Lili Taylor is one of American cinema's most important actresses. She came up in the incredible 90s independent cinema scene and established herself through many skillfully crafted performances in a variety of well-respected films. Her acting style has been compared to the great performances from actress Faye Dunaway.
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Her desire to find just the right project and role ledTaylor to work with great filmmakers, such as Nancy Savoca, Abel Ferrara, Robert Altman, and Oliver Stone.Taylor has performed with actors as varied as Faye Dunaway, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., and Jennifer Jason Leigh.Still going strong today, here are 10 of Lili Taylor'sfinest films.
Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
InAntoine Fuqua's marvelous police drama Brooklyn's Finest, Lili Taylor played Angela, the pregnant wife of Ethan Hawke's Sal. The two need more money and Hawke has a plan to steal some drug money.
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Taylor and Hawke work extremely well together and their characters are well-drawn and escape the cliche that one might imagine in a film such as this one. Taylor stands out in this excellent ensemble film full of great performances from Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes, Ellen Barkin, and Richard Gere.
Factotum (2005)
The undervalued gem that is 2005's Factotum tells the story of Henry Chinaski (played by an excellent Matt Dillon) and his desire to drink and write while working jobs that pay just enough to keep him alive. Lili Taylor is Oscar-worthy as Jan, Henry's "soulmate" as far as his love for "juicing" goes. She isthe only womanin Henry's life who comes closest to understanding his personal trajectory.
Taylor and Dillon are simplyperfect and the film is a true treasure, existing as one of the finest adaptations of writer Charles Bukowski's work.
Mystic Pizza (1988)
1988's Mystic Pizza was a real surprise. It was populated by a cast of (at the time) unknowns. Annabeth Gish, Lili Taylor, and some actress named Julia Roberts starred as three friends navigating life after High School while working at the titular restaurant.Lili Taylor shone in her role as Jojo, who is in a relationship with Vincent D'Onofrio's Bill. She wishes to express her love sexually, but Bill refuses until marriage, which they already tried but Jojo passed out.
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Written by Amy Holden-Jones with wit and heart, the film was handled with care by its cast, rising above the Hollywood comedies of its day. Mystic Pizza was well-received by critics and audiences and has become a gem of the 80s.
Bright Angel (1990)
Dermot Mulroney is theunstable George, who takes Lili Taylor's Lucy from Montana to Wyoming tobreak her brother out of jail. 1990's Bright Angel is one of the unsungfilms of Taylor's career and one of the treasures of its decade.
Taylor wasexcellent again as Lucy. Her performance and emotion are brought forth using her eyes and diction.The actressall but steals the film from her fantastic supporting cast, which includes Sam Shepard, Valerie Perrine, and Bill Pullman.
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
Mary Haron gave Lili Taylor an actor's dream canvas in her 1996 film I Shot Andy Warhol, which isabout Valerie Solanas, who had an anti-men philosophy andcreated her S.C.U.M. manifesto while trying toget Andy Warhol to produce her screenplay. When he declined, Solanas shot him.
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The character goes beyond a one-dimensional view and Taylor meets the challenge with Meryl Streep-like authenticity and dedication. It is a tremendous performance that ranks (along with the film) as one of Lili Taylor's finest works. The actress deservedly received many Best Actress nominations from various film festivals and ceremonies.
Girl's Town (1996)
In one of her best performances, Lili Taylor plays Patti, one of a group of four female friends during their final year of high school in the 1996 film Girls Town. One friend commits suicide and Patti leads the other girls to find out why. When they find out that their friend was raped by Patti's ex-boyfriend, this leads to personal fighting and a "mission" of revenge.
Taylor and her fellow actresses were allowed to improvise andwere involved in the creation of the piece. Lili Taylor's work here is rather brilliant, as she completely inhabits the soul of Patti, a single mother who is close to giving up on any future. It is a striking work in a great example of independent cinema.
Say Anything (1989)
Cameron Crowe won the hearts of audiences and critics with Say Anything, a warm look at teenage first love. John Cusack and Ione Skye starred as the lovestruck teenagers who just graduated from high school.
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Lilli Taylor played Corey, Cusack's best friend who is not-so-incognito obsessed with her ex-boyfriend Joe. Corey writes breakup songs all about Joe and refuses to move on. Taylor's performance is funny and one of her most endearing.
The Addiction (1995)
Oneof the most unique and darkly ambient vampire films ever made, Abel Ferrara's The Addiction was a black and white-tinged parable for the drug addiction that was ravaging New York and the director himself.
Taylor is a philosophy student who becomes a vampire after being bitten. Exploring the conceptual existence of sin itself, Taylor digs deep and morphs through the many changes in her character flawlessly. Along with Ferrara and her co-stars, Christopher Walken,Kathryn Erbe, and Annabella Sciorra, everyone in front of and behind the camera createda stunning and potent piece of cinematic art.
Dogfight (1991)
Nancy Savoca's Dogfight is one of the great films of the 90s. It concerns an 18-year-old man (River Phoenix) who falls in love with Lili Taylor's Rose before he goes off to fight in Vietnam The two meet due to a demeaning chauvinistic game.
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Taylor and Phoenix shed any falsehoods and create two characters who's love is born of heartbreak and need, as the two traverse the changing times around them. It is a powerful piece that reaches the soul. Moving and profound, this is one of the very best films ever made to deal with the Vietnam War and its effects on Americans.
Short Cuts (1993)
One of the great ensemble films ever made was directed by one of the greatest directors to ever step behind a camera. Robert Altman's Short Cuts is an astonishing adaptation of the short stories of Raymond Carver.
This is one of the rare films where there isn't a false note nor a bad performance. Every single actor (Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Penn, Tim Robbins, Julianne Moore, Tom Waites, Lily Tomlin, and more) do fantastic work, and Lili Taylor shines among them all as the wife of Robert Downey Jr.'s philandering makeup artist. It is a powerful piece with a perfect cast from one of the all-time great filmmakers.
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