What Makes Mia Special
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Mia Wasikowska
Weber4278 — 10 years ago(October 31, 2015 09:11 PM)
After seeing Mia in Crimson Peak for the second time, I was just thinking about what makes her special as an actress.
And ironically enough I think it's the thing that people tend to bash her forsubtlety.
Her style of acting requires you to pay attention to her and what she is doing, all of her emotion is in her eyes BUT you have to watch her, you can't just zone out.
Mia never overactsand some people te5b4nd to mistake that for 'dullness' and call her wooden, when the truth is she is far from being wooden.
And I will humbly confess that the first time I saw Mia, I didn't get herit took watching her several times before I finally understood her style of acting, and then all the emotion I first thought was missing was clear as day to me.
Her acting is much like her personalitymore understated, but it's all there. I think people these days just like big emotions, outgoing personalities and larger then life performances. Mia's acting is more modest and realistic and I think that puts some people off.
Just my opinion. -
LifeVsArt — 10 years ago(November 01, 2015 09:44 AM)
Today it's a very hyper, in-your-face, drama-queen kind of environment, so some people don't register subtle, or maybe they resent i16d0t - those kind of people often like to go on the internet and make attacks. But when I read some of the things also written about other actresses (YIKES!), which I find really poisonous, I understand that the internet and social media really is like high school, and many people tend to act like teenagers (even when they're adults) so they have their cliques, their favorites, and the ones they want to attack. Mia is more of a super-sensitive, empathic, outsider type of person - for some that's like waving a red flag, for others it represents all that's worthwhile and inspiring. Not to sound too poetic, but Mia offers a window into the soul - her acting is all about honesty.
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jlim80 — 10 years ago(November 01, 2015 05:26 PM)
Well said! I couldn't agree more. Except in my case, I 'got her' immediately the very first time I saw her (in The Kids Are All Right). I've always been more of a fan of this style of 'natural, realistic, albeit so subtle you don't even realise it's acting, acting'.
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SwingBatta — 10 years ago(November 02, 2015 02:19 PM)
I was sold on Mia when I saw her for the first time in Alice. I think it was because I was initially transfixed by her face more than anything; there was a touch of masculinity (probably due to her jawline) and nothing girly about her. Most importantly, she managed to
believably
stand out in such a bombastic production no matter how hard it had tried to push Johnny Depp above everyone else. The Kids are All Right then sealed the deal for me.
You four-eyed psycho. -
Weber4278 — 10 years ago(November 02, 2015 07:15 PM)
I think it was because I was initially transfixed by her face more than anything; there was a touch of masculinity (probably due to her jawline) and nothing girly about her.
I think Mia's got a wonderfully versatile look to her, which is great for an actress.
Because with the right hairstyle, make-up, wardrobe, etc, she can be very beautiful (Alice, Edith, etc) but she can also be dressed down to look rather plain as well (Jane) therefore she can play all sorts of different characters.
Whereas an actress who is super stunning wouldn't be believable playing a character who is plain, nor would an actress who is plain be believable playing a character who is a beauty.
But Mia can do both.
She can also play period characters, as her face isn't super modern and she can get away with looking believable in those Victorian costumeswhich is another thing that not every actor/actress can do. -
LifeVsArt — 10 years ago(November 04, 2015 07:42 PM)
I think Mia's got a wonderfully versatile look to her, which is great for an actress.
Ditto to everything you said - beautiful or plain, Mia can do both and be believable. She's a shape-shifter,
http://cs625419.vk.me/v625419708/4a4b5/ZTtp_veK2L4.jpg
http://cs624930.vk.me/v624930292/814d/S_fgNRyjw3I.jpg
http://cs623817.vk.me/v623817292/14110/LhVqDhoZSkc.jpg
http://cs623817.vk.me/v623817292/13f54/9z7XLLADW0Y.jpg
http://cs623817.vk.me/v623817292/13ff9/cHBlW3Ed_Ww.jpg
http://cs622528.vk.me/v622528404/1f56f/qM8Ss3Adp0I.jpg -
yakirue — 10 years ago(December 30, 2015 02:21 AM)
Like you said, her acting is realistic. She understands her character well and portrays it as the character wouldnot merely imitating or overdoing her acts. It's more like she becomes the character herself.
She's far from dull. If being an actress only means 'crying/shouting', those who've seen her in In Treatment would testify that she's more than capable of it. But Mia is more than that. She offers us real acting. Subtle but real. -
LifeVsArt — 10 years ago(February 10, 2016 08:07 AM)
Like you said, her acting is realistic. She understands her character well and portrays it as the character wouldnot merely imitating or overdoing her acts. It's more like she becomes the character herself.
That's putting it very succinctly. I find that I think about her characters, whether it be India, Sophie, Jane, Robyn, Edith, etc. separately, and as individuals, apart from Mia.
But Mia is more than that. She offers us real acting. Subtle but real.
Right. It's not about putting on an outward show to impress; it's about drawing you into the character and into your own emotions and imagination - so her performances continue to grow with repeated viewing. -
Hurricane_Marcus — 10 years ago(February 10, 2016 03:26 PM)
I can't ever remember any actress (or anyone at all tbh) having the effect Mia's had on me over the last few months..I'd seen a few of her films since Alice in 2010 without ever really taking that much notice (yes,stupid I know,tell me about it!) But since getting a collection of her dvds at xmas and watching them over and over I feel like i've been hypnotised - not only by her natural acting but her natural b5b4eauty.
But for all the great movies she's made and characters she's created I still find that three minute video she made for Vogue by Bruce Weber still to be her most hypnotic work..she is simply stunning. -
jjparish — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 03:10 AM)
NOTHING makes her special. Unless its the ability to bore the backside off an audience. She has ruined every single film i have ever seen her in. From jane eyre to stoker to alice in wonderland. She is so SO lucky that hollywood is currently obsessed by english and australian actors. Seriously she is so bad i cant otherwise explain how she keeps getting booked if not for this current mania for putting at least one average brit or aussie in seemingly every single film or tv show made in america.
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LifeVsArt — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 08:20 AM)
Here's that great Bruce Weber film with Mia as Muse, for British Vogue. I think the dogs all belong to Weber, he's known to bring his little dogs along with him wherever he goes.
But since getting a collection of her dvds at xmas and watching them over and over I feel like i've been hypnotised - not only by her natural acting but her natural beauty.
Sounds like you've been busy catching up. I'm curious, which of her films have you now seen? -
Hurricane_Marcus — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 12:55 PM)
Alice in Wonderland,Lawless (both in the cinema)..The Kids are allright,Maps to the stars,In treatment (on dvd pre my Mia fixation!).
Stoker,Jane Eyre,Madame Bovary,Only Lovers left alive,Tracks and The Double since..plus I have Albert Nobbs and Crimson Peak to catch up on next week..as for Restless, I had to switch it off after an hour as it was too heartbreaking to watch - I will finish it someday.
I have always liked her,but since xmas something's just clicked inside of me..can't explain it..she's mesmerising. -
LifeVsArt — 10 years ago(February 11, 2016 07:31 PM)
You've seen all those movies for the first time since Christmas - that's some pretty intense viewing! Have you seen some of her early Aussie short films? Those are the films that landed "In Treatment" for Mia, which is what got her rolling. Here's a good example.
https://vimeo.com/75650064
"Skin" -
Hurricane_Marcus — 10 years ago(February 12, 2016 03:20 AM)
Yes thanks SwingBatta..I have already got Cosette saved on youtube but haven't got around to watching it yet..I think there are a couple of other early shorts she made out there too somewhere which I need to find.
LifeVsArt.."intense" is a very good word to describe my viewing habits towards Mia over the last couple of months,hah!..she's taken me on a rollercoaster..I think my favourite performance so far would be between India and Agatha Weiss..she plays a lot of "loners" ~ who I always find much more interesting (on screen and in real life ~ like you want to dive in and save them ~ so to speak).
Do you two have any particular favourites? -
LifeVsArt — 10 years ago(February 12, 2016 07:25 AM)
she plays a lot of "loners" ~ who I always find much more interesting (on screen and in real life ~ like you want to dive in and save them ~ so to speak).
Really good point, Hurricane_Marcus - her characters tend to be social outsiders - they're not joiners, they march to their own drummer, whether it be Jane Eyre, India Stoker, Robyn Davidson or most of them. I would point to Ava from "Only Lovers Left Alive", who seems quite trendy and happy with the social structure, as not being a loner, quite the opposite. Of course, what she's adapted to is contemporary vampire society.
I don't know if I can pick any favorites. The very first performance I saw her in was as Sophie in "In Treatment" - and that made a very deep impression on me. She probably had more dialogue in those nine half hour shows than all of her other films put together. But so many of her other movies, from "Jane Eyre" on, have impressed me as much, just in a completely different way. In "Tracks" she barely speaks, but words aren't necessary in film, especially when the eyes are able to express so much.
