Photo-Illustration: Vulture and Courtesy of the Studios Russell Ira Crowe seems from a bygone time in which an actor’s rugged masculinity was as important as his acting ability — or, more accurately, that they were indistinguishable from one another. The cultural impression of Crowe as an unsmiling, too-intense personality who takes his work deathly seriously used to be a badge of authenticity — that he viewed performing as a manly, sacred duty was among his most commendable attributes.
The disaster that was The Mummy stopped Crowe from ever having to play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in his own spinoff film, and he should feel forever grateful. We know we sure are. 29. Broken City As unmemorable as its title, this wan crime-thriller stars Mark Wahlberg as a disgraced cop who’s now a private eye, hired by close friend Nicholas to tail his possibly philandering wife . Broken City might have been worthwhile if Sidney Lumet or Spike Lee had directed it, but instead we’re stuck in a pretty generic tale of political corruption.
25. Virtuosity Any actor who has been around as long as Crowe has is going to have a “computers and virtual reality are going to kill us” movie from the ’90s on his résumé. This is Crowe’s. He plays “SID 6.7,” a simulated villain who becomes a real one when he gets the personalities of serial killers downloaded into his software and takes physical form. He then, inevitably, tries to kill Denzel Washington.
21. Rough Magic A profoundly weird little ’90s movie; as Roger Ebert described it, “if ever there were two genres that don’t seem to fit together, they’re film noir and magic realism.” Bridget Fonda is a magician in 1952 who actually does real magic; Crowe, “in the Mitchum role,” as Ebert puts it, is the private eye chasing her. You’ll never guess whether or not they fall in love.
17. Les Misérables .youtube[data-uri="www.vulture.com/_components/youtube/instances/cke3e44lx000r3h7b4ikcxvju@published"].border-top:before { content: 'Watch'; } Fair to say, the reactions to Tom Hooper’s EXTREME CLOSEUP!!! take on the beloved musical are mixed to this day; this Les Misérables is definitely your best opportunity to see every single one of Anna Hathaway’s nose hairs.
13. The Sum of Us A quiet, cheerful charmer that was one of the last movies Crowe made before heading to America, The Sum of Us tells the story of a widower who lives with his gay son as they both try to find love. The movie is warmhearted and optimistic and maybe a little preachy, but what’s most remarkable about Crowe here is how young and ’90s-innocent he seems.
vulture Even though he’s won an Oscar, he’s kind of unappreciated.
vulture Especially when he's spitting on and assaulting Black women! 👌🏽 Ouhh, such swagger! 😍
Crowe's best period on film, IMO, were when great material met up with his 'hungry, up and coming years.' He was supposed to film 'Eucalyptus' with Kidman, but he apparently tantrum-ed out over the script. Too bad, as it was a beautiful book.
Slow news day?