10 Great Acting Performances By Musicians

1. Bjork in Dancer in the Dark (2000)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62pLY5zFTtc Many singers and musicians have found themselves involved with musicals, whether on stage or on screen. This makes sense, as the genre is the most clear synthesis of several major forms of performance, from the aforementioned Cher in the stage version of Silkwood to the beautiful, humble performance from Glen Hansard in Once. Musicals tell visual stories using the power of the song. However, Lars Von Trier aimed to shatter some of the glory typically associated with the musical with his powerful, crushing Dancer in the Dark. A story of an immigrant striving to live happily in the wonderful America she had seen on the silver screen, the film uses the song as an escape from a dark, ugly truth. The truth that is basically everyday life. As unconventional as Dancer in the Dark is, Trier did cast one of the most unique and brilliant vocalist of the time. Bjork€™s portrayal of Selma is heartbreaking and brilliant, as she fails to be crushed by the crippling force of not only being a nearly blind immigrant in the €˜60s, but also how her handicaps allow her to be brutally pushed to a dismal end. Selma is always looking to escape through daydreams of a dazzling Hollywood existence. Bjork succeeds so well in the film because she is so good at showing Selma€™s good intentions, so much that the horrifying second act climax is most tear-jerking because of what will clearly happen to her. Her acting is strengthened by the beautiful musical sequences, where the film takes even the audience to a magical place of hope, despite an everpresent promise to swiftly pull out the rug.