We may or may not see other Elis, but if we do, would they affect us the way Leandersson's Eli did? We were given Abby, and we discounted her.
I also celebrate that Lina Leandersson has become a young woman and has chosen to continue acting. There've been child actors and actresses in the past whose performances
as children proved powerfully moving, and some of these actors have continued to turn in solid performances well into adulthood.
The American Jodie Foster is an example, with her nuanced portrayal of a young streetwalker in
Taxi Driver at 13 or 14 or so (after having already established herself as something of an American sweetheart in "Mayberry, RFD" TV series), and her perfectly freaky "let me be!" performance in
The Little Girl Who LIves Down the Lane. She went on to leave an indelible mark in Hollywood film history with
The Accused,
The Silence of the Lambs,
Nell and
The Brave One, just to mention the ones I've actually seen and remember.
If by some technological or magical means Foster could have been frozen into immortality at 13, no doubt she very easily could have continued bringing us Rynns and Irises, but then we'd never have known the Frannies and Sarahs and Clarices and Nells and Eleanors and Ericas and Madeleines and Megs she's brought us in the time since, and at just under fifty years old, continues to bring us.
I was blown away by Natalie Portman's portrayal of Mathilda in
Leon when she alsohad been a mere twelve years old or so, had found her attractive and convincing enough as Padme in the second round of Star Wars movies, and was recently fascinated by her deftly managed dichotomy in
Black Swan.
Other former child actors and actresses who've gone on from being child stars to continue or continued bringing us memorable performances well into adulthood include Sophie Marceau, Ludivine Sangier, Nastassia Kinski, Anna Paquin, Julie Andrews, Christian Bale, Mischa Barton, Pamela Franklin, Roddy McDowell, Hayley Mills, Drew Barrymore, Thora Birch, Josh Brolin, Jennifer Connelly, Claire Danes, Leonardo di Caprio, Patty Duke, Kirsten Dunst, Sarah Michelle Gellar (even if she does seem to be going straight to video a lot lately), Ron Howard, Helen Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Milla Jovovich, Juliette Lewis, Jena Malone, Kathleen Quinlan, Christina Ricci, Kurt Russell, Winona Ryder, Leelee Sobieski and Dominique Swain. Some of these actors may be a bit before your time, if you're young; others may be a bit
after your time if you're not; generally, they brought something to me when I was myself young while they were still children themselves, and brought something very different when they weren't, and neither was I. If it seems the preponderance of these actors are female, well... um... I don't tend to notice men or boys.
As for the current crop of child actors of whom I expect great things in the future, assuming the entertainment industry retains something resembling its current form, I sometimes wish I could live long enough to see where Jodelle Ferland and Dakota Fanning are going. Fanning, in particular, made a believer of me before she even had all her adult teeth, and even now that she's quite obviously herself a young woman, I think her acting skill is such that she could have still done a d%#n credible and utterly devastating Abby a couple years ago while LMI was still filming. I also expect great things for Abigail Breslin, AnnaSophia Robb, Saoirse Ronan, Dakota Blue Richards and Emma Watson.
Before anybody says "Hey...", I think Moretz might go places, too, but I fear she'll have to kick a lot of a%# to do it.
Of all the actresses I care to try to remember having seen perform when they'd been of an appropriate age to do so, though, I can't think of any who could do Eli quite the same way Leandersson did, though, and this is why I claim we'd not be as moved by any future Eli that might come our way. She set that particular bar very high, and of all the actresses I've just mentioned, a twelve year old Ricci or Ryder are the only Americans who
might have pulled it off. Kinski, being German and therefore no stranger to Germanic stiffness, might have fared somewhat better.
Most of these actresses could have done a fairly convincing Abby, but that's a somewhat different story. Abby is American; these actresses are generally American. They can all be slinky, seductive and still pull off an American corn-fed innocence with a haunted (and haunting) touch of sad evil.
Abby ain't Eli, as I say from time to time, but Eli ain't Abby, either... and future Elis or Abbys brought to us by future child actors (never know when somebody might take JAL up on his "rudely fixed" proposition) won't be Eli or Abby, either, but said future incarnations might just bring something that these two icons didn't.
In other words, cheer up! There's no telling what darkly delightful surprises might be lurking behind your darkened television or computer screen!
Besides, did you check out the picture I ripped from a trailer from Leandersson's upcoming TV series? If you'd have frozen her at 11 or 12, she could still have pulled off that kind of smile, I think, but isn't it so much lovelier now that she's a young woman? Those
eyes...
One of the things that saddens me most about the entertainment industry is the occasional story we get about child actors who've died while they're still children, such as
Heather O'Rourke or
Judith Barsi or
Aaliyah. Who knows what magic these people might have brought us, if they'd lived?
Besides, well, um... Jodie Foster at just under 50 can come bashing on my front door looking for an all-night dinner and movie date anytime she wants. So can Natalie Portman, who's at that perfect little age of 30... :sigh:. Is it evil to dream that someday, when she's 25 or so, against all the odds, Lina could do the same?
I say, let them grow, and let them live lives the same way we live ours. Let them know freedom, joy and love in
all its wonderful forms. Let's not be selfish enough to want to pickle them in formaldehyde and encase them in acrylic to put on our desks as showpieces. Beautiful, yes, but also
dead.
No less than Eli is like dead now and watching the movie or pictures has become a family photo album scrolling. Hopefully these syndromes are not permanent or long lasting . I apologise that i had to write this post.
