Lesley Ann Warren makes supporting characters worth caring about, with a warmth that need not announce itself. We admire the care behind her work, though The Limey shows how little a script can do with it.
Fi1m perspective
In The Limey (1999), Elaine is a voice coach who knew Jenny, and Lesley Ann Warren makes her warmth register in a film busy with revenge. We were glad of that warmth, then frustrated that the script found so little use for it. Steven Soderbergh has Terence Stamp's stillness and an out-of-order story to hold our attention, but Elaine could have carried more of the film's sadness. Warren makes a supporting part feel worth staying with even when the film has other plans.
Cinderella (1965) brought her wide notice before the Disney musicals The Happiest Millionaire (1967) and The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band (1968). Singing and movement were already part of how she built a character, drawing on dance and musical theatre. Her television work in the 1970s included Dana Lambert in Mission: Impossible (1970-71). We recommend the series for its carefully arranged deceptions and the cast's composure, not for any one player. Its teamwork is absorbing even as repeated viewing makes the formula easier to spot.
The turn back towards film came with Norma Cassidy in Victor/Victoria (1982), followed by Miss Scarlet in Clue (1985). These are useful reminders that the early ingénue image never described all she could do. Her later casting often favoured damaged or neurotic women, which makes her habit of preparing detailed character histories particularly useful. A role described that way can too easily amount to a collection of symptoms. Warren's preparation at least starts with the possibility that the woman has a life beyond the behaviour the script requires.
Her independent-film work with Alan Rudolph and Soderbergh gives us another reason to look beyond the musicals and ensemble comedies. In The Limey, Dobbs's thin writing leaves Elaine underused, while Flack's editing sometimes repeats an image beyond its usefulness. We still recommend the film: its sharpness and sadness outweigh those frustrations, and Warren contributes to its feeling without getting much help from the writing. See it for Warren as well as Stamp; just be prepared to want more time with Elaine.
Biography
Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress and singer. She made her Broadway debut in the 1963 musical 110 in the Shade and gained early recognition for the title role in the 1965 television production of Cinderella. She appeared in Disney musical films including The Happiest Millionaire (1967).
Warren received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Victor/Victoria (1982). Her film credits include Clue (1985), The Limey (1999) as Elaine, and Secretary (2002). On television she has appeared in series such as Desperate Housewives (2004), Marvel's Daredevil (2015) and 9-1-1 (2018).
