Top 5 Films of Fairuza Balk

Fairuza Balk is a strong actress, one unlike any actress in her generation. Yes,.she is gorgeous, but she doesn't play into this quality about her to win traditional starlet roles. She has sought out unique, strong and special characters throughout her career that has spanned almost her entire life. I first became a fan around the age of five. I barely have a memory of a time that I didn't adore this actress. Looking at her career objectively, these are the five films that I determined were the best so far from her amazing career.

Return to Oz

I had to include Return to Oz. This sequel to the 1939 classic film, The Wizard of Oz, was a bit darker than one would imagine for a Disney movie. It's truer to the books than the original movie, but it retains some aspects that were changed for the film. For instance, in the books by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy were silver slippers. They were changed to ruby slippers for the 1939 film, and they were kept as ruby slippers for this film as well.

Fairuza Balk gives a very affecting performance. She carries the movie as Dorothy Gale, alongside the miscellaneous cast of characters that include the Scarecrow once again (given a makeover), a Gump and Ballina, her chicken in Kansas that can suddenly talk. She doesn't try to imitate the original performance by Judy Garland; instead, she made the role her own. It's recommended for adults and children.

Shame

Fairuza Balk is powerful, tragic and haunting in her role in Shame, a remake of the original Australian film of the same name. She plays Lizzie Curtis, a rape victim who is doubly victimized in a town conditioned to blame the victim and allow the perpetrators to terrorize the town. Amanda Donohue plays Diana Cadell, an out-of-town lawyer who comes and becomes devoted to Lizzie and her case.

Fairuza's performance is strong and bold, with a rage so strong that it can be felt. It's a role that could have easily turned into melodrama in less capable hands, and Donohue and Balk soar in their roles and in their scenes together. While this entire movie is definitely not the feel-good movie of the year, it's an important story and contains a performance by Fairuza that shouldn't be missed.

Gas, Food, Lodging

This 1992 film features a teenage Fairuza as the youngest daughter of a single mom in a trailer park. Allison Anders, an incredible filmmaker with a distinctive style and voice in cinema, directed this movie. The movie is carried by the three females: mom Nora, portrayed by Brooke Adams, sister Trudi, portrayed by Ione Skye, and Shade, portrayed by Fairuza Balk. Trudi is rebellious and uncaring; Shade is the opposite. Not knowing much about her father and feeling the need to figure out herself and her past, she is the most interesting of the characters.

There are lots of Olivia Newton-John references in the movie, as Shade is in love with a boy obsessed with Olivia, and that thrilled this Olivia Newton-John fan. One classic scene is when Shade dresses up as Olivia in order to seduce a boy. Although it fails, the scene is classic, and the devastation Shade feels while in the Olivia costume and sitting on the side of the street creates a scene that's both comic and tragic.

This film takes a look at family relationships under strain and shows a gritty reality that is powerful and oddly captivating. It takes you through a journey with the characters that leaves you thinking about them long after the credits have rolled.

The Waterboy

With performances by Kathy Bates and Fairuza Balk together, i had to include this Adam Sandler comedy. They are lovable actresses with undeniably strong talents. Adam Sandler also gives one of the most moving and funny performances of his career. This movie tells the tale of an outcast boy who is determined to be the best waterboy he can be. From the swamps to the field, it's a unique tale of love and devotion. You have to see it to understand.

Don't Come Knocking

Fairuza Balk is opposite the other powerhouse actress of her generation, Sarah Polley, in this movie. It also stars Sam Shephard. Directed by the legendary Wim Wenders, this is a movie that's both character-based and story-based. Fairuza is captivating in the wild and fun role of Amber. It's a slower moving film, with a great evolution of its characters.

Howard Spence, played by Sam Shephard, really drives the story forward. Although he was once a huge star, he finds that his life is empty and sets out in search of something specific, and he finds that the world opens up for him. It's a film that can have a changing and inspiring effect on its audience.

Sources cited:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105379/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377800/
http://www.dontcomeknocking.com/cast/fairuza-balk-bio.html