's 119-minute runtime. When we first meet Carol, she is seemingly content, or better yet, complacent with her life. The routine of exercise classes, work dinners, and picking up the dry cleaning is her life..until it isn’t. We watch as this mysterious illness begins to plague her life and up-route her entire existence.
What makes this performance a must-watch is all that Moore is able to convey in the small, minute gestures and in her eyes. Upon watching an interview for the film with Haynes and Moore for the Criterion Channel, she spoke about how she made a deliberate decision to speak as lightly and softly as possible because she felt that Carol tries to take up as little space as possible. She also made a point of Carol having trouble stringing together sentences because she has never been given the chance to speak for herself or take up space. There are no huge screaming matches or showy breakdown scenes in the film, but that’s what I love so much about it. Safe isn’t afraid to make you uneasy, to fully take you along for the ride, so much so that you feel as if you’re along for the ride with Carol.
Moore fully transforms into the role, so much so that by the final scene, you feel as if you really have been on this tragic journey with this woman, knowing that her future is destined to be an unhappy one. It’s in the physicality she creates and the small adjustments she makes to her speech patterns that change everything about the performance, and that makes it one of her finest performances. It is impossible to finish Safe and not want to spend the entire afternoon or evening talking about it, truly. I feel like it’s a film and a performance that stays with you forever, or rather, it certainly is for me. Safe is a film everyone should watch as it puts Moore’s talents on full display (as well as Haynes, and if you ask me, it is a perfect film. It showed audiences the breadth of talent Moore possesses, the start of an incredible partnership between her and Haynes, and an absolutely unforgettable start to what would become a prolific career. Carol White is a character who will linger in your memory forever.
Available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube (Canada)
The Hours (2002)
“It was death, I chose life.”
One of my favourite films of all time, The Hours stars Moore, Meryl Streep, and Nicole Kidman. A total dream cast. The Hours was my introduction to Moore, and what an introduction it was. Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Cunningham, The Hours is a powerful and moving story about three women who are all connected by Virginia Woolf’s iconic novel Mrs. Dalloway, all of whom are searching for more potent and meaningful lives. Their stories intertwine and come together in a moving moment of shared recognition. In the film, Moore plays Laura Brown, a housewife in the 1950s in California with her husband, Dan (John C. Reilly) and her son, Richie (Jack Rovello, Ed Harris). If I had to pick just one Julianne Moore performance, it would be this. Moore’s performance as Laura Brown is simply life-changing. Upon watching the film for the first time as a teenager, I was left galvanized by her (and I still am whenever I re-watch this).
Moore’s performance as Laura is a masterclass in subtlety. As someone who has watched the film many (many) times, I can tell you that she has the least amount of dialogue of any of the women, a fact of which I was quite struck by because Moore created such a rich and multi-dimensional inner life for Laura that I felt like so much more was said. But she didn’t need to, as Moore conveyed everything through her eyes. You immediately understand and feel everything that Laura is feeling because of the look in her eyes. You feel her isolation, her loneliness, her despair, and your heart breaks for her. And continues to break for her. You see, and you understand every decision she makes. One of my favourite things about watching Moore act is the rich internal life that she creates for every character she plays. As is displayed through Laura, she can convey everything in a single glance, and I find that to be one of the most powerful and astonishing things about her work.
It’s in the silences, the quick glances, the slight change in one’s physicality, that bring incredible depth to a character, and Moore brings that to Laura Brown, and then some. In a film with outstanding performances from all of its leading actresses, Moore’s performance as Laura Brown left an indelible mark on me. Not only did it introduce me to her work and made me a fan for life, but it also showed me all that a great performance could be, and Laura Brown is a performance that has and will stay with me forever.
Available to rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube (Canada)
Gloria Bell (2018)
“When the world blows up, I hope I go down dancing.”
A remake of the 2013 film Gloria, Gloria Bell, directed by Sebastián Lelio, stars Moore as Gloria, a woman learning to live life on her own terms. Gloria Bell is, in my opinion, one of Moore’s best and most underrated performances. An at times melancholic film, what I enjoy most about Gloria Bell is its quiet and introspective nature. The film almost feels like a documentary at times because of how quietly and closely the film follows its titular character. Really, the film is a character study, which is one of my favourite kinds of films to watch. And while Gloria Bell boasts an incredible supporting cast with the likes of John Turturro, Holland Taylor, Michael Cera, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and more, the main focus is on Gloria, and Moore’s performance is simply unforgettable. We watch as Gloria navigates her day-to-day life, and all of the joy and sorrow that comes with it. We watch as she navigates dating, her job, being a part of her adult children’s lives, and more.
Gloria Bell really, truly feels like someone all of us know. And that’s thanks to Moore’s performance; she brings this character to life in a way that feels authentic and lived in. Gloria experiences the highs and lows of dating, watching a child move away and so on and so forth, and the way that Moore conveys her emotions while navigating these events in life is moving and memorable. What is perhaps my favourite part of Gloria as a character, and throughout those scenes in the film, is Gloria’s passion for dancing. From the start of the film to the very end, we see Gloria at her most free when she’s dancing, and it’s glorious to watch.
The most moving and memorable part of the film to me is towards the very end, as we’ve watched Gloria go on this journey of self-discovery that has definitely had its ups and downs, and we’ve watched her lose herself. Though in the final scene of the film, we watch Gloria find herself once again, as she gets up to dance to Gloria by Laura Branigan. The dance is beautiful, moving, life-affirming, and cathartic as we are watching Gloria come back to herself. I can’t help but be moved to tears every time I watch that scene because of what Moore is able to convey. She gives us so much just in that singular, five-minute scene. But you really do feel like you know Gloria because of Moore’s performance. You’ve watched her loneliness and her joy and everything in between so that by the end, you want nothing more than for her to get up and dance, and when she finally does, it’s magic.
Available to stream on Prime Video, Tubi, and Hoopla and rent on Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube (Canada)
Maps to the Stars (2014)
“I pick you up off the street and give you money so you can be late for work and have your period on my furniture! Do you think Carrie Fisher and Nicole Kidman have creepy little animals working for them?”
While there were many films/performances I thought about selecting for the fourth and final spot on this list, I wanted to craft a list that showcases Moore’s incredible versatility, as well as the wide variety of styles of films she has been a part of. Maps to the Stars, directed by David Cronenberg, follows Moore, along with a cast of Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson, John Cusack, and more, as people driven by an intense need for fame and validation, no matter the cost. All are haunted by the ghosts of their past, and all must come to terms with said ghosts and pay the price. Moore stars as Havana Segrand, a movie star who is quickly fading from the limelight, of which she is desperate to remain a part. Moore gives a performance that is unlike anything you’ve seen from her before in this film. As Havana, she is self-centred, superficial, not particularly likable, and clearly very wounded from her relationship with her deceased mother (Sarah Gadon), but despite all of that, you can’t help but be incredibly compelled by her and drawn to her.
In Maps to the Stars, Moore commands the screen and steals every scene she’s in. With an incredibly affecting performance, Moore adds depth to Havana and brings to life a character that could easily be a one-note caricature. As aforementioned, yes, Havana is not easy to empathize with, but despite that, Moore shows us that underneath all the superficiality, she is, at her core, a very sad and very lonely person. She shows us that Havana’s desperate attempt to cling to fame is because, at her core, she is empty and has nothing else. And while you may leave that film necessarily feeling she has redeemed herself in any way, you do feel as though you understand her. As Havana, Moore gives an unforgettable performance and as the polar opposite of say, The Hours, as it gets. Rather than seeing an introspective performance, imbued in subtleties and quietness, Havana wears her emotions on her sleeve. She says what she wants and exactly what she is thinking, and Moore simply disappears into the role.
What’s more is that in 2015, Moore took home the Oscar for her stunning and heartbreaking performance in Still Alice, but Maps to the Stars came out in the same year, and Moore won the award for Best Actress for her performance in said film at the Cannes Film Festival. Films about Hollywood and the cost of fame are always compelling, as is proven true with films such as Mulholland Drive (2001), Sunset Boulevard (1950), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), and more, but Moore’s performance sets itself apart as different and distinct in its own regard. One can’t look away when she’s on-screen. She created an unforgettable character with Havana, and one that you will be thinking about long after the film has finished. But that is the joy of watching this film, and any film with Julianne Moore.
Available to stream on CBC Gem and Disney+ and rent on Prime Video and Apple TV (Canada)
To get to watch Julianne Moore act is very special. The variety of characters and stories that we, as audiences, have had the pleasure of watching over the years leaves me constantly amazed and constantly inspired. She is an actor who is always taking risks, and though she is at the top of her craft, she always seems to be striving to try something new and to tell new stories. She is an actor with the immense ability to convey everything with her eyes and one who carries an on-screen presence like no other. When Julianne Moore is on-screen, you can’t bear to look away, for she simply commands the screen. Over the years, she’s played characters that have made us laugh, made us cry, made us angry, helped us feel seen, helped us feel represented, and everything in between. She is, without question, one of the greatest actors of all time.
If you’ve made it this far, I hope you will consider watching one of the films I’ve written about, or one of the many great films not on the list that is perhaps your personal favourite, or one that’s been sitting in your watchlist for ages. Whatever the case may be, I implore you to watch something with Julianne Moore in it today and celebrate one of the greatest actors to grace our screens. Happy Birthday to a legend who helped me fall in love with acting and film years ago, and who continues to move me and show us all beautiful and incredible artistry. Happy Birthday, Julianne Moore!
Honourable Mentions: Far From Heaven (2002), Boogie Nights (1997), May December (2023), Still Alice (2014), Short Cuts (1993), Magnolia (1999), The Room Next Door (2024), Vanya on 42nd Street (1994), A Single Man (2009), Crazy Stupid Love (2011), The Kids Are All Right (2010), Mary & George (2024)
Photos: Letterboxd
Comments
Post a Comment