An Appreciation of 2015’s Best Actress: Alicia Vikander
Because no one did more or better
If there was an MVP trophy at the Oscars it would go to Alicia Vikander. But that doesn’t happen, so I wanted a localized celebration of Sweden’s cinematic secret weapon. She’s probably not going to win any major awards — this time — but she won my heart, and kicked ass in an incredibly impressive slate of films over the past 12 months. So in case you (somehow) missed Alicia Vikander this year, here’s a primer on her 2015. You’ll want to be very familiar with her going forward.
Remember how you hadn’t heard of Jessica Chastain until a few years ago and then she broke the fuck out in 2011 and has been all over the place ever since? It’s kind of like that. Chastain had built up a modest filmography after her first film role in 2008 (Jolene) and then showed up in half a dozen movies that ranged from good to great in a single year. Coriolanus, The Help, Tree of Life, Take Shelter, The Debt and the only real miss, Texas Killing Fields, all came out in 2011.
That’s a God damn amazing year for anyone, let along someone who’s basically brand new. Now the Chastainiac is an Academy Award nomoniated industry and audience favorite, outspoken humanist and feminist and close friend of the fashion elite. In other words, she’s made good on the promise her breakout year.
The Ascendence of Vikander is very similar. She’s been making movies in her homeland and English-language period pieces since her first feature film role in 2009 (Pure). Then this last year she absolutely exploded, with Burnt, The Danish Girl, Son Of A Gun, Testament of Youth, Seventh Son, Ex Machina, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and even the very well received documentary Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words. While Burnt was whatever and Seventh Son was mostly a waste, the rest were Chastainian in their good to great execution, especially Ex Machina. Machina rated in the Honorable Mention category in the Best Best Best list of 2015 movies, but for my heart’s vote it was top 3, and Vikander was the absolute keystone despite the fact that she split screen time with Domhnall Gleeson and Oscar Isaac, who are both excellent performers. There’s a great article about her performance here (oh look I wrote that!), and all the reviews that matter highlight her as the scene stealer.
So here’s my objective: If you find yourself in a space where movies and the upcoming awards circuit come into play, consider this your conversation study guide. While people debate Cate Blanchett v. Brie Larson v. Saoirse Ronan v. Jennifer Lawrence you can chime in with a smart take on the sneaky most valuable actress of the year in Vikander.
The Quick Bits
Vikander was born and raised in Sweden. She’s been acting since she was 7, but left home to attend the Royal Swedish Ballet School at 15. She fully devoted herself to acting when she realized dancing was going to be a viable career. More bio information is available in the cover stories that W and Vogue did on her last year. She’s probably dating Michael Fassbender but it’s the least interesting thing about her so we’re moving on.
She’s also went on The Tonight Show twice in 2015 and sang Swedish holiday songs with Jimmy Fallon. So that’s super fun.
Overall she seems to be rocking that easy charm factor found in cult personalities like Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, except with this kind of detached Euro coolness that will surely provide fodder for many profilers to call her “surprising” for being interesting or funny. This bodes well for her growing star power.
The Movies
Here’s the round up of Vikander’s 2015 filmography. If you haven’t seen the movies the trailers should at least give you talking points.
Burnt
Watch if you like: Bradley Cooper, food, contrived drama about a Bad Boy looking for redemption. Not the biggest play house for Vikander, but it got her momentum going early in the year.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Watch if you like: Hyper-stylized, sexy buddy action comedies with that special brand of Guy Ritchie line blurring homo-affection between male leads. Vikander sparkles in her supporting role, but this movie honestly belongs to Elizabeth Debicki. Watch it for her, and the delicious set pieces and art direction.
The Danish Girl
Watch if you like: To cry. Vikander plays the wife of Eddie Redmayne’s Lili Elbe, one of the first people to undergo gender confirmation surgery. It’s a biopic, and Vikander has received as much good buzz as Redmayne for her portrayal of Gerda Wegener. Strong for the period piece and poignant drama crowd.
Son of A Gun
Watch if you like: Violent crime oriented genre movies. Brenton Thwaites is a HUGE minus, but Ewan McGregor and Vikander are worth turning out for.
Seventh Son
Watch if you like: Kind of garbage versions of movies like The Hobbit (which, depending on who you ask, was a garbage version of Lord Of The Rings). But, hey, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges are here, so you would have signed on too.
Testament of Youth
Watch if you like: Period dramas and romantic tear jerkers! Vikander has that soft beauty and implacable international accent that plays incredibley well in pastoral character studies. It’s also got Kit Harrington and Hayley Atwell. Even if brocade isn’t your thing, give this movie a chance. It’s filled with wonderful performances.
Ex Machina
Watch if you like: Science fiction, psycho-sexual love triangles, humans imitating androids imitating humans, great acting. We covered the rest above. This movie is excellent.
Ingrid Bergman In Her Own Words
Watch if you like: Documentaries, Ingrid Bergman and film!
The Future
So we’ve covered the year in movies for Vikander and given some bare bones personal bits, enough to get you talking. But the star’s narrative is worth knowing because she will be similarly impressive in 2016. Tulip Fever has her set alongside Christoph Waltz in a, you guessed it, 17th century period piece! Don’t leave your roots behind, girlfriend. It’s the kind of movie that would be about someone paiting a portrait, because that’s exactly what it is about. She’ll also star alongside Fassbender and Rachel Weisz in The Light Between Oceans, a drama about a lighthouse keeper and his wife who raise a found baby, and she’s lined up to be in the Matt Damon revival of Bourne. If you haven’t had enough heavy drama from Vikander after all that, you’ll also get Submergence, in which she plays a deep sea diver and James McAvoy plays a man held captive by jihadist fighters. So, the cinematic equivalent of a beach read!
In Summary
The long and short is that Vikander has It. Whatever you want to call It, the fact is that you can’t stop staring when she’s on screen. So study up on Alicia Vikander and hopefully these notes will help set you on your way. She is going to matter for a while.
