Top Five Movies of Laura Linney

The last few weeks, I?ve been seeing Laura Linney a lot. It?s not because we casually run into each other at Intelligentsia Coffee as we both procure a tasty beverage and she tries to go unnoticed and I try to go unnoticed noticing her. No, it?s much more simple and mundane, but a little surprising to me. I?ve been watching ?Downton Abbey.?

No, Laura does not star in this cast of wonderful characters in a show that takes place in the 1910s on an estate in England. Instead, before every episode she introduces the weeks intrigue with the simple words, ?This is Masterpiece Classic.? Then come all of the men in tuxes and suits and all of the women in dresses and immediately I?m transported back in time and I can?t wait to see what happens next. I didn?t think that would happen to me. I thought this would be a recommended series like ?Dexter? or ?Weeds? that just didn?t interest me. I was dead wrong.

Linney!

On the other hand, the upcoming ?Hyde Park on the Hudson? seems to be tailor made to my tastes. Not only does it star Laura, it adds in my favorite leading actor of all time Bill Murray (I think he has finally surpassed Cary Grant) and takes place in the 1930s. Maybe I?m finally going to have to admit to myself that I like period pieces. Well, the top five movies of Laura don?t have any period pieces, but they have plenty of great quality to keep me tided over until ?Hyde Park on the Hudson.?

5. The Squid and the Whale

After ?Roger Dodger,? this was the second movie I saw that starred Jesse Eisenberg in a major role, and I thought they were both fantastic. Then came ?Zombieland? and ?The Social Network? and he has to be one of my favorite young actors. Out of those four though, the one I?m least likely to watch again is ?The Squid and the Whale.? It?s great, but watching a divorce through the eyes of children is not a fun thing to do more than once.

4. Love Actually

On the other hand, this is one of my holiday favorites to watch again. This year, just before I go to see ?The Hobbit,? I expect to watch ?Love Actually? just so I can truly visualize how far Martin Freeman has come. (Maybe I?ll watch some of the British ?The Office? again as well.)

3. You Can Count on Me

Kenneth Lonergan made this fantastic movie starring Laura and Mark Ruffalo. It?s been a while since I?ve seen it, but I still remember that elation of emerging from the theater knowing I saw something really special.

2. The Truman Show

Looking back at this movie, it surprises me that it came out before the boom of reality TV in the 2000s. Then again, the idea that people will do anything to be on TV and TV will do anything to get ratings is much, much older than the 2000s.

1. The Savages

Though I really, really like all of the movies in Laura?s top five, I have no question that this is my favorite. It?s a dark and sneaky comedy with Phillip Seymour Hoffman and I really think it is the best portrayal of siblings I?ve ever seen in a movie. Maybe that says more about my sister and I than it does about the movie.

Agree? Disagree? Which movies would make your Laura Linney top five?