Sean Penn: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked
4. Emmet Ray - Sweet And Lowdown
As was his trait in the seventies, director Woody Allens intention was to pull off his familiar one man show and helm Sweet And Lowdown with himself in the leading role. Thankfully, though, the bespectacled auteur busied himself on other features, before revisiting the project again in the nineties. Not having much luck when looking to cast his lead for this long-standing project - Johnny Depp was too busy to star - Allen ignored the advice of those around him and settled on Sean Penn to star as fictional thirties icon Emmet Ray, the second best guitar player in the world. The decision paid off. In this riveting period piece Penn had a merry riot, showing Ray to be every bit the philandering piss artist that Allen envisaged him to be. Grandstanding moments include Ray passing out on stage and a guitar-smashing finale, but its the quieter moments between Ray and mute laundress Hattie (Samantha Morton showing power in silence) that lend the film its heart. Deservedly, Penn's efforts in this feature would see him receive his second career Oscar nomination. More on the first later.
Shaun is a former contributor for a number of Future Publishing titles and more recently worked as a staffer at Imagine Publishing.
He can now be found banking in the daytime and writing a variety of articles for What Culture, namely around his favourite topics of film, retro gaming, music, TV and, when he's feeling clever, literature.
