12th February 2016 marks the 36th birthday of Christina Ricci. For the many readers who watched the actress grow up on screen (or, for that matter, grew up with her), this news is doubtless enough to leave one feeling very old. Yes, its been almost 26 years since Ricci first lit up screens as the daughter of Cher and younger sister of Winona Ryder in Mermaids, and the decades since have seen her endure not only as a successful actress, but also as a poster child for generations of Goths, emos and doubtless many other alternative sub-factions we might name. Ricci has arguably never quite achieved the level of mainstream success her many admirers had once expected, and yet in a sense this seems only fitting, given she has built her career on playing figures who do not quite fit in with the mainstream: outsiders, misfits, troubled souls, those who have faced hardship in many forms but who, crucially, have endured. It hasnt all been plain sailing; like any jobbing actor, shes also taken her fair share of roles that were a bit beneath her. This being the case, not all the films mentioned hereafter necessarily represent Ricci at the height of her powers, but they may all be counted as her most memorable work, and above all the work which best represents her career thus far (in descending chronological rather than preferential order). There may be ups and downs, but when she's on form, Christina Ricci does very good work indeed...
