Rogue One [Official Info] Felicity Jones (Jyn Erso) in Rogue One

Yeah I confess I'd not seen her in a lot of films previously but I'm going to have to get around to watching the stuff Like Crazy, not sure I can stomach another Da Vinci Code film though.

I do tend to agree with you that several viewings down the line the real core of the film along with Edwards grasp of dramatic atmosphere is Jones performance even if its less eye catching than say roles like K2. Perhaps that explains why the film has divided opinion as much as it has? with TFA I think to some degree "battle lines" had already been drawn before release but Rogue One didn't have the same pro/anti Lucas debate attached to it yet got some very up/down responses.

Some of the scenes like the hologram of Galen are pretty obvious emotionally but a lot of others are more subtle, especially for a modern mainstream action blockbuster. I actually felt Godzilla was similar in the way Edwards had Taylor Johnson play the character which seemed to divide audiences, maybe the kind of performance people are either not used to seeing or just aren't expecting from this kind of film? The initial scene with Jyn on Yavin could almost take the place of one of those "emotional intelligence" tests, 90% of the drama depends on reaction shots from Jones rather than dialog, maybe someone should survey Rogue One opinion by index finger length?

 

Yes. A lot of people expect bombastic cartoonish personalities in their genre blockbusters, and Rogue One didn't meet that expectation. Instead, they got genuine, naturalistic acting. Which is partly why, IMO, I find it to be the best Star Wars film in the series.

 

Personally as I said I think a big issue for a lot of people is that there opinion of a film like ESB was built up over multiple viewings across many years were as these days there a tendency to set your opinion in stone after one viewing based on committing to a load of arguments you aren't willing to climb down from. Style wise though these two films are actually not that far apart at all for me, I think that Fecility Jones performance for example is clearly similar to Carrie Fisher in Empire. I can almost imagine Edwards showing people that opening scene with Leia giving Han sidelong glances in the Hoth control room under moody lighting and saying "this is what were after".

Again I think there is a tenancy to rather write off actresses giving more subtle performances are just down to there being good looking when really your talking well controlled physical performances just as with actors doing the same. Johansson in Under the Skin, Portman in Jackie, both leads in Blue is the Warmest Colour, etc come to mind as some of the best performances this decade for me yet I don't think they got as much praise as they deserved. The nature of Rogue One as an action blockbuster does I think mean Felicity Jones doesn't get quite as much to work with but yeah I can definitely see an argument for her giving the best performance in a Starwars film(obviously a very subjective argument given the range of very different performances involved), the council speech still feels a bit clunky to me(mostly the writing) and she might not have many one liners but the character built up very successfully.

What your often looking at as well IMHO with these kinds of performances is a strong link between the director and the actor. Classic thesp theatrical scenery chewing for example can I think happen more independently of the director who just points a camera in the right direction buit capturing a more subtle physical performance comes down to the actor and director working together, De Niro and Marty being perhaps the most obvious example of this across multiple films,

 

Would it be possible for her to return to the franchise to give a cameo or something in the future?

 

I could see her popping up in the Han Solo film. But I also doubt that.

But there's still a lot of the Dark Times we haven't seen, and I could see Jyn (as part of Saw's gang) appearing in a future film set during this period.

 

What if Han just mentions someone named Liana Hallik. Felicity is too old to portray her younger self. But Han name dropping her alias would be a cool easter egg.

 

That would be great. Though Felicity looks quite young for her age, and I think she could convincingly play her yoUnger self.

 

I was always hoping the reason Liana ended up in the slammer was due to schemes that would happen in the Han Solo movie but I believe Rebel Rising covered that.

 

Well, in that case, recast and have Steve Buscemi take on the role. He’s got the experience!

 

There are red lines. And you’ve just crossed a really red one. A truly disastrous image that I can never unsee.

 

Oh, like he hasn't pulled it off flawlessly before.





Experience indeed. (Really though, I adore Buscemi and sure wish someone would cast him in a Star War...)

Back on subject, I don't see Felicity playing her younger self either. I think it's crazy enough that she played a supposed 21 y/o in Rogue One the same year she did A Monster Calls, in which she's the mother of a pre-teen. In Han Solo she'd be a teenager? Naw.

 

Nope.

 

If we didn't see it happen for a few years one option could be for Beau Gadsdon to play her again.

 

Sure. As long as she hasn’t lost her acting chops!

 

That would have probably worked better if the Han Solo movie had come out before RO and that name was dropped during it.

Then when RO came out and Liana Hallik was revealed to be an alias of Jyn Erso everybody would be in awe of that minor detail from the previous Han Solo movie that now connects it to RO.

But that didn't happen.

 

Damn, if only 2018 was before 2016.

 

think she did a great job and wish she had of survived to pop up in other movie projects

 

Jyn Erso is a really good charactere ... I'll be pleased if we see her again in another star wars movie

 

I think there's definitely room for more Jyn. The problem is, its now or never. I just don't see it as a priority for lucasfilm. They have Cassian, Baze, and Chirrut who warrant further exploration, and I doubt they get anything too.

 

This thread is nice to read because it's overall a positive place for people who love Jyn. It's just interesting because tumblr side of the fandom paints her as the Worst character in the franchise for a lot of reasons that make no sense at all. It's a big contrast compared to what i read here.
So again, this thread is refreshing, really