“The Runaways” (2010)
One aspect of Stewart’s career that is little remarked upon is that, considering she’s such a big star, many of her best performances come when she’s part of an ensemble, or playing off a co-lead, rather than the epicenter of attention. It as though when’s she’s very central, as in films like “Twilight” or “Snow White And The Huntsman” or even arguably this year’s Cannes title “Personal Shopper,” she retreats somewhat under the full glare of the limelight, but is liberated when she feels she can share it. Floria Sigismondi‘s messy but mostly enjoyable biopic “The Runaways” is a case in point, with Stewart’s Joan Jett playing off against friend, mirror image and bandmate Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) in such a way that the film becomes far more a portrait of a high-profile friendship and an examination of differing approaches to fame, femininity and rock ‘n’ roll than a star vehicle (though the music-video style and styling of the film does neither her nor future “Twilight” alum Fanning any damage in the “edgy young star” stakes either). Stewart’s Jett is the focused, music-oriented, survival-instinct ego to Cherie’s addictive, self-destructive, sex-kittenish id, and between the two actresses (supported by Michael Shannon as their svengali manager/producer Kim Fowley), enough electricity is summoned up to power the bassline to what could otherwise be a rather tinny version of the rock biopic, for all the glam-rock graininess of its visual style.
“Panic Room” (2002)
Stewart was probably marked for stardom from the moment when, with just one other film appearance to her name at the age of 10, David Fincher picked her to play the diabetic daughter of the menaced mother in his “Fight Club” follow-up, “Panic Room.” Interestingly, when Stewart was first cast (replacing Hayden Panettiere, incidentally) the mother role was to be played by Nicole Kidman, and Fincher stated he cast Stewart to be her antithesis: “tomboyish, androgynous, dismissive, a teenager at ten years old.” But when Jodie Foster replaced Kidman, the characterization of Stewart’s Sarah had to change too. It’s by no means the showiest role in what is probably Fincher’s least showy film, but Stewart, young as she was, has to be able to hold her own opposite veteran Foster, while being for the most part enclosed in a tiny room, and suffering from the effects of a diabetic seizure. Even at this age, the refreshingly un-cute Stewart has a self-possession that makes Sarah’s predicament, and therefore that of her mother Meg, all the more acute — she is almost the opposite of the traditional, look-at-me, stage-school brat. It’s actually possible to forget that Stewart ever was a child star, and at 26 has already has a 16-year career in the movies. And while that has a lot to do with the way “Twilight” obliterated everything that came before, it’s also at least partially because of the low-key naturalism of performances like this and “Undertow” and “Zathura” among others. Stewart was an actress long before she was a star.
“On The Road” (2012)
There is one further performance of Stewart’s that isn’t on this list but could easily have been. Her turn as Tracy in Sean Penn‘s “Into the Wild” was the first time many of us remember sitting up to take note, though it’s just too small a part to warrant a full entry here. But it’s worth a mention, especially because the story goes that director Walter Salles was also very taken with it, and secured her for the pivotal role of Mary Lou in his Beat Generation movie “On The Road” as a result. In the years between her signing on and the film rolling (it was often delayed due to financial woes), Stewart’s star went supernova, but one of the notable things about her role in “On The Road” is how overtly sexualized it is. Indeed, the whole free-wheeling, sexual-experimentation vibe of the film is almost comically the opposite of the puritanical true-love-waits subtext of “Twilight,” in which the lovers can’t boink because he might break her and when they finally do he immediately impregnates her with a computer baby. You can almost feel Stewart’s joy at getting to play the free-spirited Mary Lou, who at one point enthusiastically masturbates both Sam Riley‘s Sal and Garrett Hedlund‘s Dean in the front seat of a moving car while all three are naked. The film does not ever quite add up to the the sum of its individually impressive parts, but it is remarkable that in this star-studded interpretation of a classic literary bromance, many of the most resonant moments belong to Stewart’s sun-kissed free spirit — the opposite of the wan, dour caricature to which her detractors accuse her of defaulting.
Honorable Mentions
We found ourselves surprisingly spoiled for choice when compiling this list, and there are a few very near misses, especially when one considers Stewart’s performance in isolation from the quality of the film overall. The particular standouts are probably her small role as the lovelorn teenager in Sean Penn’s “Into the Wild”; her turn as the troubled young stripper who becomes the means by which a grieving older couple reunite in Jake Scott‘s “Welcome to the Rileys“; her early supporting role in David Gordon Green‘s solid “Undertow“; and her more recent small role in Julianne Moore-starring awards contender “Still Alice.” And while we weren’t fans of “American Ultra,” Stewart was good in it, playing a more comedic role than we’re used to from her. It’s something we’d hope to see more of in the future, hopefully in a more deserving movie.