Which Actors and Actresses Seem to Get Naked A lot on Film?

Tags

Ewan McGregor, Helen Mirren, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Matthew McConaughey, Nudity

I recalled the other day that my last post on movie nudity got a lot of attention and interesting opinions. So I decided it would be good to delve into the subject of cinematic nudity once. This time around, I’m asking which actors and actresses appear to strip off a lot in their movies? If I had a body like some of the top stars, I’m sure I’d be fine getting naked on screen. But I digress, I will now mention the stars that in my opinion, seem very comfortable in taking it off for the screen.

Ewan McGregor:

This guy appears very at ease with his body and is more than willing to be seen on celluloid in the buff.

Julianne Moore:

The beautiful and hugely talented Miss Moore is also comfortable on doing nude scenes with a tastefulness and honesty.

Kate Winslet:

Elegance, supreme acting chops and confidence fill Kate Winslet, who has done many a nude scene and had no difficulty shedding clothes for the camera.

Matthew McConaughey:

I’ll admit if I had a body like this guy, I wouldn’t feel the need to wear a shirt ever. I mean just look at the guy.

Helen Mirren: 

A classy lady and marvellous actress, Helen Mirren has never shied away from going nude, only recently saying she’s retired her body from the screen.

So do you agree with my choices? Or do you think there are other stars who parade on screen in the buff.

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Carnage

Tags

2010's, Carnage, Christoph Waltz, Comedy, Drama, Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly, Kate Winslet, Roman Polanski

Film Title

Carnage

Director

Roman Polanski

Starring

• Jodie Foster as Penelope Longstreet
• Kate Winslet as Nancy Cowen
• Christoph Waltz as Alan Cowen
• John C. Reilly as Michael Longstreet

Based on the acclaimed play, Carnage is a darkly funny examination of a meeting between two middle class couples to smooth over a skirmish between their sons that turns into something quite different. As directed under Roman Polanski’s acute eye for body language and the power of words, Carnage is sharp, funny and dramatic viewing.

Penelope and Michael Longstreet invite Nancy and Alan Cowen over to their high-rise New York condo to discuss an altercation between their children. The Cowen’s son struck the Longstreet’s boy with a stick after an altercation, which resulted in a couple of broken teeth and a swollen face. Initially the meeting between the couples is cordial, but it soon begins to take on another form. As the couples begin to take sides on the issue of their kids, verbal assaults are thrown about and the mask of civility melts away into an extended slanging match on the differing viewpoints of class, ideals and morals emerges from this supposedly diplomatic situation. In the end, the meeting is nothing to do with the two boys, but the regression of their parents into anarchy at being in such a claustrophobic setting. Prepare for acerbic one liners, verbal jousting and fine performances from the four members of the cast in Polanski’s comedic chamber drama of niceties being dispensed with and the true self burrowing its way to the top in an argument.

The first thing to notice in Polanski’s movie is the limited but highly effective setting of the Longstreet’s condo. Polanski examines the humorous side to these middle class character’s insular surrounding with a certain amount of tension, which he is more than adept because of his work in Repulsion and Rosemary’s Baby. The condo seems to take on a life of its own and becomes almost prison like as we watch the Cowen’s attempt to leave but being halted at every opportunity. Polanski who also co-wrote the screenplay succeeds in bringing the acerbic wit to the screen with comedic and equally dramatic moments popularising this supposedly civil meeting between mature adults that descends into shouting and screaming. Roman Polanski manages to direct at a steady pace as the mask of diplomacy begins to slip and it really is amazing how he keeps us interested with such a short running time.

The biggest asset belonging to Carnage is the four main actors involved who all put in excellent work. Jodie Foster flat-out nails the role of Penelope Longstreet, a prissy woman obsessed with manners whilst being something of a snob. Her highly strung tendencies as a character really add to the comedic side of the film. Kate Winslet lets loose with her role as Nancy, the demure trophy wife whose escalating frustrations combined with too much booze lead her to extreme situations. Christoph Waltz gets some of the best lines as the ruthlessly suave and chauvinistic Alan, a lawyer constantly attached to his phone more than his wife’s pleas to leave. It is Alan who is the only character to see the absurdity of the meeting and the fact that no resolution will come of it. John C. Reilly adds humour but an underlying rage as Michael, who at first tries to calm the situation but later becomes a key instigator in stoking the flames of the already heated situations.

Making effective use of the limited setting, waspish dialogue and four great performances, Polanski’s Carnage in short is a barbed, dramatic and darkly funny account of civilised people descending into chaos.

Heavenly Creatures

Tags

1990's, Based on a true story, Drama, Heavenly Creatures, Kate Winslet, Melanie Lynskey, Parker-Hulme murder case, Peter Jackson

Film Title

Heavenly Creatures

Director

Peter Jackson

Cast

• Melanie Lynskey as Pauline Parker
• Kate Winslet as Juliet Hulme
• Sarah Peirse as Honora Rieper
• Diane Kent as Hilda Hulme
• Clive Merrison as Henry Hulme
• Simon O’Connor as Herbert Rieper

In 1954 Christchurch, New Zealand, two schoolgirls, Pauline Parker and Juliet Hulme shocked a nation when they murdered Pauline’s mother. The trial of the two girls became a sensational and notorious affair. From the diaries of Pauline, Peter Jackson fashions an imaginative, haunting and disturbing account of the effects of close friendship and the powers of the imagination when they become entwined with reality.

The film begins a year prior. Pauline Parker is an imaginative but shy young girl from a working-class background. Attending an all girls school, she meets Juliet Hulme, the more affluent of the two who is originally from England. The two girls soon become firm friends and bond over their imaginative thoughts, history of childhood illnesses and their love of tenor Mario Lanza. As time goes on, their friendship intensifies as they create a fantasy world, populated by their heroes from movies, literature and music. The world functions as an escape from the daily stresses of reality,:Pauline feels alienated from her family and Juliet resents her neglectful parents. The bond between the two becomes more inseparable, the first instance being when Juliet contracts tuberculosis. It is around this time that their parents begin to worry that the friendship between the two is becoming unwholesome and unhealthy. When Juliet’s parents insist on moving away, the two girls won’t listen and their plans to remain with each other result in fatal consequences.

The anchor of the film is the exemplary debut performances from Lynskey and Winslet. The two girls delightfully play off each other, Pauline scowling and silence counteracted by Juliet’s brash manner. The girls are never presented as villains, but as two girls intent on not being separated that they will go to the extreme to stop it. The supporting cast is equally as good, especially Sarah Peirse as the ill-fated mother. Through the use of Pauline’s narration from her diary, we get an insight into the minds of the girls and how the fantasy world they create becomes all to real for them. The kinetic camerawork used places us at the centre of the girls imaginative schemes, as we watch them laughing and skipping with abandon through a forest dressed in white or running to enter the gates of their fantasy world. The visual effects capture the childlike nature of the world, making their heroes into clay figures that talk to them. The use of the girls favourite tenor Mario Lanza helps creates a feeling of no cares or stress that the girls crave so much. Because of the excellent screenplay, the film effortlessly blends fantasy with reality to mirror the intense and complex relationship between Pauline and Juliet. Peter Jackson directs with a visual flair that never fails to surprise and helps fashion this dark and strange story of never-ending friendship and the fear of separation.

Dark, imaginative and at times bleak, Heavenly Creatures is a film that takes us into a fantasy world dreamt up by the girls, yet stays firmly rooted in the grim realities of life.  If you haven’t seen this film based on a case that still lingers in the memories of  many, I advise you to.