Kim Basinger

In Batman (1989), Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale has a prominent place in the story and too little character to fill it. Tim Burton lets Jack Nicholson's Joker keep performing, leaving her with the harder job of holding our attention without comparable material. We like the film's gothic atmosphere and Michael Keaton's troubled stillness, but Basinger's part is one of its weaknesses. It points to a recurring frustration in her work: she is worth watching, but the films too often seem to think her appearance will be enough.

Never Say Never Again (1983) brought her to prominence as Domino Petachi, and 9½ Weeks (1986) established her in erotic drama. Glamorous, seductive roles became a familiar assignment, although Blind Date (1987) also made use of her comic timing. The comedy is a useful reminder that she could do more than these recurring roles asked of her. We would have welcomed more opportunities to see it.

After a mid-1990s hiatus, L.A. Confidential (1997) gave her Lynn Bracken, a Veronica Lake lookalike, under Curtis Hanson's direction. Basinger gives Bracken enough humanity to hold her own in a persuasive ensemble, and this is where we rate her most highly. We were moved by Bracken's vulnerability, which she makes felt despite the film's persistent attention to her looks. Hanson and Helgeland still give the men more freedom to be contradictory. That is a limitation worth admitting even in a film we recommend as warmly as this one.

Hanson worked with her again in 8 Mile (2002), casting her as Stephanie Smith, the mother of Eminem's character. Supporting roles continued into The Nice Guys (2016), a return to noir in comic form. Those later credits make it worth looking past the familiar run of glamorous 1980s parts, without requiring us to praise every choice. Start with L.A. Confidential for Basinger, and approach Batman for Burton's city rather than for what it lets her do.