Colin Farrell was one of the biggest up and coming leading men in Hollywood 10 years ago, he’s worked with Michael Mann, Oliver Stone, Woody Allen, Terrence Malick, and Steven Spielberg but now seems to be struggling to stay relevant, despite the most unforgettable eyebrows in Hollywood.
What the hell happened?
Colin Farrell was born Born on May 31, 1976, Farrell studied acting at the Gaiety School of Drama in Dublin. In the mid to late 90’s he had a string of (mostly uncredited) appearances in small things like Frankie Starlight, Disappearance of Finbar, Drinking Crude, and War Zone, as well as some British shows like Love in the 21st Century and Ballykissangel, which was his big break, scoring a recurring role.
Farrell’s real break came when performing in a play In a Little World of Our Own when Kevin Spacey was in the audience and enjoyed his performance.
ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL (2000)
Spacey suggested Farrell for a role, which sat him next to Kevin Spacey and Linda Florentino in a classic gangster movie set in modern-day Ireland, with Spacey playing the flamboyant lead. The film got poor reviews, especially the performances of the leads, and their botched Irish accents. The film never found an audience stateside.
TIGERLAND (2000)
Colin Farrell got his first Hollywood leading role in no time, being cast in Joel Schumacher’s low-budget Tigerland (in his WTHH career of post Batman grittiness).
Tigerland tells the story of a group of young men who have been drafted for Vietnam, in their last stop of training before being shipped out. Farrell is the edgy draftee, who causes trouble but is the soul of the unit. He helps get people discharged for behavior, but the generals won’t do him such a favor. A rivalry between him and another recruit culminates in violence as the tension escalates. This is actually a surprisingly good movie, as much as I hate to admit Schumacher is capable of making decent stuff. Farrell carries the picture well, affecting a strong Texas accent. It received positive reviews, especially his performance, although it never found an audience in theaters.
AMERICAN OUTLAWS (2001)
Farrell next played the lead in American Outlaws, as Jesse James. Very much in the vein of a Young Guns, a western with a fair share of light-heartedness and good-looking young actors like James Caan and Ali Larter. Les Mayfield was known for directing family friendly comedies, how he got this job I’ll never know. Critics hated the film and it bombed in the box office. Roger Ebert summed it up thusly:
It only wants to be a bad movie, and fails. Imagine the cast of “American Pie” given a camera, lots of money, costumes and horses, and told to act serious and pretend to be cowboys, and this is what you might get.
Farrell was in his early-mid twenties and had fame and fortune heaped on him after not getting into an Irish boy-band for being tone-deaf. He quickly began earning a reputation as a hard-partying star, during this period he married actress Amelia Warner. It lasted four months.
HART’S WAR (2002)
Farrell followed up by co-starring with Bruce Willis in Hart’s War, a melodramatic WWII film that takes place in a Nazi POW camp, in which the POWs conduct a sort of mock trial for a white soldier’s murder of a black officer. Convoluted right? It’s basically any military courtroom drama (Few Good Men etc.). The movie got mixed to negative reviews, but bombed at the box office, only earning back half its budget. Farrell was praised again and was universally acknowledged as a star in the making. He replaced Edward Norton who dropped out of the part.
MINORITY REPORT (2002)
Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise teamed up for the Philip K Dick adaptation in summer of 2002. Farrell joined in as a supporting part, beating out Matt Damon for the role.
It’s a high concept sci-fi story about pre-crime, as people who can see the future foresee crimes before they happen and people are arrested on that charge. Farrell has a small but important part as a detective. Minority Report opened to good reviews, and did decent at the box office, but underperformed relative to its large budget. However, it marked the first time Farrell worked with a big time director (sorry joel Schumacher, I hate you), and Spielberg has been the maker of many young actor’s careers (Damon, LeBeauf, Law). Being seen with Spielberg and Cruise was a good thing. And personally I love this film, Spielberg does better than most with his Dick adaptation, after the 80s and 90s Schwarzenneger affairs.
PHONE BOOTH (2002)
Schumacher reunited with Farrell for this star vehicle, choosing him over Jim Carrey, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Mel Gibson. It was a gutsy move, because although once Farrell had done mainstream films, he hadn’t proved he could carry a feature on his back. Luckily the budget was small, the single location, real-time film made cutting costs easier.
Phone Booth works as a high tension thriller about an unscrupulous man caught in a phone booth as a sniper begins making demands of him and threatening to kill him and others. It was a smash, it earned decent reviews, and worldwide raked in almost $100 million. It’s a hokey and thin story, full of clichés and ridiculous contrivances, but it moves fast enough that it keeps you from dwelling on it. Farrell is a live wire and incessantly watchable.
THE RECRUIT (2003)
This is the kind of movie star film you can only make once you’ve gotten enough star power. It’s like comedians like Carrey and Williams, they are given scripts that aren’t good and told to make them funny, because you’re funny. This isn’t a good movie. It’s effectively mediocre. It features woo-ha Al Pacino woo-ha-ing all day and night.
It’s a CIA film, about a mentor (Pacino) that takes a young agent under his wing (Farrell), the young one isn’t by the books but he’s smart. Pacino snares him into his world and shows him the ropes, and then there’s a mole in the agency. Through some (predictable) twists and turns, and a love story, things aren’t all what they seem. Like I said, it’s nothing special, but it’s a movie star affair. It was dumped in January, but attesting to the draw of the two, it banked over $100 million worldwide. Critics were lukewarm on the affair, but Farrell’s idol was Pacino and likely did the movie just to work with him. Pacino called Farrell the best actor of his generation.
DAREDEVIL (2003)
And this is the first chink in a by-the-book rise to stardom. Daredevil left no career undamaged as it lumbered into theaters. Ben Affleck couldn’t have been worse as the blind attorney Matt Murdock who is gifted with (other) super senses and fights crime in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City. Luckily for Farrell, everyone looked better acting across from Affleck and Garner. Affleck is so wooden he gives you eye splinters watching him. Farrell plays Daredevil’s nemesis Bullseye, a super assassin who works for the main villain Kingpin. Farrell was allowed to use his Irish accent because who cares. The film received mostly negative reviews, but did well in the box office.
Affleck vowed to never wear a costume again, after the likes of Matt Damon, Guy Pearce, and Ed Norton passed on the project. Affleck has broken all our hearts by breaking his promise, and playing Batman in the next incarnation of the character.
VERONICA GUERIN (2003)
Farrell cameoed in Joel Schumacher’s flat film about Veronica Guerin, which wasted a brilliant performance by Cate Blanchett.
SWAT (2003)
A slam-bang action cop movie with Farrell and Sam Jackson wrapped up the end of summer 2003. An inmate offers a huge reward to anyone who frees him as he’s being transferred, and the group of cops must fight off ridiculously large and bombastic attempts at freeing the man. It’s ridiculous, but everyone seems to be having a good time, a la Sam Jackson in his Deep Blue Sea era. The film garnered mostly negative, or average, reviews, although Ebert loved it. It was a hit with audiences, adding to Farrell’s impressive resume. However, it should be noted, with the exception of Phone Booth, Farrell has had a huge actor headlining alongside him for every film that did well at this point.
INTERMISSION (2003)
A local Irish indie pops up in Farrell’s mostly Hollywood headlining filmography to this point, and finishes off a very busy 2003. I haven’t said much at Farrell’s performances since Phone Booth or Tigerland, and that’s mostly because he was just doing more or less by the books type of roles, he was consistently solid, but wasn’t taking challenging roles. While Intermission isn’t exactly Oscar bait, it’s a nice change of pace, and a great movie with Colm Meaney, Cilian Murphy, and Kelly MacDonald. It’s a gem of a movie that I stumbled across a few years back, and really enjoyed. It’s sort of in the Tarantino-pretender wheel house, but it has its own flavor. Recommended. It received pretty good reviews.
A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD (2003)
Apparently a time traveling Farrell read the last paragraph I wrote and decided to counter it by taking a role in the small indie A Home at the End of the World. An intimate, yet large story following one young man as an awkward boy, teenager, and adult who falls in love with both a man and a woman, and they try to create a non-traditional family. It received mostly positive or mixed reviews, with Farrell getting praise for his sensitive work opposite Robin Wright. Farrell is much better suited to this really soft human fare, rather than big shoot em ups. A lesson he did not learn in time. The film never found an audience, and became mostly infamous for Farrell’s full frontal nudity scene being cut due to his distractingly large, erm, manhood.
ALEXANDER (2004)
Time traveling Colin Farrell did not heed my advice for long, because he turned around and starred in the much-ballyhooed flawed epic, Alexander, as the titular Alexander for Oliver Stone.
Val Kilmer, Angelina Jolie, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Hopkins, and Jared Leto joined the long gestating passion project. Kilmer, Tom Cruise, and Heath Ledger had all been pegged to play Alexander at various stages. Any of them would’ve been better. Farrell is woefully miscast. He is not capable of the huge gravitas, presence, and personality the leader and conqueror of the known world would need to exude. His battle speeches ring hollow. Many yearning looks are exchanged with his pretty boy toy. He seems like a moody sad sack that I wouldn’t follow to the grocery store much less into battle. The terrible dye job only adds to the laughability.
Alexander was a disaster. Critics slammed the film and audiences couldn’t get away fast enough. Farrell has since said that it was a huge confidence destroyer, and he still hurts from the reviews the film got. As he should. Stone has since released multiple versions on DVD trying to right the ship, but to no avail.
Get me out of here, says his eyes…
It should be noted that during this time period, according to Farrell, he became severely addicted do drugs and alcohol, saying it almost killed him.
NEW WORLD (2005)
The newly resurgent Terrence Malick called Farrell in to star in his Pocahontas story, as John Smith, the man who falls in love with the native princess. Malick’s film is beautiful, and one of the few films I’ve ever seen that really shows the disparity between two cultures, and the difficulty of really communicating through language barriers. Farrell is great in the part, reviled by his own settlers, and eventually everyone turns on him. He has a good heart, but makes bad decisions. Christian Bale later marries his love, and there is a heartbreaking scene toward the end with Farrell. Every time he veered toward this type of film, as you will see, he received great reviews, as opposed to his blockbusters which started to blow up in his face. Critics adored the film, but as with most Malick, it doesn’t have wide appeal. It broke even worldwide.
ASK THE DUST (2006)
Remember what I said about smaller more personal films suiting Farrell? Yea, most of the time, this is the exception. After Val Kilmer and Johnny Depp passed, Farrell jumped into the story of a screenwriter in LA, sort of a light California noir/love story from writer/director Robert Towne, who wrote Chinatown. It must’ve looked good on paper, but the film is a total dud in my opinion. It’s just a mess, tonally confused, and Farrell is at his most self-consciously eye darting neurotic. Salma Hayek and Donald Sutherland costar. The film received average reviews and never found an audience.
MIAMI VICE (2006)
And this is where everything really changed for Farrell. Michael Mann decided to return to his roots with a Miami Vice remake. Original star of the series suggested Farrell play his part, and Jamie Foxx joined him as the iconic pop culture duo. What came out of it was a bloated, excessive, vain mess of a film. Mann used to make cool pictures, but this tries so hard. And nobody likes the 80s. We’re all thankful it’s gone, we don’t want to be reminded. Even if it’s updated, dark and gritty, and filmed digitally. Farrell and Foxx had no chemistry, it’s all style and no substance. Surprisingly, it garnered decent reviews, but audiences weren’t having it. It bombed in the US, and barely recouped it’s budget worldwide. Farrell had managed to work with two legendary directors on two of their worst films. It was an unfortunate happenstance.
Farrell says that after this film he was sent to rehab by his family, after struggling with alcohol and drug addiction for 10 years. He realized he was out of control and couldn’t put his foot on the brake anymore. It seems he has remained clean and sober in the years following, so good on him for that. It is not an easy thing to do. He says he enjoys being boring and a good father these days.
CASSANDRA’S DREAM (2007)
Farrell returned to the indie world to lick his wounds, and found Woody Allen calling his name. This is an underrated film in my opinion, and provides great roles for McGregor and Farrell in one of Woody Allen’s modern Greek tragedies, which is how I prefer my Woody. The two actors play cockney brothers, working class, who are hired by a rich relative to kill someone for money. Farrell is at his twitchy eyed best, his conscious collapsing under the guilt. Unfortunately most critics didn’t like the film quite as much as I did, reviews were mixed, and as per usual Woody Allen it broke about even in cost.
IN BRUGES (2008)
Stop what you are doing right now and go watch this movie if you haven’t seen it. Go. I’ll wait. Playwright Martin McDonagh (Pillowman, my favorite play) makes his writing/directing debut with the blackly funny irish comedy In Bruges. Two hitmen go vacationing in Bruges to hide out after a hit has gone wrong, Farrell being joined by Brendan Gleeson. Ralph Fiennes is a crime lord they work for. The movie is vulgar, hilarious, featuring the same great bickering and endlessly quotable lines you’d find in the best Tarantino stuff. The main thing that separates it is the real heart that it shows in between, with some really touching scenes in between the mayhem. Coke, racist midgets, and the blood of Jesus all show up. This is undoubtedly Farrell’s best film and role. And it almost didn’t happen:
When I read it, I said to Martin McDonagh, the director, ‘I don’t think you should hire me’. I said I come with a certain amount of baggage that has been well-earned through the years and this piece is so pure, I would love the audience to not have too much of a relationship with any of the actors. Thankfully, he didn’t listen to me.
The film was a hit with critics, with Roger Ebert giving it 4 stars. I remember not watching this for a long time because of Farrell’s presence, I’m so glad I changed my mind. Farrell doesn’t play the part in a way you’d expect, and he relishes McDonagh’s language. He’s a conflicted and guilty soul wandering through a strange land. This proved that Farrell really isn’t a movie star, but could be a great actor. He won a Golden Globe for the performance.
PRIDE AND GLORY (2008)
This good cop/bad cop brother v. brother film sat on the shelf for years. Starring opposite Ed Norton, it was finally dumped into theaters in October. Despite a script by Joe Carnahan and solid director Gavin O’Connor, the movie never really gels. Farrell plays the bad cop, at one point brandishing a hot iron over an infant. Pure shock factor. Everyone tries hard, and it shows, and I can’t say any of it is particular bad, it’s just been done better a hundred times. It’s practically the same movie as We Own the Night, which isn’t perfect either. Critics disliked it and it failed to make back half of its modest budget, bombing in October.
THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR PARNASSUS (2009)
Terry Gilliam has a long history of not finding financing for his films, which is a shame, while I’m not his biggest fan, I think his movies are an important addition to the world of cinema. From Don Quixote‘s troubles, to Dr. Parnassus. This is certainly a flawed film, but shows that Gilliam never lacks for imagination. One wonders what he could do with a large budget. Unfortunately, his films never make any money. Tragically this was the final film of Heath Ledger’s, in which he died during production. Heroically, Johhny Depp, Jude Law, and our boy Colin Farrell helped film pickup shoots for the character to complete the film.
It follows a traveling troupe of performers led by Christopher Plummer, an immortal man, who has made a deal with the devil, Tom Waits, who else. A man with no memory shows up, and revitalizes the rag-tag group, and falls in love with Plummer’s daughter. Who of course, is the property of the devil on her upcoming birthday in exchange for the immortality. It also features a pre-Spiderman Andrew Garfield. The film is all over the place, and like usual Gilliam doesn’t make it easy to watch. Colin Farrell plays the final incarnation of the Ledger character, and shows his bad nature. The actors donated their salary toward a fund for Ledger’s family. The film received mixed reviews and was inconsequential at the box office.
TRIAGE (2009)
Colin Farrell starred in this low-budget war film, about a photographer who returns from war a different man, despite his usual detachment from the violence he films. It’s a nice setup, and features Christopher Lee as his therapist. However, the movie is bad. Directing and editing leave it feeling nearly incomprehensible, and Farrell goes down the tube with the film. It was never released theatrically and got mixed to negative reviews.
ONDINE (2009)
Neil Jordan’s adaptation of the classic play about a mermaid that falls in love with a sailor starred Farrell as said fisherman. The film basically juxtaposes a fairy tale of love and mermaid, versus the struggles of real life. Can a fairy tale withstand the reality of everyday existence? Like a melancholy Splash, or similar vein. Jordan has mostly been a lost cause since Interview and The Crying Game, continually working, but never seeming inspired. Farrell does some decent understated work, but I don’t find the film compelling in the least. It received mixed to positive reviews, but basically went to video in the US.
CRAZY HEART (2009)
A busy 2009 was finished up with a cameo appearance in the Oscar nominated Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges as a washed-up country singer who has his life revitalized when he meets a younger woman and her daughter, but struggles with his own demons. I personally found this movie way overhyped, especially Bridges’ performance, which I thought was grating. Farrell shows up at the end as the new era of country singer, rich, long hair, ear pierced, who has his songs ghost written by Bridges. It’s an emotional last scene, and Farrell does well. Crazy Heart was a hit with critics and audiences alike, making almost $50 million on a budget less than 10. It did Farrell good to be a part of a well received film after a mostly miss of a year.
THE WAY BACK (2010)
Peter Weir returned with an all-star cast featuring Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, and one of my favorite young actress Saoirse Ronan. Farrell played a Russian thug who along with the group listed above, break out of a Siberian prison, and hike on foot, to India and Tibet, 4000 miles. Not everyone makes it. Most actors jump at the chance to work with the Australian auteur Weir, and Farrell turns in a good supporting role, mostly hitting the accent and the inherent danger of the character. However, the film doesn’t live up to the lofty standards that Peter Weir has established for himself. It received mostly good, but not great reviews, and was ignored in theaters.
LONDON BOULEVARD (2010)
Written and directed by The Departed screenwriter William Monoghan, and costarring Keira Knightley, I was psyched for this film. Farrell plays a bodyguard to Knightley’s pop star, and the two end up falling for each other, but not before some violence and banter is had along the way, David Thewlis and Ray Winstone costar as well.
On paper, this looked great, in execution it is a nightmare. Monoghan’s script is terrible. It is tonally all over the place, with characters doing things with seemingly no discernible motivation other than to advance the plot. Farrell and Knightley struggle to establish chemistry, and everyone looks lost. Farrell plays a good guy with a bad past caught up in a bad situation, so is mostly reactionary. The film received negative reviews, and flopped in the box office despite a modest budget.
After cleaning up his life from addiction, Farrell also quit smoking in 2010, smoking a whole pack in one day, paying distinct attention to every puff, and writing a goodbye letter to cigarettes.
HORRIBLE BOSSES (2011)
Horrible Bosses is a hard R comedy full of raunch and men behaving like boys starring Jason Sudekis, Charlie Day, and Jason Bateman (who for my money is the 2000s version of Jerry O’Connell). Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, and Colin Farrell costar as the titular bosses. Farrell is having a day with his character, and it’s one of the most fun appearances he’s ever had on-screen. He shaves his head into a comb over, grows a douche beard, and puffs his stomach out to a paunch, and waddles around as the kung-fu wannabee king of self-absorbed assholes. His house is full of cocaine and Sharper Image. He calls people fat to their faces. The movie is funnier than I thought it would be, but I’m not one for broad comedy. Bosses was a huge hit despite mixed to average reviews. There is still talk of a sequel.
FRIGHT NIGHT (2011)
Fright Night is a remake of a cult horror comedy, this time starring Anton Yelchin, David Tennant, and Colin Farrell as the sexy vampire. Audiences had been eating up horror/comedies (see Zombieland) so it must’ve seemed like a good time to remake a film nobody was asking for. A young man begins suspecting he lives next door to a vampire, and hijinks ensue from there…
Farrell said he took the role because he enjoyed the director’s work on the far superior film Lars and the Real Girl. Lightning did not strike twice. Farrell’s performance was mostly well received, and the movie got better reviews than expected, that, however, did not help it in the box office where it bombed. Farrell did not learn his lesson about starring in remakes nobody wants to see…
TOTAL RECALL (2012)
Am I the only one that feels like Colin Farrell looks exactly the same in 85% of his movies? You could swap most of these pictures and who would know?
What did I just say? When will Hollywood learn that nobody wants remakes of Ahnuld movies without Ahuld? Just ask Jason Mamoa how that worked out for him. Go ahead. Ask him. I’ll wait. Farrell didn’t ask him. He took the role in Len Wiseman’s remake, which is a remake of the film, which drifts even further from the source material. This is the same team that made the Underworld films. And it looks like an Underworld film. Same tone, same feel, same CGI, same actors. It again centers on a man who begins to suspect his world, his reality, is not what it seems. Memory implants, false identities, and more confusion follows as it lumbers from one action set piece to another.
Farrell “beat” Michael Fassbender for the role. Farrell said he thought for sure it would be a hit. It was not. Critics hated the film, inevitably comparing it to the previous entry that still holds up just fine for a Verhoeven satire on Hollywood violence and excess. The film flopped domestically, earning $50 mill to a $125 mill budget. It did well overseas and recouped costs. But it showed that Farrell may not be a leading action man anymore (if he ever was).
SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS (2012)
Martin McDonagh reteamed with his leading man from In Bruges, for another violence, profanity-laden, comedy, this time with more of a meta edge to it, and to slightly less effective results.
Farrell plays McDonagh’s surrogate here, basically a screenwriter in need of a good story. When his associate (Sam Rockwell) dognaps a small dog and holds it for ransom, things go awry. Woody Harrelson plays the insane gangster who loves his dog, and a lot of other great actors pop up like Christopher Walken and Tom Waits again. The film takes a meta approach because as Farrell is describing what he does and doesn’t want his film to be like, the film itself begins taking that shape. It’s very much like Adaptation, just a little nuttier. Walken supplies the pathos of the film, and there is signature McDonagh gruesomeness, but it doesn’t quite hit the human notes In Bruges managed to sneak in. It received mostly positive reviews, and broke even in the box office, which is to be expected with this kind of divisive film. Farrell gets overshadowed by Rockwell, Harrelson, and Walken, who have showier roles.
DEAD MAN DOWN (2013)
The director of the original Swedish Girl with a Dragon Tattoo makes his English language debut with Farrell, reuniting with Rapace, and Terrence Howard in this undercover thriller. Farrell is a criminal working his way up the ladder, all the while seeking revenge on his boss for killing his wife (sort of Salton Sea-ish). Rapace plays the femme fatale who seems vulnerable, but has her own goals. Unfortunately for all involved, it never rises above the genre conventions, and the film as a whole doesn’t make a lot of sense, with a lot of contrivances and conveniences used to make it all gel. Farrell plays a familiar character and does his usual solid work, but he’s not an actor that can elevate material. He’s basically as good as what’s around him. Dead Man Down got negative reviews and didn’t do business at the BO.
EPIC (2013)
Farrell lent his voice to this animated feature from Dreamworks and Pixar rival Blue Sky. He plays a samurai type that assists the main character on her journey. While voicing for Pixar or Disney is sort of prestige work, voice acting has never revitalized anyone’s career, especially when the film gets bad reviews and barely breaks even with its large budget. Epic was not epic.
SAVING MR BANKS (2013)
The director of the vastly overrated Blind Side gets another chance to obviously manipulate your emotions with all the subtlety of hamfisting them down your throat. Saving Mr. Banks is Disney’s film about how much Disney loves Disney, and that nobody Disneys better than Disney can Disney.
A white washed story of Disney’s desperate begging, and eventual adaptation of Mary Poppins and how he and the author (Emma Thompson) clashed. Disney couldn’t be more likable and innocent, made barely tolerable thanks to Tom Hanks extraordinary talents. Thompson does well with the old curmudgeon, and we learn she’s so bitter because daddy issues. Farrell plays her drunken daddy in flashbacks. While he’s decent, the schmaltzy material really undercuts him, and the flashbacks and the Disney story never gel. And Farrell just doesn’t exude paternal love. He’s not quite likable enough to forgive his shenanigans with booze. He’s just miscast here. The film got mixed reviews, but did well at the box office.
WHAT’S NEXT?
WINTERS TALE (2014)
This has to be the single worst trailer I’ve seen in a long time. This film looks dreadful. Akiva Goldsman makes his directing debut with Farrell and Russell Crowe, and Will Smith in a cameo (?). It has something to do with a love story and reincarnation, because every time love stories and time traveling happen together the results are great (Time Machine, Time Traveler’s Wife, Lakehouse). But just watch this trailer.
Was I right or what? Farrell was cast over a lot of younger up and coming actors which says something about his pull and appeal.
Farrell also has Miss Julie, Over the course of a midsummer night in Fermanagh in 1890, an unsettled daughter of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy encourages her father’s valet to seduce her, with legendary director Liv Ullman, that costars Jessica Chastain and Samantha Morton later this year, that is being released right in Oscar season, so there may be hope there. He also is playing a psychic that assists the FBI in the mystery thriller Solace.
So, what the hell happened?
Colin Farrell made a big splash in Hollywood fast. He paid little dues, and was on a meteoric rise to stardom from the start. His career was a by-the-book on how to become A-list. He starred in a couple of surprise hits, and turned in an attention grabbing performance or two. He took supporting roles next to big stars until he was able to go out on his own. The problem was, when Farrell was the real headliner, his films flopped. When he was supposed to be the big draw, there was no draw. It is often the case that an actor will have a reputation as being a star, with little to actually back that up. Farrell has readily applied the principal of two for them, one for me, in his career, with most of his eye-catching work being in more modest productions with talented directors.
He’s worked with some of the biggest directors out there, so his skill is not going unnoticed, but Farrell doesn’t really seem to have a niche. He’s obviously not the action/thriller leading man because he doesn’t have that immeasurable it quality people like Denzel or Cruise can bring to any role or film. Nor is Farrell really an Oscar caliber actor, he’s very good, but rarely does he blow you away, perhaps he just hasn’t found the right role. Farrell has rarely turned down any part that he should’ve done, but has picked some scripts that looked to be successful on paper and didn’t turn out. He’s worked with some great directors that didn’t make films up to their usual standards when he worked with them.
With his substance abuse behind him, he probably gave his career a second life it wouldn’t have had if he hadn’t straightened out. He’s still trying to headline blockbusters, but if Winter’s Tale and Solace flop, the approaching 40-year-old may be done with those offers.
Farrell has earned a respite from some flops because by all accounts he works hard on film sets. I’ve never read anything about him being difficult in the least, he’s on time and gets along with everyone. If nothing else, Farrell is still in demand, and still showing that he is a solid actor. Whether he’ll ever turn in a performance on par with his idols Pacino, Brando, or Paul Newman remains to be seen. I for one am pulling for Farrell, he made a lot of corrections that other stars don’t make and seems grateful to be where he is.
Another well-done entry! I gots to re-read when I get more time, but it seems a thoughtful overview of The Farrell Affair. Maybe — just maybe — Farrell was the “victim” of the hype surrounding him — most of us heard/got the feeling that It Boy Colin F (like Matthew McConahoohoo before him) was GONNA BE A BIG STAR. But then (like Matt McC’s) his “star vehicles” under-performed (or bombed) and “substance abuse” got in his way (no-body wants to hire a guy to front a $30 million production if The Star is gonna show up to the set hung-over…and… Read more »
Colin Farrell seems to have found his niche staring in comedies like In Bruges and Horrible Bosses maybe he should stick to them
Some of the movies he has been, are great. But to me Colin Farrell himself is really boring and quite uncarismatic actor. When you see stars like Johnny Depp or Tom Cruise, you know what I mean by this.
His son’s medical issues have played a large part in how Mr. Farrell conducts himself these days and where his priorities lie. Cleaned up his unhealthy lifestyle. Very hands-on father with both his boys. He still works and usually his appearances are the most fun to watch. Eg Seven Psychopaths, In Bruges, Horrible Bosses. He never gives you a bad moment. He works hard and he cares. He’s a grown up. Thanks for the insightful article.
Agreed with Shemp’s comments. However, Mcconaughey did reverse course and move back to better material.
Like I said about Dillon and Berenger, Farrell is a better ensemble layer or character actor than lead.
Good job on the WTHH article. I have to admit I have always been a little territorial about this series and wasn’t sure how I would feel about sharing it. But I think your entries fit in seamlessly. It’s fun for me to experience the series from the reader’s POV. I am doing a little bit of editing. Mostly stylistic stuff. Primarily, I have been linking to other articles and linking other articles back to this one. Also, I would recommend uploading your pictures as opposed to linking to them. I used to do that. But what happened is that… Read more »
Thanks, I was initially very nervous about doing a WTHH, because as far as I could see you’re the only one to have done them. But you said to write whatever, and I think the series is a lot of fun from a trivia perspective.
I’m cool with editing, because I’m a poor editor of myself, honestly, I never read anything I write after I type it, once I hit spacebar I’m over it. Same thing with college papers. You’re right about the uploading, that’s just me being lazy cutting corners.
I have been protective of the series. Up until now, it’s been unofficially (maybe even officially) off-limits to other writers. I wouldn’t want just anyone writing WTHH articles. They are the backbone of the site, for better or worse. When a notification goes out that there is a new WTHH article, people flock to read it. So I want to make sure there’s a certain consistency there. So I was a touch reluctant to let some of my control go on that one. But based on your work so far, I had no doubt you would meet or exceed the… Read more »
Well, I’m thankful to be trusted to break into it. It’s been a lot of fun. The articles take a while to write, but are informative and interesting. The challenge for me will be to write articles about actors I don’t like without just ragging them to death (ie Orlando Bloom, Josh Hartnett etc.)
Also interested in maybe doing a Betrayed By article
For a long time, I only wrote about actors I liked. I didn’t want to be too harsh on people I didn’t like. Steven Seagal was the first article I wrote about someone who’s work I just didn’t care for. And now, it’s one of my favorites. I think you’re fair-minded enough to give Bloom and Hartnett their due. I’ve been giving some thought to the whole director thing. I think I’m ready to take the plunge into WTHH articles for directors. Jeffthewildman has agreed to help. So if you would like to tackle a director in WTHH, go ahead.… Read more »
“Am I the only one that feels like Colin Farrell looks exactly the same in 85% of his movies?” LOL No you’re not the only one. Personally, I find CF MUCH more likeable after he got sober; he seems less arrogant and less of an a**hole, more serious, down-to-Earth and much more mature. Through my eyes, this carries over onto his onscreen personas and the characters he plays. There seems to be a depth and sincerity to his roles since giving up the lifestyle he used to lead. That being said, I agree that he fairs better in supporting roles… Read more »
Agreed, once sober he really levels out and feels more in the role than before, and less like a movie star
The one-two punch of Fright Night and Total Recall was a deadly combination. Two summers in a row ended with remakes no one asked for starring Farrell. He WAS the movie both times. There was no other selling point besides the familiar name. And both times, the movies tanked. Suddenly, Farrell is Nicole Kidman, Queen of the Bad Remake. I know I’m in the minority on this one. But I was quite impressed with Farrell in Saving Mr. Banks. Maybe it’s because I have daughters and I’m a sucker for daddy/daughter stories. But I found his performance both charming and… Read more »
Lol I just feel like Jason Bateman is the same exact person Jerry O’Connell is. That medium funny straight man in medium funny comedies, that looks like your everyman Uncle Jack or something. I can’t really explain it, I just feel like if they remake Buying the Cow, Jason Bateman will star in it.
And I agree, Farrell was the big draw for those movies, and they didn’t draw. Game over, man. Game over.
Farrell actually received good reviews, so you’re probably in step with most, I just felt he was out of place somehow.
I see Jerry O’Connell as a frat boy douchebag. Everything about O’Connell makes me want to punch him in the face. He seems aware of it. How else to explain his treatment in Piranha? Bateman, on the other hand, I see as a great straight man who will cash any paycheck. It’s a shame he’s made so many mediocre movies. But I feel like he elevates the material. And when he gets something worth of his talents – like Arrested Development – he’s gold. Bateman = funny. O’Connell = opposite of funny. But you’re probably right about Bateman starring in… Read more »
100% agree on EVERYTHING you said about both Bateman and O’Connell, including the part where he makes me just want to punch him in the face. (It’s almost like O’Connell is TRYING to be as obnoxous and irritating as possble. Oddly enough, I didn’t always find him so unbearable. I don’t know if it’s because HE’S gotten older or because I have, but, as time has progressed, I’ve come to be unable to tolerate him.) On the flip side, I LOVE Jason Bateman; I think he’s hysterical and SEROUSLY underrated. His forte is definitely comedy, and he should stick to… Read more »
I think of Bateman as a successor to Newhart.
And yes, I think O’Connell’s whole thing these days is to be obnoxious. I think he’s in on it. He’s not a naturally funny guy. But he’s very handsome. So his role in comedies seems to be the handsome jock asshole. More and more, it’s the middle-aged handsome jock asshole sadly reliving his glory days. So, I really hope it’s an act.
Although I don’t detest him (the way I detest Rob Schneider) I’d say Jerry O’Connell is very much an NBF (Never Been Funny).
Good article but I must say I am one of the “few” that miss the 80s and the 90s …
Yeah, I don’t know about “miss”. But I think a lot of people have a great deal of nostalgia for the 80s and 90s.
Another great entry, though this one on a good actor and (it seems) a good man. He does have t a puppy dog likable look, I admit, though the two 80’s remakes are not cool, man.
“And nobody likes the 80s. We’re all thankful it’s gone, we don’t want to be reminded.”
Nooooo!!!! Whassamatta with you?
Say, has there been something on Harrison Ford?
I came pretty close to writing up Harrison Ford. I put the brakes on because Ender’s Game was about to open. That bought Ford a reprieve. But his day is coming.
http://www.theonion.com/video/actor-shows-incredible-lack-of-commitment-to-role,35271/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=SocialMarketing&utm_campaign=LinkPreview:1:Default
Can’t resist posting this. The Onion has some fun with Farrell and his terrible new movie Winter’s Tale
10 Actors Who Are Box Office Poison: http://whatculture.com/film/10-actors-who-are-box-office-poison.php/3 Colin Farrell Notable Flops: The Way Back ($20.3m against $30m), London Boulevard ($4.6m against $12.3m), Fright Night ($41m against $30m), Total Recall ($198.4m against $140m) and Dead Man Down ($18m against $30m). Much like Reynolds, Farrell has a sure star quality, being both exceptionally handsome and thoroughly charming, yet his projects just aren’t connecting with audiences, and as a result he finds himself weathering a troubling number of flops in a relatively short period. Upcoming Projects: Still, the future is looking bright for the actor, as he has a few high-profile projects… Read more »
Colin Farrell: 5 Awesome Performances and 5 That Sucked:
http://whatculture.com/film/colin-farrell-5-awesome-performances-and-5-that-sucked.php
You write, in few of your recent entries how stars (like Farrell, bloom) and directors (M. night S-too-long-name and Singlton) got big fast, too soon and then faded. I am curious if that is what will happen with jennifer Lawrence. Oscars, noms, trilogy…then maybe WTHH to Jennifer Lawrence some time in 2020? =D
To me, J Law needs to really establish herself outside of The Hunger Games. She’s only got a short while to do that. But I think she’s doing a very good job so far. She should keep making movies with David O. Russell and other directors who can keep her working after The Hunger Games wraps up.
Having said that, 2020 sounds about right.
Alexander (DC) was brilliant, I totally disagree with every negative review of this film.
Farrell was brilliant in the role (I accept criticism of the hairstyle and dye) as were the cast and direction.
Bad Movie Beatdown: Total Recall (2012):
http://blip.tv/film-brain/bad-movie-beatdown-total-recall-2012-6752962
Check out the 17:44-18:02 mark.
You have neglected to include some of mr. Farrels work such as In Bruje, Dead Man Down, Undine and Winters tale. Colin has the depth and natural charater to hold the screen in any character role if given the chance. For this actor WTHH not so much. Thanks
Those movies were all mentioned in the article. I’m not sure if you realized this or not, but the article consists of multiple pages.
The WTHH for Farrell isn’t that he disappeared from the face of the earth. In truth, few successful actors really do. It’s that for a while, he seemed destined to be the Next Big Thing. But for reasons detailed in the article, that never happened.
10 Blockbuster Leading Men So Boring They Almost Put Us To Sleep: http://whatculture.com/film/10-blockbuster-leading-men-boring-almost-put-us-sleep.php/6 Colin Farrell Boring Blockbusters: S.W.A.T. (2003), Alexander (2004), Miami Vice (2006), Total Recall (2012) Colin Farrell can give a great performance with the right material, as evidenced by strong turns over the last decade in projects as varied as Minority Report, Daredevil, In Bruges and Horrible Bosses to name but a few. However, whenever the actor has taken the lead role in a big-budget feature he has failed to deliver anything near his best work. In Clark Johnson’s $70m adaptation of the 1970s television series, Farrell plays… Read more »
How’d I miss this entry? Very interesting material here. The guy has arresting features and acting chops. He may almost be too young for a retrospective, I think he will go on working and probably necessitate a couple of revisions here 🙂
“Saving Mr. Banks” is a topic where, you and I have agreed to disagree, and part of my falling for that movie had to do with Farrell’s role as the alcholic father. He really nailed that performance, and normally RB isn’t crazy about a lot of flashback sequences to explain things.
This entry was written by DWMcGuff. I’m actually with you on Farrell in Saving Mr. Banks. Emma Thompson got all the accolades. And deservedly so. But I was surprised by how few people commented on Farrell’s performance. I thought he took difficult material and made it work by sheer force of his charisma.
Farrell’s going to be around for a long time which will necessitate updates. But I think his days as an A-lister are over if they ever started.
I meant to reply to one of your comments above, and messed that up (see why RB is always in need of editing…) and also should have given props to the author DWMcGuff for a well written piece. Interesting that you both find Saving Mr. Banks to be manipulative, it’s a movie that definitely affects people in different ways.
I don’t think there is any doubt the movie is trying to draw tears from the audience by any means necessary. What’s open for debate is how successful it is. People have differing tolerances for that sort of thing. Some people enjoy a good cry no matter how it is achieved. Other movie goers resent when a movie doesn’t come by them honestly. I tend to be in the latter category. For me, Saving Mr. Banks is absolutely shameless in its attempts to elicit tears. It puts the jerk in tearjerker. This sort of thing actually makes me very angry.… Read more »
So few people commented on Farrell’s performance that I was thoroughly startled when he showed up on screen. And pleased. He’s always watchable, even when the pleasure is in awfulness rather than brilliance.
12 Actors Who Basically Guarantee You Make A Flop: http://whatculture.com/film/12-actors-basically-guarantee-make-flop.php/11 Colin Farrell Colin Farrell is one of the strongest actors on this list, and so it’s all the more depressing and mystifying that he just can’t seem to open many movies. His hits of the last decade include In Bruges, Crazy Heart (sold on Oscar buzz and Jeff Bridges’ performance), The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (an ensemble film, and Heath Ledger’s death certainly stirred up interest), Horrible Bosses (ensemble), Epic (animated), and Saving Mr. Banks (a supporting part in a movie sold on Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson). His flops?… Read more »