Three Movies ~ One Actor

All right, I have decided to express my affection for Jamie Bell. I have seen several of his movies but there are three that stand out in my memory.  Ever since I first encountered him years ago I have been highly interested in how his career turns out.  I've never been disappointed with any of his performances! He is always convincing, emotionally gripping, and funny in an understated way. I hope all the best for him in the future! Now to talk about movies.






I am going to go through these chronologically, so first is 'Nicholas Nickleby'.  If you know your literature you probably recognize the title. 'Nicolas Nickleby' is based on the book by Charles Dickens. Naturally, that means the story is bleak, grey, and somehow uplifting. There is an awful lot of crying paired with an awful lot of laughing. This is one of my go-to girl movies. Not super girlie, I know! The movie follow Nicholas as he copes with his father's death and the new responsibility of caring for his mother and sister. Throughout the course of the movie he makes friends, enemies, and meets a poor crippled lad named Smike. That's Jamie Bell's part. He plays the most perfect, wretched, miserable, hopeless orphan you could ever wish for! That may sound dark of me, but it's not! The sad characters are just as necessary as the happy. In this case the sad character is also impeccably well acted! Smike is the most lovable, endearing character in the entire movie, hands down. Jamie Bell rocks it as Smike, pulling the entire movie together, and generally being great. All in all, it's a delightful movie. I highly recommend it!


Second we have 'Defiance'. 'Defiance' is a movie about a band of Jewish brothers who camp in the forest during WWII to avoid the Holocaust. Jamie Bell is one of the brothers, Asael. Unlike the previous movie, I can't hold Bell as the single greatest character. Danial Craig and Liev Schreiber are both also in it, playing Asael's brothers. Yet again, Bell pulls out a stellar performance! This guy has 'heart-wrenching' down! This movie is interesting, riveting, emotional, and action packed! Best of all it's based of real events so every twist and turn is that much more interesting! As I mentioned before, Craig and Schreiber both do their fair share in this movie. Honestly, it is the dynamics of the three of them together that makes this movie stand out in my memory so distinctly. I cannot recommend this movie enough, even if you normally shy away from the WWII era movies. This one is worth it!

Lastly, we have 'Man on a Ledge'. This one is quite a bit different than the other two. It's not a period piece, it's not a serious drama, and it's not set in a foreign country. This is an action/adventure heist movie. It starts out with a man walking out onto a ledge in New York City. Naturally, everyone gathers, the authorities are summoned, and they begin trying to talk him out of killing himself. Bell plays the brother of the ledge fellow. This is one of those movies where you aren't given all the information upfront, they make you work for it. It's a good thing! Throughout the movie you are putting together who the enemies are, why the things you see happening are happening, and what the grand plan is. It's very fun! It's a bit of an 'edge of your seat' kind of movie. Bell plays almost the comic relief which is a switch. He is a bit of a tough guy, and he has an American accent which is surprisingly well done! I don't want to say too much about the movie because half the fun is not knowing. All I will say is that I recommend it and that, as per usual, Jamie Bell is awesome.