Bryce Dallas Howard dominated M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” with a beautiful performance of intensity, ferocity, gentle sensitivity and vulnerability. She made the audience fall almost instantly in love with her character, the blind, though all-seeing Ivy.
With her flowing red locks, warm smile, and imposing gaze, the young actress appears to be to be an old soul in the body of a youth. And she has fast made a name for herself as a major rising talent.
Talking to an actress on the cusp of greatness is always interesting because in many ways the attitude she brings to interviews will define her to the media. With Howard, there is no trace of ego at all. There is, however, an excited young mother eager to discuss her role as a mom, the trials and tribulations of being a mom for the first year, etc. And, of course, there is the work.
Howard’s latest role comes in Jodi Markell’s “The Loss of the Teardrop Diamond,” from a lost screenplay written by legendary playwright Tennessee Williams. The film is the story of Fisher, a spirited young southern lady, vivacious, exciting to be around, fun loving, and perhaps in love with a young man she convinces to be her escort during the party season of the roaring 1920s.
When an incident occurs that could forever alter their relationship, she is forced to make a decision that will decide which way her life goes, and the manner of woman she will become.
Listening to the conversations of the other critics in the various theaters, it becomes very clear that this year’s fest has been something of a disappointment, the first in a long, long time.