Eccentric primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) finds her calling among t

Eccentric primatologist and conservationist Dian Fossey (Sigourney Weaver) finds her calling among the endangered mountain gorillas of Rwanda in the wildlife-rich biopic Gorillas in the Mist (1988, Michael Apted). Weaver received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe for her performance. Some original reviews:“As the anthropologist Dian Fossey, Sigourney Weaver storms into a large hotel restaurant in central Africa, stalks the length of the room, delivers a strident tongue-lashing to a Dutch zoo broker who’s having lunch with his friends, and, cursing loudly, makes her exit — all the while carrying a good-sized baby gorilla in her arms, holding it tenderly, with awe. Weaver’s physical strength alone is inspiring in this movie, and there’s a new freedom in her acting. She’s so vivid that you immediately feel Dian Fossey’s will and drive. Weaver’s Dian is ecstatic when she steps off the plane in Africa, and she’s enraptured when she’s perched high up on a mountain, crouched down opposite a giant gorilla, mimicking his language and gestures from the inside — trying to think the way he does. Weaver is something to see.” — Pauline Kael, Movie Love (1988) “Weaver is going for broke these days. A new fearlessness has entered her acting — she’ll inhabit a part if it kills her. In roles that require steeliness, obsession, and a thin skin, she has flourished, and she has held on to her sense of absurdity; she isn’t afraid to look foolish. As Dian Fossey, she is magnificent… Gorillas in the Mist views Fossey as a ferocious saint, martyr, and mad-woman, a sort of Joan of Apes; Weaver gets deep inside Fossey’s obsession — her fury becomes contagious… To make the gorillas comfortable with her, she tries to adopt their mannerisms; watching her lope, scratch, and screech, you sense what makes her special as an actress — she’s game for anything. Fossey and Weaver converge here: This could be how Weaver trains for a part. Eventually, Fossey’s identification with the gorillas becomes total… Weaver’s visage even grows more apelike — the jaw becomes fuller, lumpier. More important, she’s thinking like a gorilla. She adopts their mannerisms because they make sense to her — they’re the most efficient way to express her rage. (It’s lucky that the filmmakers didn’t cast a more technically flamboyant actress, because then the metamorphosis might seem a joke.)” — David Edelstein, Village Voice (October 1988) -- source link

More pics about