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About the Movie
An alluring former actress hopes to make a triumphant return to show business in this acclaimed documentary from filmmaker Robert Greene. Brandy Burre had a recurring role on HBO’s "The Wire" when she gave up her career to settle down and start a family in a small suburban town. When she decides to reclaim her life as an actor, the domestic world she’s carefully created begins to crumble around her. A portrait of a complicated woman in a familiar story, ACTRESS is a film about starring in the movie of your life.
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
88%- Reviews Counted: 26
- Fresh: 23
- Rotten: 3
- Average Rating: 7.1/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: Mr. Greene's impressionistic style and rough, off-center compositions create an atmosphere of intimacy, as if the viewer were being invited to read Ms. Burre's diary or her mind.
Fresh: Robert Greene's extraordinary collaboration with actress Brandy Burre is a playful, provocative examination of self-performance.
Fresh: Greene seems fascinated by the contradictory identities - each a kind of real-life performance - that Burre endeavors to reconcile, and he is profoundly sensitive to the emotional truth these performances describe.
Fresh: For Burre, artistic and erotic desire are fused; she sees her life as a series of roles-mom conflicts with actress, partner with lover-and her struggle for fulfillment links creative work with economic independence.
Customer Reviews
A Train Wreck
I wanted my money back as soon as I heard the "actress" declare, 'i am not going to live a life of obligation' (to her marriage). meanwhile, five minutes earlier this same actress is sharing that her husband found out she cheated when he took the kids out west to celebrate one of the kid's birthdays.
the the actress, dressed like june cleaver and doing dishes, is sharing (in a nonsensical slow-mo art house style) how she needs to move through the fire rather than go back.
marriage is obligation. quit at it once and you will quit at it repeatedly.
she wont live a life of obligation, but she will live a life of "i need my needs fulfilled". lovely.
and in the process she is also showing her kids (who watch everything parents do) that relationships are disposable. lovely.
there are better things to watch.
One of the finer non-fiction films from the 21st century
Robert Greene's magnificent documentary is a testament how, despite non-fiction cinema being over 100 years old, there is still magnificent, groundbreaking work being made in the field. Actress particularly calls into question the notion of "acting" and how someone behaves both in front of and outside of the gaze of a camera. An incredible work that acts as both a portrait and a provocation.
Astounding
One of the best films of 2014. Robert Greene is ahead of the game when it comes to cinematic non-fiction. A profound statement about performance and intimacy in our everyday lives. What do we tell ourselves about the choices we make? Who are we performing for?
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