November 10, 2006

"She walks, talks, sings, smells like Bob Dylan."

Heath Ledger raves about Cate Blanchett's "incredible transformation" into the character of Bob Dylan, whom she plays in the new movie "I'm Not There." Cate is one of a bunch of actors -- Ledger, included -- who play Dylan in the film. But Cate's the best -- "beyond astounding."

I can believe that. If you assemble a lot of actors in a film that's kind of a big acting competition, she wins. I observed this in "Coffee and Cigarettes":
When a movie is broken into a series of vignettes as this one is, critics usually can't resist saying which vignette is the best and grousing that some vignettes are better than others. With an ordinary movie, it doesn't seem worth saying that some scenes are better than others! But with each vignette, you get a new set of two or three actors, so it's hard not to single out, for example, Cate Blanchett. Patty Duke style, she plays two cousins who have the same face, but different hair, clothes, mannerisms, attitudes.
She was utterly fascinating and brilliant.

15 comments:

Randy said...

She smells like Bob Dylan?

As in reeks of tobacco or what? I'm not sure I really want to know the answer to this.

price said...

Not only is Cate Blanchett's scene in C&C the best one, it was so good it had the umbrella effect of making every other scene even better.

There should be a separate Oscar category for "Most Acting" and people like Annette Bening could win that every year. But Cate Blanchett is one of the most subtle and genuis actors there is. She is the best thing to happen to the acting world since restaurants started hiring.

kimsch said...

Cate Rocks!

Maxine Weiss said...

This is where I start counting....

I start keeping track....

You are hereby banned from using the word "utterly" for the rest of the year.

Peace, Maxine

Mortimer Brezny said...

Not to make a sexist comment or anything, but I don't see transgenderist movies.

Ann Althouse said...

"You are hereby banned from using the word "utterly" for the rest of the year."

It's a Wisconsin thing.

Anonymous said...

But does she break just like a little girl?

Unknown said...

I'd hardly call this a transgenderist movie. By this description it doesn't appear to me that she's playing a transgender version of Bob Dylan---she's actually playing him. It must be as much a triumph of costume and makeup as acting.

Kind of like Linda Hunt's portrayal of Bily Kwan in The Year of Living Dangerously. Only, frankly, Cate Blanchett's transformation must have been a little more, um, difficult.

Ruth Anne Adams said...

It's a Wisconsin thing.

I think you mean "udderly."

Unknown said...

From the Rolling Stone...

Hmm.

Anonymous said...

I guess anyone brave (or foolish) enough could find out what Dylan smells like today, but how do they know what he smelled like 40 years ago?

I mean, I can appreciate how important smell is to a good film, but I'm not going to shell out $9 for a movie with faux odors (Fodors?).

Anonymous said...

Plus, it sounds like a tagline for that crummy sequel, Anna Christie II: Garbo Smells!

Mortimer Brezny said...

Sorry, mcg, but that looks like a woman dressed up like a man.

Not paying for it.

al said...

Cate smelling like Bob Dylan? That will surely make viewers happy there is no smell-o-vision.

As for udders - Wisconsin udders mean cheese curds. Yummm

Unknown said...

Sorry, mcg, but that looks like a woman dressed up like a man.

Actually, that was the reason for my "Hmm.", I just didn't want to say it until someone else assented :) I agree. Her acting must be good for people to say this 'cos it sure ain't the costume and makeup :)