Ralph Fiennes: Five Films for Newcomers
Some performers have experienced greatness for multiple decades, which is already a rare achievement. Then, there are those that accomplish this greatness effortlessly; as if they have always just been there, never having disappeared in any capacity, or having any reason to have a massive return. Ralph Fiennes has been acting at the top of the industry for nearly thirty years, without signs of slowing down. He sparked right away, and has ridden this constant stream of excellency ever since. From Voldemort to Hades, Dickens to Jesus Christ; there aren’t many roles Fiennes hasn’t pulled off. Today is his birthday, and so we’re doing what we do whenever it’s such an occasion: picking out a handful of works for new cinephiles to check out. If you think we’re changing our formula now, you’re crazy. Here are five films for newcomers to the works of Ralph Fiennes.
5. Coriolanus
It just seems right to include a film that Fiennes actually directed. Possibly his most interesting vision as a director is his adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus: modernized in all of its glory. Fiennes stars as the titular general and gives it all until the bitter end; his experience in political and war thrillers matches this version that he has created, and it’s a strong effort through and through.
4. The Constant Gardner
Sometimes, editing and sequence order can enhance a performance, but it takes an aware performer to know how to wring all of the importance out of each scene; this makes out-of-order films all the more impactful on a performance front. This is what Fiennes pulls off in The Constant Gardner, as our perspectives of Justin Quayle (Fiennes) see a diplomat when they’re naive, making a discovery, and determined (all while ridden with guilt). Fiennes makes each and every step — no matter the order — crucial to the story’s theme of regret and revelation.
3. Quiz Show
There are two major sides in the biographical picture Quiz Show: that of Herb Stempel, who was cheated by the system he was a sacrificial lamb for, and that of Charles Van Doren, who is still reaping the benefits of being part of a staged game show as an effort to boost ratings. Fiennes plays the latter, who was the next sheep in line to be carried to the slaughter; he faces his father with a massive lie behind his eyes, and he struggles to keep this charade going. Fiennes captures these hesitations and confusions as a perfect patsy.
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel
Like a Cary Grant reincarnation, Fiennes plays a perfect screwball misfit (in an era where these sorts of comedies don’t quite exist anymore) in The Grand Budapest Hotel. Monsieur Gustave H. is flamboyantly arrogant and goofy, but he fully understands his job through and through. His commitment is endearing, even if he is just so cartoony. It’s a memorable comedic performance in recent memory, and it’s appalling that Fiennes wasn’t nominated by the Academy for this.
1. Schindler’s List
I have to pick Fiennes’ breakthrough role as Amon Göth in Schindler’s List as his finest performance. As one of cinema’s strongest antagonists, Fiennes somehow adds just enough of a sliver of humanity in Göth to create depth in a film as tricky as this one. For a brief second, we hope and pray that Göth has a change of heart, like his partner Oskar Schindler, and Fiennes gives us that hope (only to kick us in the face when we’re trusted him). When he isn’t showing us all sides, he’s disgustingly terrifying, and not many characters are as genuinely despicable as Ralph Fiennes’ take on Amon Göth in Schindler’s List.
Andreas Babiolakis has a Masters degree in Film and Photography Preservation and Collections Management from Ryerson University, as well as a Bachelors degree in Cinema Studies from York University. His favourite times of year are the Criterion Collection flash sales and the annual Toronto International Film Festival.