Carey Mulligan doesn't get the credit she deserves because she makes it all look so easy. It's difficult for most audiences to truly appreciate an actor's skill when they can't see the actor working. She doesn't go for large, bombastic performances that scream, "Acting!", opting instead for a more subtle, naturalistic style. She is a tremendously low-key actress, so much so that she has a tendency to be overlooked in favour of her seemingly more dynamic fellow actors. Perhaps some of the trouble comes from people not knowing what box to put her in - she's young, only in her late 20s, but she really seem like it. Mulligan has a maturity to her, a soulful, faraway look in her eye, that makes her seem much older than she is. She also has a talent for picking really interesting projects, attaching herself to the top actors and directors. So maybe that's part of the issue as well. After all, when you star in a film with Leonardo DiCaprio as an up-and-coming young actress, people are going to be looking at DiCaprio, for better or worse. But despite the number of wonderful performances she's given, she does always seem to be playing second fiddle to the other people in her films, An Education aside.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
