Anne Hathaway's "Ocean's 8" Performance Is The Best Part Of The Whole Dang Thing
The whole film is a delight. But Hathaway is the standout.
There are a lot of amazing things about Ocean's 8, including, but not limited to: 1) a truly incredible cast, 2) every single suit Cate Blanchett rocks in it, 3) every single smug smirk that appears on Sandra Bullock's face.
But one of the best parts of the movie, UNDENIABLY, is Anne Hathaway's performance as mega-celebrity Daphne Kluger, the woman tasked with wearing the necklace most of the cast is trying to steal.
This is a cast of heavy hitters. And we already know that Hathaway, too, is a Hollywood powerhouse. She's good in everything she's in.
But let me tell you: Daphne is special.
The character is pretty meta, for one. Daphne is a send-up of Hollywood culture and ego, which means that while Hathaway isn't really playing herself — ego-driven starlet has never really been part of her public image — she is parodying an industry she's been part of her entire adult life.
"I enjoyed the selfishness of her, but what I really enjoyed was getting to figure out where her blind spots were," Hathaway told Entertainment Weekly. "She’s working so hard to be refined and sophisticated, but she just so clearly isn’t that. I feel like Daphne is my shadow self, and I feel like you can either use fame to do good for other people and use it to get nice restaurant reservations for yourself, or it can really take over and become your entire identity."
And she plays it so well.
There's a physicality that Hathaway adopts as Daphne. It's the way she's constantly in motion, her lips always pursed, her whole magnificently expressive face playing out what you think is her every thought and feeling.
It's smooth and it's smart. She's the funniest thing in the whole film.
I won't spoil you, but there's a moment in this movie where she slaps someone, and all I'm saying is that that moment should become instantly iconic.
It's the kind of performance that elevates not just Daphne or Hathaway but the entire movie.
So just remember: Literally never underestimate Anne Hathaway, because she will come for your goddamn wig with the performance of a lifetime.
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Alanna Bennett is an entertainment reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York.
Contact Alanna Bennett at alanna.bennett@buzzfeed.com.
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