How Toni Collette Masters The Art Of The Maternal Roles In Film

In case you’ve missed it, people are talking about Toni Collette, but not just in passing conversation. Collette is receiving overwhelmingly high praise for her recent performance in Ari Aster‘s first feature, horror film “Hereditary.” And it’s all for good reason. Collette’s performance is so intense and gut-wrenching, in nearly every scene you can see the emotional toll the story is taking on her character. But that’s really no shock to us. Toni Collette has built a career out of pouring herself into every character she plays. There’s no real distinct trait or characteristic, Collette is just consistently perfect. The one role the actress has found herself in, time and again, are mothers.

READ MORE: ‘Hereditary’ Is A Game-Changing Horror Masterpiece [Review]

In this video essay from Fandor‘s The Gush, we take a deep dive into Collette’s matriarchal performances. Each time Toni Collette takes on a new role, playing a mother, there are subtleties she uses to redefine motherhood each time. Doing so, Collette has shown a range of motherhood; the different stages of being a mom, the different types. And she does this all with expertise and nonchalant-ness. The quality Collette brings to the plate time and again when taking on a motherly role is silence.

READ MORE: ‘Hereditary’: Watch A Clip From The Most Terrifying Horror Movie Of 2018

The actress has these small, contemplative moments in her films where we can gauge everything she is trying to portray. For Collette, all of her characters play out their inner dialogues through the emotions in her face. She’s natural every single time. Showing us the range of maternal figures and the conflicts of motherhood over and again. Since “Hereditary” debuted, fans of the film, and striking performances, in general, have been lobbying for the actress’s second Oscar nomination (the first is Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “The Sixth Sense” in 1999). But she feels like a serious contender this year. For an accomplished performer like Collette, we know she deserves it. But after seeing “Hereditary,” you know she has fully earned it.