Camryn Manheim’s Five Favorite Films

One of the first ones I remember my jaw being on the floor. You know, that idea of who’s running the asylum [laughing]? And who’s really crazy and who isn’t? It was a spectacular film to me. Jack Nicholson — it was my first [time] being introduced to him in such an unbelievable way, and he didn’t seem like he was acting to me. He seemed like a crazy man. And he wasn’t acting, because I’ve subsequently met him and he is a crazy man! All the characters were — you know, I don’t need to say it. One of my favorite films. And I’ve always wanted to play Nurse Ratched.

Life is Beautiful was a very big deal for me. Coming from a Jewish intellectual family, and also a family who was in love with the arts — and my sister’s an artist, and I’m an actor. Just mixing your brilliance with your imagination — just blew my mind, and I was fully swept up in the fantasy of Roberto Benigni and what he was able to accomplish in that story. I thought it was beautiful.

One of my favorite newer movies. It’s always been my favorite, but I don’t know how to tell you why. It was brilliant. And it was brilliantly acted and I was entirely taken by surprise, and I was in love with Tim Robbins. I was just in love with Morgan [Freeman]. I loved them so deeply. I loved them heated so deeply that — I can’t speak eloquently about it, Kerr. I love to watch movies and I don’t sit around and take them apart, you know?

I kind of felt like it was just so complicated, finding yourself torn between a girlfriend and the mother was just so shocking to me, and so complex. I remember watching it, just being jealous I wasn’t involved in something so complicated and real — things that were never talked about. It felt so taboo at the time. It felt so brave. And I wanted to be in movies like that. That was a long time ago. I need to re-see that. Talking to you is making me want to revisit these movies.

I loved Primal Fear. It was my first introduction, I think, to Edward Norton. I don’t know what he was in prior to that. I love these complex storylines of scandals of the church and the greed of Richard Gere and then, of course, obviously that they fooled us for so long. I really fell down the rabbit hole and it turned on a dime and blew my mind. Frickin’ Edward Norton is such a genius. I hate to say this but I get jealous very easily [laughing]. If it’s a fantastic movie, or fantastic director or fantastic actor. Like, doing this play [Spring Awakening on Broadway] I remember [when seeing the original Los Angeles production] saying, “I’m jealous I’m not in it,” and that’s the biggest praise I can give. Honestly, I think Edward Norton is one of the best of our generation. I’d like to call myself in his generation.