The movie that made Saoirse Ronan fall in love with cinema: “It ticked all those boxes”
Saoirse Ronan has truly captured the hearts around the globe ever since she stepped onto the screen as a child, starring in Atonement at just the age of 13. From this point, the only way was up, showing a staggering natural talent and emotional intelligence that is rare to see from such a young performer. Ronan then worked on infamous projects like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Little Women, Lady Bird and recently, The Outrun, with a breathtaking curiosity and spark that shines throughout her performances.
Whether it be her rambunctious and electric energy as Jo in Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of the beloved novel or her portrayal of the quietly dedicated baker in Wes Anderson’s epic tale, the actor has continuously stunned audiences through her endless devotion to and talent for filmmaking. However, it is rare for people to start out so young, and Ronan has named the film that most inspired her to venture into the world of cinema.
Martin Scorsese is constantly cited as being a filmmaker who has inspired other people the most in the business. His journey into Hollywood is nearly as infamous as he is, spanning from his early love for cinema and his lifelong friendship with Robert De Niro that came about when they were children. His passion for the medium has created platforms for smaller filmmakers to share their work, often acting as an executive producer and nurturing the careers of other people in the business, as well as fighting to preserve culturally important works from filmmakers around the globe.
However, he is generally most revered for his creative feats, helming modern classics such as Shutter Island, Goodfellas, and The Departed. For a young Saoirse Ronan, one film from his body of work made a significant impression, describing the impact of watching Taxi Driver for the first time.
“You can watch certain films, and there are certain things that will stick out for you.“
saoirse ronan
When discussing this, Ronan said, “Taxi Driver is a film that really kind of struck me on an emotional level and as somebody who works and can kind of appreciate how films are made. I remember when I saw Taxi Driver for the first time, and I saw the creativity and the imagination that went into the shots that Scorsese chose and to really kind of capture a very particular kind of New York. I thought it was really wonderful.”
Ronan expanded on the emotional impact of watching the film and how she reflects on it now, saying, “You know, you can watch certain films, and there are certain things that will stick out for you. It can be a great character or a performance or an ensemble performance or whatever, but when everything seems to come into play, it’s always really impressive, I think, when every single cast member is very strong. So I felt like, with this film, cinematically, it just kind of ticked all those boxes for me.”
Many consider the movie an all-time favourite, and the story had a huge effect on Ronan and her understanding of cinema. It was a pivotal moment for many film lovers, expanding their knowledge of how a story can be structured and capturing a darkness that hadn’t truly been seen before. It is because of this that it remains one of the greatest films of all time.
