Sally Field gives women in family stories needs that cannot be laughed away. We value her ability to keep a character’s unhappiness credible beside a comic performance, although the films around her can lean too heavily on sentiment.
Fi1m perspective
In Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Sally Field lets Miranda Hillard’s unhappiness remain serious amid the farce. She does not mark time between jokes; she makes the separation something the comedy has to reckon with. We were more moved than we expected because Field makes Miranda’s distress feel like a problem that needs addressing, not an obstacle to somebody else’s fun. It is an especially useful kind of acting in a farce: we can enjoy the disguise without forgetting why the family is in trouble.
That ability took time to become the centre of her work. The television comedies Gidget (1965–66) and The Flying Nun (1967–70) established a perky image that restricted the parts available to her. The television film Sybil (1976) marked the move into drama, followed by the film breakthroughs of Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984). Those leading roles gave her room for the determination and emotional conviction that also make her useful when she has less of the story to herself.
Forrest Gump (1994) gives her another maternal role, as Mrs. Gump, the title character’s determined mother. Our reservations there concern the film: it runs too long and offers reassurance where its account of American history needs more scrutiny. We prefer Mrs. Doubtfire, despite its excessive sentiment and need for trimming, because Field gives its family trouble a weight that survives the invitations to laugh.
Her later ensemble work includes Lincoln (2012), as Mary Todd Lincoln, bringing vulnerability alongside strength. Calling Field’s characters determined is fair, but it can understate how much attention she gives their unhappiness. Miranda is persuasive because Field does not hurry past that unhappiness to accommodate the comedy. Choose Mrs. Doubtfire for the laughs, but give Miranda a hearing.
Biography
Sally Margaret Field is an American actress. She was born on 6 November 1946 in Pasadena, California.
Field began her career in television, appearing in the series Gidget (1965–1966) and The Flying Nun (1967–1970). She received critical acclaim for the television film Sybil (1976). Her film roles include Norma Rae (1979) and Places in the Heart (1984), for both of which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
She played Miranda Hillard in Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and Mrs. Gump in Forrest Gump (1994). Later credits include recurring roles in ER and Brothers & Sisters, for which she received Primetime Emmy Awards, and the film Lincoln (2012).
