The “magical” movie that Brittany Murphy found “very personal”
Brittany Murphy was tragically taken from the world when she was just 32, but despite how young she was, the actor made a strong impact as a rare vision of bottled sunshine, a bubbly and bright spirit who remained authentic in the face of an industry as challenging as Hollywood.
She excelled in many comedic roles, charming audiences with her breakthrough performance in Clueless as Tai, a grungey transfer student whom Cher and Dionne take under their wing… But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t turn in a more serious role when required, like when she played Daisy, a young woman who has been sexually abused and struggles with OCD, in Girl, Interrupted.
From dramas like the Eminem movie 8 Mile to rom-coms such as Just Married, Murphy was open to a range of genres, her versatility one of her strongest assets. And this is perfectly demonstrated in one of her greatest performances, although one that I’m sure many people simply write off as a forgettable chick-flick. Uptown Girls, which starred Murphy alongside a young Dakota Fanning, has much more depth than meets the eye, and the actor even saw it as her most “personal” role.
Directed by Boaz Yakin, the film follows Murphy’s Molly Gunn, the spoiled daughter of a rockstar who lives a lavish life in a New York apartment. Yet, following the death of her father, she discovers that her inheritance has been embezzled, leaving her with no choice but to get a job for the first time in her life. Molly winds up working as a nanny for Fanning’s Ray, a hypochondriac who is neglected by her mother, and her father is dying. Initially clashing, with Molly often acting the child while Ray acts like an uptight adult trapped in a little girl’s body, the pair come to learn a lot about life through one another.
“I love Molly,” Murphy said at a roundtable interview. “When the film opens, she’s not the most responsible woman, but she has a zest for life and an openness that I find incredibly refreshing.” She came to relate to the character a lot, who was similarly energetic and full of excitement.
Adding, “I’m 25-years-old, so I’m not a walking wealth of knowledge. To be able to play a character trying to find herself and figure out what she’s going to do with her life, a girl waking up to the possibilities and realities of life in such a vibrant and exciting way – what a dream!”
Molly is frustrating at times, but she’s also charming, and Murphy plays her perfectly. She is trying to make sense of her life through a lens of grief, and by forming a close relationship with Ray, who is also going through similar struggles in her own way, she comes to know herself better.
In one moving scene, Ray runs away from home after her father dies, and when Molly finally finds her at Coney Island, they ride the teacups with tears in their eyes, the camera lingering on Molly’s concerned expression and Ray’s frustration. When they get off, Ray slaps and punches Molly before breaking down, and it’s heartbreaking, yet beautifully composed.
Elucidating on her love for the film, Murphy concluded, “It was just sprinkled with pixie dust – it was very magical and felt very personal to me. I’m so incredibly glad to have been a part of the film.”
