Greta Scacchi is a persuasive ensemble actor too often cast as an object of desire. We value the work beyond that narrow brief, while wishing more of her films had given her characters something better to do.
Fi1m perspective
Too often, a seductive woman appears and the film assumes we know enough about her. That has been a persistent problem with Greta Scacchi's early roles, and it makes judging the acting harder than it should be. We find her more rewarding in an ensemble, as in Robert Altman's The Player (1992). Her June Gudmundsdottir gives us a reason to look beyond the femme fatale casting without pretending that she is the film's chief attraction.
Her first leading film role was Olivia in Heat and Dust (1983), an early example of the period adaptations that recur through her work. White Mischief (1987), in which she plays Diana Broughton, brought greater visibility while reinforcing the seductive parts. Scacchi has described the bargain plainly: "Fitting the photogenic ideal opened lots of doors for me – but it was also frustrating." That frustration is worth remembering before we blame an actor for the limits of a character.
Presumed Innocent (1990) shows those casting limitations in a film we nevertheless recommend. Scacchi plays Carolyn Polhemus opposite Harrison Ford, who declines to make his accused prosecutor easy to like. Alan J. Pakula makes a gripping courtroom mystery, and the performances justify its demands on our patience, though the solemnity occasionally becomes oppressive. Carolyn belongs to Scacchi's run of femme fatale roles; admiring the film does not require us to pretend that it gave her the fullest opportunity.
The Player offers the stronger introduction to her work within an ensemble. We laughed, then felt uneasy because Tim Robbins makes the studio executive's selfishness seem so reasonable. Scacchi is effective within Altman's company, and we need not claim that the film belongs to her to appreciate her contribution. Our reservation concerns the film's limited interest in the people this business damages, which leaves us wishing some of that attention had been distributed differently.
From the mid-1990s, her work moved towards television, stage and independent films. Mrs Weston in Emma (1996) and Empress Alexandra in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996) belong to her continuing work in literary and historical drama. These parts deserve a place beside the early seductive roles when considering what to explore. Begin with The Player, but do not expect any single part to settle what Scacchi can do.
Biography
Greta Scacchi is an actress. Born on 18 February 1960 in Milan, Italy, to an Italian father and English mother, she was raised in Britain and Australia and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
She made her screen debut in the German film Das zweite Gesicht (1982) and had her first leading role in Heat and Dust (1983), for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer to Film. She is known for roles in White Mischief (1987), Presumed Innocent (1990), The Player (1992), Emma (1996) and Looking for Alibrandi (2000).
Scacchi won a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance as Empress Alexandra in the television film Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996) and received a further Emmy nomination for Broken Trail (2006).
