Oren Moverman’s “Time Out Of Mind” hits theaters this week. It’s a very, very good film from the “Rampart” director, starring Richard Gere as a troubled homeless man in a performance that’s been getting awards buzz since the movie debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival last year.
Gere, who turned 66 a few weeks ago, began his career in the theater (he starred in the original London production of “Grease”), before making his first film appearance in Terrence Malick’s “Days Of Heaven.” Though he’d become best known as a romantic lead (particularly when paired with Julia Roberts or Diane Lane), he’d occasionally embrace his darker side, all the while maintaining a reputation as a campaigner for human rights, with a particular focus on Tibet.
With “Time Out Of Mind,” one of the very best performances of his career, arriving in theaters, we thought it was time to take a look back at Gere’s best roles. Take a look at our ten essential Gere turns below, and let us know your own favorites in the comments.
“Days Of Heaven” (1978)
He’s never had much of a reputation as an actor’s director (perhaps because actors often don’t know if they’re in his movies until they see the finished thing), but that doesn’t mean that Terrence Malick isn’t able to get phenomenal performances out of his actors. To wit: Gere’s star-making turn in “Days Of Heaven,” which followed hot on the heels of the actor’s notable supporting performance in Richard Brooks’ “Looking For Mr. Goodbar,” though it was actually shot beforehand. Malick’s second feature after “Badlands” sees Gere as a Chicago steelworker in 1916 who flees to Texas with his girlfriend (Brooke Adams) after accidentally killing his boss, and ends up in a love triangle with the wealthy farmer (Sam Shepard) that they’re working for. An impossibly rich, beautiful melodrama (famously shot largely at magic hour), this film, much more than “Badlands,” cements Malick’s trademark style, with the Texan landscape looming large over and arguably overshadowing the players, but Gere, who was second-choice to John Travolta, is entirely effective in the lead role. He’s less of a blank canvas than some of Malick’s leading men, displaying a nervy energy, constantly squaring up against the world and finding it beating him down —it’s a part that you could imagine a young James Dean playing. His manipulations eventually lead to greater tragedies for all involved, and though the film belongs to his character’s sister (Linda Manz), it’s Gere’s portrait of insecure, jealous masculinity that leaves the greatest impression.