What
is great acting all about? It's an abstract concept, hard
to put into words but for a demonstration there's none
better than Claire Danes in the TV show My So Called
Life. She's so vivid, it's like being a teenager all
over again; I can feel myself erupting out into acne and
my voice breaking.
A
whole range of aspects of teenage life are covered incisively
and originally in the show. Sexual awakenings, tension
around parents, losing life-long friends, making new friends,
self-image crisis. It's the naturalistic acting that saves
the show from the trap of sentimentality that sent The
Wonder Years crashing down. Claire holds back and
paces her performance, so when her emotions let rip -
her trembling lips, her watering eyes, her reddening face
- it's like a powerful volcano. It's the only proper way
to act - live the part. 
"You
can't have that kind of talent and not be a deep-thinking
person," observes Winnie Holzman, the creator of the show.
Of
course Claire Danes is ultra-photogenic and very beautiful.
But her beauty has a complex messed up quality, so you
can still believe that she could nurse a hang-up over
being ugly and passed by.
Quality
ran from top to bottom in the show, and appearing in the
19 episodes of My So Called Life has got to be
the greatest education there is in the art of making great
drama. Presumably setting Claire up for life with an excellent
acting career. So what has happened in her 'so-called'
after life?
She's
been in great demand since the show closed in 1995, making
a dozen pictures. Her profile soared with Romeo and
Juliet. The film where William Shakespeare
hooks up with MTV for what is really one very long stylised
gimmick. The style of acting with soliloquies and antiquated
phrases is a world away from the naturalism of My So
Called Life. It was however, a great success - nice
set design too.
She
recently starred in The Mod Squad, which was not
a spectacular hit in either box office or critical terms.
A bit of a turkey.
But
her latest picture, Brokedown Palace - released
in the UK in November - about two girls arrested in Thailand
for smuggling drugs, showed more promise. A side from
the big disappointment that she wasn't in any prison shower
scenes, it's a very competent movie.
But
Brokedown Palace falters because the banter between
her and her best friend, played by Kate Beckinsale, never
really comes to life - ironically one of the strongest
elements of My So Called Life. Claire re-affirms
in Brokedown Palace the great actress that she
is - displaying some hitherto unseen serious grit and
anger, and those are the best scenes in the film.
Claire
turned 20 in 1999 and having been in the limelight since
the age of 14, she has had a job keeping a grip on any
sense of a normal life, not least seeing through her education.
She might have lost her way with a few of the roles she's
picked, and it's possible she may have consciously, or
unconsciously, shied away from any parts that were too
revealing or intense. But it's more likely that such challenging
parts like Angela Chase in My So Called Life just
don't crop up that often for young actresses.
What
she needs now is to land herself another challenging role
that will allow her to cement her reputation as a great
performer. It's clear she's an actress with longevity
- one who is going to be around for decades to come, but
the way she speaks now shows a real determination to grab
her career by the throat and really make her mark.
"I
just want to make good movies," Danes says. "I want to
make movies that have something to offer, that are surprising,
that have something going on. Everything seems so familiar
lately, just regurgitating old ideas, and that's a little
bit irritating."
"I'm
going to do good stuff, believe you me," she continues.
"I'm focused on it now. For a long time it wasn't my priority.
I was much more interested in figuring out who the hell
I was as a person. I wasn't ready to leap into another
character and comment on myself, or my life. I had no
sense of it. I had been working like a dog, that's what
I do. So I've been scrambling to put a piece of a life
together, and I'm satisfied with it and now I can make
a movie."
In
2000 she starts shooting Flora Plum, directed by
Jodie Foster, a fine actress that Claire makes more than
a passing resemblance to. Set in the 1930s, it's apparently
a character study movie similar in style to All About
Eve. This could well be the one.
By
the way, you can buy My So Called Life videos on
import over the internet.
I
would if I were you…
www.clairedanes.com
www.bomis.com/rings/clairedanes
