Jennifer Connelly makes us care about characters whose films are often busy with something else. We value her ability to suggest wants and feelings beyond the immediate plot, though directors do not always give her enough time.
Fi1m perspective
Jennifer Connelly’s Emma Murdoch has feelings that Dark City (1998) barely stops to consider. Alex Proyas builds an absorbing mystery around a city more fully developed than most of its inhabitants, and Connelly makes us notice what is missing. There is enough in her performance to make another stretch with Emma seem more appealing than another piece of the puzzle. We were frustrated by how often the people had to serve the mystery when she had already made us interested in them. Her ability to suggest a fuller life than the writing provides is a good reason to watch her.
Her early leading roles included the fantasy and adventure films Labyrinth (1986) and The Rocketeer (1991). The lighter material did not always ask much of her; The Rocketeer is part of that limitation, rather than proof that she had little to offer. The turn towards more demanding drama brought Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001). Our clearest evidence for what she can do comes from the former.
Darren Aronofsky casts her as Marion Silver in Requiem for a Dream, and her performance keeps addiction from becoming the only thing we know about Marion. Working alongside Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans, she makes us believe these people still have wants beyond the next high. The need for relief remains recognisably human, without asking us to overlook what addiction does. Aronofsky’s relentless cutting can obscure that work, flattening distinctions the actors have taken care to establish. Connelly and Wayans deserve more uninterrupted attention, but their performances are a substantial reason to face a punishing film.
Her subsequent work has moved between independent dramas and studio films, including Blood Diamond (2006), Noah (2014) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022). She is frequently cast as intelligent, resilient women. We are more interested in the particular wants she gives Marion and the unexplored feelings she suggests in Emma. Start with Requiem for a Dream, provided you can bear a film whose cutting sometimes gets between us and the performance we want to watch.
Biography
Jennifer Connelly is an American actress. She was born on 12 December 1970 in Cairo, New York. She began her career as a child model and made her acting debut in the 1984 film Once Upon a Time in America.
After further modelling work, she appeared in films including Phenomena (1985), Labyrinth (1986), Career Opportunities (1991) and The Rocketeer (1991). She received praise for her performances in Dark City (1998) and Requiem for a Dream (2000).
Connelly won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in A Beautiful Mind (2001). Other notable credits include Blood Diamond (2006), He's Just Not That Into You (2009), Noah (2014), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Top Gun: Maverick (2022). She is married to actor Paul Bettany.
