Kristen Stewart: an actress with (so far) limits

OK, here we go again, another character from ancient Greece: Athena, goddess of Wisdom. She personifies the rational, the thinker in us all.

When I have said that Kristen Stewart's emotions are 'suburban', I am really thinking of Athena. Stewart was incredibly good as a traumatized young teen in "Speak"; and as a well-to-do teenager in "The Land of Women." But she never 'lost control'. She was always 'civilized', even in her despair in "Speak".

But in Twilight, she fell short of what I at least expected from Bella. Meyer's Bella is among other things, sardonic, acerbic, and witty. Maybe she was taking direction from Hardwicke, here, but really, Stewart never went much beyond glum. Which is why I went to the trouble of buying her other movies to see if she can, indeed, 'act.'

Then, there was a rumor that Joan Jett made Kristen cry, during the filming of "The Runaways." Here, I'm going to drag you over to ANOTHER Greek god: Dionysius (Bacchus in Rome.)

This god exemplifies the ecstatic, uncivilized, chaotic side of human nature.

And this is what rock and roll and Joan Jett is all about. And it is here that
I believe Stewart has had difficulty keying into. So far, she seems to see Jett's story as one of women's liberation. It is much more than that, though. "Cherry Bomb" is an amazing experience, a female rock group being all that intensely passionate women can be. If Stewart does indeed come to understand this, and portray The Runaways, in all its wildness, she will be a much better actress, one with a future without limit.