So long, Bella; hello… Oscar? The Twilight actor is leaving behind mainstream fare to rebrand herself with a trio of ambitious dramas this year.
Camp X-Ray
Beth Dubber/IFC Films
Clouds of Sils Maria
IFC Films
It's been two years since the head-popping conclusion of the Twilight saga, and since she bid farewell to Bella Swan, the character who's come to define her career, Kristen Stewart has pretty much stayed off movie screens — until now.
The child actor turned supernatural romance star has a trio of indie movies that have all premiered at film festivals this year, and this week, the first of those three finally arrives in theaters: Camp X-Ray, a claustrophobic drama in which Stewart plays a soldier assigned to Guantanamo Bay, opening in select theaters and on VOD Oct. 17.
Stewart also appears alongside Julianne Moore in the upcoming Alzheimer's drama Still Alice, and plays the assistant to a renowned actor played by Juliette Binoche in the French film Clouds of Sils Maria — ambitious movies that seem chosen to show off a new, non-YA side to Stewart. BuzzFeed News' film critic Alison Willmore has seen both Camp X-Ray and Clouds of Sils Maria, and entertainment reporter Emily Orley has seen all three films. Below, they discuss the new stage of Stewart's career.
Alison Willmore: So Emily, before we get to these new films — were you a fan of the Twilight movies, and of Stewart's performance in them?
Emily Orley: I was not a fan of the Twilight films in general and found Stewart's Bella to be quite awkward. There was something about her monotone voice that was a real turnoff for me.
AW: I always thought the role of Bella might have been an impossible one for any actor, since she was deliberately lacking in major characteristics. Her blankness as a character made it all the easier to insert yourself in her place as a reader, but when you're charged with bringing her to life on screen, that vagueness of personality is a huge, maybe insurmountable challenge. Stewart may have looked a little lifeless in the role (rimshot!) but she showed herself capable of being far more vivid in earlier films like Panic Room and Into The Wild.
EO: Well, when I went to see Still Alice, which was the first of Stewart's three movies I saw this year, I was uncertain how she would fit into such an emotional story. But when I walked out of the movie, my perception of Stewart's abilities as an actor had completely changed. Moore is excellent as Alice, a mother of three who is diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of early onset Alzheimer's just weeks after her 50th birthday. But Stewart is exceptional as the youngest of her children, Lydia. She expertly portrays Lydia's rebellious, childish side in the beginning. She's the daughter who disagrees with her mother's belief that she needs a college degree and instead moves from New York to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. But, as her mother's disease progresses, it is not her lawyer sister, Anna (Kate Bosworth), or medical student brother, Tom (Hunter Parrish), who are the most mature, it's Lydia. She's patient and kind and engaging, offering gentle support when her mother insists on unnecessary tactics. Stewart's expression when Alice doesn't recognize Lydia is downright haunting. The role allowed Stewart to tap into an array of emotions and she did so effortlessly.
While Still Alice provided a space for Stewart to be emotional, Clouds of Sils Maria demonstrated how far she can stretch her mental capacity, didn't you think, Alison?
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