Wednesday, September 05, 2007

FILM | Jodie Foster, The Brave One

The LA Times interviews Jodie Foster on her new film, The Brave One.

The new film is directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), in which Jodie Foster's character was assaulted in a brutal attack that left her boyfriend dead. Unable to let go of the experience, she becomes a sort of vigilante that prowls the street in hoodie and leather - and a gun. It promises to be intense and edgy, and I am so psyched for it. Also, the poster has Jodie Foster looking all lean, mean and broken up inside. Awww.

There are a few constants in my life, one of them being The Silence of the Lambs - which still rates as one of my favourite films of all time. It was also the film where I first watched Jodie Foster - and became a fan.

She's essentially playing the same character in many of her movie throughout her career - the intelligent, high-strung woman under threat who is fighting back. (I always watch for the tensing of her jaw muscles in all her films. Next time you watch a Jodie Foster film, look out for it.) She is one of those rare actress who can carry a film on her back alone - Flightplan being the best example of a film that should have crashed and burned, but it was rescued by Foster's sole redeeming performance. (The only other actress that I can think of with this kind of charisma is Angelina Jolie - but Jodie Foster has more box-office clout than Jolie.)

Perhaps one day I will sit down and examine the mystique of Jodie Foster for me. Maybe it's her brilliance and exquisite bone structure. Maybe it's because she speaks French like a native. (French being the language that sounds seductive even when you're being insulted.) She is strong-willed, disciplined and hardworking. She is a woman of unfathomed depth. Hollywood never managed to crushed her - that's saying a lot.

Jodie Foster is the kind of woman I aspire to grow into. Whatever the reasons for admiring her, I am so going to catch The Brave One. *sigh*

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

she is definitely one woman you do not want to mess with...

this new film seems cool (if a bit samey)!

and yeah, she is superb in "silence of the lambs"!

Carl V. Anderson said...

My favorite Jodie Foster role was her bit part in A Very Long Engagement. I thought she was wonderful and beautiful and conveyed such a strong role in such a brief screen appearance. It was amazing.

Andi said...

I totally agree with you. I've loved her for a very long time. She's beautiful, smart, ambitious (great producer and director), and she makes interesting film choices. Contact and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys are two of my favorites. As was Silence of the Lambs. I'm another fan that will see this movie!

darkorpheus said...

Jean Pierre She's cool in Silence of the Lambs - but probably because it's the only Jodie Foster movie where she has ANY chemistry with the male lead. Her scenes with Anthony Hopkins were so charged.

Carl Oh yeah, I liked her very brief appearance too in A Very Long Engagement. It was kind of fun. My friends and I were like "Was that Jodie Foster? She can speak French very well!"

Andi I love Contact too! Even read the Carl Sagan novel, which was enjoyable. But I hated that they added that UNNECESSSARY romance with Matthew McConaughey's character. There was NO chemistry whatsoever between them. Have to get around to watching The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys one day. She played a nun, right?

Ever watched Little Man Tate? Another one of my favourite Jodie Foster movie.

Anonymous said...

I love Jodie Foster and I love the fact that she plays strong women characters

Andi said...

Oh, I know! The love thing in Contact was completely unnecessary! The book was great, but, sadly, I haven't read any more Sagan since then. Eek! And, yes, she did play a nun. She was fantastic.

darkorpheus said...

Stefanie Yes, she plays the smart, vunerable but steely willed woman. Maybe it's the same role over and over -- but the truth is, we don't see enough women like that in the movies. Often, you find good actresses relegated to playing the supportive wife/mother/girlfriend/girl to be rescued.

When you watch a Jodie Foster film -- you know the girl is going to get out of trouble on her own strength. I like. :)

Andi Romance in Contact was utter Hollywood rubbish.

But Contact the book -- I thought it really conveyed a sense of wonder for the world outside what we know. It was moving, and Carl Sagan really won me over with that one book that I read from him. ;p