...she's here to stay! The actress has been cause of controversy lately, especially since Twilight, the launch pad that catapulted her (slightly unwillingly, it would seem) into fame and fortune.
Though she's been around for longer (Into the Wild, In The Land of Women, even in Panic Room, Speak, and that one movie about kid-bank-robbers as a child/adolescent), it seems like critics and the general public really started paying attention to her career after Twilight. Maybe it's the fact that she handled playing such a hokey character with grace, or just the fact that she was the actress chosen to play the iconic role of Bella. Probably a mixture of both. Either way, suddenly everyone is singing her praises...or are they?
In my opinion (but what do I know?) Kristen does a great job of creating relatable characters through a mix of raw vulnerability and real-person-awkwardness, blending in little idiosyncrasies we the viewers can recognize in ourselves. Kristen has recieved widespread praise for her acting abilities, and critics generally agree that the young actress has a long and bright future ahead of her.
However. The problem that I can't help noticing is that all her roles are very distinctly Kristen. While there's nothing really wrong with that (look at Drew Barrymore for heavens' sake) it's just that her characters start to feel a bit recycled, as I notice character after character doing the same weird Bella stutter and awkward-unsure-of-herself stance. I almost start to wonder if she's just being herself in every character.
But then you read an interview (one very interesting one I read in last month's Elle) and it's more than obvious that Kristen cares deeply about her work. In the interview I read, she was enraged at the allegations that she "doesn't care" about the craft, an impression she's given people due to her alarmingly acute fear and dislike of red carpet events and other "extras" that come with being a celebrity.
She seems to be a very self-deprecating and dark individual, and I wonder where her extreme awkwardness at the events described above comes from. It's clear to anyone she's uncomfortable--remember that weird Bella stutter? It's all over Kristen's publicity events as well as her movies, and so is the awkward stance. She seems so unwilling to be put in the spotlight, and it seems like paparazzi go after her all the more because of this (exhibit A: Her intensely private relationship with RPatz. No one can leave it alone, and it's probably only because the pair refuse to open up about it with anyone).
After all is said and done, though, I think I do like Kristen Stewart. I enjoy her work even though it is all sort of the same, and I find her awkwardness sort of endearing. I just hope she gets over the self-loathing act soon, because in that industry, I'm sure there's always people wlling to do the deprecating for her.
PS: Her new movie, Welcome to the Rileys, looks wonderful. Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjK-szKfGFQ&feature=fvst
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