As a well-known actress who appeared in both critical darlings and blockbuster franchises, Gwyneth Paltrow has received quite a bit of negative publicity over the years. Despite winning the Academy Award for Best Actress early in her career thanks to her efforts in Shakespeare in love (1998), the American thespian is still seen today as unworthy of the award.
However, she did win in the same category at the Golden Globes and was nominated at the BAFTAs. So it can’t have been a total fluke. What’s the problem? Well, unfortunately for Paltrow, she’s gotten a lot more public attention than a simple censure at the Academy Awards. Ten years after the aforementioned ceremony, with her involvement in the MCU and starting her own company called Goop, Paltrow was portrayed in a pretty negative light.
Perhaps even to an unjustified degree, as she was once regarded as one of the hottest up-and-coming actresses Hollywood had to offer. Apart from that, she acted in several critically acclaimed films Iron Man And Shakespeare in loveas well, and while many of her roles in the early 2000s were absolutely dogged by critics, several of those roles also went under the radar.
Her famous roles
From the mid to late 1990s, Paltrow had an all-ages run with critical acclaim, box office success, and even a few awards from major award societies. Though she appeared in a few movies before, her breakout role came with the crime thriller Se7en (1995), directed by David Fincher. And while her character may be best remembered for giving the project the iconic plot twist, she also performed remarkably in the scenes in which she appeared.
She doesn’t get the credit in that regard as she gets for her literary adaptations that followed, like Emma (1996). Based on the 1815 Jane Austen novel of the same name, written and directed by Douglas McGrath. It featured emotional efforts from everyone involved, including Ewan McGregor and Toni Collette. But Paltrow undoubtedly walked away as the ultimate highlight of the movie.
Then came Shakespeare in love (1998) – more on this later, but it’s worth noting again that this was the project that won her the Academy Award for Best Actress. However, the last film of this kind came out in the same year Great expectations (1998), based on the 1861 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. It received adequate reviews, although her performance in particular was not necessarily revered.
She had another starring role in that year Sliding doors (1998), which follows her character through two storylines as it shows the different paths her life can take depending on whether she catches or misses a train. And while the project was panned by critics in part due to the uneven tone of the split storylines, the performances were adequately praised. And speaking of respected performances: there are too The talented Mr. Ripley (1999).
From Matt Damon to Jude Law, everyone in this psychological thriller performed to a remarkable degree, with the latter of those two actors receiving a nomination at the Oscars for Best Supporting Actor. And while Paltrow’s performance was not as acclaimed as her contemporaries, the film only cemented her name value in this era of American cinema.
She then returned to her literary roots as she portrayed the titular character in Sylvia (2003) received critical acclaim. And in Evidence (2005) by John Madden (who also Shakespeare in love), she picked up her second career Golden Globe nomination. That association sure loves that filmmaking duo. After that, however, Paltrow hit the big leagues of blockbuster success with Iron Man (2008), the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
She, of course, plays Pepper Potts, the love interest of Tony Stark (the titular Iron Man), and the role kind of sparked a resurgence in Paltrow’s career, so to speak. She has reprized the role six times and played Pepper in a total of seven MCU films. But despite her involvement in this transcendental franchise, she’s received quite a bit of criticism over the years for a variety of often unusual reasons.
Why she gets backlash
At the 71st Academy Awards, Shakespeare in love (1998) received a controversial win for Best Picture. Many critics and fans felt the award should have gone to Saving Private Ryan (1998) by Steven Spielberg – so much so that the ceremony is still discussed today, with the honor at hand largely viewed as a disapproval.
And, of course, Gwyneth Paltrow starred Shakespeare in love, and herself won a controversial award at that year’s Oscars – one for Best Actress. It was the only win with the association in her career and she hasn’t even been nominated since. In addition, most critics felt that the award should have gone to Fernanda Montenegro that year for her performance in Central Station (1998).
The two actresses also had to compete against Cate Blanchett Elizabeth (1998)Enter Meryl Streep A true thing (1998)and Emily Watson in it Hillary and Jackie (1998). There’s an argument that they all could have triumphed over Paltrow in the end, too. But in the end, she walked away victorious.
Then she appeared in a series of critical duds: Duets (2000) with a 21% approval rating on the critical consensus website Rotten Tomatoes. A year later, she co-starred with Jack Black Shallow hallway (2001), who has a 50%. Not terrible, but Paltrow herself has appeared on the record and has expressed her disdain for the film. Then there is Top view (2003) – with an abysmal 14% approval rating, it is easily one of the worst films of her career. It could very well be considered the most rotten of them all.
Now she’s under a controversial light due to the start of her wellness and lifestyle company, Goop – launched in 2008 – which has been scrutinized ad nauseam for supporting apparently harmful products. In addition, multiple sources have accused the company of false advertising, sparking further controversy.
Overall, Goop has only tarnished its image more, with several personalities even parodying the brand over the years. And what really sealed the deal for Paltrow in the eyes of many fans was her lack of appreciation for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She often has no idea what’s going on in the franchise and sometimes doesn’t even know she’s appearing in a particular movie.
That’s become the biggest story of the second half of her career – not just her inclusion in the MCU, but her general disdain for it. However, her mediocre performances in the early 21st century coupled with her escapades with Goop in the MCU have ultimately eclipsed many of the quality efforts of acting that Paltrow has made over the years.
Her forgotten and underrated roles
The first movie worth mentioning here is called Meat and bones (1993), a neo-noir mystery thriller written and directed by Steve Kloves. It wasn’t a bad movie per se, but one of the only noteworthy elements was the cast – apart from Paltrow, it also features Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, and James Caan. And the actress in question received notable praise for her performance as a con artist named Ginnie.
And again, there’s also a strong argument that her performance is in it Se7en has since been overshadowed by the success of the project itself coupled with performances by its other stars. Being at the heart of the gruesome plot twist didn’t help her either. But the last ’90s Paltrow movies that aren’t close to the love it should be Hard eight (1996), written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson in his feature film debut.
As an author, Anderson knows how to create a character. And Paltrow’s portrayal of a waitress named Clementine coupled with her solid development made the character one of the film’s absolute best. And coincidentally, the next film worth writing home about was by another author with the last name of Anderson – in this case, it was Wes.
Within the star-studded cast of The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), her efforts stood out as perhaps the most emotional. It’s a well-known movie these days, especially to hard-core fans of writer-director Wes Anderson, but Gwyneth never gets much individual credit for her particularly poignant performance as Margot Tenenbaum. Even Paltrow herself has said one of her scenes is in it Tenenbaums remains the only series of her career that she can actually watch back. That’s high praise.
She then starred in a science fiction movie which was written and directed by Kerry Conran. And regardless of the prospect of success, commercial or critical, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) was not exactly a hit. However, certain critics, such as Roger Ebert, sang highly of the release. It has since become a cult classic and is easily one of the most underrated roles of Paltrow’s career.
The last movie worth mentioning here is mentioned Two lovers (2008), directed by James Gray. She stars alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Vinessa Shaw, and while no one performed to truly remarkable effect in this one, the project as a whole has gone largely unnoticed.
Ultimately, Paltrow’s contributions to cinema have been largely overshadowed by the lackluster casting choices, controversial statements, and questionable business decisions she’s made since making it big in Hollywood. Plus, the consensus about Shakespeare in love and disapproving his Oscars Saving Private Ryan all those years ago her case didn’t help in the slightest.
However, her appearances in films love Emma, SylviaAnd Evidence should show the audience that she really deserved the Best Actress award. And as if those efforts weren’t enough, there are so many more that don’t get enough attention in more contemporary settings Meat and bones And Se7en Unpleasant Hard eight And The Royal Tenenbaums. And in the end there should be no doubt about it: all those works alone make Paltrow underestimated.