Ian Holm, “The Sweet Hereafter”
I was very sad to hear the news of the death of exquisite actor Ian Holm. Probably most well-known to a large audience for playing Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings movies. But he first came onto my radar with his almost terrifying, really, performance in Woody Allen’s 1988 film Another Woman, as “Ken”, husband to Gena Rowlands’ “Marion.”
As Ken, he is so chilly, so “reasonable”, it’s a perfect performance of an emotionally stunted man, wrapped in the miasma of his belief in his superiority. It may seem at first like he’s peripheral to the main event, which is Marion’s slow unraveling once she starts hearing the psychiatrist’s sessions through the grate. But Ken isn’t at ALL peripheral. He’s central. Because Marion stole Ken away from his wife Lydia (Betty Buckley, whose single 5-minute scene is one of my favorite pieces of acting ever). Marion strolled into Ken’s life and stole this cold emotionless man away from his warm and fragile wife, recovering from a hysterectomy. Marion is the “lead” of the film and therefore we are swayed towards her in sympathy. Betty Buckley’s one scene topples all of that in one fell swoop. And Ken’s reaction to Lydia’s emotionality … Ken’s reaction to Marion suddenly changing the dance step of their relationship … is a cold wall of … nothing-ness. Ken is a void. And so what does it say about Marion that this kind of man – a married man no less – is the kind of man she would choose? She chose KEN over warm sexy Gene Hackman. It’s so revealing, and it’s revealing because of how Holm plays it. Ken must be played as impenetrable for the whole thing to work. He must live behind a smokescreen of reasonable-ness – but, in actuality, his reasonable-ness is heartlessness. He isn’t afraid of emotion. He has contempt for it.
Ian Holm and Gena Rowlands, “Another Woman”
When Ken is shaken in the self-belief of his own infallibility and perfection … when he is thrown off his own set-in-stone path of how “we” do things, he retreats even further. He literally will not leave his comfort zone of superiority. Or maybe it’s that he is incapable of leaving that zone. Ken is a deeply deeply damaged man, who will never ever admit he is damaged in any way whatsoever. Holm shows us that. He shows it in his mortification at Bette Buckley’s surprise appearance, and his seething contempt of her, his contempt of emotions, in general.
Betty Buckley and Ian Holm, “Another Woman”
It is an intricate and very perceptive character study of the kind of person who rejects emotion as “irrational”.
Holm has done so much else – how excellent is he in Alien? How odd, how eerie he is – you can’t tell what’s wrong but you know something is, merely from how he plays that role. Or The Sweet Hereafter … what a quiet, deeply interior, and pained powerhouse that performance is!
So obviously there’s much more to pay tribute to, but figured I’d shout out his performance in Another Woman, a film that doesn’t really get its due. (Years ago, I wrote the booklet essay for a DVD-release of the film. I’ve posted the essay on my site in full).
Great actor. Rest in peace.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Nick Cunard/Shutterstock (499008d)
Ian Holm
IAN HOLM AT THE ROYAL GARDEN HOTEL, LONDON, BRITAIN – 03 SEP 2004
One of my favorite Holms scenes is towards the end of Henry V, making Kenneth Branagh laugh after Agincourt. It was so unexpected, and felt spontaneous, a breaking of the tension. Never forgotten it.
Barb – oh yes!! fantastic! Thanks for reminding me!
So sorry to hear about him passing. He, of course, was fantastic in anything he did, but I remember him from two incredibly dopey movies (well done, but dopey). One was “Juggernaut” and the other was “The Fifth Element”. Neither movie is even remotely great entertainment (though Juggernaut has a fabulous cast) but I sit through “Element” just for him. He plays a devout priest who recruits Bruce Willis to help him save the world. His character is funny and sweet and weirdly brave all at the same time.
That’s why I like British actors over American actors. They show up in the most bizarre movies. Helen Mirren in the Fast and Furious franchise. Judi Dench in “The Chronicles of Riddick”. Anthony Hopkins in Mission Impossible and The Transformers series. I mean Michael Bay and Sir Anthony Hopkins? The mind boggles.
Carolyn – I haven’t seen Juggernaut but I love Fifth Element and you’re so right about how good he is.
And I totally agree about British actors. I’ve been watching a lot of British TV series – and the most incredible and sometimes Oscar-nominated actors show up in them – Olivia Collette – she’s been in a couple of series – Fleabag – Broadchurch – where she really gets to flex. There’s less ego in re: “building a career” in England. They all do plays, they do TV … and there’s just more freedom for them to take risks.
I have my own favorite Ian Holm performances and, oddly, or maybe not so, they were both on TV. He played Bernard Samson in Len Deighton’s GAME, SET, MATCH, a deeply troubled English spy (aren’t they all deeply troubled?).
And in Mamet’s version of UNCLE VANYA he played Astrov to David Warner’s lead. I paid a fortune for a copy of Game, Set, Match and the quality made it almost unwatchable. But it was a really good mini-series. Sadly, I’d taped it myself years ago when it first aired, but it went missing in one of my many moves.
He did remarkable work. Trivia: he was 5’5 yet he seemed to tower….
Melissa – I haven’t seen Game, Set, Match – it sounds wonderful. I also have not seen that version of Uncle Vanya – he sounds like he would be a perfect Astrov!