Christopher Plummer's precise speech gave patriarchs and professionals an authority few needed to explain. We value him most when a film troubles that assurance, as Michael Mann's The Insider does.
Fi1m perspective
In The Insider (1999), Christopher Plummer's Mike Wallace has the guarded authority of a man who expects to be heard. His sonorous voice and exact diction suit the part, but the reserve is what makes it interesting. He gives us reasons to watch Wallace carefully rather than simply accept his standing. We found him quietly unsettling, because Wallace's guarded manner makes it hard to take his impressive authority on trust. This is the Plummer we value: a formidable supporting actor who can make a public figure seem difficult to know.
International recognition came with Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965), a role that helped define his public image. The stage work continued alongside the screen parts through the following decades. His classical theatre experience informed the precise speech, which could establish a character's standing quickly and made him a natural choice for patriarchs and intellectuals. The risk with such casting is that a film may consider the voice sufficient and give the actor little else to do.
In Terry Gilliam's Twelve Monkeys (1995), he plays Dr. Goines, a virologist and father, another role suited to that cultivated authority. We recommend the film, though Bruce Willis supplies its painful human centre, and this is not where we would begin with Plummer. Gilliam's restless images and an overextended script sometimes make following it harder than necessary. It is worth the effort, provided the time-travel complications are part of the attraction.
Mann gives Plummer more substantial work in The Insider, where three actors make a professional dispute matter through what it costs each man. Russell Crowe gives the personal risks weight, while Pacino lets doubts complicate Bergman's determination. Plummer's sharper reserve belongs alongside them, giving the television side of the story its own tensions without making Wallace easy company. The film occasionally labours a point already understood, but these performances keep us interested in the people arguing it.
He was less well served in The New World (2005), a useful warning against choosing a film on the strength of his presence alone. The later supporting work brought renewed attention, with the understated Hal in Beginners (2010) particularly well suited to his gifts. For a first encounter, we would choose The Insider.
Biography
Christopher Plummer was a Canadian actor who worked in theatre, film and television. Born in Toronto on 13 December 1929, he made his film debut in Stage Struck (1958).
He is known for his role as Captain Georg von Trapp in The Sound of Music (1965). Other film appearances include Twelve Monkeys (1995) as Dr. Goines, A Beautiful Mind (2001) as Dr. Rosen, the voice of Charles Muntz in Up (2009), and Harlan Thrombey in Knives Out (2019).
Plummer won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Beginners (2010), becoming the oldest person to receive the award at the age of 82. He died at his home in Weston, Connecticut, on 5 February 2021, aged 91.
