Critical success
1994 marked a significant turning point in Pitt's career. Starring as the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac in the feature film Interview with the Vampire, based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name,[32] he was part of an ensemble cast that included Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater, and Antonio Banderas.[32] Despite his winning two MTV Movie Awards at the 1995 ceremony,[33]his performance was poorly received. According to the Dallas Observer, "Brad Pitt ... is a large part of the problem [in the film]. When directors play up his cocky, hunkish, folksy side ... he's a joy to watch. But there's nothing about him that suggests inner torment or even self-awareness, which makes him a boring Louis."[34]
Following the release of Interview with the Vampire, Pitt starred in Legends of the Fall (1994),[35] based on a novel by the same name by Jim Harrison, set in the American West during the first four decades of the twentieth century. Portraying Tristan Ludlow, son of Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) a Cornishimmigrant,[36] Pitt received his first Golden Globe Award nomination, in the Best Actor category.[37] Aidan Quinn and Henry Thomas co-starred as Pitt's brothers. Although the film's reception was mixed,[38] many film critics praised Pitt's performance. Janet Maslin of The New York Times said, "Pitt's diffident mix of acting and attitude works to such heartthrob perfection it's a shame the film's superficiality gets in his way."[39] The Deseret News predicted that Legends of the Fall would solidify Pitt's reputation as a lead actor.[40]
In 1995, Pitt starred alongside Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow in the crime thriller Seven, playing a detective on the trail of a serial killer (played by Kevin Spacey).[41] Pitt called it a great movie and declared the part would expand his acting horizons.[42] He expressed his intent to move on from "this 'pretty boy' thing [...] and play someone with flaws."[43] His performance was critically well received, with Variety saying that it was screen acting at its best, further remarking on Pitt's ability to turn in a "determined, energetic, creditable job" as the detective.[44] Seven earned $327 million at the international box office.[24]
Following the success of Seven, Pitt took a supporting role as Jeffrey Goines in Terry Gilliam's 1995 science-fiction film 12 Monkeys. The movie received predominantly positive reviews, with Pitt praised in particular. Janet Maslin of the New York Times called Twelve Monkeys "fierce and disturbing" and remarked on Pitt's "startlingly frenzied performance", concluding that he "electrifies Jeffrey with a weird magnetism that becomes important later in the film."[45] He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film[37] and received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.[46]
The following year he had a role in the legal drama Sleepers (1996), based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's novel of the same name.[47] The film received mixed reviews.[48] In the 1997 movie The Devil's OwnPitt starred, opposite Harrison Ford, as the Irish Republican Army terrorist Rory Devany,[49] a role for which he was required to learn an Irish accent.[50] Critical opinion was divided on his accent; "Pitt finds the right tone of moral ambiguity, but at times his Irish brogue is too convincing – it's hard to understand what he's saying", wrote the San Francisco Chronicle.[51] The Charleston Gazette opined that it had favored Pitt's accent over the movie.[52] The Devil's Own grossed $140 million worldwide,[24] but was a critical failure. Later that year he led as Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in theJean-Jacques Annaud film Seven Years in Tibet.[53] Pitt trained for months for the role, which demanded significant mountain climbing and trekking practice, including rock climbing in California and the European Alps with his co-star David Thewlis.[54] The film received mostly negative reviews, and was generally considered a disappointment.[55]
Pitt had the lead role in 1998's Meet Joe Black. He portrayed a personification of death inhabiting the body of a young man to learn what it is like to be human.[56] The film received mixed reviews, and many were critical of Pitt's performance. According to Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle, Pitt was unable to "to make an audience believe that he knows all the mysteries of death and eternity."[57] Roger Ebert stated "Pitt is a fine actor, but this performance is a miscalculation."[58]
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