Johnny Simmons: Anika Noni Rose

Showing posts with label Anika Noni Rose. Show all posts

Friday, 11 March 2011

Flashback: Dreamgirls

0 comments Posted by 2011 at 17:34

Dreamgirls and Cold Mountain have a somewhat similar history. Both were fêted as shoo-ins for Oscar Picture glory when they were in post-production, both of them racked up a slew of nominations (7 for Minghella’s piece, 8 for Condon’s) without managing to attain that elusive best picture nod. More importantly, they both won that Supporting Actress statue – performances which have gone on to be reviled in many circles. I happen to be more than a moderate fan of Cold Mountain (which I’ve reviewed before) but I’m often indecisive about where my feelings on Dreamgirls lie.* I gave it a somewhat knee-jerk B+/A- when I was doing my 2006 in review post over a year ago. I do like Dreamgirls for all its issues – of which there are many. Watching it recently, a number of things that struck me about all the times I’d seen it before resurfaced, but some even more interesting things came to mind.

I still think of Dreamgirls in context of its supporting actress, although it’s not Jennifer Hudson I turn to but Anika Noni Rose. Perspective is such a great thing, and taking Noni’s recently strong work in For Colored Girls I put even more credence in her work as Lorrell Robinson. It’s more than her age defying ability to encapsulate the youth of Lorrell (who’s half her age) – character consistency is a beautiful thing, especially in a musical like Dreamgirls which, unlike something like Moulin Rouge, takes great pains to be a slice-of-life. When Noni Rose plays opposite Murphy on that tour bus (“You’re so crazy, Jimmy”) or breaks down, almost facetiously, in a dressing room (“Nobody’s breaking me and Jimmy up”) she manages to retain that strident character consistency that’s so necessary in the drama, and that seems more than occasionally lacking in her costars.

Still, I find that this time around I have a little more commendation for the cast itself. Although I am no champion of Hudson’s performance I find it easier to praise her collective delivery – even I applaud her enthusiasm more than her execution. No amount of jaunty editing could conceal her terrible dancing, which is no judgment on her acting ability but suggests an insufficiency in the casting area. It makes Effie’s resultant firing logical, because truthfully she is something of lead-weight if she’s not in the lead-spot, musically. She gets highest praises for “And I Am Telling You” which is odd, since her passion on “I Am Changing” is so much more piercing. There are, too, rare moments where her sincerity is palpable out-of-song. An ineffectual moment like removing an ingratiating M.C’s hand from Deena’s derriere is so well played which only underscores her promise – which has yet to be realised.

On that note of unrealised promise, I turn to Beyoncé who so easily emerges as the performer most likely to be condemned. Depending on my mood I’d say Beyoncé is either just as competent in her role as Hudson, or at times even better. Watching it recently, I feel more inclined to the latter. That glassy-eyed vacant stare which marks Knowles Deena works not only in accordance with her range, but takes on greater meaning when taking the narrative into perspective. It’s that sort of vague suggestion of being vacuous that makes her Deena such a good performer – as Curtis says, she’s nothing but what he puts into her. It works better in the film’s first half, and where Knowles triumphs decisively is in her performances. It’s a surprising thing, but she manages to eschew her natural stage charisma to retain those same characteristics of her characters which makes a number like the eponymous one work because you actually believe you are watching Deena Jones – even if her spoken lines all too often retain a clunky delivery.

It’s that sort of juxtaposition of the good and the bad which marks Dreamgirls. Condon is so adamant in trying to avoid the book-numbers of the musicals, he’s so determined to ensure that the musical numbers occur in a realistic format, the times when he decides to retain pieces like “Family” or “It’s All Over” become problematic. “Family” is especially awkward because it is a number so rich with an almost cringe-worthy amount of sentimentalism. Its placement immediately before the Dreamettes debut (that is not the least bit familial) is subverted by Condon’s occasional tunnel-vision. Which makes me consider Marshall and Nine. Despite the tongue-lashing it received, Nine consistency in its musical numbers makes it a more laudable piece – cinematically, especially.

Then, of course, there’s the male ensemble. Keith Robinson C.C seems less superfluous now, if only because he’s working doubly hard to ensure that the character’s blandness don’t show much. I’m neither fond of nor hateful towards Murphy’s Jimmy. It endures as a fine comedic turn from him, no worse than the few good comedic performances he’s delivered in pieces like Coming to America or Trading Places. It’s Jamie Foxx’s exasperating Curtis Jackson who’s the film’s true albatross. He’s consistently awkward in the role contributing an unremitting impediment to any organic establishment of plot-points.

It’s a bit unfortunate, but a succinct criticism of Dreamgirls could be made from just watching the first fifteen minutes. Condon infuses the narrative with an almost – almost– nauseating amount of colour pyrotechnics culminating in production design that’s strangely officious, even for a musical. What makes it officious is that, there are some moments where Condon’s visual additions add nothing to the story. “One Night Only” ends up coming off for good and for bad, since even when you get the point of the recreation of a real music video being done Condon gets these delusions of grandeur where it’s just a bit too much.

Today, I’d probably give Dreamgirls a solid B because it does remain as a generally enjoyable experience – and its editing is especially good, taking into account its story issues; issues which are part of the actual Broadway production as much as its cinematic counterpart. Krieger’s score never emerges as iconic as it’s endured in some circles (although the new song additions are well infused with the old ones). Dreamgirls might not be one for the ages, but I suppose it is good enough at the end of the day.

*I’m not certain why, but I feel a need to beg pardon for this lengthy discourse. This was meant to be a short look back at the film; it turned into an overly lengthy dissertation. Umm, apologies?

Now that almost half a decade has passed, where do your thoughts rest on Dreamgirls?

Thursday, 2 December 2010

For Colored Girls

0 comments Posted by 2011 at 12:21

Tyler Perry’s latest, For Colored Girls, opens to a dancer (Anika Noni Rose) accompanied by a piano and violin. As the dance intensifies we hear snatches of a poem, narrated by each of the main women in the cast as we flash to them at small moments in their lives. It’s not a slight at the film that those five minutes are the most beautiful of it all because there is one inherent problem with For Colored Girls. It’s a musical, but it doesn’t have a score – only lyrics. Someone unfamiliar with Ntozake Shange’s original play would probably find the monologue-breaks jarring, but I’m inclined to think that For Colored Girls deserves the same suspension of belief we give to book-musicals where characters break out (injudiciously it seems, sometimes) into song. The very fact that Perry takes a collection of soliloquies and turns them into a cohesive drama is praiseworthy enough, but For Colored Girls manages to transcend his earlier work – unevenly, but still not without a payoff.

There’s always an issue with films that decide to tackle ensembles in the way that For Colored Girls attempts to. A group of unrelated people need to have a connection to make an ensemble work – sometimes the vignettes are broadly painted, I’m not a fan of Crash but I’ll admit that the linking of the stories is easily its strongest attribute. And for Tyler Perry, For Colored Girls could claim that strength too, for the most part. The segues in the first half work beautifully, as Anika Noni Rose’s dancer just happens to make a donation after receiving a pamphlet on religion from Whoopi Goldberg’s charlatan. It’s those light connections that make buoy the realism. The ironic thing is, as the film develops in the second half and the characters have reasons to interact the film begins to get a little disingenuous. The first half, the rising action, is beautifully orchestrated but there’s something about the fall that feels inadequate. The thing is, the screenplay is simultaneously responsible for helping the film and damaging it. But I’ll be Perry’s champion and say that it never reaches the depths of horror that he always ends up being connected with. It’s not praise to say that Perry is far from the worse director, but I have a feeling general prejudices prevents the average critic from seeing For Colored Girls with an unbiased vision. There are moments of uncertainty, but just as quickly as he’ll fall into a rote choice he’ll surprise you with something poignant.

But it’s the performances that are the true treasure of For Colored Girls. It makes you realise just how many talented black women are lacking roles. She doesn’t get the strongest role, and she doesn’t deliver the strongest performances but I was entranced by Anika Noni Rose who has such a winning charm that I’m confused as to why she’s not in more movies. Theatrical would be a word to describe her, and it makes me think of all the performances. For some reason theatrical has imprudently become a synonym for melodrama. Inaccurate. What’s more, theatrical doesn’t mean “bad”. For Colored Girls is theatrical – and so is life at times. The monologues reach greater importance because the voices of these women is literally what defines them. It’s no surprise then that Loretta Devine* with her potently “theatrical” (interpret it as you will) delivers the strongest monologue, even if her character is painted in the broadest strokes. That final scene is jarring, but like the entire film its root is in the women it portrays and there’s something about the melange of talent there that’s difficult to resist. It’s foolish to accuse For Colored Girls of seeing one side of the story when it immediately tells you it does. It’s not that movie is only for “colored girls”, but the story is theirs....and what a story it is.

B- (the Acting: A, the writing: B-, the direction, C/C+, MVP: Thandie Newton)

*A/N: I find it vaguely interesting that Loretta Devine played Lorrel Robinson in the Original Broadway Production of “Dreamgirls”, the role Anika Noni Rose recreated on film.

Friday, 23 April 2010

Forgotten Characters 2:8

0 comments Posted by 2011 at 04:55

When you star in a glitzy musical with a stunted character and no musical number of your own is there any way for you to thrive? The natural answer is no, you end up being forgotten. But sometimes, a paradox occurs, and both happen. There are some performances that are excellent, but due to whatever mitigating factors they end up becoming forgotten - unfortunately so. That is what happened to this excellence performance:

Anika Noni Rose in Dreamgirls

as Lorrell

When Dreamgirls came out in 2006 it took the world by storm, sort of, and it seemed everyone was enamoured with the newly discovered Jennifer Hudson. As a book musical, Dreamgirls exists primarily as a showcase for the actor playing Effie White and Hudson's Effie, though often uninspired, was competent. However, it was the nuanced performance of Noni Rose that impressed me the most. At 34 Rose was tasked with playing the naive Lorrell Robinson from a teenager unto adulthood. It was a conceit, but one that has worked time and time again. Noni Rose does have a youthful look to her, but it was more than aesthetic that solidified her performance. A professional theatre actress herself, Rose was able to do something that her fellow Dreamettes could not do. Hudson's issue was that she acts only when the camera focuses on her only, she fails to provide a realistic Effie when she was not the forefront on the scene, Knowles Deena is a realistic entity in her song and in dancing, but in her spoken lines there is a nervousness that is only too palpable. However, with Anika, the immaturity and simplicity of her character is understood. From her early scene as she laments over the state of their wigs, a simple line reading like "Deena, it's so...different" suggests eons more than the line would normally allow her to do. The camera may be focusing on Effie White in "Move" but notice the wan smile of Lorrell. She's so oblivious to everything, she's just along for the ride and it's that very characterisation that defines her role. She's not unaware of the tensions in the group as they perform the number "Heavy", she simply chooses to ignore them going to her own "happy place". This is what makes her passionate plea I'm as much a part of this group as everybody else so poignant in "It's All Over".

It's actually a running theme of a woman being pushed the brink, in Act One eventually she reaches her peak with Effie and Act Two turns to her torrid affair with Jimmy. She really isn't given much, so she must act her way through the bland moments. Like Jimmy's decision to light up at the Christmas part, she manages to portray so much with just an aversion of her eyes. If only she was given the chance to perform Lorrell's number from the stage "Ain't No Party". The truncated "Lorrell Loves Jimmy" as she leaves him is too short to present all the loveliness of her voice we've waited for, and "Patience" doesn't allow us to get inside her character. That makes her performance all the more worthy, like her frenzied run through the hall after hearing of Jimmy's death or her looks of sadness as they sing "Hard to Say Goodbye". Whenever I hear the word Dreamgirls I remember my favourite (incidental) line-reading as she turns to the exaggerated Eddie Murphy and says the sagest lines of the film. "Oh Mr Earlie, you so crazy." It's a brilliant turn from a forgotten woman, but she easily makes my top 5 Supporting Women for 2006.

Did Anika impress you with her shrewd acting choices in Dreamgirls? Or was she rightly shafted from any love?

Previously Forgotten...

Saturday, 6 February 2010

2009 in Review: Voicework (Females)

0 comments Posted by 2011 at 08:49

I'm biding time for the big awards beginning with some smaller pieces, so I hope this will salvage the situation while you wait for next week. Here are the nominees.

Who were the (female) voices that impressed you last year?

Wednesday, 6 May 2009

FROM THE STAGE TO THE SCREEN

0 comments Posted by 2011 at 10:32

So I was looking at the legend Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl the other day and it occurred to me that she got her start acting on Broadway, and although she is regarded more as a singer than an actress, she has been successful in making the transition from stage to screen quite well along with another legend of her time the luminous Julie Andrews. So I compiled a list of 13 Broadway gems I would like to see make it big on the screen. I had to put some restrictions on the list because you’d have probably seen Bernadette Peters or maybe Chita Viera make the list. I mean, why hasn’t Bernadette Peters had a successful movie career? I’ll assume she doesn’t want one… not that that’s any consolation, but I digress. These women are too old (I know I lack tact) to break it into the business now. Anyhow, here’s the list continuing with my trend of Nines…

Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Little Women, The Drowsy Chaperone)

She’s talented and she has unique features. That sounds like Ms. Streisand actually. And she has a weird name – it seems like that is a status quo for actresses these days.

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Poppy in Happy Go Lucky
Don’t ask why. I just feel she would have been really good, granted she is not British – but nonetheless. I feel this would have been right up her alley.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: Although I hate having Broadway stars come to big screen for only musical roles I will say I would love to see her do Clara from Stephen Sondheim’s Tony winning Passion. She has the chops, it’s a siren role and she goes nude. If that doesn’t get her an Oscar… I'd choose her for the Lead - Fosca, but I think she's too young.

Anika Noni Rose (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Caroline, Or Change)

She was introduced to mainstream audiences in Dreamgirls, and to be honest – if they really wanted to give someone in that talented ensemble an Oscar – why not give it to her? She was head and shoulders above Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson. She’s in her mid thirties – which she doesn’t look like – and she has a sweet personality. Where are the offers?

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Granted Taraji owned this role, but I think she would (like Taraji) have had that innate comic timing necessary for this role. Oh, God, I can see it now!

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: Carmen Jones in Carmen Jones
Not sure if she has the right look for the movie, but damn can she sing. That’s why I want her to do a musical. The problem with her (and Beyonce to an extent) in Dreamgirls was that they had to undersing themselves, so we never saw the power she had. She can knock it out of the ballpark and I really want to see her do a movie musical.

Sheri Rene Scott (Aida, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Ulla in The Producers
Uma Thurman was not the problem with this movie – it just wasn’t the type of film meant to be made into a movie. Sheri’s strong point is her sweet voice and it would have been perfect for this role.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: Adelaide in Guys & Dolls
She’d be good at this. Enough said.

Lea Michele (Spring Awakening, Les Miserables)

Doesn’t she look like Idina Menzel? She has a sweet voice, but I think she needs to vere away from musical roles until she is older. I don’t want her to end up type-casted.

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Johanna in Sweeney Todd
A musical yes, but this could have been good.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: Fanny in Mansfield Park
This may be a bit too generic. I’m not sure what role she could do. I do not love this Jane Austen novel – but it could make a good film adaptation in the vein of Joe Wright’s Pride & Prejudice. Can she manage an English accent? Or maybe Jane Eyre.

Laura Benanti (Into the Woods, Gypsy)

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Cristine in The Phantom of the Opera
Why exactly was the film version of this long running musical such a flop? Even though it had Miranda Richardson in it? I don’t know. I mean the bulk of the problem was not Emmy Rossum, but she wasn’t that much help either. And Laura Benanti has the voice of an angel.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: Laura in The Glass Menagerie
These are two vastly dissimilar roles and I suppose she may be too old, but I always felt that she had the look for Laura. And considering that this is a Tennessee Williams play – there is so much that lends itself to a cinematic adaptation. Of course you’d have to have a good supporting cast – Susan Sarandon perhaps as her mother. I don’t know who’d play Tom… but it could work.

Jane Krakowski (Grand Hotel, Nine)

Do any of you look at 30 Rock? I don’t like it. At least that’s what I tell myself every Thursday while I look at it. Still, I think Jane Krakowski is the standout in the cast. She has perfect comedict timing and I am appalled at the Emmy Snubs she has received. They certainly need to apologise with a nomination and perhaps a win for her this season. Krakowski earned her Tony for her role in Yeston’s Nine.

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Roxie Hart in Chicago
This is really a no brainer. As good as Renee Zellweger was Jane would have been superb. Of course having a Broadway star that was not bankable would have detracted from the entire point of Rob Marshall’s vision. I could also have seen her in the Naomi Watts role in King Kong – if only for the look. Still she would have killed as Roxie.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: I’m actually stumped here… which probably means I have no imagination. I think more than Chenoweth Jane needs a project writer for her. But if I had to pick something I think Bernadette Peter’s Tony winning musical Song & Dance would be great for Jane. It’s not uber popular so it wouldn’t have tons of hype to live up to and what’s more it has Tell Me On A Sunday which (despite being a faithful Sondheim lover) is my second favourite Webber ballad (behind Memory of course).

Idina Menzel (Rent, Wicked!)

I like Idina Menzel. Her fans seem a bit rabid sometimes, but she is a great singer and wonderful actress and very sexy too, so there! She looks like a really gorgeous version of Nelly Furtado. She’s another surprising person that hasn’t done well in film. She was good in Enchanted.

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Vivian in Pretty Women
This would be killer. I could just see her as the stripper – okay obviously she couldn’t have done it then, she would have been a child, but it could have / would have been great. Okay, maybe I cheated.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: I don’t know if she can do Shakespeare (it’s not for everyone), but I would love to see her do Katharine in The Taming of the Shrew. I think that sort of shrewish character that needs to be tamed is her specialty – only now I have to think which male actor could tame her… I’m tempted to think Peter Sarasgard or maybe Billy Crudup… She’ll upstage whoever, it doesn’t matter.

Audra McDonald (110 in the Shade, Master Class, A Raisin in the Sun)

Oh how I love this woman – she has Four Tony Awards and an Emmy, so you know she has talent. Right now she’s starring in Private Practice which I hope will make her popular with audiences. She needs a big screen career… and fast.

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Tatiana Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda
Nothing less for Audra than Sophie Okenodo’s Oscar nominated turn in this wonderful film. She has the dramatic chops to pull it off, although I do wonder what her accent would be like… She’d have good chemistry with Don Cheadle though.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: Any of the leads in God of Carnage
This play is currently on Broadway with Hope Davis and the delightful Marcia Gay Harden. I’d like to see Audra take on either of these roles – although Marcia’s role seems more up her alley. I have not seen the original, but I have read snippets of the script. Of course if it comes to screen the original cast members are popular enough to get the roles. Still, I’d like to see Audra in this. A lot.

Kristin Chenoweth (Candide, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Wicked!)

I love this woman. I still find it shocking to believe that she is forty years old, and I will forever resent ABC (otherwise my favourite network) for cancelling Pushing Daisies, thereby stopping my weekly dose of Cheno. I think the reason it’s hard for her to get roles is because of her height (she’s a few inches below 5 feet), and her nasally voice, but like any actress she can change her voice. Apparently Wicked! will be made into a film, but I suppose she will be too old, and then they’ll probably recast it with stars.

Casted Roles She Could Have Done: Giselle in Enchanted
I think this would have been an obvious choice – and not because of her at the Oscars – but it is so reminiscent of her Tony Nominated role in Wicked! She would have rocked this, but Amy Adams was good too.

Un-casted Roles She Could Do: The Muse in Pygmalion
Not as a musical – or adaptation of My Fair Lady, but an actual adaptation of the original play. I think Cheno would be great, and if they do it as a comedy they could write her height (or lack thereof) into the script. It could be genius – cast Robert Downey Jr. or Johnny Depp as the male lead and get Lasse Hallestrome to direct.

Which actress could have a big film career?