Felicity Jones

I saw my very first Felicity Jones movie in December 2016. I was with friends in New York City when we decided to watch Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at a nearby Regal Entertainment Group theater. However, it would not be until nearly six to seven years later that I would get into her larger catalog of movies to see just how dynamic an actor she truly is.

I started with the movie she is most known for in the United States and went from there. Like Crazy is littered with positive reviews of her performance, and as someone who loves to watch romantic dramas, I knew I had to watch it. I was floored by her performance, and I instantly became a fan.

As amazing as Felicity Jones is in Like Crazy, that is not her only great performance. She shows a great deal of theatrical range in her other performances that have made her into the actor she is today. In Albatross, she portrays a moody teenager eager to move out to start a new chapter in college. She is heartbroken from losing a longstanding relationship in The Last Letter from Your Lover. Because of this, she is cynical about love, while trying to figure out if love is truly worth chasing again.

Jones plays a rebel warrior who sparks a revolution in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Similarly, Jones plays Ruth Bader Ginsberg, a young lawyer eager to prove herself in a field dominated by men in On the Basis of Sex. She changes how women are viewed as lawyers as she navigates a case that changes everything. In A Monster Calls, Jones gives a glimpse into the sobering reality of what it is like for a young boy to watch his mother slowly lose her life to cancer.

In Cemetery Junction, Jones plays a young woman who already has her future planned out, but she struggles if she should jump at the chance for true love when it arrives. On the same wave, we see Jones play a character who is intensely struggling with whether she should enter a marriage of convenience or be with the man she loves in Cheerful Weather for the Wedding.

In The Theory of Everything, Jones plays Stephen Hawking’s wife, Jane. Jane is loyal and committed to Stephen while also being incredibly intelligent. However, Jane does have complexities that come to light, and Jones does a great job of displaying them throughout the movie. In the Victorian era period piece, The Invisible Woman, Jones portrays Nelly, Charles Dickens’ muse and secret lover. Jones accurately displays the pain of being judged and unknown by the one she loves.

Felicity Jones has several other memorable acts, but these ten performances show precisely how talented she is. She can play a variety of roles, yet she is always true to herself (I believe) in how she decides to portray the characters on screen. Additionally, she is considerate and mindful when portraying a true life on screen, as she did with Jane Hawking, Jill Barker, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Jones is brave, fierce, and loyal, in how she chooses to use her influence and skills to make a mark. Thus, her remarkable Intelligence, strong will, and vulnerability naturally shine when she is on screen.

Intelligence

Felicity Jones graduated from the University of Oxford in 2006 with a degree in English while taking a break from acting. Her intellect is always a part of her on-screen characters. Like when she was a journalist in Like Crazy and The Last Letter from Your Letter or when she was a doctor when playing Sienna Brooks in Inferno. She is well-prepared and it looks like the job is always a natural fit. She too shows this determination when she acts as Ruth Bader Ginsberg in being a dedicated law student. Though it would certainly be fair to say that all actors are well prepared for their roles, Felicity Jones does so with an elegance that most do not. Jones is also well-spoken as she perfects how she wants her character to look and sound. One can tell her intelligence is no act.

Strong Willed

Felicity Jones’ intelligence allows her to be strong-willed because she is multi-faceted. Jones being a strong-willed woman herself, is exactly what allows her to be so for her on-screen personas. She constantly pushes boundaries with her characters loving freely, strongly, and boldly. She has been a loyal wife or girlfriend in many movies but is never helpless. Her characters are never afraid to make countercultural decisions, such as having a summertime fling, changing her mind about who she loves, or having dreams or aspirations to go after. All her characters, regardless of the situations, are strong characters who make the best of their situations by making decisions that are best for them.

Vulnerability

What makes watching Felicity Jones so special is seeing her dedication to her craft. The emotion she pours out is what makes me fall in love with her performances. Her ability to cry, love fiercely, smile, be passionate, and compassionate, fight for what she believes in, and have fun makes the scenes come alive. One can watch and suddenly feel immersed in the action because of how emotionally vulnerable is. Her skill is evident because one can tell she cares deeply about the story she is telling, which makes the film more powerful.