Ten years ago on my old blog Lotsa 'Splainin' 2 Do, I wrote an appreciation of Albert Finney. Today we have the news of his death and fans around the world are expressing their love and admiration for the man. He was nominated five times for acting honors by the Oscars, but never won. On Twitter, fans have named their favorite roles in more than a dozen productions, including Tom Jones, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Two for the Road, Scrooge, Annie, Murder on the Orient Express, Under the Volcano, Erin Brockovich, Big Fish, The Gathering Storm, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, The Dresser and many more. The picture above is from Miller's Crossing. I can't say it's the best work he ever did, because his work from role to role is incomparable. All I can say for sure is Miller's Crossing and Murder on the Orient Express are the two Albert Finney movies I have seen most often. It doesn't matter if he's listed as the star or just a major supporting role, when I see him on screen, I immediately classify the work as an Albert Finney Movie.
I have no idea what he was like to work with, but the work itself will last forever. He was one of those actors who made the other actors around him look better than usual, and this includes some of the best known names in the industry.
Here's another shot from Miller's Crossing. Gabriel Byrne's character Tom searches for Verna and when he hears she's in the ladies' room he barges in unannounced. Finney has a cameo with no lines in the scene. That's him in the background in the maid's outfit. Just thinking of him deciding to spend so much time in the make-up chair for less than ten seconds of screen time makes me smile.
Best wishes to the family and friends of Albert Finney, from a fan.
We shall not see his like again.
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