Actress (film)
Actress is a 2014 American documentary film directed, edited and photographed by Robert Greene. The film was produced by Douglas Tirola and Susan Bedusa, and is a 4th Row Films and Prewar Cinema production. It was distributed by The Cinema Guild.
Synopsis
Actress is a documentary about Brandy Burre, most known for her recurring role as Theresa D’Agostino on HBO’s The Wire as she attempts to return to her acting career after abandoning it to concentrate on raising a family.
Set in suburban Beacon, NY, Burre struggles with duties and relationships in her domestic life. During the film, she pursues re-entering her former profession by meeting old contacts in the industry and rebuilding herself while juggling motherhood and her personal life.
Actress has been recognized for its use of poetic, more directed techniques and mise-en-scene, a tactic that is something of an anomaly in documentaries. Poetic aspects were used mostly to represent Burre’s crumbling emotional state. Greene has said that there was a performance to all of Burre’s behavior. His use of “composed indie-film moments,” seen in the consciously lit, stage-like opening scene, slow motion shots, and collaboration with Burre, allowed her to become more than just a subject. This enabled the actress to, “explore her own authenticity,” in a way that became a very cathartic experience for her. Seeing her dismantling personal life told in present tense, Burre performs in roles as a mother and caregiver, as well as an actress pursuing a career, and a woman in romantic turmoil with her longtime partner and father of her children.