Attribution: Gordon Correll, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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By Geoff Carter
Amy Adams can be as brilliant and transparent as a freshly polished glass figurine or as dark and unknowable as a forest pool. She is an actress of startling range who can switch from the exuberant innocence of Giselle, the cartoon princess of Enchanted, to the painful ambiguity of Sidney in American Hustle, a woman so damaged by her past that she cannot bear to face herself, and so constantly reinvents her shiny veneer in order to survive.
Adams is one of those actors who, like Robert Mitchum or Spencer Tracy, hardly seems to be acting. Her screen personas appear so natural that her presence in a film seems not only right, but inevitable. She can light up a screen with her charm and innocence yet has the emotional depth and intelligence to convincingly inhabit the character of Louise Banks, the enigmatic and ill-fated linguist in Arrival whose discovers that knowledge, her goal, is also her eternal burden.
At one point in her career, beginning with her depiction of the teenaged candy striper Brenda in Catch Me if You Can to Princess Giselle in Enchanted to the loquacious Ashley in Junebug, Adams evinced the paragon of the girl next door. Then, with roles like Sister James in Doubt, Sidney in American Hustle, Charlene in The Fighter, and then Camille Preaker in Sharp Objects, Adams took on the challenge of portraying damaged, complicated characters whose emotional complexities she instilled into her persona as easily as the innocence of her earlier roles.
Part of Adams’ genius lies in the apparent ease with which she conveys the emotional centers of her characters through her eyes. Like Mitchum or Tracy, her acting technique is nearly invisible. When she burst onscreen in Catch Me if You Can, she embodied the effusive hormonal enthusiasm of a high school girl. She didn’t seem like an actress playing a young girl with a crush; she was a goofy teen in love. This level of believability doesn’t emerge from actors’ studios or any other study of acting; it resides in the emotional well of the actor’s soul. Ms. Adams has a rare talent, one that she is remarkably humble about; from all reports, Amy Adams seems to be a plainspoken down-to-earth woman who would just as soon eschew the glitter and glitz of Hollywood for a simple home life. Adams seems less concerned about her status as a leading lady than the quality and challenge of her roles. She is a national treasure. Here is a small sampling of her roles.
Amy Adams’s Ten Best Movies
Arrival: In this evocative science-fiction thriller, twelve strange spacecraft land in various locations across the planet and remain suspended above the ground without communicating their intent. Government officials enlist the skills of Louis Banks (Adams), a linguist, so that she may break the language barrier and determine whether the aliens’ intent is good or evil. During the process of deciphering the alien language, Louise works with physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) and soon discovers that language is indeed the key to understanding the reality of our existence. As Banks, Amy Adams’ strikes a beautiful balance between intelligence, intuition, empathy, and prolonged sorrow. It is a deceivingly complicated, carefully calibrated, and altogether outstanding performance.
Starring: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Forrest Whittaker. Written by Eric Heisserer from a story by Ted Chiang. Directed by Denis Villeneuve.
Doubt: In a 1964 Bronx Catholic Church, Sister Aloysius, (Streep) the conservative school principal, becomes suspicious of Father Brendan Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman) the parish priest, when begins paying particular attention to one of his students. Sister Aloysius confronts Father Brendan with her suspicions. Even though he denies all wrongdoing, the sister presses on, enlisting the testimony of Sister James (Amy Adams), a novice who believes she saw the priest engaging in inappropriate behavior. Adams, as she does in so many roles, conveys an aura of integrity, kindness, and naivete. Oblivious to Sister Aloysius’s malicious intent and her contempt for Father Brendan, Sister James follows her as loyally and innocently as a puppy. Notable for phenomenal ensemble acting of Hoffman, Streep, and Adams.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis, and Joseph Foster. Written and directed by John Patrick Shanley.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day: Guenavar Pettigrew (McDormand), a governess who has been dismissed from her fourth straight job, takes on the unexpected opportunity to become the social secretary of a Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams), a famous American actress. Thrown into the glamorous and chaotic world of show business, Ms. Pettigrew’s common-sense approach to love and life becomes the anchor in Delysia’s insane lifestyle. As Lafosse, Adams is a delicious—and unexpected—blend of innocence, mischievousness, and just plain goofiness. She is funny, spoiled, poignant, juvenile, compassionate, and completely charming. Many other actresses might have taken this character into a catalogue of preprogrammed cutesy little-girl antics, but Adams moves Lafosse into a higher emotional sphere without robbing her of any of her charisma or glamour. Adams’ chemistry with McDormand is outstanding. The film is also notable for Ciaran Hinds’ outstanding and understated performance as Joe, Pettigrew’s eventual romantic interest.
Starring; Frances McDormand, Amy Adams, Ciaran Hinds, Lee Pace, Matt Ryan and Mark Strong. Written by David McGee and Simon Beaufoy. Directed by Bharat Nalluri.
American Hustle: In this black comedy loosely based on the FBI Abscam sting operations of the eighties, Irving Rosenfield (Christian Bale) and his cohort Sidney Prosser (Adams) are busted by FBI agent Richie DeMaso (Bradley Cooper) while operating an art gallery scam. Rosenfield and Prosser agree to help DeMaso set up involving senators, representatives, and Mayor Carmine Polito (Jeremy Renner). As the duo works closely with the temperamental DeMaso, tensions boil over, loyalties switch, but, in the end, the scam is successful—more successful than DeMaso might have imagined. As Prosser, a woman who was forced to reinvent herself in order to escape her stifling lifestyle, Adams is brilliant. Beneath layers of carefully measured sexuality, charm, and masks, Sidney is a brittle personality, frightened of her true self as much as she is of any FBI agent; she is, in fact, hustling herself. Also notable for brilliant performances by Jennifer Lawrence, and Shea Whigham.
Starring: Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, Bradley Coooper, Jack Houston, and Robert DeNiro. Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell. Directed by David O. Russell.
The Fighter: In this gritty biopic of the Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) family saga, sibling rivalry and dysfunctional family dynamics lay the groundwork for a near-tragedy of epic proportions. Ward is an up-and-coming welterweight who is managed by his mom (Melissa Leo) and ex-boxer brother—and crack addict, Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale). When his mother and Dicky push Micky into a bad match and nearly ruin his career, he decides to listen to his girlfriend Charlene (Amy Adams) and leave the bosom of his somewhat mercenary family. As Charlene, Amy Adams breaks type, playing what director David O. Russell termed “a sexy bitch”. She is outspoken, tough, and as far away from Junebug’s Ashley or Enchanted’s Giselle. Yet this is no one-dimensional role. Adams’ Charlene is intelligent, somewhat charismatic, and independent—very much her own woman.
Starring: Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, Jack McGee, Frank Rezulli, and Sugar Ray Leonard. Screenplay by Scott Silver, Paul Tamsey, and Eric Johnson. Directed by David O. Russell.
The Master: In this psychological thriller, partly inspired the life of Scientologist founder L. Ron Hubbard, Adams plays Peggy Dodd, the wife of Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), founder of “The Cause”, a quasi-religious philosophical movement who takes World War II veteran Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) under his wing. Quell accompanies the family on a tour of the East Coast and eventually comes to realize that Dodd is not a prophet but a snake-oil salesman and that his movement is actually a cult. He tries to leave but is drawn back to the magnetic draw of Dodd’s personality. As Peggy, Dodd’s devoted wife, Adams is a somewhat disturbing mixture of devotion and ambition, sort of a cross between June Cleaver and Lady MacBeth. The layered performance is the perfect counterpoint to Hoffman’s zealous and narcissistic pseudo-visionary.
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Joaquin Phoenix, Jesse Plemons, Laura Dern, and Rami Malek. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.
Big Eyes: This biopic of American artist Margaret Keane (Adams), famed for her portraits of subjects with huge eyes is not only a retelling of the artist’s struggle to emerge from the shadow of her dominating husband’s shadow, but is a metaphor for the struggle of women everywhere to not only find their voices, but to keep them from being coopted by the powers that be. In the film Keane’s husband Walter (Christopher Waltz) is an unsuccessful artist (but master marketer) who once he discovers the popularity of Margaret’s work, claims it as his own. When she struggles to reclaim her work during a bitter divorce trial, she finally gets the recognition she deserves. As Keane, Adams is initially obedient and submissive to her husband’s wishes, but as she grows disillusioned with her husband’s scheme, and he becomes crueler and more aggressive, she finally fights back, and—like a hardy flower—blooms. When Keane saw the film, she commented that Adams somehow had conveyed everything she felt at the time to the screen perfectly.
Starring: Amy Adams, Christopher Waltz, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter, Jason Schwartzman, Terence Stamp, and John Polito. Written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski. Directed by Tim Burton.
Vice: This engaging biopic of Vice-President Dick Cheney (Christian Bale) follows the controversial politician from his early days as lineman to his work as a political aide in the Nixon White House to his stint as a Wyoming representative, and—finally, to his ascendancy to Vice-President under George W. Bush (Sam Rockwell). The film suggests that Cheney agreed to run with Bush only when the president-to-be agreed that Cheney would be in control of many of the executive responsibilities ordinarily accorded to the president. After 9/11, Cheney, in cahoots with Donald Rumsfeld (Steve Carrell) masterminded the American invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. While the film veers from Cheney’s political career to his family life—including the tribulations of his gay daughter Mary (Alison Pill)—and his supportive wife Lynne (Amy Adams). Portraying Lynne Cheney throughout the course of her husband’s career, Adams is in turn compliant, stern, strong, and ruthless, at times approaching a Lady MacBeth as she supports her husband’s surprising ascendancy.
Starring: Christian Bale, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carrell, Amy Adams, Alison Pill, Tyler Perry, Jesse Plemons, and Lily Rabe. Written and directed by Adam McKay.
Catch Me if you Can: In this combination comedy/caper/coming-of-age tale based on the true-life story of master forger and impersonator Frank Abagnale, Jr., Frank Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) keeps FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) on the run for years before he is finally caught. Young Frank successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a teacher, a surgeon, and a lawyer while forging millions of dollars of worthless checks. Abagnale idolizes his father (Christopher Walken) whose own business failures have resulted in the dissolution of his marriage. To prove himself to his dad, Frank, Jr. goes on his incredible crime spree. As the very young Brenda Strong, a candy striper who falls for Abagnale’s impersonation of an emergency doctor, Adams is as delightfully enthusiastic and goofy as a modern-day Gidget up until the point where Abagnale is nearly caught by the FBI. The registration of surprise, dismay, and cluelessness, all the way up to the point where she’s waiting to set him up at the airport—is priceless.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Walken, Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, Ellen Pompeo, Elizabeth Banks, and Martin Sheen. Written by Jeff Nathanson. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Junebug: In this comic drama, Chicago art dealer Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) travels to a small North Carolina town to persuade a local artist to display at her gallery. Since her new husband George’s (Alessandro Nivola) family lives nearby, they take the opportunity to visit his parents and his sullen brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie) and her loquacious and naïve wife Ashley (Amy Adams). Madeleine attends a church service with the family and realizes she knows very little of her new husband’s background. When the artist balks at showing at the gallery and Ashley subsequently goes into labor, Madeleine chooses to visit the artist rather than go with the family to Ashley’s side, much to George’s consternation. As Ashley, Adams is the embodiment of good-spirited naïve enthusiasm, a persona she cultivated over a few more films. Her ebullience and good-naturedness is so genuine, it seems as if we’ve known this girl all our lives.
Starring: Amy Adams, Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Ben McKenzie, Celia Weston, and Scott Wilson. Written by Angus MacLachlan. Directed by Phil Morrison.