Virtuosos Award at The Arlington (2013)

Reviewed by Jillian P. Halverstadt.  Viewed at The Arlington Theatre, Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s 2013 Virtuosos Award was held at the Arlington Theatre and consisted of some very promising actors and actresses.  The host and moderator for the evening was Dave Karger who did a fabulous job and kept a good energy throughout the ceremony.  The Virtuosos included Elle Fanning, Ann Dowd, Omar Sy, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, and Quvenzhane Wallis.  I loved the group they chose for this years awards because it gave the audience an opportunity to see a variety of actors in many different stages of their careers but all being recognized for new, breakthrough roles.

First on the stage was Ann Dowd for her Oscar nominated performance in Compliance (Craig Zobel, 2012) as Sandra.  An energetic and spunky woman, she starts off by joking about her age back and forth with Karger.  Getting into the process she took to identify her character for this film, though, we see she is very deep and thorough when it comes to her work.  Dowd expressed her concern in that she wanted the audience to be able to see that this woman was not a monster, but instead a victim of her own insecurities.  She makes a reference to the Milgram Experiment and how Compliance is a modern real life situation of that.  I have a feeling that we will be seeing a lot more of Ann Dowd on the big screen in the future.

Next, was the sweet and bashful Elle Fanning for her role as Ginger in the UK filmed drama, Ginger & Rosa (Sally Potter, 2012).  A little less confident than Dowd, but definitely as charming, the 14 year old is giggling with nerves as she first takes her spot next to the moderator.  But as soon as Dave begins asking her questions about Ginger and the ordeal she had to go through at such a young age in the films plot, her childlike demeanor is replaced with one of passion and sophistication.  Elle begins delving into the life of Ginger and as well as hers throughout the time filming in London.  She gives the crowd a laugh when she describes that while working with the gorgeous Christina Hendricks she found it hard to look her in the eye because of how nervous she was, even though she was playing the role of Gingers mother.

Ezra Miller takes his seat under the bright spotlight with a look of absolute ease and comfort.  His confidence does not surprise me as the scene of him dressed up in fishnets and a sparkly bustier performing as Patrick in Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky, 2012) has just played on the projector behind him.  During the interview he jokes around about his family and what they think of some of the roles he has played but shows that he understands his characters with the utmost truth.

Then, for the infamous musical feature of Les Miserables (Tom Hooper, 2012), Eddie Redmayne discusses the impact he had on the role of Marius. Of course, not until all the girls in the crowd have silenced their screams and hollers did we get to hear him describe the long audition process.  His interview mostly reflected his knowledge of acting and the pressures that accompanied playing a character in Les Miserables.

Omar Sy, the lovable French actor who plays Driss in The Intouchables (Olivier Nakache, Eric Toledano, 2011) had great chemistry with Karger right from the start as they greet each other in French, which the crowd loves. The interview consisted a lot of laughter as Omar’s humor and broken English helped him charm the crowd.  He has done four other productions with these directors who helped build him up from smaller roles to his recent lead.  The snippets of his role in the movie blew me away as he confirms that he had never had any prior acting experience of classes.

Last, but not least, is the adorable 9 year old Quvenzhane Wallis carrying her stuffed animal purse, who is the youngest to receive this award as well as a nomination for an Oscar as best actress.  She was recognized for portraying Hushpuppy in the drama, fantasy Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin, 2012).  She might have been the youngest there but she was also the loudest.  Wallis kept the crowd laughing in hysterics until the minute her interview was over.

Dave Karger and all six of the Virtuosos made for an eventful night at The Arlington.  The interviews with each award winner went smoothly and gave the crowd a number of good laughs along with sincerely insightful answers.  The event reflected a night of elegance and promise for all of the actors.