Laura Linney names her favourite movies of all time
Having been nominated for three impressive Academy Awards and five Tony Awards, Laura Linney is one of the most enduring stars in American narrative arts. Like any good actor, she possesses a deep dedication to her craft, which is proven by her many versatile and captivating performances.
On the stage, Linney is widely admired, having given incredible efforts in the likes of The Crucible, Sight Unseen, Time Stands Still, and My Names Is Lucy Barton, while her achievements on the screen, including You Can Count on Me, Kinsey and The Savages, have also been well-praised.
Quite simply, Linney has a deep understanding of the nature and requirements of acting, and as such, she is well-placed to consider the greatest cinematic works of all time. In a feature with Letterboxd, the New York City-born actor named her four favourite movies of all time, giving clues as to her deepest inspirations.
Linney kicks things off with the 1936 William Wyler drama movie Dodsworth, starring Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Paul Lukas and David Niven, written by Sidney Howard and based on his 1934 stage adaptation of Sinclair Lewis’ 1929 novel of the same name. It tells of a marriage in crisis as a husband and wife take a strained tour of Europe.
Next for Linney is the 1977 sports comedy film Slap Shot, directed by George Roy Hill, who was best known for his 1969 western movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean, Slap Shot tells of a minor league ice hockey team that plays violently in order to curry favour with the residents of a declining Pennsylvania factory town.
It’s then that Linney turns her attention to her favourite British movies, beginning with David Leland’s 1987 comedy-drama Wish You Were Here, starring Emily Lloyd, Tom Bell, Geoffrey Hutchings and Jesse Birdsall. It focuses on a sixteen-year-old girl growing up in a small seaside town in the 1950s, based loosely on the adolescent years of Madam Cynthia Payne.
Finally, Linney rounds off her list with Mike Newell’s 1985 film Dnace With a Stranger, which tells the story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to ever be hanged in Britain. The film helped launch the careers of its two leading stars, Miranda Richardson and Rupert Everett and was widely and critically admired.
Check out a clip from William Wyler’s Dodsworth, one of Laura Linney’s favourite movies, below.
Laura Linney’s favourite movies:
- Dodsworth (William Wyler, 1936)
- Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977)
- Wish You Were Here (David Leland, 1987)
- Dance With a Stranger (Mike Newell, 1985)
