photo by Brigitte Lacombe
I guess the folks at Time Magazine are breathing a sigh of relief this morning since they predicted Kate Winslet would win on the cover of the mag last Friday. Whew. Mark Harris did a great profile. (He is one of the most interesting and insightful people writing about Hollywood today.) I’m glad she won but towards the end her naked ambition was getting uncomfortable to watch. I still wish she had won for Revolutionary Road.
Here is the most interesting point of the piece:
In an industry that insists that most actresses remain giggly, pliable and princessy well into middle age, Winslet has somehow avoided that pigeonhole entirely. She doesn’t play girls; she never really has. She plays women. Unsentimentalized, restless, troubled, discontented, disconcerted, difficult women. And clearly, it’s working for her.
I find it quite interesting that Winslet has not had to play the “girl.” Is it the accent, the fact that she’s not American? It clearly helps that she is incredibly talented, but if I were a younger female actress I would be trying to figure out how to have her type of career.
Kate Winslet’s Moment (Time)
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She doesn’t play girls; she never really has.
Uh, what about Princess Sarah in 1995′s “A Kid in King Arthur’s Court” or Sarah Hulme in “Heavenly Creatures” — both teenage girls, albeit very different roles? I don’t think it gets much more “princessy” than playing Princess Sarah. And I happen to think that her Sarah Hulme role contained many insights about teenage girlhood.
I agree that Kate Winslet always plays WOMEN– strong, fierce, independent women. So proud she won an Oscar finally last night.
A lot of people are tying to figure out how to have her kind of career. As far as younger actresses go, Natalie Portman is closest to having Winslet type roles.
How about her role as Marianne in Sense and Sensibility? Never really saw that character as a strong woman so much as a love-struck girl…
Although her character was refreshingly human, Winslet was the girl in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.