liralen's review
3.0
Tom and Lorenzo refer to Mirren as the Queen of Fuckinfantastica, which generally feels about right, and In the Frame does nothing to change that. It's very much the sort of thing that only got published because Mirren is famous, but she does a pretty bang-up job of knowing what she wants to do with the book. It's no tell-all but rather a swoop through a rather illustrious career on stage and on film, illustrated with a liberal dose of photographs.
I (choosing to live largely under a cultural rock) haven't actually seen most of Mirren's work, and I knew nothing of her career arc before reading this, but it made for good food for thought. Not that there are hard-and-fast right/wrong ways to go about an acting career, but it does seem that Mirren got it right: for years she worked exclusively, and then primarily, on stage, often doing the sort of work that only barely pays the bills. She did it because it was her passion, and frankly it sounds like a much more interesting industry introduction than those who break into Hollywood early get—largely because she seems to have been using 'interesting' as her definition of success, doing things like stepping away from her promising stage career in London to join an experimental company in Paris and living in a not-commune. It sounds enviably adventurous, and the book is put together in a satisfyingly classy/unapologetic way.
I (choosing to live largely under a cultural rock) haven't actually seen most of Mirren's work, and I knew nothing of her career arc before reading this, but it made for good food for thought. Not that there are hard-and-fast right/wrong ways to go about an acting career, but it does seem that Mirren got it right: for years she worked exclusively, and then primarily, on stage, often doing the sort of work that only barely pays the bills. She did it because it was her passion, and frankly it sounds like a much more interesting industry introduction than those who break into Hollywood early get—largely because she seems to have been using 'interesting' as her definition of success, doing things like stepping away from her promising stage career in London to join an experimental company in Paris and living in a not-commune. It sounds enviably adventurous, and the book is put together in a satisfyingly classy/unapologetic way.
psalmcat's review
5.0
I fell in love with Helen Mirren during the first Prime Suspect series. She was the first flawed, not-young, not-perky, fallible-but-good police officer I ever saw on TV. Yes, I loved Cagney & Lacey, but they really weren't real. Tennison was treated badly, drank too much, bitched at people, made political errors with her career, and was still a damn fine detective.
Mirren hasn't gone wrong since then, either. As for this book, I loved the chapters about her childhood--her grandfather was an officer in the Russian army who was trapped in England when the Revolution broke out. Her childhood was very boring and simple. Once she gets into her acting career, I sort of lost interest, frankly, and looked at the pictures with more focus than I read.
I bet she's a lot of fun to hang out with.
Mirren hasn't gone wrong since then, either. As for this book, I loved the chapters about her childhood--her grandfather was an officer in the Russian army who was trapped in England when the Revolution broke out. Her childhood was very boring and simple. Once she gets into her acting career, I sort of lost interest, frankly, and looked at the pictures with more focus than I read.
I bet she's a lot of fun to hang out with.
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