Sharp-tongued and brilliant, the late Maggie Smith often stole the show.
It is a testament to the power of the late British actress Dame Maggie Smith that other eminent actors – though only male ones, as far as I can see – accused her of upstaging them.
A prominent part of what gave Smith her power was her caustic humour, an acerbic put-down, and that withering look – from huge eyes set over pursed lips. New York Times critic Frank Rich praised her ability to “italicise a line as prosaic as ‘Have you no marmalade?’ until it sounds like a freshly minted epigram by Coward or Wilde.”
So, if you only know her work through recent blockbusters like Downton and the Harry Potter film franchise, in which she played Professor Minerva McGonagall, take a look at her vast and wonderful back catalogue. It’s a sustained masterclass in acting, as well as some of the very best explorations of the lived experiences of British middle-class women in the mid-to late-20th century.
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