Reviews

Finally, US film and TV viewers have learned Charlotte Rampling is a major acting force with whom to be reckoned. Known by European viewers of major classic films (such as "Night Porter" and "'Tis a Pity She's a Whore") as "The Legend," Rampling has now achieved the a new line: "The Look." Charlotte Rampling's significant contributions as Dr. Vogel in the final season of Dexter are the most memorable performances in a TV series I've ever watched. She is a presence whether actually performing in a scene or not! Whomever thought to bring Rampling into Dexter's cast as such a major character is certainly due ample credit. However, Rampling herself with that "Look" she can flash, with awesome eyes that seem to penetrate people's minds while expressing so much by doing so little, is turning in one heck of an award-winning season of brilliant performances.

Having long viewed and collected Charlotte Rampling's corpus of films, many of which have yet to be dubbed in English, I've been aware of how her popularity began to shift from Europe to the US. If you haven't ever seen her earliest films, know this: your missing performances by one of the most talented, highly skilled and exceedingly beautiful actors of all time.

Charlotte Rampling is the real thing: a classic, already. Her many choice films are destined to either remain or become classics, as well. It so happens that her acting career seems to be hotter now than ever, interestingly.

This is a phenomenon I've noticed since Bette Davis took internatio0nal film viewers by storm, not during her earliest years but much more-so in her later ones. Now this has become a pattern with the likes of Dames Judi Dench & Maggie Smith, Lauren Bacall, Shirley MacLaine, Helen Mirren, Jane Fonda, Sigourney Weaver, Meryl Streep, and oh so clearly, Vanessa Redgrave! (And I've probably missed several more).

Charlotte Rampling has recently, within that past 10 years, surged to the top ten of that list of actors whose careers, hence, performances, are knock-outs beyond age 55 and while approaching 70yo. After Dexter, I think it's apropos to consider anointing Rampling with yet another line: "The Rage," as in all the rage, because she's very clearly taking both the silver screen and TV screen with tour de force performances.