Virtuosos Awards

Reviewed by Sandra Doyle. Viewed at the Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara. Six up and coming actors ranging from their mid fifties to merely nine years old received their virtuosos awards on the 29th of January at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Ann Dowd was first to take the stage for her role in the drama, “Compliance” based off of real incidents that took place in the US in 2004. Thrilled to be at the Arlington, Dowd gave a witty interview and explained that “Compliance” pushes society to ask themselves how far they would go to obey a supposed authority figure. The delightful Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning’s younger sister, followed soon after due to her role as Ginger in “Ginger & Rosa.” Set in London during the Cuban Missile Crisis, two young girls struggle to cope with the looming tensions of their friendship and the world’s livelihood. It was a very emotional and challenging role for the 14-year-old Fanning to play, which she did naturally and whole-heartedly. Audiences will certainly be impressed with her performance when it is released in March. Steven Chbosky turned his famous novel on the complexities of high school interactions, Perks of Being A Wallflower, into a screenplay, which he then directed himself. After the film came out in October 2012, Ezra Miller gained much deserved attention for his passionate portrayal of Steven Chbosky’s character Patrick. Miller claimed that while on set he felt like Chbosky was ushering them into his high school memories and it would have been a violation to not do his character justice. A true character of his own Ezra Miller raised the bar and will hopefully continue to in future projects. British actor, Eddie Redmayne, has been at it for while since growing up acting on the stages of London. He had previously worked with Tom Hooper, the director of “Les Miserables,” and received the much sought after role of Marius due to his impressive vocal range along with an amazing performance clearly displayed in this contemporary rendition of the classic “Les Miserables.” After being part of such a highly anticipated film the talented Redmayne has finally gotten the widespread recognition he deserves. French actor/comedian, Omar Sy, received his award due to his performance in the acclaimed French film “The Intouchables.” When he was offered the part, Omar hesitantly told the directors that he wasn’t really an actor and was unsure about the project, yet he was met with their response that it was perfectly fine since they weren’t really directors. Both parties have proved in “The Intouchables” to have seriously underestimated themselves. When asked if subtitles can alter the way an audience experiences a movie, Sy thought that regardless of the English subtitles and their effect, it wasn’t inhibiting for their French film because all audiences can understand the international language of love. Last but certainly not least, talented nine year old Quvenzhane Wallis has become the youngest Oscar Nominee for Best Actress ever due to her performance as Hushpuppy in “Beasts of the Southern Wild.” Adorably sassy as any nine year old girl could be, Ms. Wallis caught the crowd off guard with her big personality and it became clear that audiences will be seeing much more of her on the big screen. Director of “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, Benh Zeitlin presented the awards two all six nominees who gave audiences a wonderfully engaging evening full of wit, laughs and a rather unique insight of six very different, very talented upcoming actors.