Natalie Dormer makes clever, calculating women feel vulnerable without making them seem foolish. We like the uncertainty she brings to their composure, and wish fewer parts were content to ask her to be seductive and watchful.
Fi1m perspective
A change in Natalie Dormer's expression can make a self-assured woman look briefly vulnerable. As Anne Boleyn in The Tudors (2007), she uses that uncertainty to complicate a character who might otherwise be reduced to calculation and seduction. We cared about her Anne because the steeliness did not make her seem immune to hurt. It was her breakthrough, and it also established a casting habit that has proved restrictive. Intelligence is welcome; asking her to make it look enticing every time is less so.
The programme itself deserves some caution: we find it diverting royal soap, hampered by an impatient king and a wandering pace. Dormer's contribution need not turn a qualified recommendation into a claim for serious historical drama. Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2012–16) brought wider recognition and another woman skilled at getting her way at court. The likeness between the parts helps explain the casting, but it also encourages us to watch for the schemer before we have watched what Dormer is doing.
Rush (2013) is an easier recommendation as a film, though Dormer's supporting role as Nurse Gemma is not the reason. Ron Howard builds a tense, involving Formula One drama around Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl, with Peter Morgan's script occasionally making the rivals too simple. There is some over-explaining between races, but the competition matters. We would happily recommend the film while directing anyone curious about Dormer back to the less consistent The Tudors.
There are other ways to use that assurance. As Mrs Appleyard in Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018), she brings menace and vulnerability to the same performance. On stage, Venus in Fur (2017) makes use of her physical expressiveness and quick changes of mood. These are better reasons to seek her out than the promise of another seductive plotter. Start with Anne if court intrigue appeals, but keep an eye on the parts that allow Dormer to look less certain of herself.
Biography
Natalie Dormer is an English actress. She was born on 11 February 1982 in Reading, Berkshire.
She trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her breakthrough came with the role of Anne Boleyn in the series The Tudors (2007–10).
Dormer is known for playing Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones (2012–2016). Her film roles include Private Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), Nurse Gemma in Rush (2013), and Cressida in The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 (2014) and Part 2 (2015). She also portrayed Irene Adler and Jamie Moriarty in Elementary (2013–15).
