Cicely Tyson

Cicely Tyson's precise speech makes us listen even when the part is small. She brings a quiet intensity to women who have endured a great deal, and makes their dignity feel like something that has taken effort. She refused roles that demeaned Black women, accepting long gaps between jobs rather than taking whatever came. That care is worth valuing, though it cannot make every film she appeared in worth an evening.

Sounder (1972) established her as a leading film actress, playing Rebecca in a Depression-era family drama. The title role in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974) required physical and vocal changes across decades of a woman's life. These are useful starting points before the later ensemble films: they give her the space to develop a character that a brief appearance cannot.

Jon Avnet's Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) finds her in a supporting role as Sipsey, bringing warmth to a film whose sentiment needs good actors to make it convincing. Kathy Bates and Jessica Tandy are particularly persuasive, and we recommend the film for the women at its centre. Its predictable plotting and caution about sexuality keep that recommendation qualified. Tyson is part of the reason the sentiment works, though Sipsey offers less scope than those earlier leading roles.

The Help (2011) makes that limitation harder to overlook. Tyson appears briefly as Constantine Jefferson, and we were moved by the quiet intensity she brings to a part with so little time. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer give Tate Taylor's drama much of its feeling, but the film gives its white heroine too much credit and offers too much comfort about segregation. Tyson supplies humanity; she cannot correct where the story puts its attention. See it for the performances, then go to Sounder for a leading part that gives her more room.