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USA Today
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Willem Dafoe's most gonzo movie roles, ranked (including 'Legend of Ochi')
Willem Dafoe's most gonzo movie roles, ranked (including 'Legend of Ochi') Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Legend of Ochi': Girl meets cute creature in fantasy adventure Helena Zengel plays a girl taught by her dad (Willem Dafoe) to hunt and fear a mythical creature until she meets one in "The Legend of Ochi." From the wild eyes to an often unnerving grin, Willem Dafoe has one of the most expressive faces in Hollywood, and it's led to some gloriously bizarre performances. Dafoe, 69, is one of our greatest character actors, a man who's appeared in more than 100 movies during his 45-year career, often in supporting roles or controversial parts but always making films better by inserting his signature electricity. He has a list of greatest hits: Oscar-nominated turns as an idealistic soldier in "Platoon," Vincent van Gogh in "At Eternity's Gate" and a big-hearted motel manager in "The Florida Project." And then there's his high-profile take on Jesus in Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ." We're here, however, to celebrate his more out-there work, the characters that have been meme'd on social media (like GIF-able "The Smile Man") or are just memorably unconventional for a guy who's impossible to pigeonhole. With Dafoe back on the big screen in the throwback family adventure "The Legend of Ochi" (in theaters now), here are the actor's 15 most gonzo movie roles, ranked: Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox 15. Gill, 'Finding Nemo' (2003) This spot's a jump ball between Dafoe's cider-swilling Rat in "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and the steely Moorish idol who befriends little Nemo in the Pixar classic. Gill gets the nod for scrambling his aquarium "Tank Gang" for an escape mission. (Plus, he's got gnarly scars from meeting the business end of some dentist tools.) 14. Maxim, 'The Legend of Ochi' (2025) Wielding shoddy armor and sword, Dafoe brings a goofy but tender spirit to a blowhard dad who leads a group of local boys to hunt and fear mythic (and adorable) creatures known as the Ochi. It's not until his daughter (Helena Zengel) befriends an injured baby Ochi that he sees the damage that mindset has caused his charges. 13. J.G. Jopling, 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' (2014) Dafoe's characters in Wes Anderson's movies always lean eccentric, but this guy's pretty darn deadly, too. Jopling is a hitman with skull rings and a sadistic streak who does all sorts of dirty work, including engaging in some light decapitation and throwing a cat out the window before meeting an amusing end off a snowy cliff. 12. Albin Eberhart von Franz, 'Nosferatu' (2024) In Robert Eggers' remake of the 1922 horror classic, von Franz is an oddball Swiss philospher and disgraced scientist called in when young Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) shows signs of possession. He's also in on the case to help kill the vampire that's come to town, ultimately setting the villain's coffin vault afire in a mad passion. 11. Klaus Daimler, 'The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou' (2004) While he's not exactly a total weirdo in Anderson's comedy, Dafoe mines an enjoyable pettiness and jealousy in Klaus, the German first mate of the title oceanographer. Steve is out to find the jaguar shark who killed his partner, but Klaus finds his own enemy in a Zissou fan (Owen Wilson) who believes the undersea documentarian is his dad. 10. Nemo, 'Inside' (2023) The experiential thriller winds up a one-man show for Dafoe. An art thief gets trapped on a job in a high-tech penthouse, and his mental and physical state goes south as months go by, leading the criminal to converse with pigeons, do the Macarena and turn the walls of his accidental prison into an unhinged canvas. 9. John Geiger, 'Speed 2: Cruise Control' (1997) There's not much to love about this woeful sequel. Dafoe at least steals the film with menacing zeal as a former cruise worker who hijacks a luxury ship and programs it to crash into an oil tanker. "Speed" returnee Sandra Bullock and Jason Patric get in his way but Geiger makes sure to exit in gleefully insane fashion. 8. Paul Smecker, 'The Boondock Saints' (1999) The cult hit contains one of Dafoe's most flamboyant efforts, complete with random river-dancing, a prostitute costume change and lyrical dancing during a gunfight. As a gay FBI agent doggedly pursuing vigilante twin brothers (Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus), Dafoe doesn't leave much scenery unchewed. 7. He, 'Antichrist' (2009) Lars von Trier's controversial horror flick is wall-to-wall bonkers, with Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a couple escaping to nature after the tragic death of their infant son. Dark visions and ultraviolent sexual situations ensue, including one bit with a wood block you'll never unsee. (Extra points for Dafoe also giving demonic voice to a fox.) 6. Godwin Baxter, 'Poor Things' (2023) Yorgos Lanthimos' "Frankenstein"-esque fable casts Dafoe as a disfigured surgeon who reanimates young dead woman Bella (Emma Stone) with the mind of a fetus. The actor infuses this unusual father figure with an overprotective streak and a sense of melancholy to match a patchwork body born from parental abuse. 5. Raven Shaddock, 'Streets of Fire' (1984) Dafoe's earliest years were kind of a biker period, with "The Loveless" but mainly with this noir-ish, 1950s-style "rock and roll fable." Dafoe rocks an aerodynamic pompadour and wicked attitude as the leader of a biker gang who kidnaps a rock singer (Diane Lane) and has a showdown with her ex (Michael Paré). 4. Bobby Peru, 'Wild at Heart' (1990) Dafoe might be the only person who could out-Cage Nicolas Cage. Them in the same movie? That's the stuff of legend. In David Lynch's neo-noir flick, Dafoe's creeper with ghastly teeth wants to rob a feed store with an Elvis-obsessed ex-con (Cage) after sexually assaulting his girlfriend (Laura Dern) but gets quite the explosive comeuppance. 3. Thomas Wake, 'The Lighthouse' (2019) Imagine being trapped in tight quarters with a gassy old sailor. You'd go mad, too! In Robert Eggers' period psychological thriller, Dafoe is a salty and kooky lighthouse keeper who mentors a young rookie (Robert Pattinson), and even nonstop drinking can't stop severe isolation from taking hold of the newbie. 2. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin, 'Spider-Man' (2002) Dafoe's supervillain would be freaky enough in that suit of armor and riding around on a Goblin Glider. But the web swinger's psychotic antagonist is even creepier with the helmet off, sneering and snarling to himself in that first Spidey flick and again nearly 20 years later in Marvel's "Spider-Man: No Way Home." 1. Max Schreck, 'Shadow of the Vampire' (2000) The nifty fictionalized conceit of this horror flick is that the German star of the 1922 silent movie "Nosferatu" was actually a vampire, and Dafoe earned his second career Oscar nod for an extremely eerie and darkly comic portrayal of Schreck. He's brilliant in the transformative role, both outrageously left field and deeply thoughtful.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘The Legend of Ochi' Review: A24's Family-Friendly Fantasy Is a Richly Imagined, Gorgeously Designed Throwback
With theaters flooded over the recent holiday season by animated and CGI-dependent PG-rated fare, it's reassuring to see a family film that relies on live action, impressive production values and inventive story elements, rather than the enhancements provided by digital technology. The Legend of Ochi gives free rein to writer-director Isaiah Saxon's remarkably imaginative narrative and visual palette, leveraging his well-regarded reputation directing music videos for the likes of Bjork and Grizzly Bear for a fantastical tale brimming with adventure and originality. With A24 targeting an April spring break release date, Saxon's debut feature looks poised to capitalize on a recent upswing in family moviegoing. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Peter Hujar's Day' Review: Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall Take an Illuminating Snapshot of a Queer Artist in Ira Sachs' Gorgeous Character Study 'Ricky' Review: A Sensitive Stephan James Steadies Frenetic Debut About Recidivism 'Train Dreams' Review: Joel Edgerton Mines Depth, Beauty and Sadness From an Ordinary Life in Ravishing Contemplation of Man and Nature The film opens with a swooping aerial shot over the mysterious island of Carpathia, secreted somewhere in the broad expanse of the Black Sea. The fictional territory off the coast of Romania sustains a small population of hearty villagers, along with the previously unknown ochi, a primate-like wildlife species with reddish fur, blue facial features and a distinctive musical call. Even though the story is set in 1982, and despite the occasional, jarring appearance of a car or supermarket, the verdant island seems frozen in the 19th century, with its rustic architecture and agricultural customs. For 12-year-old Yuri (Helena Zengel), a quiet, introspective girl, it might as well be the Dark Ages. Life on her father Maxim's (Willem Dafoe) farm offers scant excitement, leaving her free to pursue her fascination with the natural world — although her dad warns her to avoid the ochi, claiming they killed her mom years before. Shooting primarily in Romania's Carpathian Mountains with an emphasis on expansive exteriors, the filmmakers take full advantage of the region's rustic beauty, from soaring peaks to dense woods and treacherous rivers, to conjure the fictional ochi's remote habitat, a domain inhospitable to humans. Though the forest-dwelling ochi don't appear to pose much of a threat to the villagers, they fear and revile the creatures nonetheless. Maxim organizes an armed patrol to hunt and terrorize the ochi, which Yuri reluctantly joins along with her with her adopted older brother Petro (Finn Wolfhard). Out checking his trap lines the next day, she discovers a juvenile that's gotten separated from its mother. Although it's injured after escaping from one of the traps, Yuri manages to bond with the little critter and treat its minor lacerations after smuggling him home in her backpack. But when the ochi's high-pitched vocalizations alert her Petro to her secret, Yuri is forced to flee, promising the ochi that she'll take it back home. The filmmakers devote considerable resources toward making the case that the ochis possess a form of language based on their characteristically musical form of communication. These allusions culminate in one of the narrative's most surprising developments, after Yuri's imitations of the young ochi's peculiar chirps and whistles (based on an obscure vocal technique known as hocketing) help her gradually develop a far more meaningful understanding of the species. Whether Saxon's convictions regarding interspecies communication and wildlife conservation are adequately supported by the script will probably be irrelevant to younger audiences. They're likely to be more captivated by the animatronic ochis, which look like an improbable cross between E.T. and a Gremlin. The animals' handcrafted appearance and reliance on realistic puppetry techniques also link their creative heritage to these two fictional species from '80s family classics. A similar attention to detail extends to many of the artistic elements evident throughout The Legend of Ochi, typical of Saxon's distinctly bespoke aesthetic. The result is a hyperrealistic natural setting bathed in saturated hues, incrementally manipulated with Saxon's matte paintings and other practical effects, with just a modicum of CGI. The ochi puppets in particular provide the actors with tactile counterparts that digital effects can't duplicate. This is particularly critical for Zengel, who earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work opposite Tom Hanks in Paul Greengrass' 2020 Western News of the World, and her interaction with ochi characters throughout much of the movie. She takes these challenges in stride, delivering another absorbing performance by deploying her impressive language skills to open up the world of the ochi for outsiders. Dasha, Yuri's long-absent mother sympathetically portrayed by Emily Watson, is another villager who's awestruck by the ochi. She's completely the opposite of Maxim, a comically inept character whom Dafoe takes on with customarily manic enthusiasm. It's evident that The Legend of Ochi's production values far exceed what might be expected from a reported $10 million budget, and demonstrate that Saxon can deliver a fully realized vision of a highly original concept. Now it's up to audiences to determine whether it's a classic. 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