Jodie Foster's Performance. "So beautiful...I had no idea."

Rating: Null/10 (21 June 1999)

I was actually inspired to write this after seeing the AFI special on CBS, and their recognition of the top actors and actresses of our time -- prior to 1959 (I believe.) It got me thinking about current actors and who could possibly fill the shoes of those greats from the golden era of cinema. People like Judy Garland, Kathyrn Hepburn, Bette Davis, etc.
Jodie Foster. Definitely. And I didn't reach this conclusion based on her two previous Best Actress Academy Awards. "Contact" was not a landmark film with a boffo box office. But it was an extremely well made and provocative movie that I enjoyed immensely. And more than the film, I enjoyed Jodie Foster's performance. There are many in the industry who, hush hush, may think twice when casting her in a romantic role opposite a male lead, the thinking goes: everyone 'knows' ... and somehow that detracts from her believability ... that we are watching someone whom we know is acting, because she cannot possibly be feeling what she's is supposed to be feeling when she kisses an actor in a sensuous manner.
Painful for me to admit, but I used to be one of them ...
until I saw her in "Contact."
Foster's acting ... in two sequences in particular, transcended all of that for me: 1) the "Okay to go" sequence, and.... 2) "It's so beautiful, I had no idea" sequence.
When AFI does it's eventual salute to Jodie Foster, as will AMPAS -- those sequences will stand out and should be included in her body of work sampling, precisely because "Contact" was not a milestone film. Jodie carried that film, and single-handedly propelled it to where it had to go -- during the climax, acting against SFX without the benefit of playing off another actor. In the hands of a lesser performer, the magic and mystery and awe that Carl Sagan was trying to imbue into this film would not have been realized.
"I'm okay to go...okay to go... okay to go.." Simple words of dialogue, really. What the actress does with them is a revelation and tribute to her skill and God-given talent. The pod is about to descend into an unknown abyss and travel through another dimension. "I'm okay to go." Scientific words. But in her hands, and in the way she delivers them... she made me cry. They embodied the core desire of the main character with such realism, such raw emotion, made all the more so because they were tinged with a combination of fear, excitement, courage and the indomitable human spirit, HER spirit -- within context of the film and, somehow for me, within context of her life -- that I could only tear up and cry and love her.
Then again, when the character describes what she sees at the pivotal climax of "Contact" -- "A celestial event ... so beautiful ... so beautiful ... I had no idea ... words cannot describe ... I had no idea ..." Again, tears. As she emotes the words, I found myself thinking to myself, "Yes, Jodie ... such a beautiful performance ... such a beautiful actor. You could have only done this by digging deep into the essence of your soul. To pull that out... from the depths of your core ... you must be so beautiful too ... I had no idea. No idea."
I must add here that I'm from Los Angeles, in the entertainment industry and I'm jaded. I know several celebrities. These are not the words of a some gushing fan. This is not fawning. This is simply respect and admiration for a truly brilliant talent. Look again at those scenes and her acting -- and judge for yourself. I only wish I was a high-enough ranking mogul to cast her in the romance film I just wrote. What luck any writer or director or producer must feel.