Eva Mendes can hold our attention without a line of dialogue. We value her ability to communicate through behaviour, though too many films cast her for her looks and leave her with little else to do.
Fi1m perspective
Eva Mendes has no dialogue as Kay M in Holy Motors (2012), yet she makes herself felt in a film dominated by Denis Lavant's changing characters. Her physical presence does work that another part might assign to a speech. We were frustrated by how little freedom Leos Carax gave her, because Lavant is allowed to keep changing while the women have much less to do. The writing limits her contribution, however effectively she uses what she has.
Her breakthrough as Sara in Training Day (2001) came in a film driven by Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Antoine Fuqua's police thriller makes Washington's corrupt authority persuasive, with Hawke giving him a substantial opponent. David Ayer's script lets the film down when it becomes more ordinary, but the central performances are reason enough to watch. Sara established Mendes in mainstream cinema; the later films give us more to discuss about her particular strengths.
The studio years brought 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) and Hitch (2005), with the latter giving her a high-profile romantic-comedy lead. Too many of her studio parts relied on her looks and offered little depth. We Own the Night (2007) marked a turn towards more character-driven drama, followed by the less conventional work of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009). The move towards Holy Motors makes sense for an actor who prefers to cut dialogue and communicate through actions. That preference gives us a better reason to follow her into these films than simply wanting to see her escape a familiar kind of casting.
Mendes has acknowledged that her early acting skills did not always match her taste for difficult material, a useful caution against blaming every thin performance on the casting. The Place Beyond the Pines (2013), in which she plays Romina Gutierrez, offers a later example of her natural presence in a supporting dramatic role. That performance deserves attention alongside the wordless appearance in Holy Motors. We recommend Carax's film warmly, with the caveat that anyone watching chiefly for Mendes will wish he had given her more to do.
Biography
Eva Mendes, also credited as Eva de la Caridad Méndez, is an American actress. Born on 5 March 1974 in Miami, Florida, she began her acting career in the late 1990s with roles in films including Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (1998) and Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000).
Her performance as Sara in Training Day (2001) marked a turning point and led to parts in 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), Hitch (2005), Ghost Rider (2007), We Own the Night (2007) and The Place Beyond the Pines (2012). She has also designed for New York & Company and served as creative director of the CIRCA Beauty makeup line.
