OK, Can We Stop Acting So Surprised That Kristen Stewart is a Good Actress?

Kristen Stewart in Clouds of Sils Maria

Here is a Hollywood trend that really annoys me: false comeback narratives. The media suddenly realizes that an actor is actually worth their time and journalists/bloggers act as if they discovered what a hidden gem the actor is. Most of the time, however, it's just that the media has major short term memory loss and its good favor can't withstand an actor's more rocky period.

This is happening with Kristen Stewart. Ever since she finished her run in the blockbuster Twilight Saga as Bella Swan in 2012, Stewart has been refocusing her career. She's choosing interesting projects, she's working with talented actors and directors, and she's getting some major notices. But all I've been seeing online is stuff like "OMG Kristen Stewart can act!" and lots of vaguely misogynistic backhanded compliments. Look, I don't know how Stewart feels about her years in the Twilight movies. I'd like to imagine that she's grateful for the fans she won over, for the gonzo money she made and for the fact that she starred in a film series that played directly to the hungry but oft-ignored female audience. The Twilight movies had their issues but we can thank them for Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect and other female-oriented blockbusters.

The fact that Kristen Stewart can hold her own against the likes of Julianne Moore and Juliette Binoche is surprising in the way that its cool to see any young actor go toe to toe with a veteran. But it shouldn't be this surprising. Stewart proved her worth on the screen in films like Adventureland, Into the Wild, The Runaways, Panic Room and Cake Eaters. Sure, the Twilight movies didn't do any favors for her. But let's be real, the only person who came out of those movies with her dignity intact is Anna Kendrick. Sure, when Robert Pattinson started doing work outside of Twilight, there was a level of surprise. The difference is that Pattinson came into Twilight virtually untested as an actor.

Kristen Stewart in Still Alice

Personally I find it kinda insulting that critics and other filmgoers are acting as though suddenly Kristen Stewart became a great actor after being terrible for so long. The narrative for Stewart's reemergence as a critic-friendly actor should have been more "finally she has material worth her talents" not "omg who knew?!". When Matthew McConaughey had his "McConaissance," people were thankful that the guy who did great movies like A Time to Kill and Dazed and Confused was finally getting back to "legitimate" material. I'd make a point about how the aversion to rom-coms is institutionalized misogyny at its finest but truthfully the only McConaughey rom-com worth defending is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (maybe The Wedding Planner as well). 

So I can only guess why the narrative surrounding Kristen Stewart is forgetting that her talents should be no surprise. I'll admit that watching her in the films Still Alice and Clouds of Sils Maria, I was taken back by how full of life she was. Her performances in those films are unlike anything she's ever done. In Clouds of Sils Maria, the film for which she became the first American actress to win a French Cesar Award, she completely transforms what we think of her as an actress and person. I could not take my eyes off her in that movie.

Kristen Stewart in the Twilight films

I think the issue is that unlike Harry Potter and Hunger Games, Twilight was never a "prestige" YA adaptation. Harry Potter and Hunger Games had multiple Oscar nominations in the cast and well-known British vets in the cast. But Twilight had lesser known B-actors and the misfortune of being primarily a romance series. The other 2 series had more masculine themes of good vs. evil and governmental control. So when Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson or Jennifer Lawrence do great work after their franchises, no really is that surprised. But because Stewart was part of something that critics primarily hated, they have to show faux-surprise when she's in something right up their alley.

Kristen Stewart is not having a comeback; she just survived a series of movies with bad press. What makes Kristen Stewart such an enigmatic figure in Hollywood is that she's cultivated such a strong public persona--brooding, take no BS, cool--that to see her be funny and charming and vivacious in both Sils Maria and Still Alice is weird enough to throw everyone for a loop. As much as I hate to compare them, she is the anti-J.Law, which is refreshing in this awkward-gal/Buzzfeed culture. While I admit I was never a huge Stewart fan, I definitely thinks she has something unique to offer the movie industry. I'm glad that is finally being recognized.

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