A long while ago I accepted the notion of Samantha Morton, 33, being the Daniel Day Lewis of younger actresses. She’s a very high-calibre, high-throttle type who can’t help but drill deeply and maybe go a little mad (or madder) with each new performance. Which is what makes her good. But I did mutter “uh-oh” when she first came on-screen in The Messenger. In fact, anyone who’s seen it and claims he/she didn’t say “uh-oh” is probably lying.

Samantha Morton in The Messenger

The truth is that Morton has been…well, physically changing as the years go by, and I’m now starting to think of her, very respectfully, as more of a Phillip Seymour Hoffman type than a DDL, if you get the drift. Is there any way to mention this issue without sounding like a weight Nazi?

I love that Morton hasn’t done a Kate Bosworth or Kate Hudson to herself, and that she seems more or less indifferent to the psychology that Bosworth/Hudson seem to have responded to. I’m not harping on this issue. I’m just saying Morton is looking a little different these days….that’s all. She’s moving in a certain direction.