In Character: Julianne Moore

Julianne Moore is one of the finest actors working today. Which made writing this post so difficult. Truly, as I made my way back through Moore’s work – from her early character roles to her recent star performances – I was reminded that this woman is damn near perfect in everything. Here are my picks of her best performances, but there are many to choose from, so do feel free to share yours!

Five Essential Roles

Boogie Nights (1997)

Amber Waves

For me, the entire crux of Amber Waves can be found in a scene that begins with Amber sitting alone in a conference room, awaiting a child custody meeting with her ex to begin. She’s conservatively dressed and anxious. A woman walks in and introduces herself as the judge. The judge asks Amber if she has a lawyer. Amber sheepishly says, “No. I don’t,” and then Moore takes a perfect beat and quietly, almost to herself, repeats, “I do not.” It’s as if she knows she’s going to lose, before the meeting has even begun.

Amber does lose, but instead of hearing the judge say it, director Paul Thomas Anderson cuts to Amber standing outside of the courthouse, sobbing uncontrollably as people walk by without a care. It’s a brutal scene, one that encapsulates that all the fun Amber has had in her professional life is finally catching up with her. 

Magnolia (1999)

Linda Partridge

While I remain thrilled that Moore received an Oscar nomination for her work in Boogie Nights, it is a crime that she was ignored for her ferocious work in Magnolia. You can take any scene of Moore’s in the film and highlight it as her standout sequence. From telling her lawyer to repeatedly, “Shut the fuck up,” to going off on a pharmacist. From slapping Philip Seymour Hoffman, to deciding her own fate. Linda is a keyed-up role that gives in.

No one in Magnolia is having a good day, and as Linda, Moore keeps the film grounded in utter despair. Also, like most every other character in the film, I wonder where Linda is now.

Far from Heaven (2002)

Cathy Whitaker

Todd Haynes’ Far from Heaven is an important, beautiful film anchored by a tender performance from Moore. Cathy Whitaker cannot catch a break. Her quaint life is initially uprooted when her well-to-do husband (Dennis Quaid) is caught soliciting sex with men in town. While dealing with her collapsing family, Cathy seeks friendship from her black gardener, Raymond (Dennis Haysbert). But this is 1950s suburbia, where gay and interracial relationships are met with isolation and violence. So begins Cathy’s heartbreaking transition from merry home keeper to abandoned damsel. I so appreciate the painful honesty Moore put into her work in this film. When it’s at its best, Far from Heaven lets its camera stare longingly at Moore’s face, as Cathy patiently waits for resolve. And that is certainly saying a lot about the strength of Moore’s talents.

The Hours (2002)

Laura Brown

Moore is so great at balancing joy and melancholy in her performances, and her turn as Laura Brown may be the most quietly melancholic performance of her career. This is restrained, dialed-back work; a ticking time bomb of repression. Laura is pregnant with her second child, married to a loving man (John C. Reilly), and mother to a precocious young boy. On the surface, all is well in her 1950s suburban household. But inside, Laura is crumbling. She’s lost and confused; plagued by depression and wanting out. But, because she lives in a 1950s, suburban household, where appearances are everything, she’s forced to internalize her feelings, and consider doing something horrible about them.

On paper, Laura Brown is not dissimilar to Moore’s Cathy Whitaker from Far from Heaven. But The Hours and Far from Heaven are very different films, and the fact that Moore was able to create two wholly unique characters in both films (which were released in the same year) again speaks to her skill as an actor.

Maps to the Stars (2014)

Havana Segrand

David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars is absurd, vicious, and completely insane. And I love every second of it. The film is a violent, pitch black humorous take on Hollywood, and the sacrifices people have to endure to achieve and maintain stardom.

Havana Segrand is a mess. She’s a fifty-something teenager who will do anything for a great role, all while battling some very serious PTSD from abuse she suffered at the hands of her movie star mother. Everything Havana does and says is completely outrageous, but, somehow, Moore makes it work. Every time I watch this film, I believe Moore’s every immature action. Truly, this is go for broke, furious work. Still Alice came out in 2014 as well, and that lead Moore all the way to a Best Actress Oscar. I’m thrilled Moore’s talent was finally acknowledged in such a grand way, but for my money, Havana Segrand should have brought Moore to Oscar gold.

Wild Card

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Maude Lebowski

I don’t always do a Wild Card selection for these In Character posts, but when I do, I typically use it to highlight a performance I love in a movie that many would consider a guilty pleasure. The Big Lebowski isn’t a guilty pleasure, it’s just a straight-up pleasure, and Moore’s brief and purposefully absurd work in it has always been a highlight for me.

“…the word itself makes some men uncomfortable. Vagina.”

The Best of the Best

Safe (1995)

Carol White

I saw Todd Haynes’ Safe for the first time about seven years ago, long after I had become a great admirer of Julianne Moore. Foolishly, I assumed that Moore’s work in the film wasn’t going to be particularly memorable, as I had heard very little about Safe.

About 20 minutes into the movie, I realized how wrong I was. At the risk of venturing into hyperbole, Safe is unlike any film I’ve seen, and Moore’s performance in it is a revelation of acting. Like all unique films, Safe is a difficult to classify. Moore plays an ordinary housewife named Carol. Carol is quiet and kind, she has unremarkable friendships, a decent marriage, and a good relationship with her stepson. But shortly into the film, Carol begins being plagued by random bouts of coughing, exhaustion, vomiting, nose bleeds, spasms, and more, all caused by an elusive illness. Medical professionals eventually reach the conclusion that Carol has multiple chemical sensitivity, a condition that causes Carol to react violently to everyday household chemicals. But they still can’t find a way to treat Carol’s symptoms.

For most of the film, we watch Carol as she literally withers away from the inside out. In portraying Carol’s descent, Moore delivers a performance of sheer, realistic horror. It is devastating and spellbinding work, from the film’s melancholic opening, to its controversial conclusion. Let me put it this way: After I watched Safe, I knew that not only did it contain Julianne Moore’s best performance, but I simply cannot envision any of her other performances beating it. And think about that. Think about Moore’s body of work, and what that says about Carol White.

Other Notable Roles

in Short Cuts

As the World Turns (1985-1998; 2010)

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle (1992)

Benny & Joon (1993)

Short Cuts (1993)

The Fugitive (1993)

Vanya on 42nd Street (1994)

Nine Months (1995)

Assassins (1995)

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Psycho (1998)

Cookie’s Fortune (1999)

An Ideal Husband (1999)

The End of the Affair (1999)

Hannibal (2001)

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2005)

Children of Men (2006)

The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009)

30 Rock (2009-2013)

Chloe (2009)

A Single Man (2009)

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011)

Game Change (2012)

Being Flynn (2012)

Carrie (2013)

Still Alice (2014)

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 & Part 2 (2014/2015)

Wonderstruck (2017)