Jane Fonda in Bruce Beresford's Peace, Love & Misunderstanding
On the eve of the release of her new film Peace, Love & Misunderstanding, Film Society of Lincoln Center is proud to be hosting “An Evening With Jane Fonda” in partnership with online feminist film journal Joan's Digest. The legendary actress will be in person at the Walter Reade Theater for a conversation about her career with New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als followed by a preview screening of Bruce Beresford's film.
Fonda won her first Academy Award for Klute, which follows a detective investigating a serial murderer with connections to a New York call girl. In addition to succeeding as a suspenseful thriller, the film works as a psychologically acute portrait of a woman whose occupation has forced her to compartmentalize her own emotions, and finds herself timidly opening up to the prospect of falling in love with the detective who is trying to protect her (played by Donald Sutherland).
Fonda is well known for her long-time devotion to activism on behalf of important contemporary causes, and one can see the influence of her political consciousness in several of her film roles. In Coming Home, for instance, Fonda portrays a military wife who falls in love with a paraplegic ex-Marine while her husband is serving in Vietnam. The film would earn Fonda her second Academy Award for Best Actress. Another example is The China Syndrome, which features Fonda as a television reporter who discovers potentially deadly secrets at a nuclear power plant. The film proved to be scarily prescient, with the famous “Three Mile Island” accident occurring mere weeks after the its initial release. Both of these works illustrate Fonda's passion for tackling timely issues and concerns through her work onscreen.
Despite her penchant for serious and dramatic roles, Fonda has proved herself a deft comedic actress as well. She is well-versed in the masterful banter of Neil Simon, having appeared in two cinematic adaptations of his plays: Barefoot in the Park and California Suite. In the former she plays an energetic newlywed to her workaholic boss (played by Robert Redford), while the latter sees her as a cynical divorcée playfully sparring with her ex-husband (played by Alan Alda) about their daughter’s custody arrangements. Her knack for comedy is further evident in the playful female-driven Hollywood classic Nine to Five, in which she stars as an office assistant who teams up with her co-workers (played by Dolly Parton and Lily Tomlin) to vanquish their chauvinistic boss.
“An Evening with Jane Fonda” will take place tonight (Wednesday, June 6) at 8:30pm in the Walter Reade Theater. For tickets and more information, head over to the event page.
