Filmography: Samantha Morton

English actress Samantha Morton is one of the greatest of our time. Each performance she turns in is wholly original and inspired.

Shockingly, Morton applied to several London drama schools as a teen and was not accepted to any of them. She has next-to-no formal training as an actress, and yet she is consistently a part of fantastic ensemble casts in great projects, and the variety in her choices is astounding. In only a decade of work, she's been nominated for seven British Independent Film Awards and two Oscars. Morton is a hardworking, fearless actress who just keeps getting better and better.

1997 Under the Skin (Iris Kelly), This Is the Sea (Hazel Stokes)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I saw Under the Skin earlier this month, and Samantha Morton blew me away. She plays a troubled young woman, Iris Kelly, trying to deal with her mother's sudden death. Iris loses herself in sexual oblivion, sleeping with a number of strange men in an effort to drown her pain. A less capable actress could not have gained the audience's sympathy playing such a lost woman, but Morton does so with ease, creating a character in unimaginable pain and turmoil. It's an intimidating role, but Morton tackles it with veracity, turning in one of the bravest and most moving first performances I can recall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1999 The Last Yellow (Jackie), Sweet and Lowdown (Hattie), Jesus' Son (Michelle), Dreaming of Joseph Lees (Eva)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Morton earned a nod for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Woody Allen's Sweet and Lowdown. The film itself was a bit bland, but as a mute flapper in love with 30s jazz guitarist Emmett Ray and his music, Morton shines. Her Hattie sweetly and unconditionally loves and admires Emmett, despite his crudeness, but we love her more than the self-centered musician ever does. She brought warmth and humor to what could have been a thankless role. Morton reportedly studied the films of Harpo Marx to play the part, to great effect.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2000 Pandaemonium (Sara Coleridge)
2002 Minority Report (Agatha), Morvern Callar (Morvern)
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In 2002, Steven Spielberg cast Morton in his perfect futuristic action thriller, Minority Report. She plays Agatha, the most important of three Pre-Cogs, prophetic beings used by the government to foresee and prevent criminal activity. Agatha, frightened, exhausted, and with few words, uses her clairvoyance to help John Anderton (Tom Cruise) escape conviction for a crime he won't commit. In an unfamiliar reality, Morton is 100% believable. It's an ambitious, tricky thing to pull off an assured performance in a strange time and place, but she does it, wonderfully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2003 In America (Sarah), Code 46 (Maria Gonzalez)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Her second Oscar nomination came for her portrayal of Sarah, an Irish wife and mother who immigrates to America with her family to start a difficult new life, in Jim Sheridan's In America. Her presense is undeniably powerful as the struggling mother holding her family together in a strange new city. Her performance was a sensitive, emotional work worthy of the acclaim.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2004 Enduring Love (Claire)
2005 River Queen (Sarah O'Brien), The Libertine (Elizabeth Barry), Lassie (Sarah Carraclough)
2006 Free Jimmy (Sonia), Longford (Myra Hindley)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Morton won a Golden Globe for her work opposite Jim Broadbent in Longford, a television miniseries about a devout Catholic who tries to rehabilitate a woman serving a life sentence for murdering children. Morton gave a chilling performance as serial killer Myra Hindley, a challenging role that would have had plenty of other actresses running for the hills. Again, she makes a difficult part - an immoral and despised murderer - look easy, but we know better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2007 Expired (Claire), Control (Deborah Curtis), Mister Lonely (Marilyn Monroe impersonator), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (Mary Queen of Scots)
2008 Synecdoche, New York (Hazel)
2009 The Messenger (Olivia Pitterson), The Unloved (writer and director)

UNDER THE SKIN

Written and directed by Carine Adler

Samantha Morton
Claire Rushbrook
Rita Tushingham

Premiere date: August 29, 1997 (Venice Film Festival)
R

When two sisters, Rose and Iris, must cope with the recent death of their mother, Iris, the younger of the two, spirals out of control. She rejects her sister, her friends and her boyfriend, and turns to a series of one-night stands with complete strangers, losing herself in sexual oblivion. Alienating all who care for her, Iris's behavior could cost her everything that's worth living for.

Best British Films: 15. Under the Skin

Thank God for this list. Without it I would never have discovered Samantha Morton's stunning film debut as Iris Kelly, a woman who loses her mother and then loses control. Carine Adler's Under the Skin is a fabulous, intimate film that I loved from frame one.

As the film begins, Iris admits insecurity within her family. "My mother loved flowers and her favorite flowers were roses. And so she called my sister Rose." Rose and their mother are together all the time, and Iris jealously resents their close relationship. When their mother dies, Rose and Iris are both grief-stricken, but it's Iris whose life spirals out of control.

Iris tries everything to overcome the shock of her mother's death. She drinks, breaks up with her longtime boyfriend, quits her job, dresses differently, moves into a seedy apartment, listens to a gospel choir. Eventually she decides the best way to extricate her pain is through sex. She compulsively masturbates and picks up various strangers for a string of sexual encounters that leave her feeling empty and used.

Rose is so wrapped up in her own suffering that she fails to see Iris's desperate cries for attention and help. The two sisters don't realize they are each exactly what the other needs to recover from their tragic loss.

Samantha Morton gives an inspired, fearless performance as a woman who tries to find herself after losing everything. It's the strongest debut role since Kate Winslet in Heavenly Creatures.
****/4