Nora Zehetner is an intriguing presence in independent film and genre television, particularly when a character gives little away. We rate her contribution to Brick, while wishing its elaborate detective story left her more room to be ordinary.
Fi1m perspective
Laura Dannon is someone we want to watch closely in Brick (2006), even when the film leaves her little room to behave like a teenager. Nora Zehetner makes her intriguing, and that matters in Rian Johnson's demanding high-school noir. We recommend the film for its sharpness and tension, with a reservation about how much its plotting asks of the supporting players. We were frustrated by how little adolescent distress reached us through Laura, because the plotting kept her so busy fulfilling the requirements of a detective story.
An early part as Hoop in May (2002) came before that breakthrough, and Zehetner worked with Johnson again as Rose in The Brothers Bloom (2008). Television provided recurring roles as Eden McCain in Heroes (2006) and Dr. Reed Adamson in Grey's Anatomy (2009), followed by Maron (2013–2016). The career has largely been built from supporting and recurring parts. That gives us reason to be careful about treating the restrictions of one role as proof of everything an actor can or cannot do.
Brick also gives us a useful comparison within the same film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes the elaborate talk convincing and keeps the adolescent hurt close; Zehetner's Laura and Lukas Haas's The Pin more often seem occupied with fulfilling the requirements of the mystery. Johnson's plotting bears some responsibility, but being intriguing is not enough on its own to make us care. We want to know what Laura might do without the detective story directing her, and the performance does not quite answer that.
Zehetner's recurring association with enigmatic women is understandable, particularly after Brick, but we would be cautious about making that the whole case for her. A part that requires an actor to keep us guessing can make it difficult to show much else, however well the casting works. Her recurring television work asks for something less conspicuous: the ability to fit into an ensemble and sustain relationships between characters. We would welcome a leading part that let her be direct, funny or simply unguarded for a while.
Biography
Nora Angela Zehetner is an American actress. She was born on 5 February 1981 in El Paso, Texas. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 to begin an acting career.
Zehetner is known for her role as Laura Dannon in the 2005 film Brick. She has also appeared in films including American Pie 2 (2001) and May (2002), and on television in Everwood, Heroes as Eden McCain, Grey's Anatomy as Dr Reed Adamson, and The Right Stuff as Annie Glenn.
