Why Jennifer Lawrence wants to play Joni Mitchell in a biopic: “I hear she’s not very nice”
Jennifer Lawrence has continually showcased her depth as a dramatic performer, with staggering performances in daring projects like Mother!, Silver Linings Playbook and the upcoming Lynne Ramsay film, Die, My Love, which is said to be a career-best performance and will mark her again as a serious contender for an Academy Award. From her early roots in Winter’s Bone and Hunger Games, Lawrence is always eager for increasingly challenging roles, going against her early reputation for starring in franchise films by branching out and working with auteurs like Darren Aronofsky, Adam McKay, and now Lynne Ramsay.
With an adventurous slate of upcoming projects, it seems as though there is no role too intimidating to play, with the actor expressing interest in one real-life character that she would love to play, even if it might be a controversial one.
Many biopics have been made about musicians, with stories that span the lives of singers like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash. Zendaya has just been announced as reprising the role of Ronnie Spector in the A24 biopic about the lead singer of The Ronettes and her tumultuous relationship with Phil Spector.
However, there seems to be a huge gap between the men and women that are deemed worthy of having their lives immortalised on the silver screen, with countless biopics being made about male musicians and fewer about women in the industry, something that could perhaps be a perfect subject matter for a film about Joni Mitchell, one of the most infamous songwriters of all time.
Mitchell is known for composing hauntingly beautiful love songs like ‘Both Sides, Now’ as well as more mellow tunes like ‘A Case of You’ and ‘River’. She was one of a number of stars who lived in Laurel Canyon and joined the same dwelling where many musicians composed some of their greatest works, going down in history for her involvement in the 1960s folk music scene alongside Joan Baez and Bob Dylan.
However, despite her musical talents and undeniable genius, she has also gained a complex reputation, with some describing her as being a rather abrasive and not always likeable character. But this is perhaps what would make her story most interesting to see on screen, opening up many possibilities to portray this clash in her reputation and the version of her that is most authentic to who she is in real life.
When discussing this, Lawrence highlighted how this could be a very compelling basis for a story, saying, “I love Joni Mitchell. I heard Blue when I was 19 or 20, and I thought it was the most beautiful album in the world. She’s an interesting character. I hear she’s not very nice, which would be really fun to play.”
Many women in the public eye are encouraged to be submissive, grateful and constantly nice, with men free of such expectations, in order to be liked and revered by their audiences. For this reason, maybe a Joni Mitchell biopic could be incredibly interesting. It could break down the expectations for female celebrities by showing one person who dared to not adhere to them.
