True Radiance Embodied

Cate Blanchett is the essence of true Hollywood style. She just exudes glamor and class. She is glorious in every way and I can't think of an actress I enjoy watching more on screen and off. Isn't she just stunning?

I first came to appreciate her in the lead role in Elizabeth, a movie about the early years of the "Virgin Queen" whose 45 year reign was known as the Golden Age of England. In it, Cate Blanchett is perfectly regal. Becoming the queen of England was no small task for this "illegitimate" child of King Henry the 8th, and the movie recounts her rise to power and the challenges she overcame as a woman and as a monarch. One of my favorite lines, among many, is when she slowly looks down at one of her most trusted advisers who doubted her ability to rule if she was not a wife. She says to him in an ominous voice "Observe, Lord Burghley. I am married...to England."

She next struck me in The Aviator playing the role of the great Katharine Hepburn, for which she won an Academy Award. Nailing Hepburn's voice, mannerisms, and eccentricities more perfectly than the Daigles or I could ever dream, she's absolutely marvelous. She'll give you a real laugh in this movie. She is also in Babel, another hit, where she plays a rather bored wife who is trying to enjoy a vacation in Morocco with her husband until she is hit by a bullet from some children taking aim at the couple's tour bus. I most recently saw her in Notes on a Scandal. She is truly fabulous in this role as she portrays a high school art teacher with a perfect British life until she makes the mistake of having an affair with one of her 15 year old students. The drama and manipulation that ensues between her and a fellow teacher/psycho makes for quite the picture.
There are many other movies in which Cate Blanchett graces the screen, but I am ashamed to admit that I have not seen them all. The Good German should be out on DVD soon and it will be my first to catch up on watching all of her pure brilliance. This woman has skills!