Saturday, August 1, 2015

In Character: Cara Seymour

Whoever Cara Seymour is playing – a scantly clad New York woman of the night, a turn of the century nun, a lowly London housewife – she’s playing it damn well. Seymour falls into her roles, adopting a look, a voice, a persona, that is different from any she’s played before. I’ve loved discovering her work over the past several years, with the roles below being among my favorites.

Five Essential Roles
American Psycho (2000)
Christie
According to American Psycho’s director/co-writer, Mary Harron, the role of doomed street prostitute, Christie, was written specifically for Cara Seymour. Harron had seen Seymour on stage and became enchanted with her expressive face. It’s a smart bit of casting, because while Christie actually says very little, everything she’s thinking – her confusion, her excitement, her fear – plays out perfectly on her face. We can see her “casing the situation,” as Harron says in her director’s commentary. Casing Patrick Bateman’s apartment, and later, Paul Allen’s, trying to figure out where these haunting nights are going. And who can forget poor Christie, tearing down the hallway of a fancy New York apartment building, banging on random doors, screaming for help? But no one’s there, my dear, are they?

Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Linda Houston
It’s difficult to describe the full weight of Seymour’s work in Lars von Trier’s masterful Dancer in the Dark without ruining key elements of the film. But Linda is a tough role to play. The wife of a seemingly good-natured police officer (played by the great David Morse), Linda is the kind of character who believes they are doing right. Based on the information they have, and the way in which they received it, they think they’re pursuit is unselfish and just. But because we, the audience, are privy to the truth, we can’t help but shame Linda for pursing incorrect righteousness. It’s a challenging juxtaposition – we won’t necessarily like Linda, but upon reflection, we can’t help but realize that she truly thinks she’s doing the right thing. This explanation of her work will make more sense once you’ve seen Dancer in the Dark, which, if you have not, you should immediately.

Adaptation (2002)
Amelia
I’ve always found Spike Jonze’s Adaptation to be a terribly funny, and heartbreakingly sad film. The movie’s dry humor is what is most often talked about, and for good reason. But this is a movie that knows emotional torment (more on that here). For example, how devastating is the scene when Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) spots his friend and one-time would-be lover, Amelia, at a party, and she’s with a guy that bears a striking physical resemblance to Charlie? It’s so sad because Charlie had assumed he wasn’t good enough for Amelia. He’s too overweight, too bald, too sweaty, too… Charlie. He has his chance with Amelia, earlier in the film, and blows it due to his own insecurities. But weeks later, there she is, with a Charlie doppelgänger, looking happy as can be. Amelia liked Charlie because he’s Charlie. She liked his mind, his intellect, his passion for classical music. It’s so sad that he couldn’t see that.

Gangs of New York (2002)
Hell-Cat Maggie
There are certainly other, bigger Seymour performances to occupy a spot on this list. Her starring work in the little seen indies A Good Baby and Beyond the Fire are two such fine examples. After all, she’s barely in Gangs of New York; she doesn’t have a single line, and is only featured in a handful of shots. But I love that, before drafting this post, I had no idea Seymour even played the part of a ferocious street warrior who bites and claws and slices in order to kill her male combatants. It’s a small role, one masked with convincing make-up, but what can I say, I just love that Cara Seymour played the hell out of Hell-Cat Maggie.

An Education (2009)
Marjorie
Some of my favorite moments of An Education are the gentle scenes between Jenny (Carey Mulligan) and her affable mother, Marjorie. They’re so detached from one another – the precocious teenager who quietly resents her timid mother – sharing but a few words here and there, both never having much to say. It’s as if Jenny fears becoming Marjorie, a quiet, soft-spoken woman all but controlled by her domineering husband. And it too is as if Marjorie fears that Jenny will become her. None of this is spoken, but rather, shared with subtle glances, looks of understanding. It’s wonderfully restrained work by Seymour, and her chemistry with her on-screen husband, Alfred Molina, is really quite something. You believe immediately that these two are married, and have the type of patriarchal union they indeed have.

The Best of the Best
The Knick (2014)
Sister Harriet
We know what to expect from nuns in movies. They’re mean, resolute, cold, detached, unwavering. Independent opinions are foreign and personalities are nonexistent. Sister Harriet in Steven Soderbergh’s brilliant TV show, The Knick, is a nun of a different breed. She smokes, she moonlights, she blasphemies; she’s smart, sassy, her own independent woman. A nun with a pricelessly dry wit, Harriet never shies from a battle, whether she’s insulting the corrupt police to their face (“The Lord loves all his children equally, though in your case, Mr. Cleary, I’m sure he’ll make an exception.”), or standing up for those who aren’t afforded the luxury of a loud voice.

Perhaps it’s in Episode 7, when Harriet puts her life on the line to protect a group of innocent black people during a race riot, that Seymour delivered her finest work on the show. Or Episode 10, when one major character on the show realizes Harriet’s other job (which I won’t reveal here), much to her shock, and ultimate appreciation. Like the show itself, Sister Harriet is a redefinition of familiar things we’ve come to expect in our entertainment. It’s also lovely that, at age 51, after nearly two decades in movies and TV, Cara Seymour is currently having her finest moment yet, with no signs of slowing down.

Other Notable Roles
in Hotel Rwanda
You’ve Got Mail (1998)
A Good Baby (2000)
Birth (2004)
Evergreen (2004)
Hotel Rwanda (2004)
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Steal Me (2005)
The Savages (2007)
The Greatest (2009)
Beyond the Fire (2009)
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974/1983 (2009)
The Music Never Stopped (2011)
I Origins (2014)


22 comments:

  1. I haven't caught all of Gangs of New York yet. But I ALWAYS keep forgetting that it is Cara Seymour as Hell Cat Maggie. Hard to believe it is the same actress who played Christie in American Psycho.

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    1. I know right?! I couldn't believe it when I figured it out. Pretty damn cool.

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  2. Oh, I fucking love Hell Cat Maggie. She's awesome and a true chameleon. I can't believe she is the same person from Dancer in the Dark and American Psycho. Anyone who can disappear into a character is the mark of a great actor.

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    1. Hell yeah man, that's damn right. Couldn't agree more.

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  3. That was her in Gangs of New York? Holy hell!

    To be honest, though I've seen her in a few things, I can't say she's ever made a huge impression on me, other than in American Psycho. And now, GoNY, I guess. I need to pay closer attention to her.

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    1. Crazy right?! I think she's so good at falling into her characters, that she can be somewhat hard to notice. She never makes it a point to make herself "the star," which I appreciate.

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  4. hello there, I'm a huge an of your blog and I just wanted to request Jennifer Jason Leigh for a future In Character list pretty pretty please xo

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    1. Thanks so much! No joke, my next In Character is Jennifer Jason Leigh! I've been focusing on female subjects for these posts lately, all building up to the great JJL. I think my choice for her best performance will surprise a few people. Thanks again for reading and commenting!

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    2. Oh my gosh, that is such a beautiful coincidence, the time I finally get the courage to comment you happen to do one of my favourite actresses :) !!! She is so under appreciated sigh, and oooh well I'm excited now, mine's a tie between Sadie Flood in Georgia and Selena in Dolores Claiborne. PS: I love actresses so keep the female subjects coming ;)

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    3. Ohhh I think you're going to like the post then :)

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  5. Cara Seymour! Like Ann Dowd, I was so happy to learn through her blogging stint on TFE that she is a wonderful person in addition to being a great actress. Her sweet Amelia, her haunting Christie, her meek Marjorie. This post also reminds me that I must see The Knick. I've really missed Steven Soderbergh.

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    1. I loved her guest blogs on that site as well. So great to learn that an actor you really admire is such a genuinely good person. The Knick is sensational. Takes a few episodes to get going, but once it does, holy shit. Soderbergh's cinematography is insane.

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  6. She's such a consistent presence in whatever film she's in. I love that you highlight these character actors/actresses!

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    1. Thanks! I agree, she is one hell of a consistent presence.

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  7. I never realized that was here in Gangs of New York. That's awesome! I love that you showcased her, she's fascinating. She was perfect in American Psycho.

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    1. So happy you're a fan of hers! SO perfect in American Psycho. That poor woman.

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  8. Thank you for putting a name to the face, for years I've been wondering who this actress was. Thanks for this post, sorry for my absence lately.

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    1. All good man! Thanks so much for reading and commenting. Happy you're a fan of hers.

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  9. Oh, nice choice. I still need to check out The Knick, but she's terrific in American Psycho. I should revisit Dancer in the Dark, as her performance is a little foggy.

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    1. Oh man, The Knick. Whatta show. Took me a few episodes to get in, but by the end of episode 3, I was totally hooked.

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  10. I love her in American Psycho. I feel so bad for her from the second she appears on screen and every time i watch the movie i hope that this time she won't get in the limo with Patrick Bateman. Absolutely a great actress. I have not seen The Knick yet, but it's a show i have been meaning to catch up with. I love almost everyone involved with it.

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    1. (sigh) Poor Christie. And it's such a sick irony of the film that it is clearly her decision to get in the limo for that second go around. The fact that he DOESN'T force her into the car is so sad.

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