New Jersey Stage 2016: Issue 9 | Page 32

Chronic by Eric Hillis SHARE BUTTON Tim Roth has had a career of peaks and troughs. He burst onto the scene in the UK in the early 1980s, working with such British cinema legends as Alan Clarke (Made in Britain), Mike Leigh (Meantime) and Stephen Frears (The Hit) before quietly disappearing into TV obscurity. A decade later his career was revived by a new wave of US indie filmmakers, led by Tarantino, making Roth one of the key acting figures NJ STAGE 2016 - ISSUE 9 of ‘90s cinema. The 21st century hasn’t been so kind to the actor, with roles in turkeys like Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes, Grace of Monaco, and the FIFA lovefest United Passions. In recent interviews Roth has freely admitted to taking roles purely for the money, and who can blame him? But with Mexican director Michel Franco’s Chronic, the appeal was certainly beyond the financial. INDEX NEXT ARTICLE 32