Candice Bergen

In Let Them All Talk (2020), Candice Bergen's Roberta scans the ship's bar for a wealthy man. She has come aboard with a grievance against Alice, whose novel she believes has made use of her life without giving anything back. Bergen lets her be sour and calculating, with no apology tucked into the comedy. We laughed at her appraisal of the grey heads at the bar because she makes the search so frank and practical. Her determination keeps these scenes moving.

That comic assurance took time to emerge. From her screen debut in The Group (1966), Bergen was often treated as an icy presence, and the early dramatic performances could be stiff. Starting Over (1979), in which she plays Jessica Potter, brought her comic timing into clearer view. The lead in Murphy Brown (1988–1998) made that timing central to her reputation. The useful change was finding parts in which a sharp tongue could do more of the work.

Film has not always given her as much to do. In Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), she plays Margaret Bourke-White, but our recommendation rests on Ben Kingsley, with patience needed for the thin supporting roles. Steven Soderbergh's Let Them All Talk allows room for improvisation, with only a sketch of a script. The conversations are often good, but the film is slight. Bergen's sour humour is the strongest reason to stay with it, though even she cannot supply everything the script lacks.

The risk with an actor so useful in an ensemble is that a cutting remark becomes her entire job. We want more for Bergen than another supporting part requiring someone authoritative to put everyone else in their place. Roberta works because the resentment has a cause and the search for money gives her something to do. We would happily spend longer with her, though Soderbergh's film does not always reward the same attention. See it for Bergen; do not expect her to fix the whole film.