Angelica Jade Bastien on Michelle Pfeiffer

Angelica Jade Bastién is one of my favorite writers on film.  Anything she writes reflects a deep understanding of film and culture.  I especially love this tribute to Michelle Pfeiffer, an actress who does not get enough credit for her extraordinary range and technique.

Yes, she may lack the classic Hollywood pedigree of Anjelica Huston or the supreme training of Meryl Streep, but of her generation, she’s the actress with the most fascinating thematic through line. Pfeiffer won early acclaim when her career first hit its stride in the ’80s, followed by a string of hits in the ’90s and early ’00s. Though she hasn’t been much of a presence in recent years, that’s thankfully set to change with a trio of releases: Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!, a new adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, and the HBO film Wizard of Lies, in which she plays Ruth Madoff opposite Robert De Niro.

I’m especially glad that she mentions Pfeiffer’s role in “Stardust.”

And I love her in “Frankie and Johnny,” in part because it is so much fun to see her with her “Scarface” co-star Al Pacino in completely different roles.