I have to admit something strange… for me. It seems like Kristen Stewart has two films coming out that look like her best work in years and years. In May, Kristen went to Cannes to support Clouds of Sils Maria, where she plays Juliette Binoche’s personal assistant/daughter figure. That film got great reviews and I totally want to see it (mostly for Binoche, but Kristen looks solid too). And now the trailer has come out for Camp X-Ray, which debuted at Sundance earlier this year. And damn, this looks good too. I’ll fully admit that I thought it was a bad idea to send Lip-Bite McGee into Gitmo for some kind of character study about the War on Terror. But this trailer makes it look really good:
The image of Kristen’s guard and Payman Maadi’s detainee touching through the hole in the door is so moving. And Kristen – with little to no makeup – looks completely appropriate as a young, somewhat naïve soldier. I tend to think that Gitmo guards are probably mostly men, and bigger men at that, but there are lots of women who work at Gitmo. I recently listened to an NPR segment about the camp and the small community of soldiers, intelligence officers, JAG lawyers and their families living at the base. This seems reasonably realistic to me, and it looks like a career-best performance from Kristen. Damn. Am I going to need to change my mind about her?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Every time I see a new trailer of K-Stew’s I think my opinion is finally going to change. And then she does an interview and I remember ‘Nope.’
That outfit is horrendous. The pants are a mixture of adult diapers and genie pants.
Same dead eyes, same vapid expression. Pass.
What’s up with her hair? It looks like a five year old chopped it off with a blunt machete.
Good for her. The movie looks interesting, and she looks like she’s doing a good job with it.
I have often thought about what we are doing to the young men and women serving at GITMO, and what sort of impact it will have on their personalities and lives. I’m not ignoring the obvious impact it has on the detainees and their families, but no one ever talks about what the guards are going through. Serving America, but doing things that seem the antithesis of what we are supposed to represent.
I think at some point the guards at GITMO became just as trapped as the prisoners.
+1
except the guards can leave , aren’t getting tortured…
“Serving America, but doing things that seem the antithesis of what we are supposed to represent.”
Very thought provoking. Well written, GNAT.
Her character in that film with Binoche has an affair with a married man and then she goes on to justify the affair. As usual she plays herself.
False. Chloe Moretz’s character has an affair with a married man and Kristen Stewart’s character doesn’t justify it. What she does justify is acting in seemingly dumb Twilight-like movies.
The trailer looks good. So does the trailer for Clouds of Sils Maria.
I agree. Both movies look good after watching their trailers. There was lots and lots of gushing over Kristen’s performances at both Sundance (for Camp X-ray) and Cannes (for Sils Maria) from some respected film critics and journalists who have had criticism in the past for Kristen. Like Rob, I feel she is slowly but surely coming out from the shadow of Twilight and is now able to showcase her acting abilities through interesting roles in equally interesting movies.
You couldn’t pay me to go and see a Christmas Stewart movie.
I’m I missing something? Because I’m not seeing this “career-best performance” she sermd to be rocking the same expression in this move like in all her others.
I didn’t get in either. The only thing I saw was that she is way over her head with the two other actors that were prominently featured. They both look decent, and I don’t think she does at all. And I also just can’t get past her 100 pound frame as a soldier. Maybe there are gals that tiny in the services, but she just does not carry it off.
Ditto. All I can see are her teeth when her mouth is wide open and her tense jaw when her mouth is closed. Emote a little, yeah? She’s just not believable & I cringe watching her, which is a shame since this film actually looks decent. She definitely looks out-acted by the man who plays the prisoner. Quit trying to make KStew happen!
I am happy to see Kstew take on interesting roles. The story looks interesting and Payman Maadi as usual is acting his butt off, but Kristen Stewart has her trademark blank expressions and looks completely inappropriate in each scene. Like a tiny 15 year old teenager guarding detainees in GITMO. I know she is supposed to look unemotional as a guard but you can do that and still come across as a human being.
It would be so much better if they just replaced her with a good actress and gave her producer credits for making the film happen. I admit I much prefer her choices in films than what Pattinson does but both really need acting lessons.
I agree she needs to hone her acting skills. I think she’s capable of some depth in supporting roles. She’s also one of the few young actresses that I think has longevity. Of all the actresses around today I think Kristen and Jennifer Lawrence will still be around in 15-20 years.
The trailer for Clouds of Sils Maria totally got me.
I like her and I’m glad if she gets good reviews. She isn’t the only one in Hollywood that’s had an affair or made bad choices, so why should she be demonized her entire career? I am a fan of Twilight *ducks and covers head*, but it’s time she’s able to move on from being Bella and grow as a performer. Good for her.
She’s given good performances in the past *shrugs*
Miss Stewart has shown she has the intellectual depth of a potato, hence my reluctance to see this film. Plus, it was panned at sundance. Complicated subject, and doubt it was done well if she was attached to it.
Actually Kristen’s performance got great reviews at Sundance. The critics who saw the movie praised her performance.
Ummm we must have watched different trailers then, because all her lines were FLAAAAT, same expressions movie after movie, although I must admit that this probably wasn’t her fault, whoever though she would be believable as a Gitmo guard must have been high as a kite because she looks like when you’re a kid and dress up in adults clothes to play pretend…
There is a difference between a serious face and a perma sour face. Stewart should learn her acting lessons from there.
Not sure if I saw the same trailer as the writer of this piece, but I felt as if they are trivializing a serious issue because of the manner in which they are treating it. And having Kstew taking deep breaths every second scene didn’t help matter either.
That is not to say that either the trailer or the movie looks bad, but they would have benefited from better actors in league with Payman Moadi. Both Kristen and the other guy (from Prison Break) are sorta disappointing.
I watched the trailer with my husband yesterday and we both agreed it looked really good. Although, we noticed she is still doing that weird lip twist/biting thing too much. She really needs an acting coach to get that out of her. Other than that I think it will be a great movie.
Movie looks really good. I’ll watch it.
This movie is supposed to come out in October? If there’s any promo involving KS, hope they start working with her on talking points soon. Otherwise, that could be pretty gruesome.
Nope…the trailer does absolutely nothing to convince me that this woman can act. The film was indeed panned and currently has a rotten rating at RT. However, it won’t stop her PR people trying very hard to convince everyone that she can act…no she can’t.
The film critics who saw it at Sundance gave Kristen very good reviews and praise for her acting. They had issues with the film but felt her acting was very impressive. They said so in their reviews.