Reflecting upon Jude Law‘s career, I find myself reminded of a chameleon, not just because of his transformative acting abilities but also due to the sheer variety of roles he has undertaken over the years. As a film enthusiast who has witnessed his evolution on the silver screen, it is fascinating to observe how a man from Southwark, London, could ascend to such heights and then navigate the ebbs and flows of Hollywood with such grace.
At the 2005 Academy Awards, Chris Rock posed the question, “Who is Jude Law?”, not really seeking an answer. This statement was more of a criticism than a genuine query. The question followed a period where Law had starred in six films within three months at the end of 2004. However, as these movies didn’t perform well, his frequent appearances only added to the growing controversy. Chris Rock, hosting the Oscars for the first time, was criticizing Hollywood for churning out too many films and not enough genuine stars. Essentially, he suggested, “If you can’t get a real star: wait. If all you have is Jude Law… wait.
2004 proved to be a challenging period for Law, who found himself featured in six films released between September 17 and December 17: the digital collage “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”, the “existential comedy” I Heart Huckabees, the remake of Alfie, the four-person drama Closer, Martin Scorsese’s epic biography The Aviator, and the darkly humorous children’s book adaptation Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. While these films had varying degrees of success, Law’s rising movie star status suffered a significant setback, which significantly altered his career path at that time. The backlash from this period had long-term implications for his career, as he didn’t lead another major studio film for 14 years, until the Fantastic Beasts series cast him as Dumbledore (although Eddie Redmayne was the main star of those films).
At the 2005 Oscars, the law wasn’t present to hear his reprimand, although his Closer co-stars, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman, chuckled awkwardly as Rock criticized him for being everywhere that year. Rock quipped about Law being in “everything” that year, even movies he wasn’t acting in, jokingly suggesting that if you checked the credits, Law had made cupcakes or something instead. He humorously added that Law was in everything, regardless of his sexuality, nationality, or future roles playing different characters – next year, he would portray basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in a film.
Sean Penn, another actor working alongside Law in the movie “All the Kings Men” (which was still being filmed), seemed to ruminate on David Letterman’s criticism of Law’s stardom throughout the night. When he finally appeared on stage over two hours later to present the Best Actress award, he deviated from his prepared speech to say, “I apologize for my poor sense of humor tonight, but in response to our host’s question about who Jude Law is, he is one of our most talented actors…
In the latter part of his career, Law finds himself at ease beyond his matinee idol days. This month, he’s showcasing his roles as a seasoned FBI agent in “The Order” and a Force-wielding outlaw in “Star Wars: Skeleton Crew.” The fervor and admiration for his current performances have made the criticism of two decades ago seem distant. However, it’s intriguing to revisit that period, a time that mirrored not only Law’s career trajectory but also the broader landscape of movie stars in the mid-2000s.
As a dedicated film enthusiast, I found it hard to argue with the promising forecast of Jude Law’s career trajectory in the mid-2000s. With his striking good looks and captivating charm, coupled with two Academy Award nominations by age 32 for “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “Cold Mountain”, it seemed like a formula destined for success. Hollywood, studios, and the media couldn’t resist jumping on board.
The underlying apprehension and doubt reappeared frequently in discussions about the Autumn of Law (a term I coined, not theirs). Entertainment Weekly raised concerns about Law’s potential saturation in its Fall Movie Preview edition. Even Law himself expressed worry during an interview with the Washington Post. He remarked, “The skeptic in me thinks… I spent two years making these movies. I selected them all because they were so distinct, directed by various filmmakers, and fell into different genres. And now they’re being grouped together and compared, and some might be overlooked because people would just say, ‘Oh great, another Jude Law movie.’
In essence, the response to the Rock’s monologue was reflective of a common sentiment. Two weeks after the release of Alfie, which earned $6.2 million but only managed fifth place at the box office, Entertainment Weekly (EW) was already questioning Jude Law’s ability to headline major movies. The magazine suggested possible explanations such as “maybe Americans don’t take kindly to such a good-looking Brit” and the old argument that he is a character actor trapped in a leading man’s body. However, unbeknownst to EW or anyone else at the time, Hollywood was on the brink of a crisis period for movie stars. The “death of the movie star” has been discussed frequently in recent years, particularly whenever Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Ryan Gosling, or other A-listers fail to draw large opening weekend crowds.
In the year 2004, there were very few actors who could ensure a movie opened to $25 million or more during its debut weekend. This number has since shrunk even further, with only a handful of familiar faces remaining on that list: Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington. Interestingly, Cruise is now often associated with specific franchises like Mission: Impossible and Top Gun. Few realize this, but the influence of Intellectual Properties (IP) had already begun to dominate Hollywood by 2004, and the luster of Tom Cruise’s stardom was among the first casualties. The top-grossing film of that year was Shrek 2. It wasn’t until 2009 with Avatar and after five years without a non-sequel taking the annual box office crown, that another movie managed to do so (American Sniper in 2014). Barbie became the second non-franchise film to achieve this feat only in 2023. Hollywood’s ability to create new stars as we once understood them had already started to dwindle by then, although it wasn’t immediately apparent.
In a way that doesn’t quite add up, it was suggested that the numerous movies I starred in during 2004 were too much. However, my role in “The Aviator” was merely a brief appearance as Errol Flynn, and in “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” I was just an unheard narrator. It would take a remarkable resilience against Jude Law fatigue to feel overwhelmed by my appearances in either of those films. Strangely, despite the box office successes of “The Aviator” with $102 million domestic earnings and “A Series of Unfortunate Events” with $118 million, when discussions arose about the supposed failures of other 2004 releases like “Alfie” and “Sky Captain,” I didn’t receive credit for these successful films.
In just three months, Law starred in four films, which is quite a lot. However, each of these movies had their own disappointing twist – they were all underwhelming. Among them, “I Heart Huckabees” stood out as the most creative and funny, even surviving the tarnished reputation of its director, David O. Russell. Unfortunately, it was too cerebral and indie-like for some viewers. As for “Closer”, directed by Mike Nichols and featuring Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman, it didn’t meet its high Oscar expectations despite Owen and Portman earning accolades. Law, playing a faithless character, was overlooked throughout the award season.
Nonetheless, among them, “Closer” and “The Huckabees” were team efforts. On the other hand, “Sky Captain” and “Alfie” were the biggest disappointments in the group, and both relied heavily on Law’s performance. He was instrumental in creating “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” — a retro-style adventure with real actors filmed against completely computer-generated backdrops — right from its conception and produced it under his Riff Raff production label. Neither critics nor audiences knew how to react to this film, its giant robots, warring airships, dull color palette, and digitally revived Laurence Olivier.
They undoubtedly had their opinions about Charles Shyer’s remake of Alfie, with Law playing the lead role previously played by Michael Caine: They weren’t fond of it. Despite an intense marketing campaign featuring a Mick Jagger original song, a snarky trailer, and Law hosting an infamous episode of Saturday Night Live (yes, Law was the one apologizing for Ashlee Simpson after her lip-syncing mishap), Alfie was mercilessly criticized. Unfortunately, out of all six of Law’s 2004 films, this one was intended to be his star vehicle, the movie that would propel him to success based on his charisma alone. The critical and box-office failure of Alfie served as a harsh assessment of his star power. In hindsight, it’s the film Law considers a mistake. “I think [it] was a bad move,” Law told GQ UK last month. “I just felt it hadn’t improved [the material] and felt a bit too cheesy.
For Law during the late 2000s, the path was turbulent, marked by flops such as “All the Kings Men” and oddities like Wong Kar Wai’s first English production, “My Blueberry Nights.” The lone gem that has endured through time is “The Holiday,” directed by Nancy Meyers. Following this film, Law started to carve a niche for himself with roles that showcased his talent as a versatile actor, often playing characters beyond the leading man stereotype. He portrayed a cuckolded statesman in “Anna Karenina,” a conspiracy-theorist podcaster in “Contagion” (quite unbelievable!), a flawed James Bond type in “Spy,” a seedy music manager in “Vox Lux,” a capitalist corrupted by greed in “The Nest.” These roles revealed a simmering ambition that Law brought to life exceptionally well. Over the years, he’s skillfully used his aging process and fading youthful charm to his advantage, turning his receding hairline into a distinctive character trait, a feat unmatched by many actors in the industry.
It’s clear now who Jude Law is – not through an arrogant statement from Sean Penn, but through Law’s consistent portrayal of roles that Tom Cruise, with due respect, might have avoided over the last two decades. And he’s kept his output moderate, releasing no more than three films in a year since then.
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2024-12-26 18:54