The Best of Angelique/Lara Parker

Boo!!....hiss!! ....how I hate Angelique but there's no denying that, outside of Barnabas, Willie Loomis or Quentin, she is one of the most famous characters to emerge from the Dark Shadows series. I'm curious how people feel about Lara Parker's acting abilities as Angelique.
The writing for her is (in my opinion) intensly odd and unique. Fluttering her worried eyes one moment in apparent sincerity and scheming one death after another the next. I guess calling her a sociopath isn't too far from the truth. Well, my favorite Angelique scene where she seems genuinely chilling is early 1795 just before she starts her spells. Angelique is sitting her in room and Lara Parker's voice is soliquizing Angelique's thoughts. that she "washes Josette's clothes, cleans her bed...that Josette orders her..."and she does" but that in her (Angelique's) room "she orders Josette" meanwhile Angelique's head is slowly moving from side to side, her eyes ice cold, her expression evil, almost doll-like. Terrific scene, I felt, and very revealing. This woman is a witch.

Is there anything more dangerous than evil in a beautiful package?  By the time anyone realises the threat, the damage has been done.  I think the writers wrote that role with the performer very much in mind.  Lara Parker's beauty is the sort that's almost "too perfect' which translates to others as "cold".

I think they wrote the part to take advantage of that.  While she had her angry scenes and speeches, her vengance was more often the cold, calculated act, rather than the impulsive act of fury.

  Lara Parker was terrific.  She did an amazing job of conveying both the desperate pain of scorned love, and the cold fury of vengeful evil.  She'd often get that disturbing, chilling look in her eyes and it was very effective.  She was also great at playing the "poor me" role in front of unsuspecting onlookers. 

   I thought Lysette Anthony, in the 1991 series, captured some of that, but she wasn't as strong in the role as Lara Parker.  Anthony was good too, but Parker could actually scare me when she'd go into vengeance mode.  I didn't get the creeps so much from Anthony.  If they ever do a new DS movie, I hope they get a really good classically-trained actress to play Angelique.  Someone like the great Cate Blanchett might be a good choice. 

  ~Penny Dreadful~

Lara Parker was a very good actress, IMO. No matter how I feel about Angelique (in whatever incarnation), I always thought Lara gave a good performance. She really got into the character, usually without going over the top. She was convincing in the role.

Lara Parker is and always be the best as the coniving Angelique. She was one of the most talented of the cast. she and Mr. Frid were remarkable as two tormented souls. The love and hate relationship was mastered by both. I think that her beauty has not deminished just as the case of Kathryn Liegh Scott.
Thank you for the memory of such a wonderful actress.
Bsatellite

The love and hate relationship was mastered by both.

Watching those two JF and LP (and am NOT an Angelique/Barnabas fan as far as the couple goes) but I get the impression that both of them respected each others talents and I feel they acted comfortably with each other...comfortable in the sense that they had good creative energy, could make a flub or two and not tense up noticably, that they understood each weaknesses and strengths and played up to them. I sensed a mutual respect. Considering Lara Parker must not have been over 25 at the time, it's good to see that even then, she respected JF's talent even when he had trouble with the lines. But, that's only my impression.

Someone like the great Cate Blanchett might be a good choice.

Man, how much fun would THAT be to choose the new Angelque and how much fun to play. Cate Blanchett sounds good....but question though, how old is Angelique suppose to be in 1795? The voice-overs indicated she is a young girl - like around 21 or 22. One amazing aspect of Lara Parker was that even though I understand she was quite young then she could has easily played someone in her early 30's, she had that much maturity. I think it was her distinctive bone structure and dramatic eyes, LP didn't have that "putty" look many actresses have now, making them seem like teenagers even up to their 30s.

I must admit that everything that has been stated about the young lady is true. LP is the true Angeligue. No one would or could replace her.

how old is Angelique suppose to be in 1795? The voice-overs indicated she is a young girl - like around 21 or 22. One amazing aspect of Lara Parker was that even though I understand she was quite young then she could has easily played someone in her early 30's, she had that much maturity.

Her personification of Angelique in PT1970 was of a woman of at least 30, if not just a tad more, with a twelve-year-old son.  And Lara Parker played it wonderfully.  So she was one of those rare ones who could jump around in age and pull it off with total credibility.

Gerard

Lara Parker (not just Cassangelexis) is a competent performer. Considering the writing was for a 'soap' and very quick moving, I think she did a great job.

Funny, I was going to post who I would LOVE! to see in a new Angelique role, should there ever be one:
[size=8]Clare Kramer[/size]
aka Glory on Buffy....

Patti

  Someone like the great Cate Blanchett might be a good choice.

Wow. I just pictured that in my head. What an idea, now that would be cool!

My absolute favorite scenes in LP's work for the show come from the Cassandra storyline.  Some of her work there was actually fairly subtle, hinting at ways the character had changed from what we had seen in the preceding story.

I think the early weeks of 1795 would come in second.  For one thing, the character is given fairly straightforward motives.  She's actually given dialogue that shows that it's not just Barnabas, it's Josette's position and privileges that she covets.  Those scenes make me think that the man could have been almost anybody--it was the fact that he was Josette's man that made him something she could not live without.  Later, of course, they change that; but that's the original lay of the land, as I see it, and it makes sense.

In terms of LP as an actress, I love her work on PT 1970 because it's no holds barred, over the top scenery-chewing and she gives it everything she's got.  My least favorite work from her would have to be Catherine in 1841 PT--that character was so one-note and full of herself.  Really not very interesting to me personally.

I don't myself regard Angelique as being coldly calculating; she too often got distracted by her love of and involvement with her own emotions.  In this respect, I do think Nicholas pegged her accurately when he read her beads as an "incompetent" Witch.  The Dream Curse started out as a cool idea but the flaws in her technique became more and more apparent as it went on, particularly once Stokes got wise to her.  The one really cold thing she did, and made an impressive if bloodcurdling job of, was her hex on Sarah and how she manoeuvred Barn into agreeing to marry her when she "cured" the little girl.  Those scenes had me wondering whether Ang spent her free time capturing flies and moths so she could watch their death agonies after pulling their wings off.  It was very disturbing television, particularly for the Sixties.

G.