Jessica – Page 114 – MaryEWinstead.net

Way to blow everyone out of the water with your acting talent, Mary! It doesn’t come as a surprise that Mary’s always been a talented actress, but it’s taken the indie film Smashed to show critics what’s up. The latest review for Smashed comes from FirstShowing, where they call call Mary’s performance “astounding”:

Keeping the film from venturing into cheesy drama is a finely tuned script from Ponsoldt and screenwriter Susan Burke, who actually struggled with alcoholism on her own. While most films that deal with alcoholic characters only deal with the monstrous, ugliness of the disease, Smashed dabbles with the struggles, benefits and sometimes difficult consequences of becoming sober as well. Simply doing away with alcohol isn’t a path to sunshine, rainbows and a care-free life. In fact, it only makes your problems more apparent and hard to deal with, and Burke and Ponsoldt have accurately brought those elements to light with this story. The film isn’t always dark and dramatic as there’s some great laughs to be had from certain drunken behavior, but it never celebrates it.

However, the words on the page wouldn’t be so agonizing in their portrayal if it wasn’t for a phenomenal breakthrough performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Kate Hannah. This is easily the most challenging role in her career up to this point, but the actress’ dramatic chops are nothing short of astounding. Winstead is one of the most charming drunks to grace the big screen since Dudley Moore in Arthur, and it’s her bewitching, fun-loving personality that makes her fall from grace that much more afflicting. The difference between Kate while absolutely wasted and sober is honest and real, a refreshing departure from the overacting that usually comes with these kind of portrayals. On a dime Winstead turns from a jovial drinker to a sad and angry drunk, and it’s just mesmerizing and heartbreaking.

Smashed is not just another sappy tale of alcoholism and a broken family. The film is a story about redemption, but without the cut and dry contrast of the drunk life versus the sober life. Winstead has an almost monologue about her life, the affect sobering up can have on a person’s life without only positive outcomes, and the image of Alcoholics Anonymous that encapsulates what makes this film one of the best presentations of alcoholism captured on film. Ponsoldt and Winstead should both get pretty busy once this film gets a bigger audience because both talents have achieved something special with Smashed.

Read the full review at the link provided above. So happy for you, Mary!

MTV caught up with Mary Elizabeth Winstead at Sundance and asked her about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. She says,

“I’m kind of on the sidelines, but I’m very suspicious of my husband’s [actions] and what’s going on in his life,” she said. “I know that he’s hiding something from me. You sort of see me piecing things together.”

Check out the clip below:

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Also, here’s an excerpt of a new interview Mary did with Connect2Utah about Smashed. Be sure to read the full interview by clicking on the link provided:

Your character, Kate Hannah, is a little different from the sort of roles that you’ve had in the past. For one thing, there aren’t any monsters or CGI in this movie. Was that something that attracted you to the project?

Winstead: Yes, definitely. I was really burnt out on studio films. I just didn’t see how I was going to continue to be a better actor doing the kind of stuff I was doing. I was so grateful to have the jobs and to be there and be a part of it, but I wasn’t feeling challenged anymore. I got to a place where I was kind of stalled.

Winstead explains that over the years she has wanted to do something smaller and independent of the major studios but has been told time and again that she wasn’t a “big enough name” to get an independent film financed. Undaunted she simply continued making studio films until she could become a “name” or whatever it was she had to do.

Winstead: I woke up one day and thought, “I might never be a name.” Was I going to allow that to force me to never do what I really want to do? It didn’t make any sense to me.

Having established yourself as a “genre film actress” are you worried about what your fan base might think of the change of direction?

Winstead: I think Smashed has a lot of appeal. I think it is entertaining and funny, but it’s also sad. It really feels like something that a lot of people can relate to. It’s not just some exclusive art film. I hope that they will get into it, but at the same time the reason I did the film was to try and make myself a better actor. So anything that comes from it beyond that is icing.