MovieChat Forums > W. (2008) Discussion > Thandie Newton was awful.

Thandie Newton was awful.

posted 16 years ago by nmescher
161 replies | jump to latest

I have never seen a movie where I was so aware of one of the actors actually acting. Everytime she spoke it brought me out of the whole movie. It has to be one of the worst pieces of acting in a long time. Why Oliver Stone didn't recast is beyond me. Perhaps due to the rushed shooting schedule. Everyone else did a fine job especially Brolin and Cromwell. Did anyone else cringe at Newton's performance? I'm glad her screen time, and even better her dialogue, were very limited.

[–] TheySpeakEnglishInWhat 16 years ago

Her performance looked like something you would see on SNL; definitely not suited for this film. It totally brought me out of the movie and distracted me.

"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"

[–] Pennst411 16 years ago

I thought Thandie Newton was doing an impression of Kathrine Hepburn doing an impression of Condi Rice.

"I'll I did was get out of the shower."

[–] Mirage4 16 years ago

I know Thandie Newton is a very skilled and nuanced actress as evidenced by her previous body of work but you wouldn't believe it from this "cameo". I blame the writers and director for depicting Condoleeza Rice as a sheepish, one-dimensional, kiss-ass. I may not agree with her politics but she is a brilliant, eloquent, and well-informed stateswoman. All Stone had her do was shadow Bush like an attention-starved puppy. She was done a great injustice in this film.

[–] Allardyce99 16 years ago

Unbelievably bad. She sounded like Lily Tomlin's Ernestine character with the nasal voice. And her face was always contorted in some painful expression as though she were taking a dump. One of the single worst performances I've seen in my life.

[–] noogyburger 16 years ago

she actually made me laugh, like watching a late-night comedy show, although I think she did a good impression of Rice, a comical one

[–] jkono29 16 years ago

Definitely one of the worst over-acting jobs I've ever seen. She was absolutely terrible. There were far too many impersonations -- instead of actual performances -- in this movie, and hers was the worst by a longshot.

[–] quam6535 16 years ago

I agree. Maya Rudolph was WAY better on SNL. Her voice, her face, everything annoyed me. Even when I was on the computer working, she distracted me.

[–] information_police 16 years ago

She did sound like an SNL skit. But to be fair to Newton, Condy Rice does sound like a major dork when she talks. And nobody really sounded like the person they were portraying.

[–] tj19 16 years ago

EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES:
Josh Brolin
Elizabeth Banks
Richard Dreyfuss

HORRIBLE PERFORMANCES:
Thandie Newton
James Cromwell
Jeffery Right

[–] information_police 16 years ago

I'd add Scott Glen to the Horrible list. There was nothing Rummy-like in his portrayal. Part of that is writting. They really underwrote that part.

And where was Ashcroft???

[–] dhmason6155 16 years ago

You're right. They could've had a scene with Ashcroft singing "Let the Eagle Soar".

Chaos, Confusion, Insanity: My work here is done.

[–] pajode 16 years ago

Can anyone name a single performance by an actress in an Oliver Stone film that stands out as a "strong" performance? Other than Maggie Gyllenhaal in "World Trade Center", almost all the female characters in his movies are basically caricatures. Even Sissy Spacek, who in my opinion, was phenomenal in "JFK", ended up having to do the same thing. It's one of Stone's weaknesses.

Now, that I think about it, maybe "Heaven and Earth" might be the only exception to this rule. Nah.

His metier is male, macho *beep* territory. And I love him for it. I'm not complaining.

[–] information_police 16 years ago

You have a good point. Not many women's parts for Stone movies. Nixon had a good performance by Joan Allen. "The Doors" might be the only one with more than one significant female in Meg Ryan and Kathleen Quinlan.

[–] dhmason6155 16 years ago

Don't forget Cameron Diaz in "Any Given Sunday". She held her own all the way, especially when she stood up to Pacino, no mean feat.

Chaos, Confusion, Insanity: My work here is done.

[–] legobon 16 years ago

"Can anyone name a single performance by an actress in an Oliver Stone film that stands out as a "strong" performance?"

I was actually talking about The Doors today and how the Pam/Jim romaticism was the worst part of the movie for me - I think Ryan is decent too, and maybe it was the writing that bothered me. I thought the Kenneal character was decent though, but was less traditionally effeminate than Pam's though, more as some one else put it "gung-ho" --- I haven't seen Heaven and Earth.

The exwife character in Talk Radio was memorable to me, and I haven't seen that in since around 89 or 90 - I remember her being strong, but yeah - maybe a bit caricatured of an exwife. Malery Knox is a strong character though. I'm also remembering the wife in Born..4th being strong, but again - haven't seen it since it hit video.

Maybe it's not that he has a hard time writing women without making them over-the-top caricatures as much as he can't write calm women, if that makes sense - I'm having a hard time wording it here... I don't think Stone could write a female character that you'd want to bring home to mom, to put it an odd way.

You make a good point though - I'm just thinking it's something slightly different that would hit the nail on the head, but again - I agree, Stone's women characters haven't always jived.

About Newton --- Yeah, her and many other made me feel what other's felt: like it was a big SNL sketch. Still though, I had less issue with her than with Cromwell. Like someone else hinted toward, it was like no one told him it wasn't a script reading or something. Every time he was on screen I felt like the scene in a movie where the door gets blown off the airplane and everything is sucked out.

[–] Anonymous_Maxine 16 years ago

NO KIDDING. Check out my review on Hollywire. Here's an excerpt...

But there are also some lacking performances. Scott Glenn doesn’t look or act like Donald Rumsfeld but fills the role well enough, James Cromwell couldn’t be less like Bush Sr. but provides the necessary imposing father figure whose apparent preference for his other son created a lot of Bush’s drive to become something, even if, as the movie argues, it was something that he was not prepared or qualified for. Worst of all is Thandie Newton as Condoleeza Rice. Hers is one of the closest physical comparisons, but my god, what a nasally, whiny performance. Her bizarre attempts to capture the voice of the real Condoleeza was the most distracting and ineffective thing in the entire movie. This is her worst performance since Beloved.

[–] littlesphinx 16 years ago

Agreed! She was truly terrible. What was Stone thinking. That said, the way Condi was written was really ridiculous and diminished her role in the administration.

[–] foglemaniac 16 years ago

I couldnt agree more. She really sucked! Surprisingly I didnt really like Jeffrey Wright either, though she by far was worse.
I like everyone else and overall I really liked the movie.
7/10