The moment I fell for Kristen Stewart
Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 9:00PM 
Ten years ago, Floria Sigismondi's The Runaways was released. The film's a rock biopic and literary adaptation of Cherie Currie's autobiography - Neon Angel. It portrays her life in the late 70s when she became the vocalist for the all-female rock band for which the film is named. Influential and memorable, the Runaways burned too bright and too soon, dissolving after two years of fame, a modicum of success and a whole lot of controversy. Joan Jett, a rock icon and the Runaways' guitarist, helped produce the film and, maybe because of that, Sigsimondi's script makes her a coprotagonist.
Matters of shambolic narrative structure aside, I'm glad The Runaways is so entranced by the mythos of Joan Jett. Otherwise, I might have never woken up to the genius of Kristen Stewart…
Dakota Fanning plays Cherie Curry with a drugged-out intensity. Aloof and strangely beast-like, she only ever comes alive when she's performing on stage. Her casting is a stunt of great ingenuity, capitalizing on her fame as a child actress to shock and provoke. Curry was a teenage songstress made to look like a decadent pin-up so it's logical that the film audience should feel uncomfortable when looking at her writhing in revealing lingerie. Casting the little girl from War of the Worlds certainly produces that effect. Fanning certainly seemed ready to give it her all, erring on the side of narcotized interiority. Her Cherie is often inscrutable, which might explain why she's so often outshined by the other actors.
While Fanning's role may be bigger, it's Kristen Stewart's Joan Jett that's the film's magnetic star. After some good early roles, Stewart became the laughing stock of many a pretentious cinephile when she played Bella Swan in the Twilight series. To this day, the ghost of that franchise follows her everywhere and there are still film festivals that present her latest arthouse hits as newfound proof that she's a good actress after all. If in 2020, you still think she's just the inexpressive girl from Twilight, that's your problem. Still, I must admit that there was a time when I was among those KStew skeptics.
When I first watched The Runaways, my only points of reference for Stewart's acting abilities were Jumper, the first Twilight movie and Panic Room. Drunk on the vitriol of internet cinephilia and snobbery, I easily dismissed her acting and checked this film mostly to watch Fanning and the glitz and glam of 70s rock. As previously stated, Fanning's good in this and the costumes are a dream, but surprisingly what most impacted me about this film was Stewart. The role of Joan Jett isn't even that difficult or showy, but the actress does magic with it.
Throughout the film, even when the camera is disinterested in Joan, our eyes were always drawn to her. Stewart's physicality exudes the tetchy confidence of a born rebel, though her eyes and voice suggest the insecurities of a youth so full of ambition and want that they can hardly breathe. For most of The Runaways, that may be attributed to good casting and even better direction, but it all changes as the story reaches its final act. The band falls apart and the dream dies as Cherie has a breakdown during a recording session. Bad press and the anger of her peers break her, at long last, and she leaves.
The scene lives and dies in Joan's reaction, her pleading and subsequent explosion of rage. Stewart brings all the fury in the world to this tantrum and she also brings vulnerability. Her anger is a blazing fire and its fuel is the brittle pain of disappointment. Joan believed in the Runaways and its demise feels like heartbreak. As her fury deflates and the camera follows her into a dimly lit corridor, Stewart's body loses its tension. Joan's defeated and her eyes shine in the dark. Had she been nominated for any acting prize, this would have been her clip, her rawness signaling a talent that couldn't be ignored.
Her acting wasn't a one-note show of pyrotechnics and shouting matches. This is especially true in the film's final moments, as we leave The Runaways with a bittersweet kiss. Cherie, now working in retail, listens to Joan on the radio. She calls in and the two former friends talk for the first time in years. With the subtlest hints, Stewart paints an entire portrait of adult regrets, a fractured friendship beyond repair and the surprise of someone used to block out the disappointments of the past. It's a mature piece of acting befitting the character's transformation.
That's when I fell in love with the great actress that is Kristen Stewart, watching her sing rhapsodies of painful feelings in hot pink and Joan Jett drag. I was besotted...were you?
Reader Comments (16)
I must see this movie because the movies I have seen her in leave me quite cold as to her acting.
I haven't seen this movie but the film that showed me that Kristin Stewart is an excellent actress was Still Alice, followed quickly by Personal Shopper.
Edward L -- By the time of those two, I was already a convert to the wonders of KStew. By the way, to this day I consider her performance in Personal Shopper her best work.
My first exposure to Kristen Stewart was "Still Alice" (2014), starring Oscar-winning Julianne Moore, and I thought both actresses were outstanding.
I was a Kristen Stewart skeptic as well, but my conversion moment is Clouds of Sils Maria. I agree with a whole bunch of people though in considering Personal Shopper her best performance to date.
My secret favorite performance of Stewart's though is Sabine, the cause of the Totino Lady's conversion to lesbianism in Saturday Night Live.
I was a Kristen Stewart skeptic as well, but my KStew conversion came about with Clouds of Sils Maria. Like many here though, I agree that Personal Shopper is her best performance.
My secret favorite performance of hers though is Sabine, the reason for the Totino Lady's lesbian awakening in Saturday Night Live.
I've always known since Panic Room. I found the Twilight-era bashing kind of sexist actually, and the result of a hive mind more than most.
Great write up! I haven't seen The Runaways yet, though I always meant to. For me, THE CAKE EATERS is the film that made me fall in love with Stewart, I had seen SPEAK and INTO THE WILD before TWILIGHT so I knew Stewart wasn't as bad as that movie would lead everyone to believe, but CAKE EATERS is was really made me think "wow, she's good." and I've continued to be proven right ever since.
I never saw the Twilight series but have been impressed by most of her performancs esp Personal Shopper,she needs to pick less studio fare and work with interesting directors again,that's how you keep your career fresh because Box Office success is fleeting for Film Stars in 2020.
It was her role. She just had to do the lesbian... Kidding, love <3
I agree with those who first realized her talents in Still Alice (which I believe I saw before I saw Clouds of Sils Maria), and now she is one of my favorites. Incidentally, people often overlook Certain Women when discussing her filmography, but she is wonderful in it, as are Laura Dern and Michelle Williams. It is very worthwhile, especially if you are a fan of those actresses (and who wouldn't be?).
Talented, yes. I like her, even. But post for her when she's yet to be great strikes me as what's wrong with a lot of the supposed film buffs.
I don't think she has a wide range. The nervous ticks and insecurities - the shoulder movements, the clipped vocal patterns - show through regardless of the role she plays. That works for some parts, Clouds of Sils Maria being one of them. But she'll never be a powerhouse actress in the Cate Blanchett sense. She'll always be appreciated for the punk rock niche nature of her acting abilities.
My key Stewart's performances are THE CAKE EATERS, ON THE ROAD and CAFÉ SOCIETY - underrated and underseen performances. She's
a very peculiar actress with a very specific kind of acting and that's what I most like about her. But I was a KStewart hater too until THE RUNAWAYS
She has limited range, but she gives something real when she's on screen. It reminds me a little of Riley Keough, someone who goes for honesty even if it doesn't come from the most expected gesture or the more original decisions. I buy it, and her performance in Clouds of Sils Maria is outstanding.
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