Escape at Dannemora: Patricia Arquette deserves Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy

Patricia Arquette was so adept at portraying ‘Tilly’ in Escape at Dannemora, that the squirming character was difficult to focus on. For Show Snob, she deserves an Emmy.

Patricia Arquette is a well-known, though possibly slightly underappreciated actor at times. For True Romance she should have more acclaim; maybe it is excellence at depicting the dopey and very blonde stereotype that has indeed worked against her. Although her Academy Award for Boyhood ended that underrated status. Escape at Dannemora should be her second Emmy in the category: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series.

Caricature

Tilly, Arquette’s character in Escape at Dannemora, is a peculiar creature, no offense to the real person who helped inspired the portrayal. A friend in Philadelphia tells me that there was much coverage of the actual events on their television news stations, as would be expected, especially in the United States.

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Therefore the audiences and future program makers had much to recreate and ‘go on’. Here is an article that tells you all about Tilly and her brutal accomplices from Deadline. True to character, Joyce “Tilly’ Mitchell even accused director Ben Stiller of producing lies in the hit Showtime show. All this really gave Arquette her basis and ample material for a proper triumph in the caricature sense: the darkly comic and grotesque ambition with accentuated characteristics.

Escape at Dannemora’s Make-up and costume

In order to accurately portray a strange and wonderfully oblique person such as Tilly, the costume and prosthesis must be of Oscar attaining level. Obviously, Arquette gained weight, along with acting subtly and deftly through a well written and choreographed script; yet she has much to owe to the make-up and formerly mentioned department.

Giving the actor the right tools, so to speak, is enabling their best performance. EaD’s set was just perfectly designed with attention to the smallest details. No doubt this gave its talented cast all the more incentive and feeling to produce a triumphant piece.

Husband Lyle

The last factor in making the creepy Tilly come to life was an authentically bumbling, as well as almost threatening, dimwitted seeming husband Lyle. Eric Lange was chosen, and wow, did they choose the correct thespian for this production. He was an absolute marvel.

There’s no way Arquette would be receiving this much acclaim from myself and others if Lange was not involved. Their veiled chemistry was instantly recognizable – regardless of being at odds in the dialogue – making for an electrifying partnership. Lange wasn’t nominated, a travesty. However, I’m sure Arquette would thank him in her Emmys acceptance speech.