{"id":162343,"date":"2026-04-09T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162343"},"modified":"2026-04-09T10:46:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T14:46:52","slug":"kristen-stewart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sheilaomalley.com\/?p=162343","title":{"rendered":"“I never wanted to be this famous. I never imagined this life for myself.” — Kristen Stewart"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nIt’s her birthday today. <\/p>\n

“Really, I’m incredibly disjointed and not candid. Just in general, my thoughts tend to come out in little spurts that don’t necessarily connect. If you hang around long enough, you can find the linear path. But it will take a second. That is why these interviews never go well for me.”<\/big><\/p>\n

\nSome people have fame thrust upon them. This has been the case with Kristen Stewart, one of the most interesting and unique actresses to come along in a long long time. There are others who have more “range”. There are others who may are more skilled, technically. But nobody has what she has. It’s her own thing. It’s charisma. It’s movie-magic. This charisma movie-magic does not show up in interviews (as she is well aware of – see above quote) – but interviews are irrelevant. Put the camera on her and something happens. She understands the camera. And the camera understands her. She does not have to work at that part of it. It’s the ineffable weird thing that cannot be explained about her. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and she picks interesting non-commercial projects. <\/p>\n

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\nShe was launched into the public eye with the most commercial of products – a franchise geared towards teens – and she cringed her way through every interview and red carpet event. Those movies were sneered at. I know I am a broken record but let’s say it again for the cheap seats, as well as the mostly-straight mostly-male film critics who think they should be the ones to tell other people what is good or worthy: When you ignore the ecstatic screams of teenage girls, you basically announce “I want to be out of touch with the zeitgeist. I am okay with missing out on what will be the Next Big Thing.”<\/i> By sneering at Twilight<\/i>, by mocking Kristen Stewart’s awkwardness on red carpets, by expressing baffled surprise that anyone cares about this no-talent young actress (and actor – too – let’s not forget) … you show a dismaying lack of curiosity about WHY teenage girls were so ENRAPTURED. And when teenage girls get enraptured, the whole world can hear. They are often the first wave. They were the first wave with Elvis. With the Beatles. With Zac Efron. With so many others. Ignore the raptures of teenage girls at your peril – particularly<\/i> if you are a film and\/or cultural critic. <\/p>\n

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\nWho has the last laugh now. Look at what Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson have chosen to do with the fame that was thrust upon them before either of them even knew who they were or knew what they wanted to do. Look at what they have done with this amazing opportunity. They have worked steadily in odd-ball non-commercial high-art projects, and they have two of the most interesting careers in Hollywood. <\/p>\n

The teenage girls knew. They usually do.<\/p>\n

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So. I’ve written a lot about Kristen Stewart. Here’s a link-dump: <\/p>\n

I’ll start with the most recent: Stewart’s directed shorts before, but early this year she made her narrative feature debut as a director with The Chronology of Water<\/i>, an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch\u2019s 2011 memoir, and … it’s kind of a jaw-dropping piece of work, honestly. I reviewed it. I can’t say enough good things about it. I can see why she faced 8 years of “No”s about this film. She needed to do it her way. And so she did, but it took a lot. I reviewed.<\/a> <\/p>\n

I’ve been trying to get at the Kristen thing, and therefore I keep writing about her. This was my first attempt<\/a> to write about the not easily explainable. <\/p>\n

I elaborated further in my Film Comment<\/i> column<\/a>. <\/p>\n

I didn’t think Lizzie<\/i> was a particularly good movie but my Ebert review<\/a> gave me a chance to discuss Stewart’s almost eerie gifts. <\/p>\n

One of my favorite things I’ve ever written was one long in the making – since I was, say, 11 – a piece about the Tomboy Golden Era<\/a> (1970s movies). In discussing where the tomboy “went” in pop culture, Kristen Stewart comes up. <\/p>\n

I wrote about Personal Shopper<\/i><\/a> for Ebert’s 10 Best Films of 2017 feature.<\/p>\n

I wrote about the fascinating dream-like short film she directed<\/a>, Come Swim<\/i>.<\/p>\n

I wrote about her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria<\/i><\/a> for a feature on Ebert about the Best Performances of 2015. <\/p>\n

And here, I wrote about Clouds of Sils Maria<\/i><\/a>, a movie which affected me so much I haven’t gone back to watch it again.<\/p>\n

Some years years back I interviewed one of my Actors Studio teachers<\/a> – an amazing teacher named Sam Schacht. I wanted to hear his thoughts on the misunderstood “Method”. Out of the blue, he brought up Kristen Stewart. <\/p>\n

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\nThank you so much for stopping by. If you like what I do, and if you feel inclined to support my work, here’s a link to my Venmo account<\/a>. And I’ve launched a Substack, Sheila Variations 2.0<\/a>, if you’d like to subscribe.<\/em> <\/small><\/p>\n