A fan letter to Christopher Plummer
Dear Mr. Plummer: Who was it that said at twilight, colors are at their most intense? It's an apt description of your screen career in the past four years. From your acidulous voicework in "Up" and "My Dog Tulip," to your mellow performances as the Faustian father in "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," as Leo Tolstoy in "The Last Station" and as the septuagenarian who throws his own coming-out party in "Beginners," I can't think of another actor whose work is so electric. I think I've forgiven you for that crack that "working with Julie Andrews is like being hit over the head with a Hallmark card."
A fan letter to Christopher Plummer
Carrie Rickey, Film Critic
Dear Mr. Plummer:
Who was it that said at twilight, colors are at their most intense? It's an apt description of your screen career in the past four years.
From your crusty voicework in Up and My Dog Tulip, to your buoyant performances as the Faustian father in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, as Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station and as the septuagenarian dad who throws his own coming-out party in Beginners, I can't think of another actor whose performances are so vibrant, so vital.
(I forgive you for that crack that "Working with Julie Andrews is like being hit over the head with a Hallmark card.")
On you, age is a most glamorous destination.
Many thanks for saving the best for last.
My favorite among your screen performances: your Mike Wallace in The Insider and your Tolstoy in The Last Station. Yours?
Don't forget The Silent Partner, a little known gem from Canada in the late 70's.— abramorama- Carrie! How long ago did you write that letter? According to my calculations Mr. Plummer is 81, not 74. IMDB & Wikipedia both give his birth date as December 13, 1929. Whatever, I've been a fan of Mr. Plummer all the way back to a TV version of "The Prisoner of Zenda" in the early 60's. I've also been lucky enough to have seen him on stage many times at the Stratford Festival and on Broadway. I profoundly wish that those performances could be on DVD. The Broadway ones were taped and are locked away in a vault... for research purposes only. What a loss to people who don't have access to world-class live theatre! And I completely agree with him about Julie Andrews.— greenbox91
- Back in the mid-1980s, Plummer and Maggie Smith starred in a charming romantic comedy called LILY IN LOVE. I thought he was great in that, and should do more romantic roles. He's equally giddy in love in BEGINNERS. Like fine wine, Plummer ages well.— garymk
- @Greenbox: You are absolutely right and I am humiliatingly wrong. Will correct immediately. Some sources have him born in 1927, which is the birthdate I used, but must have thought I was in 2001, not 2011. Thanks for correcting my math.— carrierickey
- My choice was also Silent Partner. Also Wolf and Murder By Decree.— Bob Ross
- General Chang in Star Trek VI. The eye patch was sweet.— jmc
- I liked his work as Diane Lane's father in "Must Love Dogs" and as the villain in "Dreamscape." Both show a certain airritabilyt at human folly, one amused and benevolent, the other cold-blooded and violent.— wwolfe
- Back in the seventies, I remember seeing him play the role of a rather timid businessman on the verge of being brought to a sexual climax by a call girl. Now that's acting.— Wilhemina
- A List of Things Thrown Five Minutes Ago
- American Women Film Journalists
- Anne Thompson on Film
- Dave Kehr on Film
- David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson
- David Edelstein's The Projectionist
- Dennis Cozzallo on Film
- Edward Copeland on Film
- Flickgrrl posts 2/07 through 5/08
- Glenn Kenny's Some Came Running
- Green Cine Daily
