A Long Time Coming: An Oscar to Celebrate the Career of Julianne Moore
Every so often, the awarding of an Oscar can feel more like a reward for years of hard work and diligence, as though celebrating an actor or filmmaker for a career’s worth of achievements. In the case of Julianne Moore – who picked up the Oscar for Best Actress, there was a sense that this was a long time coming, and though of course we were all completely in awe of her performance in Still Alice, it feels like an award to say thank you for almost 30 years of brilliance.
Moore’s performance in Still Alice – where she plays the eponymous protagonist – led to her fifth Oscar nomination, having been recognised for her roles in Boogie Nights, The End of the Affair, The Hours, and Far From Heaven. But that’s a small slice of what this talented actress is capable of, with other starring turns in the likes of The Big Lebowski and Children of Men – while her recent turn in David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars was also so good, that she’s unfortunate not to have been nominated twice in the Best Actress category this year.
It’s Moore diversity that is so impressive; her eclectic range of roles – and aptitude to be so compelling in every single one. She moves, seamlessly, between genres – she has even shown off her comic credentials on the smaller screen in the likes of 30 Rock, while dramatically, there are few like her in the world.
She has this ability to be so endearing that you find sympathy for her roles, such is the way she displays vulnerability on screen; whilst when she plays a manipulative character, someone vindictive and ill-natured, we abide wholeheartedly by that too. But the one consistent is her subtlety – so often with Moore it’s what’s not said, as opposed to what is. You only have to look as far as her performances in both The Kids Are All Right and A Single Man to prove that.
She’s often dipped into big blockbusters too, not afraid to take on a genre movie to counteract the smaller, independent roles. No doubt there’s an eye on paying the bills, but here’s an actress who just seems to love performing, to become engulfed in the world of make believe – and her acting choices are a sign of that. From The Lost World, to Hannibal to Carrie and The Hunger Games. She can even do bloody horror.
Coming up, Moore is to star in biographical drama Freeheld alongside Steve Carell, and then opposite Ethan Hawke in comedy Maggie’s Plan. It’s hard to predict which, if any, of her future roles will be back in contention at the Academy Awards, but you’d be pretty confident betting on it happening again.