Though it would appear her career hit a peak in 2002, when she received two Academy Award nominations for her work on The Hours and Far From Heaven, I would argue that Julianne Moore has done even more excellent work in the years since. Even better than The Big Lebowski or Boogie Nights, two movies I adore, and two Moore performances that are spectacular, are a few recent pictures that have relied on her easygoing charisma.
One of the first to confirm Julianne Moore as an authoritative, magnetic heroine was Children of Men, in a roundabout way. Her fate in this movie comes as such a shock because, given her stature both as a respected actor but also as a confident figure in the film, it’s doubtful many viewers could have seen it coming. She added magnificent, layered performances in 2009 with Chloe and A Single Man, but the revelation that was The Kids Are All Right defined Moore as a rather unusual figure as an actress: a woman with complicated feelings, nearing age 50, and full of life and hotness.
The cliché is that men become more attractive with age while women become less attractive, but changing social mores as well as the presence of Julianne Moore are shifting this narrative. Look no further than Don Jon, where Moore plays a desirable alternative to hooking up with Scarlett Johansson, for proof of this.
Continue reading on the next page…