Did you know that Kristen Stewart has quietly become one of the best actresses working today?
Stewart has been acting in movies since the early 2000s, but we all know she became best
known for the 'Twilight' series starting in 2008.
So here’s the thing…the 'Twilight' films…well, let’s just say that they won’t be compared
to 'Citizen Kane' anytime soon.
When the public deemed Stewart “the girl from 'Twilight,” her name became synonymous
with the film series.
When something like this happens, people tend to confuse their opinion on the films with
their opinion on the actors.
I remember commonly hearing from friends and people on the internet that Stewart was a
“bad actress.”
Well, she’s not.
Like not at all.
She's actually really good.
While she surely doesn’t give a career-best performance in any of the 'Twilight' films,
a lot of the issues lie in the fact that her naturalistic approach to acting isn’t really
suited for dreamy fantasy, let alone the artificial sounding dialogue.
Watch these two clips back-to-back.
Which one has the better acting?
The second one, right?
And why is that?
It’s really just context.
The scene from 'Twilight' has dialogue that may deliver an unintentional laugh or two,
it has the overly dramatic score, and these completely unnecessary camera moves that take
us out of the moment, and most importantly, they call attention to the acting.
Even the best of the best aren’t going to nail it every time with lackluster filmmaking.
And it’s not like Stewart just all the sudden became a great actress after the 'Twilight'
films, which seems to be the common consensus.
She was turning in great performances both before and during her time with the 'Twilight'
series, but the vampire saga overshadowed her great work.
Stewart was able to pull off something that is almost impossible in Hollywood.
She separated herself from a popular franchise and took her career in a much more serious
and suitable direction.
She has since gravitated towards smaller, more artful films where she was able to show
the world what she can really do.
In fact, her recent and criminally underrated work in 'Personal Shopper' is perhaps my favorite
of her performances.
Films like this allow Stewart to play up to her strengths as an actress and deliver something
that is truly memorable and haunting.
Kristen Stewart is not “the girl from 'Twilight.”
She is one of the best actresses working today.