And 5 That Sucked...
5. René Gallimard - M. Butterfly (1993)
Following their excellent pairing on Dead Ringers, Jeremy Irons and David Cronenberg reunited in 1993 to lesser effect with a filmic adaptation of the 1988 play M. Butterfly. Here, Irons - once again cast as a European - plays a French diplomat named René Gallimard who, in the 1960s, comes to Beijing and ends up obsessed with a Chinese opera singer. The movie sets out to chronicle their 20-year-relationship, one filled with lust, romance and a whole lot of deceit. Unfortunately, Irons is miscast in his role. M. Butterfly marks one of those occasions where Irons being cast as a foreigner of sorts is actually jarring; his entire performance is so unnecessarily edgy that it's uncomfortable to watch, which gives the on-screen relationship a fraudulent edge. He's also rather flat, and none of the passion required for the character of Gallimard to come to life is present.
