There aren’t many actors who can ricochet quite like John Lithgow. He’s a gifted comedian, warm and familial, in films like “Harry and the Hendersons,” and a steely supervillain matching Sylvester Stallone blow for blow in “Cliffhanger.” He’s a Machiavellian schemer, completely unknowable, in a film like “Conclave,” and he also madcaps his way through a wacky high-concept sitcom in “3rd Rock from the Sun.”
If there’s a unifying factor in most of Lithgow’s performances it’s his almost uncomfortable intensity. When he’s the victim, he’s the saddest victim. When he’s the bad guy, he’s the meanest bad guy. When he’s given carte blanche to go mad with power, he’s Dave Crealy in “The Rule of Jenny Penn,” which may very well be his creepiest performance since Brian De Palma’s “Raising Cain” — and that’s saying something.