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Comment by gaius | Hacker News Reader

Very surprised she would take on such a reviled role, she hasn’t historically played villains has she? I think that movie was planned at a time that Holmes was still believed to be tragic and delusional rather than a cold-blooded conwoman with no redeeming features.

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Its not about hero or villain, its that she has a repertoire of strong female (main) characters. Katniss Everdeen is a hero for District 13, but an enemy and villain for the rest due to the survival of the fittest nature of that world.

Katniss was a heroine to the viewers. Holmes is not a heroine to a anyone. And she exploited the “strong female” narrative all along the way, undermining other women.

True, however Holmes tried to be the heroine. Having to act as if you're the heroine until the last few scenes, with some twists in between, isn't a typical villain role.

For a movie that hews startlingly close to that narrative, check out "The Informant!" starring Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh. I'm also not surprised Lawrence would be drawn to the role, it seems in line with what she does well: strong female characters. They're not always likable characters (for example, in "American Hustle"), and it also shouldn't be a surprise when an actor expands into different kinds of roles.

Thanks, I've added them to my todo list.

First movie I ever saw Jennifer Lawrence in was Winter's Bone [1]. Goodness grace, she's such a heroine in that movie. No wonder she got typecast for the strong female roles.

[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399683/

Me as well, and I definitely noticed that her role in "Hunger Games" was basically a young-adult dystopian scifi version of her role in "Winter's Bone" - and I feel her performance in both made each movie.

Excellent movie. Not underrated, but under-watched.

Holmes tried to be the heroine.

Holmes tried to convince people she was the heroine, which is not quite the same thing

I suppose they could also make a movie about Fiorina, boldly destroying jobs and shareholder value at a rate no one had ever dreamt of...

> I think that movie was planned at a time that Holmes was still believed to be tragic and delusional rather than a cold-blooded conwoman with no redeeming features.

The "Bad Blood" movie is based on the "Bad Blood" book, which is the definitive source documenting Holmes' frauds.

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