Six great performances
English actor Emily Blunt has proved to be one of the most versatile performers of her generation. Equally adept at high drama, knockabout comedy and searing action, she is a genuine Hollywood headliner. Stuff to Watch looks back over the 39-year-old’s career so far and picks out our favourite Blunt performances).
The Devil Wears Prada
(2006, Disney+)
The role that brought Blunt to many people’s attention. Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci might been the stars of this 2006 adaptation of Lauren Weisberger’s much-loved novel about a naive young woman who comes to New York and scores a job as the assistant to one of the city’s biggest magazine editors, but Blunt is the undoubted scenestealer as Emily Charlton, a gossipy, fashion-forward senior assistant
The Five Year Engagement
(2012, itunes, Googleplay, Youtube)
Blunt starred opposite
Jason Segel in this charming romantic-comedy about a man who proposes to his girlfriend, but then unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together. ‘‘An exemplary modern romantic comedy, personal and symbolic, goofy and substantial, tightly imagined yet loosely strung, wise in bewilderment,’’ wrote New Yorker’s Richard Brody.
Mary Poppins Returns (2018, Disney+)
Set three decades after
Julie Andrews’ supernatural nanny ascended back into the clouds, this sequel opens with the residents of 17 Cherry Tree Lane facing financial crisis. However, just as Michael Banks (Ben Whishaw) is beginning to lose hope, an old acquaintance breezes in, demanding her old room back, and informing him that ‘‘she has come to look after the Banks children’’. Like the 1964 original, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Doctor Dolittle, this is an unabashed, brightly coloured musical, with hissable villains, acerbic heroes and clever children.
My Summer of Love
(2004, itunes, Googleplay, Youtube)
Inspired by Helen Cross’ novel of the same name, Pawel Pawlikowski’s movie drew obvious parallels with Sir Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures, right down to the girls’ shared love of an old singer – Edith Piaf – standing in for Mario Lanza here. As with the Christchurch-set story, here are two young women from different backgrounds whose intense relationship causes mayhem for others. Longing for some excitement in her life, Mona (Natalie Press) is drawn to the free-spirited, mysterious Tamsin (Blunt), who is freshly home from boarding school and keen to be a ‘‘bad influence’’ on her new friend.
A Quiet Place (2018, Netflix, Prime Video)
The movie that required you to choose your snacks carefully. John Krasinski’s atmospheric, haunting and terrifying sci-fi flick featured creatures that hunted you down if you made any kind of sound. Blunt is the heavily pregnant matriarch trying to keep her family alive in a world where they are essentially isolated from the rest of humanity. ‘‘Blunt delivers a tour de force of silent emotion as approaching monsters fry your nerves to a frazzle,’’ wrote Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers.
The Young Victoria
(2009, itunes, Googleplay, Youtube, Arovision, Academy Ondemand)
Blunt stars as she who was ‘‘not amused’’ in Canadian director Jean-marc Vallee’s biopic (written by Downton Abbey’s Julian Fellowes) of Queen Victoria’s early years and her enduring romance with Prince Albert (Rupert Friend). The impressive ensemble also includes Paul Bettany, Miranda Richardson, Mark Strong and Jim Broadbent. ‘‘Blunt, her eyes sparkling, her manner playful, smart, and proud, shines in the title role. If the film itself isn’t brilliant, its star most definitely is,’’ wrote Philadelphia Inquirer’s Steven Rea.