Several actors have been compared to ROBERT MITCHUM over the years: Just recently, David Fincher said he chose Daniel Craig as the lead in "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo" because of his "Robert Mitchum center." Now the A.V. Club says that Matthew McConaughey -- long mocked for his frequent shirtlessness and disappointing romcoms -- is "this generation's Robert Mitchum." They're basing that on McConaughey's great run in Magic Mike and Bernie, but mostly on his buzzworthy turn as a murderous sheriff in William Friedkin's Killer Joe. The role is drawing comparisons to Mitchum's indelibly evil preacher in The Night of the Hunter:
"They have the same dangerous magnetism—lithe, relaxed, preternaturally self-assured, and almost feminine in their power to seduce. Their respective drawls suggest different things—McConaughey’s promises a good time, Mitchum’s something darker—but they’re both especially effective in roles where their charisma baits a trap. Watching them at work is like witnessing Nosferatu’s mesmeric powers at play in the real world."
I can't say I've been much of a McConaughey fan, but I did love his turn in the deliciously dark Frailty, directed by fellow Texan Bill Paxton. Looking forward to Killer Joe, which is currently playing in limited release in New York, expanding to more theaters this Friday. (Here's a list of theaters and release dates.)
Read the entire A.V. Club article here.
