Saoirse Ronan : A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

With regard to their considerable respective hauls of Award wins and nominations:

Saoirse (Born 12 Apr 94) - Film and TV Titles 26 ; Award Wins 41 ; Award Nominations 92 ; Total Box Office $270 mil

Dakota (Born 23 Feb 94) - Film and TV Titles 57 ; Award Wins 17 ; Award Nominations 26 ; Total Box Office $1,400 mil


Both are outstanding actresses but it seems a little odd that with twice as many titles under her belt and a much larger box office total Dakota has only a third of the combined Award wins and nominations as Saoirse.

Anyway it's no big deal but I just thought it was an interesting point of difference.

Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the reason for it?





The Players of The Game are the scum of the earth.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

Well, Dakota seems less discriminating in the roles she will take, which isn't necessarily a bad thing - I wish Saoirse would take more - but she seems to be being eclipsed by her sister Elle now.
She started much earlier, made most of the films she's known for before Saoirse even got started and seems to be treading water at the moment. Saoirse has certainly paced herself better.

What I've found interesting is that Chloe Grace Moretz has dropped out of Little Mermaid and announced she is cancelling all movies for the foreseeable future so she can reassess her career. She was doing lots of films herself.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

She has just been a more impressive actress so far. Remember, a lot of the praise Dakota Fanning got was based on her potential when she was a child. She hasn't really given a great "adult" performance yet.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

I have maintained for about ten years now that Dakota paid a price for her controversial role in the Hounddog film. Sadly, I really believe that she got fewer good offers as a result of doing the film. I have yet to find a poster on IMDb that concurs with my thesis, but I stand by my claim. Having said this, I absolutely adore both of these actresses.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

Interesting. Yes it was certainly a controversial role (but a good and bold performance) for such a young actress. And Hollywood does like to present a wholesome face to the world, whatever the reality is behind the scenes. You might well be right.


The Players of The Game are the scum of the earth.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

In my opinion Saoirse hasn't really given a great adult performance yet either. But in part, like Dakota, that is dependent on her landing a great role in a great film, and that is easier said than done.


The Players of The Game are the scum of the earth.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

As much as I like Saoirse, I saw nothing spectacular about her much heralded performance in the Brooklyn film.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

Part of the reason why critics were frankly incredibly effusive in their praise was her subtleness and restraint in showing us (the audience) exactly what emotional state she happened to be in and what her character was thinking at any given time. She of course had her chances to emote strongly during certain scenes, but her work was IMO understated but just beautiful.

There were so many striking scenes: when Eilis was walking to meet the priest in her yellow dress is one example. Just the manner in which she walks and the look on her face shows us how drastically this young woman has changed as compared to a bit earlier in the film when she was so homesick and melancholy. She's so convincing in conveying the transition.

I loved the scene where she is slowly walking through her room and observing everything as her character has finished packing in anticipation of her trip back to America. She doesn't have one word of dialogue, but it's heartbreaking nonetheless.

When Saoirse was being introduced by actor Paul Dano at The Palm Springs Film Festival, he specifically mentioned the early scene when her friend accepts a dance with a young man and the camera just gets close to her face while she looks around the dancehall knowing it may be the last time she is ever in her homeland. It's a masterclass in patient and subtle acting because Saoirse's able to let us clearly understand exactly what is going through her mind without one word. I could probably write about literally every scene she appears in, but suffice to say I believe it was a knockout performance.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

I was underwhelmed by 'Brooklyn' on my first viewing but warmed to it considerably on my second viewing. Though I still had the same problem understanding why Eilish didn't say that she was married when she returned to Ireland.

Perhaps I was expecting too much on my first viewing after all the hype the film had received. Anyway on my second viewing that initial disappointment was gone and I found myself appreciating the film much more.

The first half of the film is really very good and Saoirse is lovely in the role. But she comes a little unstuck in the second half I think when what she is doing doesn't really make sense. That isn't Saoirse's fault it's just the way the character was written. In order for the film to have the necessary drama Eilish had to have this conflict about which man she would choose.

But the difficulty is that Eilish was such an honest and good girl that what she did (by keeping her marriage a secret and dallying with Jim) just seemed completely out of character. The only way Saoirse seemed to be able to work with that was by acting as though Eilish was confused. And that made her seem a bit feeble minded, which she hadn't been prior to returning to Ireland.





The Players of The Game are the scum of the earth.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

So. The Fanning sisters are on their way to becoming great actresses, though I've heard some rumours that their parents were rather stagey, they never became a hindrance on their careers. Dakota attended Columbia, they seem well adjusted and concerned about their crafts (though I find Elle's "Lolita"-like vibe and role selection tiring). The difference is that, even though they both have left behind the "child actress" phase, they are still in their starlet phase, they are still considered in the industry in the "they have a lot of potential" category. Saoirse is way past that, she already is considered a major. I think this tweet defines ir pretty well:

https://twitter.com/joshrothkopf/status/784926227446452224

Saoirse is the standard now, 238 which means that her peers are not the Steinfelds, Fannings or Grace Moretz, She shares a category with Cate Blanchett, Viola Davis, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, etc. She is only the youngest one in the group.

All of the above is only in industry terms, her stance with producers, directors, screenwriters and fellow actors. Certainly Saoirse is only half as recognizable as Elle Fanning or Hailee Steinfeld in objective terms. But an artistic career is a marathon, not a sprint, and Sersh seems to know this pretty well, much better than her age coun 5b4 terparts. She's only going to be more selective, her age peers are still working on that.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

Wow, thanks for posting about that tweet cadelano. It's a wonderful compliment from a film critic.

I've mentioned more than once here about the impressive and deep talent we currently have with young film actresses. I need to see Seinfeld doing more complex material, but she's been fine in roles performed in what I consider lesser films. Of course, she did have a plum role in True Grit, and I felt her performance was very good.

I think Elle is going to be a star, but that's not really a stretch to hold such an opinion. She showed terrific range in "Ginger & Rosa" and has been doing fine work in her other roles regardless of the genre of film. She seems like a natural to me, an actress with presence and charisma to boot. I need to see more of Dakota. Just the other day, I watched the trailer for "American Pastoral" at the cinema. This parts looks like to could be an important one for her.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

What is so incredible? One is not a good actor and the other is well you know.

Re: A notable anomaly regarding Saoirse and Dakota Fanning.

Maybe they will star in a film together one day. Their similar ages make that possible.
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