Top 5 Performances: Emma Thompson

P.S. I should note I still haven't seen Dead Again and Carrington, which by many accounts are considered two of her greatest performances.

5. In the Name of the Father

Despite being nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, I feel like her work here is very underrated in many regards. As the lawyer defending Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) from accusations of IRA terrorism, Thompson has a less showy role than Lewis, and less of an emotional core and investment in the story as Pete Postlethwaite as Gerry's father. This relative lack of focus and material doesn't hinder her at all, though. She's absolutely dynamic in each of her scenes with Day-Lewis, playing off his volatile performance perfectly with her strong-willed and tough approach, while also displaying a growing emotional connection to the case, and is dynamite in the scenes defending Day-Lewis.  

4. Sense and Sensibility

I love the film, but I must confess, I've always enjoyed the Marianne side of things as opposed to the Elinor side. I know they intertwine quite frequently, but in both novel and film I find it's just far more interesting to see the growth in sensibility of Marianne (Kate Winslet), her disillusionment with Willoughby (Greg Wise) and Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman) gradually revealing such beautifully nuanced warmth and love (speaking of which, Rickman's performance here is probably the closest he ever got to his real-life persona, methinks; for someone who made his name with villains like the Sheriff of Nottingham and Hans Gruber, his heartfelt portrayal here is the best he's ever been). Not that the Elinor/Edward stuff is bad at all, it's actually very sweet and charming, and Thompson and Hugh Grant (here in the phase of his career where he was still believable as a fresh-faced and likable kind chap). Thompson has the most subtle role in the film I'd argue, as the most sensible of all the characters. This in turn makes her performance more reactionary than one might expect, but that's fine with Thompson as she gives an extremely nuanced portrayal of a reserved woman of her time, whose calm and cool facade nevertheless belies a truly caring heart underneath. 

3. The Remains of the Day

The film is a brilliant adaptation, one of the very best of Merchant Ivory, of one of the greatest novels ever written. Kazuo Ishiguro's deeply complex exploration of butler Stevens (here played by Anthony Hopkins), and his retrospective look over his life and career against the context of who his master (Edward Fox) was exactly, and who HE was, is, will be. I haven't done a terribly great job of going into the novel's complexities, it's extremely difficult, which is why the film cleverly does not try to encompass all of its themes. The subtext of WWII and Lord Darlington's participation in its conception is still there of course, and incredibly well explored, but the film also gives a great deal of focus to Stevens' relationship to the housekeeper Miss Kenton, and how it reveals in short bursts a different side to the reserved butler. Thompson brilliantly utilizes the stereotype of the flirty, flighty housekeepr to bring such joy and energy to the screen, sharing a terrific dynamic with Hopkins' blunt, deadpan approach that is both slightly comic and deeply introspective. Along that she brings about a slow revelation of her character's deeper feelings for Stevens beyond being just colleagues. Each scene they share together, building up towards a love that will never be realized due to Stevens' reticence, is utterly heartbreaking due to the subtlety both actors employ in their scenes together.  

2. Howard's End

Now I'll admit I actually need a bit of a re-watch for this...anyway, another Merchant Ivory production here, with Thompson playing this time round not a working-class housekeeper but a memeber of the bourgeoisie, and suitably refines her whole style of performance to that of Margaret Schlegel, as honest, likable, charming and intelligent a heroine as they come. I need to watch the film again to comment further, but I highly recommend it, it's a fine depiction of a class divide between three families, and at its centre Thompson stands the brightest in bringing some excellent low-key humour into the part, especially in scenes with Hopkins (they have such good chemistry, I hope they'll work together again sometime soon), and bring it all in the more emotional moments.

1. Saving Mr Banks

I'll admit the structure of the film might prove a bit off-putting for some, but I personally loved it a great deal. It's again not a flawless film, but I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this 'biopic' surrounding the creation of Mary Poppins, especially on the meetings between Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) and Pamela Travers (Thompson), for a multitude of reasons. The script is clever (if largely fictionalized) and at times rather effective in paralleling Travers' childhood relationship to her loving but tough mother (Ruth Wilson) and kind but alcoholic father (a great Colin Farrell), with the present-day Travers. The direction is good, there's fun shout-outs to the film, as I mentioned there's good performances all-round, but above all carrying the film is Thompson as Travers. She does the whole 'acerbic, barbed-tongue writer' routine with aplomb, and is delightfully snarky and fun to watch in every scene she disparages the work of Disney and his employees for laying waste to her creation. As she gradually lets her defenses fall though, Thompson doesn't fall into the trap of potential schmaltz and sentimentality, and instead maintains a consistent portrayal of Travers' humour and edge, to go along with her gradual opening up to her colleagues and embracing fun and joy. 

Then the last act of the film, where as always complications come up, Thompson is so powerful in bridging the heartbreaking past scenes with the present scenes, and showing a truly changed Travers. Her interactions with Hanks' Disney are all very moving to watch, and her final reactions at the premiere, though most certainly fictionalized (by all accounts Travers hated the finished product of Mary Poppins), is strikingly portrayed and hits the heartstrings in just the right way.


5. In the Name of the Father

6. Nanny McPhee (a re-watch could bump this up)

7. Stranger than Fiction

8. Love Actually (She's probably my favourite of the cast)

9. Much Ado About Nothing

10. The Tall Guy