Essential viewing: The movie Gary Oldman called “exquisite”
If you want an exquisite character actor to appear in your movie, there are few better people to turn to than the British actor Gary Oldman. Taking notes from some of Hollywood’s greatest acting shape-shifters, from Harry Dean Stanton to Steve Buscemi, Oldman has delivered Oscar-winning dramatic performances as well as playing some of the hammiest villains the industry has ever seen.
Wasting little time to find this niche for himself, Oldman’s very first starring role came in the form of the Sex Pistols musician Sid Vicious in the 1986 biopic Sid and Nancy by Alex Cox. While the film itself was met with contentious opinion, with John Lydon of the same band calling it “the lowest form of life,” Oldman’s performance was championed, with many seeing him as the future of British cinema in the late 1980s.
If the following decade was anything to go by, this prophecy came true, with Oldman finding himself collaborating with some of the industry’s greatest talents, including Oliver Stone, Tony Scott and Luc Besson, where he played a variation of peculiar characters in the respective films, JFK, True Romance and Léon: The Professional. Steadily, his profile grew, building a strong legion of fans who adored his distinctive performances.
But, to pull off such performances, Oldman has had to look back over the history of Hollywood to find inspiration, taking fascinating aspects of character building from several of his favourite movies of all time, including Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather trilogy. Yet, another film that greatly influences him, but not for the purpose of character development, is Terrence Malick’s Badlands.
“I love Badlands because, I think, I like the interior,” the actor stated in regards to Malick’s stupendous 1973 film about two young wannabe Bonnie and Clyde figures who set out across the country on a murder spree and an odyssey of love. A remarkably tender piece of debut filmmaking, Malick’s film remains one of his very best, featuring delicate performances from Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen.
Continuing in his thoughts about the movie, Oldman added: “I love the story told through Sissy Spacek’s character. I think the telling of it is delicate. It’s just exquisite, that sense of the relationship seen through her; as if she’s telling one story and we’re witnessing another”.
Set in the late 1950s, Badlands is an American odyssey about the disillusioned youth who grew up under the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Unsure of how to define themselves, they are lost souls trying to find meaning and purpose in post-WWII America, so engage in a rampage across the country, emulating the kind of movie stars like James Dean that they idolise at the cinema.
Take a look at the trailer for the iconic movie that Oldman calls “exquisite” below.
