One of the secret MVPs of the MCU from as far back asIron ManisSarah Halley Finn, the casting director who’s been partially responsible forone of the most well-cast franchises in film history. We wouldn’t have gotten the gems ofChadwick Bosemanas Black PantherorMark Ruffaloas the Hulkwithout her influence, so I should have known better than to doubt her instincts. But when introduced toJulia Louis-Dreyfusas Countess Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, that casting didn’t sit right with me, and it felt like Marvel just wanted a big name to fill in a generic role. However, after seeing her performance inThunderbolts*, I’ve flipped and am now more enthused about seeing her presence, mainly becauseshe’s shifted into leaning into the aspects of Valentina that make her similar to one of Louis-Dreyfus' greatest creations:Selina MeyerfromVeep.
Tough Enforcer Didn’t Suit Julia Louis-Dreyfus
With Valentina’s official introduction inThe Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Marvel really didn’t give Louis-Dreyfus much to chew on. It felt like she was overcompensating for a thin characterization with big aesthetic swings, like her partially dyed hair and penchant for big, dark trench coats.She seemed wildly miscast as a puppet master who works in the shadowsand haughtily smirks at how little people around her understand what she can do. I’d say it has less to do with her history as a comedic performer being held against her (i.e., she’s not making jokes, therefore something is wrong), but more so that she was written in a way that didn’t play to her strengths. It didn’t help any that her eventual appearances inBlack WidowandBlack Panther: Wakanda Foreveraggravated those problems, where she’d only spout tough trash talk and strut like she owned every room in service of subplots that most audiences didn’t care about. A mustache-twirling character who takes no prisoners doesn’t fit someone likeJulia Louis-Dreyfus, a queen of cringe who doesher best workwhen she’s forced to maneuver through unbearable (and usually self-inflicted) social embarrassment. Louis-Dreyfus deserves major kudos for shifting Valentina’s characterization inThunderbolts*, as it made her way more engaging by making her more like Selina Meyer: in a word, pathetic.
Valentina’s Storyline Feels Ripped From ‘Veep’
Valentina spends much of her plotline inThunderbolts*on the back foot, fending off attacks to her stability from all sides. She’s under threat of impeachment and constantly grilled by the government, and therefore needs to tie up any loose ends. She’s confident enough to think it’s a good idea to send not-at-all-reformed operatives like Yelena (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen) to unwittingly kill each other, and is apoplectic at the shocking twist that they will instead hunt her down. Even worse, the trio found the last evidence of the Sentry project, which will permanently cook Valentina’s goose if the public ever finds out. The only person she can turn to for help is her assistant, Mel (Geraldine Viswanathan), and their dynamic is its own tire fire, since Valentina has no idea how to talk to her as a human being, and Mel secretly hates her and is plotting to snitch on her to Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). When you say this all out loud at once,there’s no way this doesn’t sound like aVeepepisode with all the character names and locations changed. Every aspect of her story, from the backstabbing to the secret cover-up to even her frazzled reactions to each egg on her face, feels so in league with a Selina Meyer clusterf**k, and it’s a feat of narrative deftness that works wonders for both the film and for Louis-Dreyfus.
Valentina Is More Interesting When Under Pressure
WhileThunderbolts*largely sells itself as a more grounded and “serious” MCU film than we’re accustomed to, that does a disservice tohow much of a return to form the humor is, and that’s largely thanks to how it understands Julia Louis-Dreyfus' sense of humor. The way Valentina maintains a facade of control and poise as she’s going completely haywire internally not only provides a better context for the “so awkward” style ofMCU humor that can often fall flat, but it makes her a far more legible portrayal of a politician in power than any of her previous appearances.Selina Meyer remains one of the more disturbing depictions ofan American politicianin recent mediabecause she lays bare the uncomfortable truth that many politicians aren’t exactly genius masterminds. Instead, they tend to be barely competent and selfish opportunists who only have real power based on who they’re around, and Valentina lives down to that standard. She barely gets by her impeachment questions by blustering her way with self-congratulatory bravado, she treats Mel like an automated appliance designed to fix all her problems, and she’s always on the brink of a total whiny meltdown when she can’t get her way.
Rather than neutering her as a main threat,this makes her a more engaging presence, because you sit there and go “oh, the people in power really don’t know how to wield this power…whoops.” Valentina isn’t scary because she’s full of nefarious desires and has some grand master plan, she’s scary because she has no idea what she’s messing with but is too married to her own interests to admit defeat, all while barely hiding that she’s crumbling to her insecurities. Even by the end, she’s defeated largely by her own hubris, which the film takes great pleasure in rubbing in her face. The notion of seeing Valentina forced to play nice in public due to the dirt that’s on her name makes her a way more interesting player inthe MCU’s future,a move that puts Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a sweet spotthat will let her continue to grimace her way in and out of the awful situations that she creates for herself.
Thunderbolts*is now in theaters.
Thunderbolts*
