Thread by @Ceilidhann

This is my big problem with biopic acting in general: People get too bogged down in impersonation to the point where they may as well be Disney animatronics. It's far preferable to see an actor take risks & eschew the tics in favour of something more accurate in terms of essence.

https://twitter.com/jbouie/status/1309117233101254660

This is one of the reasons I give Renee Zellweger a lot of credit for her Judy Garland performance. No, it's not a pinpoint accurate recreation of Garland but it nails that fragile bird energy she had, as well as the oft-overlooked wit, the tiredness, the tenacity, etc.

I've become far less impressed with the showy biopic performances over the years. Yeah, it can be technically impressive but stuff like Darkest Hour, The Theory of Everything, Bohemian Rhapsody, etc, just end up feeling like homework rather than something artistically rewarding.

My favourite biopic performances tend to be in films that don't fit the traditional boundaries of the staid biopic formula:

Lili Taylor in I Shot Andy Warhol
Ken Otaga in Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia
Everyone in Adaptation