Filmsane

Julia Stiles was my childhood „it girl“. Yeah sure… back in the 90’s there were also Christina Ricci, Chloë Sevigny in my „it girl“ mix, but Julia was the poster child for this very straight Millennial from South-Eastern Europe.

You see, most of the appeal comes from her persona she portrayed on film and the roles she played in them. Yes she is wonderfully talented and beautiful actress who successfully transitioned from childhood to teenage to adult roles.

She was the feisty, smart, witty girl, and later the sophisticated independent woman who was always equal to the male counterparts. I mean… not only did she had the guys with her wit, charm and sassiness, she even got the prince of Denmark in The Prince and Me. Her strong character shined into her roles and growing up her characters were probably the best role models for confused young girls like myself. You could say she was somewhat typecast, but that is the best possible typecasting you could ask for.

And now (after 7 year absence) she’s making a return to TV with her hew show Riviera. In the Neil Jordan created series, Julia plays Georgina Marjorie Clios, an American art curator who seeks to uncover the truth about her husband’s death, and precisely in Riviera Julia is in the company of the acting heavyweights like Lena Olin, Anthony LaPaglia, Phil Davies and Game Of Throne’s Iwan Rheon. A good company i might add.

So… While we binge on Riviera’s first season, let me remind you of some of her best performances to date. Ten to be exact.

Before Women Had Wings (1997)
Director: Lloyd Kramer
Cast: Ellen Barkin, Oprah Winfrey, Tina Majorino, Julia Stiles…
IMDB synopsis: A black woman helps a white girl cope with her father’s suicide and escape her alcoholic mother’s abuse.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
Director: Gil Junger
Cast: Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, Larry Miller…
IMDB synopsis: A pretty, popular teenager can’t go out on a date until her ill-tempered older sister does.

Hamlet (2000)
Director: Michael Almereyda
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Venora, Liev Schreiber, Julia Stiles…
IMDB synopsis: Modern-day New York City adaptation of Shakespeare’s immortal story about Hamlet’s plight to avenge his father’s murder.

State and Main (2000)
Director: David Mamet
Cast: William H. Macy, Sarah Jessica Parker. Alec Baldwin, Julia Stiles, Philip Seymour Hoffman…
IMDB synopsis: A movie crew invades a small town whose residents are all too ready to give up their values for showbiz glitz.

Save the Last Dance (2001)
Director: Thomas Carter
Cast: Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington, Terry Kinney…
IMDB synopsis: A white Midwestern girl moves to Chicago, where her new boyfriend is a black teen from the South Side with a rough, semi-criminal past.

The Business of Strangers (2001)
Director: Patrick Stettner
Cast: Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Fred Weller…
IMDB synopsis: Two businesswomen bond and reveal their inner natures while getting carried away on a revenge attack against an accused rapist.

The Bourne Identity (2002)
Director: Doug Liman
Cast: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen…
IMDB synopsis: A man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and regain his memory.

The Prince and Me (2004)
Director: Martha Coolidge
Cast: Julia Stiles, Luke Mably, Ben Miller, Miranda Richardson…
IMDB synopsis: At college Paige meets Eddie, a fellow student from Denmark, whom she first dislikes but later accepts, likes, and loves; he proves to be Crown Prince Edvard. Paige follows him to Copenhagen, and he follows her back to school with a plan.

Edmond (2005)
Director: Stuart Gordon
Cast: William H. Macy, Joe Mantegna, Mena Suvari, Julia Stiles…
IMDB synopsis: A fortune-tellers teasing rumination sends Edmond Burke lurching into New York City’s hellish underworld.

Between Us (2013)
Director: Dan Mirvish
Cast: Taye Diggs, Melissa George, David Harbour, Julia Stiles…
IMDB synopsis: Two couples reunite over two incendiary evenings where anything can happen in this darkly comedic story of best friends, marriage, love, disappointment and dreams.