Michelle Williams is having a very good year (she might be the only one). There are murmurs that her performance in Manchester By the Sea will earn her an Oscar nomination. She has already received a Tony nomination for Blackbird. Certain Women, where she stars alongside Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern, is making waves. And oh, now she might play rock ‘n roll legend Janis Joplin in Sean Durkin’s Janis.
According to Vulture, the film will focus on the last six months of Joplin’s life, as she records Pearl, her second and last album. In 1970 Joplin died of a drug overdose at the age of 27.
The material is familiar territory for Williams, Oscar-nominated for her performance as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn. Monroe, too, overdosed after hyper-exposure and the barbarity of Hollywood took their toll. Williams is adept at embodying larger-than-life characters while simultaneously conveying emotional vulnerability.
Every time I read about Michelle Williams, and think about how much I like her, I remember that I still need to finish Dawson’s Creek. Time to rearrange a few priorities.