When the critically acclaimed, tough and coming of age actress Thea Barfoed ends her rehab, she confronts a hard choice. During her heavy drinking period she divorced and lost custody of her two boys. Now she wants them to be a part of her life again. Christian, her ex husband is quickly softened by her tough manipulative but charming figure and agrees. She has to prove to her self and to him, that she is worth the try. But the hard life on stage, and the ghosts of the past slowly comes knocking
on her door. Thea is forced to face her inner voices. She is bound to give in to her faith, and make the choice.
Paprika Steen makes this particular character her own. And makes us join her adoring on-screen audience as we watch her play out -- gorgeously, horrifyingly -- her own tragic scenes.
Zandvliet and Steen create an unvarnished saga of a recovering alcoholic whose acting career makes all that teetering on the edge of one-day-at-a-time very public. It is a singular performance and a deeply affecting if imperfect film.
Applause has moments of flourish and moments that reach towards something as pared down as Thea's play, but it ultimately can't match the candor Steen brings to the screen. Really, little can.
This pummeling drama about a self-absorbed, alcoholic actress who fails as a wife and mother is all about the intense performance of star Paprika Steen. A bonanza to be devoured by students/practitioners/fans of the thesp trade.
Not surprisingly, the movie lives and dies on Steen's performance; not only is she in almost every frame, but at times, the camera is in so close that nothing is visible but her pitted, ravaged face.
Zandvliet doesn't avoid the miserablist melodramatics any more than he hides his Cassavetes homages; the filmmaker knows this is a showcase for Steen to pull a Gena Rowlands, and she more than takes advantage of the opportunity.
The actors are very good, and the story is touching, but it's a predictable and overused plot. So, it's a good movie, but it could have done something to make it stand out more and make it different.
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