Kids!

The great comedian W.C. Fields was quoted saying, “Never work with animals or children”.  Did he express his distaste for kids because they’d be moody or unpredictable on-set?  They’d play it too cute and steal the scene from adult co-actors?  Or is it about the authenticity?

Oscar best supporting actress nominee Hailee Steinfeld stole True Grit from co-actors Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon.  But was the child actress authentic in this remake of a John Wayne starrer (I thought the remake was too straightforward for a Coen Brothers movie; I miss the eccentricity, the wry humour, the dark and bizarre touch of Raising Arizona, Barton Fink and Fargo)?

I really don’t get all the fuss about Steinfeld.  Mattie Ross from the 1969 original was fresher, more innocent.  Steinfeld has the same frightening focus as Dakota Fanning's. Studied preciousness, as I see it.

But there were kids W.C. Fields would not have driven off the set. The popular choices for the best child performances would be Oscar-winning turns of Tatum O’Neal in Paper Moon and Anna Paquin in The Piano; Henry Thomas’ in E.T.; Haley Joel Osment's in The Sixth Sense; and Kirsten Dunst's in Interview with the Vampire.  My two favorites are also the career-best performances of this year’s Oscar winners: Christian Bale in Empire of the Sun and Natalie Portman in The Professional.

Christian and Natalie were both 13 years old when they did their first roles.  Christian, who was shockingly denied an Oscar nomination in the Spielberg movie about war-torn Shanghai, tirelessly carried the entire movie.  Natalie had an equally demanding role – she played a teenager forced to grow up fast.  I actually like them better then.  They were much more engaging, ergo, cuter.  I really don't mind 'cute' Mr. Fields.