Sarah Silverman has obviously made her name with a raunchy, caustic brand of humor, and it's carried over well to a number of comedic roles. While she hasn't had a chance to show it often, in Sarah Polley's Take this Waltz she also proved capable of more dramatic roles. Now that was in a smaller, supporting part, but in the Sundance drama I Smile Back the spotlight is all hers.
Silverman shines in a story that seems familiar on the surface, but it's her unflinching and raw performance that take it to the next level. She plays a suburban housewife seemingly with the perfect life, but behind closed doors is a depressed woman prone to self-destructive behavior. Adam Salky directs from a screenplay by Paige Ryan and Amy Koppelman. Here's the official synopsis:
Laney is an attractive, intelligent suburban wife and devoted mother of two adorable children. She has the perfect husband who plays basketball with the kids in the driveway, a pristine house, and a shiny SUV for carting the children to their next activity. However, just beneath the façade lie depression and disillusionment that send her careening into a secret world of reckless compulsion. Only very real danger will force her to face the painful root of her destructiveness and its crumbling effect on those she loves. At the core of I Smile Back’s power is an indelible performance. Sarah Silverman reinvents herself as a dramatic actress in the career-defining, intensely layered, and heartbreaking role of Laney. Deftly directed by Adam Salky, I Smile Back is at times darkly humorous but also harrowing and unflinching as an authentic, humanizing portrait that offers no easy resolution for a damaged woman struggling to come to terms with herself.
Josh Charles,Thomas Sadoski, Mia Barron, Terry Kinney and Chris Sarandon co-star, but it's Silverman who reaped the most notice. Having seen the film at Sundance I can attest to how good she is, and it may cause a few people to look at her in a completely different way. I Smile Back opens October 23rd.
