The most beautiful picture ever taken
I came across the most beautiful picture ever the other day. It’s actress Julianne Moore in an Alexander McQueen gown holding her baby daughter Liv Helen set across a backdrop of autumn leaves.
That got me thinking of Julianne Moore and the movies I had seen her in. I eventually came to the conclusion that she was one of the bravest and most raw actresses I had ever seen on screen, engaging in everything from taboo subject matter (incest, cannibalism) to “rated-R” sex and nudity. (Let’s just say you wouldn’t be comfortable watching most of Moore’s movies with your parents). Despite how distasteful that may sound, Moore manages to bring grace and elegance to every role. (And despite how much that sentence may have sounded like an oxymoron, I swear it’s true). Many of the films Moore has starred in have elements of darkness, and such explicit content only makes the performances more powerful and real. It doesn’t matter how you may personally feel about such material – I think we all have to agree that Moore is one brave lady.
When I think of an actress that’s the exact opposite of Moore, I think of Julia Roberts. Here’s a perky, beautiful actress who’s hardly ever appeared in a movie that made you do a double take. She’s America’s Sweetheart, an actress manufactured to appeal to the common masses. She’s a Disney character for adults, a woman who appears in movies you never have to think too deeply about because they’re simply not that important. You watch Julia Roberts in movies like Pretty Woman or Eat, Pray, Love. You watch Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights and Hannibal. Which one would you prefer? I thought so.
Julia Roberts is obviously not really like that in real life. She’s a hell of a lot more interesting. It’s just unfortunate that she doesn’t act in movies which require you to think too deeply. That’s a brand she’s fine with being labeled as, and while there’s nothing wrong with that, it unfortunately makes most of her movies terribly dull to watch.
I just personally like feeling uncomfortable or unsettled after watching a movie. Because by that very definition, it affected me in some way. It made me think about what I saw, long after the film has concluded. There wasn’t a clean-cut ending. And I can count on that whenever I watch a Julianne Moore movie. Her fearlessness is refreshing. Don’t mistake that for some twisted call for attention. Moore just doesn’t like to play it safe, and for that I have to salute her.
Some of my favorite Julianne Moore films -
Hannibal
Savage Grace
The Kids Are All Right
