Loving and hating Russell Crowe
Posted: Tuesday, October 07, 2008 7:00 AM by Paige Newman
Filed Under:
Movies
There are those actors I love no matter what they do (Philip Seymour Hoffman, I’m looking at you), and there are actors whose films I avoid like the proverbial plague (hi, Robin Williams), but somewhere in between those two extremes are my feelings for Russell Crowe.
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Let's hope this haircut is for a role.
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Crowe first came to my notice in the 1992 Australian skinhead flick, “Romper Stomper.” But most people really got to know him in 1997's “L.A. Confidential,” in which he plays an overly physical cop who wants to protect abused women and wishes he could be known for more than his brawn. He was a bit of a female fantasy: A man who was tough on the outside and surprisingly tender on the inside – and I don’t know a woman who didn’t fall for him a little bit in that role.
He followed up that film with a few duds (“Mystery, Alaska,” “Breaking Up”) before roaring back to form in 1999 with his turn as tobacco-company whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand in Michael Mann’s
“The Insider.” It was a tough, subtle performance and one that, looking back, should have won the Oscar over Kevin Spacey’s fine (but somewhat more hammy turn) in “American Beauty.” It also marked the last time for a while that I would enjoy a Russell Crowe film.
First came
“Gladiator,” a shiny toy of a movie that I personally fell asleep during and that netted Crowe that Oscar. Then came Ron Howard’s treacly, overly sentimental
“A Beautiful Mind,” during which my eyes got achy from rolling so many times. And I’m sure there are those of you who love those films, but as for me, I wondered what happened to Crowe. When did he become a seemingly pompous “actor” type who did important films as though he were trying to emulate Tom Hanks’ career?
Crowe had seemed to me a Richard Burton-esque actor, who moved bodily through his films like he was pushing through a crowd, and frankly, I was relieved when he indulged in a little off-screen bad-boy behavior (although Burton would have scoffed at something as wimpy as phone-throwing). And as for his alleged affair with Meg Ryan; count me among those who simply shrugged. I’d already written off Crowe after his “Beautiful Mind” performance.
Lately, though, I’ve seen a little bit of the old Crowe resurfacing. I loved his nasty anti-hero (though hated the softy ending) in “3:10 to Yuma.” And though “American Gangster” was mediocre at best, its finest moments involved Crowe, who seemed more at home on the streets of New York than co-star Denzel Washington. Crowe is starting to disappear into roles again (a tough thing to do once you’re a big star – see Tom Cruise).
I don’t expect “Body of Lies” to be the best movie ever, but I love that it’s not a film Crowe’s doing for Oscar consideration; it’s a piece of meat that he can sink his teeth into. And my favorite Russell Crowe films are the one where he eats the role raw.
Are you a Russell Crowe fan? Are there actors who drive you crazy when they waste their talents? Talk about it in the comment space below.
