Patricia Clarkson makes a quiet part worth watching without making the character easy to read. We value her most when a director gives her time and does not insist that everyone become agreeable.
Fi1m perspective
In The Station Agent (2003), Patricia Clarkson's Olivia Harris is harder to read than the men around her. Bobby Cannavale's Joe Oramas supplies the comic pressure; Peter Dinklage answers it with watchful stillness. Clarkson does not try to compete with either of them, and the friendship is better for having three people who are funny differently. Tom McCarthy gives her space to remain awkward.
Her breakthrough came as the former actress Greta in High Art (1998), after years of minor film roles. The throaty voice is distinctive, but the small amount she needs to do is more important. Across independent drama and comedy, she can make a character's feelings register with little outward fuss. Her Joy Burns in Pieces of April (2003) is another example of the substantial work she can do in a supporting part.
The Station Agent also shows why that restraint needs a director willing to leave it alone. We felt at ease with these people because Clarkson, Dinklage and Cannavale let their awkwardness survive the growing friendship. McCarthy occasionally pushes the plotting along too helpfully, making the film less convincing when he tries hardest to make it warm. Clarkson's less readable presence matters: she keeps Olivia from seeming like someone whose purpose is to complete a pleasing trio.
In Todd Haynes's Far from Heaven (2002), she plays Eleanor Fine within a much more formally arranged drama. Our strongest response there is to Julianne Moore, whose politeness becomes painful to watch. The parallel stories can feel too neatly matched, but the performances make the hurt convincing. For Clarkson's work, though, we would start with the less orderly company of The Station Agent.
Her television work includes Sarah O'Connor in Six Feet Under (2002–2005) and Adora Crellin, the controlling mother in Sharp Objects (2018). The reservation is about the parts available: she has often been offered matronly supporting roles and has had to press for more substantial work. That risks making her familiar before she has had a chance to surprise us. The next director can afford to let her be difficult.
Biography
Patricia Clarkson is an American actress. Born in New Orleans, she studied at Fordham University and earned an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. She made her feature film debut in The Untouchables (1987).
Clarkson has appeared in supporting roles in films including The Green Mile (1999), Far from Heaven (2002) as Eleanor Fine, Pieces of April (2003) and The Station Agent (2003). She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Pieces of April. On television she won two Primetime Emmy Awards for guest appearances in Six Feet Under and a Golden Globe Award for Sharp Objects (2018). She has also featured in the Maze Runner film series.
