Performance Profile: Frances McDormand in "Mississippi Burning" (1988)

"You believe the hatred. You live it...you breathe it. You marry it."

Its always a treat to find little surprises in overwrought/just bad films (Brenda Vaccaro, Maggie Smith, etc.) and when I find them I always try find what's the real goodness in it. Most greatly elevate the film and make something out of nothing (and we all know how many of those there are...), and standout for doing so when they did not necessarily have to. Such is the case for Frances McDormand, an actress who would soon become a respected, established Oscar-winner -- however even here, her dedication to her craft is evident, even with some drawbacks...

Her character, Mrs. Pell, is an incredibly underwritten, unfinished sketch of what could have been so much more than just a device to propel the story foreword. But even as that the role has little meat on its bones. She's the sheriff's wife who cannot stand to witness the racism happening around her; she represents/ pictures times when there was peace. McDormand conveys a swirl of emotions - the desperation, the pain, and the sadness all with humane integrity that shines. Her scenes are the few where the film pauses and takes a breather allowing McDormand to subtly craft a characterization out of the tid-bits provided. She communicates so much through tiny gestures and facial expressions that she could have no dialogue and still have a great effect.

The actress' trademark warmth is in full effect here, and she hangs on to what she has and you can see her working her ass off, trying to build on that. And while she does do some interesting work in a performance which maintains believability, honesty, and subtly throughout, this whole "sketch" idea runs through the character's veins and ends up taking over for the most part. Its not that I fault McDormand for not being better, but the script holds the reins and never truly develops the character, which is barely a character to begin with.

But, it is a great accomplishment and Frances does what I like best with the supporting ladies, so I don't wanna' be that hard on her. She might not always win against the film, but the effort of trying is something to appreciate.