Daily December #7 - Renner

[topaz119]

What's my favorite Jeremy Renner role, and why? (Alternately, why eleanor_lavish is a terrible person for asking me to choose, *g*)

Ok, let's be real. I can't pick a favorite *anything*, so I'm not really going to be able to pick out just one role from the actor who has arguably eaten my brain for the last two years.

But I can totally talk about him!

Actually, I think I've mostly kept my craziness confined to tumblr, where there is no telling how often the guy shows up. (In words from a long-ago, but still dearly loved fandom, the answer to that would be: a LOT, "".) So, fair warning!



So, first off, Penn from Angel, the vampire from a flashback sequence. I remember thinking at the time that as fun as he was, I felt like it was a substitute for a Spike/Dru flashback and I was disappointed. Of course, he stuck with me enough that as soon as I saw The Hurt Locker, I remembered him from that, so clearly, not that much of a disappointment. :D

I really seriously wish there had been more of The Unusuals, because I had a zillion unanswered questions about Jason Walsh--why did he have a watch a pawn broker was willing to pay $2K for, what was with the restaurant, family? lots of stuff. And I will go to my grave swearing that there was an entire plotline excised from The Bourne Legacy and I want to know what the hell was going on before the plot arc started.

And you know I am dying to really see who his Hawkeye is when he's not mind-controlled.

The truth is, I can barely look away from him onscreen, no matter that Jem Coughlin is just a little too far on the psychotic side of damaged, and Doyle from 28 Weeks Later had Red Shirt written all over him right from the start. Carmine kinda broke my heart and knowing the end of the story made it almost impossible to watch Kill the Messenger.

Hansel totally wins for best wardrobe (you know I have a thing for long coats and boots, I've accepted this and moved on), though Brandt from MI4 did have excellent suits (and I'm happy to have more coming) and there probably should be a moment of silence (or a shriek of fangirl hysterics) for the SHIELD tac suit. :D

Which mostly just leaves William James from Hurt Locker, who's damaged but not psycho and complete Red Shirt material even if he does technically make it through the movie. He makes my heart hurt and I could barely get through the movie even on the second and third time around. I always wonder if they shot the scene in the grocery store before or after everything they shot in the desert, whether he did the re-entry confusion cold, or whether he was in the middle of his own re-entry, and I'm possibly coming up with an actual answer to the question (and eleanor_lavish is not evil, but we knew that already, ♥.)

Comments

[gwyn]

I was surprised by how much I detested American Hustle, but LOVED him as Carmine. I wish I could take him out of that movie and put him somewhere else and just watch him. He was so fantastic and he broke my heart as well.

[jenab]

Brandt and his suits were lovely. I love a man in a nice suit and he certainly filled that role.

I've see Mr. Renner in a number of roles over the years but Hawkeye quickly followed by MI4 had me really start to pay more attention to him.

[sperrywink]

I must admit I haven't seen Hurt Locker. I'll add it to my list. Hawkeye will always be the definite Renner role for me. *g*

[endeni]

OMG, you remembered Renner from his appearance in Ats? I watched that ep. lots of times and still had to go back and rewatch it when I found out on wikipedia that it was young Jeremy Renner (of Avengers and The Town fame) playing that role. I didn't remember him at all LOL...
And, boy, I'd love more The Bourne Legacy! (And more Rachel Weisz, which is always a bonus)
And I missed him in MI (I think I only watched the first one) but I really should remedy that. ;)

[endeni]

OMG, yes, he was terrific in that role! *nods*

[eleanor_lavish]

I am SUCH an Aaron Cross girl, and I need you to tell me about the movie that got cut out of the movie, because I will take a million stories about Aaron. \o/

[topaz119]

He was the heart and humanity of that movie, this is for sure.

[topaz119]

I went to see MI4 with the boys and we had a good time (I'm not even much of a suit fan, but yes, your icon!) and I thought that was it, but then there was the ghost protocol kink meme and I ended up writing and writing and writing, and going back to see it again and mainlining The Unusuals on netflix and getting sucked into the fanon MCU pairings of Darcy/Clint and Clint/Coulson and I was toast even before Avengers came out. It's been quite the ride.

[topaz119]

Hurt Locker is such an eye-opening performance--flawed and stubborn and obsessive and broken, but so so human.

[topaz119]

Oh, just skip right over to MI4 (or maybe watch 3--it has some background for 4.) I really don't know how it happened but I ended up writing 3 or 4 fics for prompts from a kink meme for it (not actually kinky, just narrative kinks, that kind of a kink meme.)

It wasn't until I saw him on the screen in the Hurt Locker that I recognized him--the name meant nothing to me. And even then, I had to go check IMDB because it's such a different vibe between the two.

The whole arc of how/why Aaron set up his break for freedom (and who the other IDs were for) seems like it was excised from the script. I hope they do go for another Aaron Cross movie, but that all seems very up-in-the-air right now. I really did like Marta, too. I wrote a quick almost-PWP from her POV and definitely got into figuring her out a little bit more.

[topaz119]

We got little hints, right? The Sin Eater scene is like the tip of the iceberg of Aaron really starting to question what the hell is going on, but we never get that realization, we just skip to him already in full execution of his plan (because I don't think he went radio-silent for 4 days and got sent up to Alaska, I think he went radio-silent in order *to* get sent up there, to get the meds. And the IDs he had--there's more of a story there, too.

I want more, though. I was really annoyed at the end of the movie, because, seriously, that's ALL? (So you know, I wrote some more, and I will be all over yuletide to read more, but I want the canon, too!)

[endeni]

Oh, it's good to know that I only need to watch 3 and 4. *nods*
And, checking out that fic! ;)

[matchboximpala.livejournal.com]

I'm a fan and have seen most of what you listed. IMO his performance The Hurt Locker is still the best thing he's done. It was amazing.

[alphaflyer.livejournal.com]

I really hope that the unfortunately small impact of Kill the Messenger (I swear certain media refused to give it publicity because of their own implication in Gary Webb's story) will not stop the Academy from recognizing Renner's performance in that film. I think his curse is that he's so good, it doesn't look like acting.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

He just inhabited that role and at first I thought it was just because I didn't really know him (I knew he'd done that guest role on Angel, but Penn faded away really quickly in the face of William James), but then one of my kids was doing a Film Appreciation class and had gotten halfway through HL before class ended and came home dying to see how it ended, so we watched it again, post-MI4 & Thor & The Unusuals, and he still just disappeared into the role. It was fascinating to watch.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

I read one review that basically said, 'yeah, great portrayal of a character, but what was the point of the movie?'

Way to be completely oblivious as you make the 'point of the movie', yeah?

And yeah, he just disappears into roles and he does it so... quietly, for lack of a better word. There's nothing big or showy about his performances, but every little gesture belongs to the character, while at the same time looking completely natural. It's fascinating to watch.

[ariadnes-string.livejournal.com]

I really need to watch The Hurt Locker again--which I saw when it came out b/c I was a Kathryn Bigelow fan, and had no idea who Jeremy Renner was. Loved the movie, too. He really does disappear into that role (it took me even longer to realize Anthony Mackie was in it, too).

I think my favorite of his is in The Town, because I like him better when he has a bit (or a lot) of an edge. Haven't seen Kill the Messenger, though.

[topaz119.livejournal.com]

He was pretty amazing in The Town, almost painful to watch, because Coughlin was one razor-sharp edge after another, all wrapped around a blunt instrument.