15 best films with bright and self-deprecating Cate Blanchett

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This actress is surprisingly good as the queen of the elves, and as Elizabeth I, and as Bob Dylan.

Cate Blanchett, who plays the elven mistress in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, is a truly amazing actress. The fabulous appearance served her as a pass to the world of Middle-earth, but the famous Australian woman knows how to embody a variety of images. Even if it's Bob Dylan or a scientist expounding the artistic manifesto of Kazimir Malevich.

But the most attractive feature of Cate Blanchett is her ironic attitude towards herself: the actress is not at all afraid of being funny or looking stupid.

1. Elizabeth

• UK, 1998.
• Historical drama.
• Duration: 124 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The film tells about the youth and formation of one of the most famous English monarchs - Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett). Ascension to the throne is not easy for the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The young queen will have to understand which of the confidants she can trust and how to stay on the throne in the face of church schism.

Director Shekhar Kapoor found his queen thanks to the historic melodrama Oscar and Lucinda, in which Blanchett starred opposite Rafe Fiennes. Kapoor saw the actress and immediately knew she was perfect.

A role in "Elizabeth" gave Blanchett her first Oscar nomination. But the main award then went to Gwyneth Paltrow for the tragicomedy Shakespeare in Love.

2. The talented Mr. Ripley

• USA, 1999.
• Crime film, drama, thriller.
• Duration: 139 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The thriller directed by Anthony Minghella is based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith. Charming, but not having any special talents, Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) meets millionaire Herbert Greenleaf (James Rebhorn) and receives a non-standard task from him: to persuade his wayward son Dicky (Jude Law) to return to his homeland in the United States from Italy. Everything goes according to plan, but then Tom accidentally kills Dicky during an argument. And then the main character decides to impersonate the son of a millionaire.

Cate Blanchett played Meredith Lough, a high society girl. Tricky Tom Ripley meets her to get closer to Dickie and his fiancée Marge (Gwyneth Paltrow). But later Meredith becomes a very dangerous witness for Ripley.

Curiously, there is no such character in Highsmith's book: he was invented by an actress and screenwriters. Blanchett received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her small but vibrant scenes.

3. Paradise

• Italy, Great Britain, Germany, France, USA, 2002.
• Drama.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

The film tells the story of the life of a humble teacher Philippa (Cate Blanchett), whose husband is dying of a drug overdose. An attempt to avenge his death leads the woman to prison. There, a young police officer (Giovanni Ribisi) falls in love with the heroine.

Before filming in "Paradise," Cate Blanchett and Giovanni Ribisi had already played together in Sam Raimi's mystical thriller The Gift. This time they met on the set of one of the best directors of our time - Tom Tykwer, known to a wide audience for such films as "Run Lola Run" and "Perfume. The story of a murderer."

4. Coffee and cigarettes

• USA, Japan, Italy, 2003.
• Comedy, drama.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

An almanac of 11 black and white short films, which one of the main representatives of American independent cinema, Jim Jarmusch, has been filming since 1986. As you can see from the title, in the film, the director's favorite actors smoke, drink coffee and talk a little about everything.

In one of the novels, Cate Blanchett, with her inherent virtuosity, played two roles at once: herself and her fictional cousin Shelley, who envies the life of a star cousin.

5. The hunt for Veronica

• USA, Ireland, UK, 2003.
• Biographical drama.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Based on true events, this drama by Joel Schumacher follows the life of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett). A brave woman investigates the problem of drug addiction and does not herself notice how she crosses the road to major drug dealers.

The main role in the film was to be played by Jodie Foster, and Danny de Vito dreamed of becoming the director. But it turned out that both were busy with other projects.

The film received several important European awards, and the performance of Cate Blanchett herself was nominated for a Golden Globe.

6. Aviator

• UK, USA, Japan, 2004.
• Drama, war film.
• Duration: 169 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Oscar-winning biopic by Martin Scorsese, which tells the story of the life and fate of the eccentric American millionaire, director and inventor Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio). Left an orphan early, a rich heir gets the opportunity to embody the wildest dreams - for example, to become a pilot and shoot his own films. But everything comes at a price, and amid ongoing conflicts with the US Department of Defense, Hughes develops obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Cate Blanchett had to play a real person - the legendary Hollywood diva Katharine Hepburn, an icon of the 30s and 40s and Howard Hughes' mistress. Working with such a complex image was a challenge for Blanchett, especially given the fact that the actresses are not at all similar in appearance. However, Kate brilliantly coped with an extraordinary task and earned her first Oscar for Best Actress.

7. Small fish

• Australia, 2005.
• Drama, crime thriller.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

A highly social drama follows the life of a woman named Tracy (Cate Blanchett). After four years of treatment for drug addiction, the girl is trying to break with the past and conquer her inner fears in order to finally start life from scratch.

In this poignant and intense film, Cate Blanchett co-stars with another famous Australian actor, Hugo Weaving. But their most famous co-appearance is the Peter Jackson franchise, where the actor plays King Rivendell Elrond.

8. Babylon

• USA, Mexico, Japan, France, 2006.
• Drama.
• Duration: 142 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The brilliant film directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu, which has won the admiration of critics, is built on three storylines. In these stories, our world appears as one big Babylon, the most important thing in which is to be able to find a common language with each other.

Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt, who turned down the role in The Departed for the sake of Babylon, played a married couple of travelers. After the wife is the victim of an accidental shot, the husband must urgently seek medical assistance in a completely unfamiliar country.

9. Scandalous diary

• UK, 2006.
• Drama.
• Duration: 91 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The drama by the English director Richard Eyre based on the novel of the same name by Zoe Heller tells about the nature of human loneliness and how dangerous its extreme forms can be.

A middle-aged single teacher Barbara Covett (Judy Dench) meets her new colleague, the attractive Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett). Mutual sympathy develops between the two women. An elderly teacher falls in love with her young friend, but she already has a husband and two children, one of whom suffers from Down syndrome. Events take a completely unexpected turn when Barbara learns of Sheba's secret affair with a minor student.

10. I'm not there

I'm Not There

• USA, 2007.
• Biographical film.
• Duration: 135 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Independent filmmaker Todd Haynes has created such a non-standard biographical drama that it can be safely called one of a kind. This is a reflection film in which each of the six characters embodies different periods in the life of the famous singer Bob Dylan.

Cate Blanchett, who is really indistinguishable from young Dylan in makeup, has once again demonstrated her mastery of transformation. Also, the film is notable for the fact that one of the last roles in it was played by compatriot Blanchett, a wonderful actor with the tragic fate of Heath Ledger.

11. Golden Age

• UK, France, Germany, 2007.
• Historical drama, biographical film, melodrama.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

The sequel to the film "Elizabeth" by the same director tells about the military victories of the famous English queen and about her secret love affair with the favorite Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen).

Her role in this vibrant and commercially successful costume drama earned Cate Blanchett another Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

12. The mysterious story of Benjamin Button

• USA, 2008.
• Drama, fantastic film.
• Duration: 122 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

The dramatic film by David Fincher tells the amazing story of a man named Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt), who was born a very old man and lived his life on the contrary, getting younger every day.

Cate Blanchett played the main character's beloved, bohemian and freedom-loving dancer Daisy. The film received ten Oscar nominations and won three of them. Also on the list of honorary awards of the film - BAFTA, "Saturn" and the US National Council of Film Critics Award.

13. Jasmine

• USA, 2013.
• Drama.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

After the arrest of her multimillionaire husband, his capricious and sophisticated wife Jeanette, nicknamed Jasmine, moves to San Francisco to live with her poor half-sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins). There, the heroine is trying to improve her life and find a job, like ordinary people, but everything only gets worse.

"Jasmine" is one of the few dramatic films in the work of Woody Allen tells the story of a woman spoiled by fate and forced to adapt to the real world. Cate Blanchett, who played the main role, created one of the strongest acting characters in her career and again received a well-deserved Oscar.

14. Carol

• USA, UK, 2015.
• Melodrama.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The melodrama of American independent director Todd Haynes is set in the sophisticated atmosphere of New York in the 50s and tells the love story of two beautiful women. Young Terez (Rooney Mara) is unsure of her relationship, and mature, married beauty Carol (Cate Blanchett) supports marriage with an unloved person for the sake of her daughter. But one day these two lonely souls meet and understand that they have been looking for each other all their lives.

Critics praised the film very warmly, calling it incredibly beautiful. Starring actress Cate Blanchett received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

15. Manifesto

• Germany, Australia, 2017.
• Drama.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

The actress's ability to embody any kind of image reached its peak in collaboration with the artist Julian Rosefeldt. Inspired by the way Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan, Rosefeldt invited her to embody 13 characters at once - from a homeless person to a school teacher. Each hero reads out fragments of the most famous artistic manifestos of the 20th century.

The installation was shown in Melbourne, Berlin and New York, and then - largely due to the popularity of Blanchett - it became a single film and moved from the museum space to cinemas.