I love this post so much. In an absolutely charming but very sharp way it performs the way women refract our experiences of ourselves through abject admiration for the luminousness of other women. Keri Russell is one of these women, and Claire Danes is clearly another. I've been watching her in The Beast in Me, more or less mesmerized by the way she turns the light on and off, sometimes with her smile, and sometimes with her eyes, and sometimes just with her walk. Also, very happy to see she's simply letting her face be her face and not trying to iron it out or inflate it or hem it. Another one: Toni Collette. I'll watch anything she does and she can do anything. I've loved her since she was Muriel. When she was filming The Sixth Sense in Philadelphia, I was teaching at Penn, and I would take hot yoga classes in the evening, five days a week. While she was filming, so did she. She would come into the dim, hundred degree room quietly, roll out her mat, and do her 90 minutes of Bikram like a boss. I never spoke to her because I didn't want her to feel invaded, but also was a chicken.
You must always invade their privacy! They live for it. Or don't. I love your comment! Who's performing refraction here! This is a game of pretending, as I'm sure you know, you take a "what if?" and let it rip in your mind. Yesterday at a workshop Richard and I hosted, we talked about this device, and I compared it to moving through a video game in your head, where the speaker is the avatar, floating through rooms and coming upon this thought or that one. Thanks for reading! Hot yoga is for bosses, indeed.
Ha! Mutual simultaneous refraction --> hall of mirrors --> optimized mutual luminousness! Next time I spot a luminous lady, I shall remember your advice and speak to her.
I met Louise Nevelson. She was a dear friend with Eva Glimcher, Arne’s mother/co-founder of Pace Gallery, which had a presence here in Columbus. Ms. Nevelson’s lashes were also sculptures, thick, black buttresses for her vision.
I'm amazed by the number of hours I've spent with you watching these shows. It makes it all worthwhile, when I read these posts. I think we need a new name for what you do in a write about what you make of what you watch. Any suggestions?
Word has arrived in the upstairs bedroom that I have misunderstood the request from Richard Toon. I thought he meant a title for the section. He meant the things I write. I said, "It's creative writing." He said, "People think you are writing criticism, but you aren't." I said, "That's why it's creative writing." He said, "Okay." I was in the bath. Now, we both hungry. He is waiting for his blood sugar to come down. I know this is a 1000 times more information than you needed to know.
This post delighted me. I’m not interested in Claire Danes, but Laurie’s thoughts and observations are so funny, smart, interesting. Often surprising, even to someone who has known her forever.
If I can surprise you, babygirl, this gives me incentive to keep trying. Happy birthday again in the afterglow. For anyone else who might be interested, Deb and I have been friends for 60 years.
Yes, I am in the not so interested in Claire Danes camp, too. Nothing against her, I just don't know who she is. Nonetheless, it gave me pleasure to read this essay about her.
All of which reminded me of something Roger Ebert said decades ago when critiquing a film: It is not what the movie is about, but rather how it is about what the movie is about.
I've loved Claire Danes since she starred as Angela in "My So Called Life." I hated that the show lasted only one season. I know exactly what you mean when you said some people shine in a way that makes everyone around them fade out - well, same idea, different words. In one episode of the tv show her new friend Rayanne said to her "You're so beautiful it hurts to look at you." I've always loved that line and loved that one high school girl said it to another and was completely devoid of jealousy.
"I lied on my resume and I had the look." Great capper on that first graf in Paris Review. Congrats to Heather Bursch and the workshop. And she shares space with Hélène Cixous.
I did. It was perfect all the way through. And I liked her boss's assessment after the resume lie was discovered: “You’re unusually nice to the customers, so we’re keeping you. The customers think your niceness is genuine. They love you.”
I love how you show us Claire Danes. I too am of the mind that she is a badass and watch any of the things she's in. I hope your period of anticipated awe in meeting Claire will not be so long and that you will tell us everything about it.
I met her once. We were standing in line for the bathroom at a play. I was about 17. Her character in Igby Goes Down saved me. I told her. She was so lovely.
"the reason i'm not as jealous is i don't know"—lol. i'm jealous knowing how quickly you wrote that claire danes piece but i still love it, love this line, and also the phrase "enemy-in-training." you will go to that fancy event and look smashing. how fun it would be to help you pick your outfit!
Oh god, I would so love you to help me. I worked on the piece after the workshop . . . but there was the crazy gun to the head energy videogame aspect of it.
Another interesting and so gracefully meandering post - though it wasn't actually Claire who beat up the hacker - it was Carrie her character. I gave up on Homeland early -too much Islamophobia - the characters (Carrie not Claire) and plots (both uber and sub) were like an updated version of Exodus (1960)
I think Keri Russell's brilliant portrayal of Elizabeth Jennings anchored the (sometimes daft) Americans. The range of her character and the pervasive strength balanced maternal warmth with icy competent rage and intelligence in every episode. Maybe thinking of Elizabeth Jennings as a 'villain' rather than a strong and very determined woman with a back story she has had to suppress is one of the reasons why The Americans didn't reach Homeland's crazed appointment-viewing status. Or maybe viewers were more sympathetic to a bi-polar, intensely vulnerable woman who's handlers were no less ruthless than Elizabeth's. Matthew Rhys was (also) brilliant but where were Russell's Emmy (or two).
The Diplomat works because Russell plays Kate as 'definitely not Elizabeth' Jennings. Viewers don't see her as an enemy of any State - yes she can be ditsy but her only real flaw is her husband (he appears bumbling but is really controlling and malicious) - but a woman who seems to blndly and blindly love her husband is marketable stuff. It's hard to tell if the Diplomat is drama or satire but it's only because Russell is so brilliant an actor that it really doesn't matter. Besides who wouldn't queue up to see the always stellar Allison Janney and Keri Russell together - what a treat!!
Once I got bumped to first class on a long-haul and sat across the (so wide) aisle from Claire Danes - perhaps 'the light' was somewhat dimmed by her super-large sleep-mask.
Laurie, I’m a new fan; love your writing — and omg, Clare Danes, thank you for this! I am obsessed with her. Watching “The Beast” right now. What I especially love is that she’s not afraid to look worn and even a bit ugly; she’s not, of course. I can’t look away. Haven’t thought about running into her on the street… I think you are prepared!
Love it. And yes, Kidman's extreme thinness is disorienting, as is all of her facial work. (I know...I loved the rest of the essay, but this is the sentence that got me.)
I love this piece, Laurie. I love the layering. And I laughed out loud at these lines, "If I meet Claire, as soon as I will see her beautiful beautyness, I will become an animal in the forest. Not Bambi. The groundhog we hate who lives under our deck. I will become the groundhog because there will be no choice." I learn so much from you, all the time.
This is so great— infatuation without devaluing yourself. I’ve definitely met people (curator Thom Collins) who make me become quiet and stupid. And yes, it is relaxing to be enraptured.
I love this post so much. In an absolutely charming but very sharp way it performs the way women refract our experiences of ourselves through abject admiration for the luminousness of other women. Keri Russell is one of these women, and Claire Danes is clearly another. I've been watching her in The Beast in Me, more or less mesmerized by the way she turns the light on and off, sometimes with her smile, and sometimes with her eyes, and sometimes just with her walk. Also, very happy to see she's simply letting her face be her face and not trying to iron it out or inflate it or hem it. Another one: Toni Collette. I'll watch anything she does and she can do anything. I've loved her since she was Muriel. When she was filming The Sixth Sense in Philadelphia, I was teaching at Penn, and I would take hot yoga classes in the evening, five days a week. While she was filming, so did she. She would come into the dim, hundred degree room quietly, roll out her mat, and do her 90 minutes of Bikram like a boss. I never spoke to her because I didn't want her to feel invaded, but also was a chicken.
You must always invade their privacy! They live for it. Or don't. I love your comment! Who's performing refraction here! This is a game of pretending, as I'm sure you know, you take a "what if?" and let it rip in your mind. Yesterday at a workshop Richard and I hosted, we talked about this device, and I compared it to moving through a video game in your head, where the speaker is the avatar, floating through rooms and coming upon this thought or that one. Thanks for reading! Hot yoga is for bosses, indeed.
Ha! Mutual simultaneous refraction --> hall of mirrors --> optimized mutual luminousness! Next time I spot a luminous lady, I shall remember your advice and speak to her.
I bet I would think you are one. xxL
Same.
I met Louise Nevelson. She was a dear friend with Eva Glimcher, Arne’s mother/co-founder of Pace Gallery, which had a presence here in Columbus. Ms. Nevelson’s lashes were also sculptures, thick, black buttresses for her vision.
I love everything about this comment.
I'm amazed by the number of hours I've spent with you watching these shows. It makes it all worthwhile, when I read these posts. I think we need a new name for what you do in a write about what you make of what you watch. Any suggestions?
Sitting with Richard on the couch under a wolf in the cold when it's snowing?
I was thinking it would be one word.
On my watch?
Word has arrived in the upstairs bedroom that I have misunderstood the request from Richard Toon. I thought he meant a title for the section. He meant the things I write. I said, "It's creative writing." He said, "People think you are writing criticism, but you aren't." I said, "That's why it's creative writing." He said, "Okay." I was in the bath. Now, we both hungry. He is waiting for his blood sugar to come down. I know this is a 1000 times more information than you needed to know.
This post delighted me. I’m not interested in Claire Danes, but Laurie’s thoughts and observations are so funny, smart, interesting. Often surprising, even to someone who has known her forever.
If I can surprise you, babygirl, this gives me incentive to keep trying. Happy birthday again in the afterglow. For anyone else who might be interested, Deb and I have been friends for 60 years.
Yes, I am in the not so interested in Claire Danes camp, too. Nothing against her, I just don't know who she is. Nonetheless, it gave me pleasure to read this essay about her.
All of which reminded me of something Roger Ebert said decades ago when critiquing a film: It is not what the movie is about, but rather how it is about what the movie is about.
I've loved Claire Danes since she starred as Angela in "My So Called Life." I hated that the show lasted only one season. I know exactly what you mean when you said some people shine in a way that makes everyone around them fade out - well, same idea, different words. In one episode of the tv show her new friend Rayanne said to her "You're so beautiful it hurts to look at you." I've always loved that line and loved that one high school girl said it to another and was completely devoid of jealousy.
A great line. It could include jealousy without shaving the admiration. 😎
"I lied on my resume and I had the look." Great capper on that first graf in Paris Review. Congrats to Heather Bursch and the workshop. And she shares space with Hélène Cixous.
Thanks, Hal, I hope you read all of Heather's piece. It's wonderful, as is she. She still has "the look."
I did. It was perfect all the way through. And I liked her boss's assessment after the resume lie was discovered: “You’re unusually nice to the customers, so we’re keeping you. The customers think your niceness is genuine. They love you.”
So great, and you know, she is exactly like this in real life. In other words, what the hell is going on inside that Heather suit?
Thanks for this, Hal! I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Looking forward to more. I'd say "Let's do lunch," but you seem to have enough on your plate.
I love how you show us Claire Danes. I too am of the mind that she is a badass and watch any of the things she's in. I hope your period of anticipated awe in meeting Claire will not be so long and that you will tell us everything about it.
I will try. xxL
I met her once. We were standing in line for the bathroom at a play. I was about 17. Her character in Igby Goes Down saved me. I told her. She was so lovely.
There is so much delight in this. I've not seen Claire Danes in anything and now I'm in love xxx
"the reason i'm not as jealous is i don't know"—lol. i'm jealous knowing how quickly you wrote that claire danes piece but i still love it, love this line, and also the phrase "enemy-in-training." you will go to that fancy event and look smashing. how fun it would be to help you pick your outfit!
Oh god, I would so love you to help me. I worked on the piece after the workshop . . . but there was the crazy gun to the head energy videogame aspect of it.
Love this. (I also love Claire Danes.) Glad you are here.
Another interesting and so gracefully meandering post - though it wasn't actually Claire who beat up the hacker - it was Carrie her character. I gave up on Homeland early -too much Islamophobia - the characters (Carrie not Claire) and plots (both uber and sub) were like an updated version of Exodus (1960)
I think Keri Russell's brilliant portrayal of Elizabeth Jennings anchored the (sometimes daft) Americans. The range of her character and the pervasive strength balanced maternal warmth with icy competent rage and intelligence in every episode. Maybe thinking of Elizabeth Jennings as a 'villain' rather than a strong and very determined woman with a back story she has had to suppress is one of the reasons why The Americans didn't reach Homeland's crazed appointment-viewing status. Or maybe viewers were more sympathetic to a bi-polar, intensely vulnerable woman who's handlers were no less ruthless than Elizabeth's. Matthew Rhys was (also) brilliant but where were Russell's Emmy (or two).
The Diplomat works because Russell plays Kate as 'definitely not Elizabeth' Jennings. Viewers don't see her as an enemy of any State - yes she can be ditsy but her only real flaw is her husband (he appears bumbling but is really controlling and malicious) - but a woman who seems to blndly and blindly love her husband is marketable stuff. It's hard to tell if the Diplomat is drama or satire but it's only because Russell is so brilliant an actor that it really doesn't matter. Besides who wouldn't queue up to see the always stellar Allison Janney and Keri Russell together - what a treat!!
Once I got bumped to first class on a long-haul and sat across the (so wide) aisle from Claire Danes - perhaps 'the light' was somewhat dimmed by her super-large sleep-mask.
Laurie, I’m a new fan; love your writing — and omg, Clare Danes, thank you for this! I am obsessed with her. Watching “The Beast” right now. What I especially love is that she’s not afraid to look worn and even a bit ugly; she’s not, of course. I can’t look away. Haven’t thought about running into her on the street… I think you are prepared!
No one can be prepared for Claire. Welcome!
Love it. And yes, Kidman's extreme thinness is disorienting, as is all of her facial work. (I know...I loved the rest of the essay, but this is the sentence that got me.)
I love this piece, Laurie. I love the layering. And I laughed out loud at these lines, "If I meet Claire, as soon as I will see her beautiful beautyness, I will become an animal in the forest. Not Bambi. The groundhog we hate who lives under our deck. I will become the groundhog because there will be no choice." I learn so much from you, all the time.
I learn from you, too, beauty girl.
This is so great— infatuation without devaluing yourself. I’ve definitely met people (curator Thom Collins) who make me become quiet and stupid. And yes, it is relaxing to be enraptured.