Member critics salute the actor who died February 8, 2019
Houston film critics pay tribute to the late Albert Finney for the versatility of his performances and the depth of his characterizations. According to members of the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS), the late actor’s more than 50 years on film include a vast collection of memorable movie appearances. The five-time Oscar nominee died on Feb. 8.
“When Tom Jones, which brought Finney his first Oscar nod, was released, I was not yet in my teens,” remembers HFCS President Doug Harris of Third Rock Radio. “By accident or oversight, I saw it in a theatre, supervised by an enlightened or adventurous friend of the family. That afternoon, I first caught a glimpse of the amazing talent of Albert Finney, a memory which stayed with me through each subsequent on-screen encounter, along with an unquenchable desire for oysters and a new respect for the word bastard.”
HFCS Secretary Lisa Elin, of Reel Happiness, says, “Finney’s passing is both a cinematic and a personal loss – I’ve been spending every Christmas with his superlative Scrooge since childhood. From Browning to Brockovich, he was one of the greats. Truly, Mr. Finney, we thank you very much.”
Hunter Lanier, of Film Threat, considers Under the Volcano his favorite Finney performance, “where he plays one of the most believable drunkards ever put on film. He’s three-dimensionally pathetic, in that you pity him, are disgusted by him and find him perversely endearing.”
For Alan Cerny of ComingSoon, Finney’s work in Miller’s Crossing is “one of my favorites, a tough guy who also displays a surprising amount of naiveté considering his position as a crime boss. You can see his heart break when he gets rejected by his best friend Tom at the end of the film. But his action sequence, set to the song Danny Boy in one of the greatest needle drops in cinema history, is an all-timer.”
And for Mark Schumann of Hearst Connecticut Media, Finney’s work in Two for the Road is his best work, “as the actor makes the most of his natural charisma while letting the tensions smolder in a series of breathtaking conversations with co-star Audrey Hepburn, also doing her best work.”
ABOUT THE HFCS
The 37 members of the Houston Film Critics Society are working film journalists on television, radio, online and in traditional print. Together, they reach millions of people each week across the country with their critiques and commentaries on film. The organization, which also actively promotes the advancement of film in the Houston community, will launch a student scholarship program in 2019.