Embeth Davidtz makes gentleness credible without making it helpless, and gives haughty characters an equally firm sense of themselves. We value her dramatic restraint most, and wish more of her supporting parts gave it room.
Fi1m perspective
As Helen Hirsch in Schindler's List (1993), Embeth Davidtz makes fear register without letting it become the only thing we see in an abused maid. We found the performance deeply upsetting because her quiet resilience makes Helen feel like a person we have come to care about. Steven Spielberg sometimes presses too hard for tears in this film; Davidtz's restraint needs no such assistance. He gives this supporting character enough space for her suffering to matter individually, and Davidtz makes careful use of it.
Her early American films placed Army of Darkness (1992) beside that drama, an unhelpful start for anyone hoping to put her in a single category. The supporting parts continued through the 1990s, including Miss Honey, the gentle teacher in Matilda (1996). There, kindness has enough steel behind it to avoid becoming merely sweet.
In Sharon Maguire's Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), she plays Natasha, the haughty colleague and romantic rival. Her haughtiness is useful in a comedy so affectionate towards its heroine, though Natasha gives her less to work with than Helen Hirsch. We rated the film highly for its warmth and humour, with Renée Zellweger and Hugh Grant doing much of the work; Davidtz has a narrower job. She does it neatly, but Natasha is not the performance on which to judge everything she can do.
Television supplied another sharp character in Rebecca Pryce in Mad Men (2009), rather than simply another version of Miss Honey. The frustration is how often Davidtz has been confined to supporting parts despite the promise of her early work. We would like more parts that need the patience and emotional precision she brings to Helen.
Writing and directing Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight (2024), in which she also plays Nicola, marks a substantial change after those years of supporting work. We would approach it with curiosity, without assuming that her skill as an actor guarantees the film. For an introduction to her acting, begin with Schindler's List, provided the evening can bear it.
Biography
Embeth Davidtz is an American-born South African actress and director. Born on 11 August 1965 in Lafayette, Indiana, she moved with her family to South Africa at the age of nine. She studied at Rhodes University in Grahamstown and began her acting career in South African theatre and film.
Davidtz gained international recognition for her role as Helen Hirsch in Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List (1993). She is also known for playing Miss Honey in Matilda (1996), Natasha in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), and Mary Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and its 2014 sequel. Other credits include Bicentennial Man (1999) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).
In 2024, Davidtz made her directorial debut with Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, an adaptation of Alexandra Fuller's memoir, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
