Fame where fame is due

Sarah Polley
Sarah Polley keeps messing with my head. 

Maybe it's those delicate facial features; she always looks vaguely in need of rescue ... and then, when you're at the point that you want to reach through the screen to help her, she knocks you over with an emotional roundhouse — a quick retort, even a glance, that lets you know she's just fine on her own, thanks very much.

Universal In 2004's “Dawn of the Dead,” Sarah Polley got a more obvious tough-girl leading role, trying to fend off the undead. Yes, it was a remake of a George Romero film, but Polley was joined by such acting heavyweights as Ving Rhames and Jake Weber.

The 26-year-old Polley's been acting long enough (her first film role was in 1988's “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”) that her vulnerable/tough mix hits where it hurts. She is eerily effective in telegraphing what's going on inside her characters without saying a word. Especially in her work with director Atom Egoyan, like “Exotica” and “The Sweet Hereafter,” she has perfected the ability to portray wounded girls who understand how to make a screwed-up world work for them.

That also sums up her role as Ronna in Doug Liman's frenetic “Go”: a supermarket cashier desperate to make her rent who's not above a drug deal or two along the way — and smart enough not to get caught, even if she gets knocked into in a ditch along the way.

In fact, Polley's got the tough thing down so well, the only thing I might like to see is a chance for her to smile every now and then. She sort of got there in “Guinevere,” but only amid a lot of heartache.

The upside of Polley having this much talent is that I'm not nearly as worried about her career trajectory as I am about someone like Reese Witherspoon or Polley's “Go” co-star Katie Holmes. (OK, bad example.)

Even if she doesn't quite reach a fever pitch of celebrity, I'm pretty sure she's still got Meryl Streep-level potential. But I'd certainly be glad to see her as a household name — even if she prefers sticking with characters who make me cringe in sympathy.

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