The tendrils, the skin . . . she makes me unafriad of girl germs. |
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You know that list that many couples have, that "if I ever get a chance with________, I get to go for it" list? Well, I am a straight girl, but I have a healthy amount of girl crushes. In fact, I think my list of women is now longer than my list of men. The guys are down to a trim list including Edward Norton, Steve Martin, and Donald Faison.
Like most complicated women, I have eclectic taste.
There are so many chicks in film that I would love to have coffee, dinner, drinks, a shopping trip (or maybe more) with, and starting today, I'm sharing this interest with you.
So here it is: the first installment of the Girl Crush Columns, an occasional series, beginning with the sexy and talented Kate Winslet.
She's just breathtaking. The Lancombe ads alone — wow. But there are many beautiful people I'm not drawn to, so there is definitely something else about her that appeals to me. She's picky with her roles, even if the film may not work out as well as one might think. She did a blockbuster but she didn't allow it to define her. She's got a fabulous body, amazingly curvy lips, and her wavy hair makes me envious. But even with all that beauty, there's an approachable quality to her that makes me think she'd be fun to hang out with. She'd put cream in her coffee and laugh loud enough for the next table to hear. And so what!
Here are my picks from the Kate Winslet catalog:
HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994)
If you can handle opera and Peter Jackson's theatrics, it's worth your while to check out Kate Winslet's film debut. Based on a true story, she plays Juliet, a fantastic, intelligent high school girl transplanted to New Zealand in the 1950s. The intriguing combination of Juliet's moxie and sickliness (why do films insist upon painting TB as romantic?) draws the attention of classmate Pauline (Melanie Lynskey, BUT I'M A CHEERLEADER) who also has a marvelous imagination. Their relationship grows to a dangerous intensity.
HAMLET (1996)
Kenneth Branagh's HAMLET is a remarkable undertaking. In the past 20 years, Branagh has made five delightful films adapted from Shakespeare plays, to the joy and pleasure of English majors on both sides of the pond. 
Iambic pentameter never looked so good. |
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Branagh's HAMLET is unabbreviated (four hours — yikes!), dramatic, and adequately scary (Judi Dench is in it; need I say more?). With all due respect to Julia Stiles, Winslet is the best Ophelia I've seen in any Hamlet adaptation.
HOLY SMOKE (1999)
Cowboy boots, saris, epiphanies, hysterical parents, power struggles, deprogramming, urination . . . this movie has it all. A Jane Campion film complete with Harvey Keitel but without Holly Hunter — sign me up!
THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE (2003)
I don't know why so many critics dissed this film. It was totally interesting and captivating right up to the end. Yes, there are some continuity problems and some people found the anti-death penalty agenda of the film annoying, but it was not without complications. The anti-death penalty activists (I like to call them "pro-lifers") including David Gale himself were not flawless; maybe he threw himself into the cause because his personal life was in such shambles. I found his character believable, although extreme, because since when are real-life activists not radical? You just need to flip through a.m. radio in the middle of the night to know that radicals occur in nature, not just in film. And what group is more radical than pro-lifers? Winslet expertly plays the slightly arrogant but commendably inquisitive reporter who's granted the last interview with Gale. And did I mention that Winslet sports an excellent American accent to boot?
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004)
No doubt you've seen ETERNAL SUNSHINE already. If not, spoiler alert! Winslet plays Clementine, whose name and personality are as colorful as her hair. Jim Carrey plays Joel, Clementine's ex-boyfriend, who is so bummed to learn that Clementine has undergone a procedure to erase her memories of him that he does the same. But during the procedure, he realizes that even though the memories of their relationship cause him pain, it is worth holding onto memories of their time together. Thus, he begins to smuggle images of her into places where she shouldn't belong. This film is a refreshing departure for both Winslet and Carrey (Winslet's not in a corset and Carrey's not, um, being Jim Carrey). It's 
She looks a bit like Madonna but prettier, and actually British |
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warm but sad, and has a great supporting cast, including Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, David Cross, and Kirsten Dunst.
LITTLE CHILDREN (2006)
I was not overly excited to see this film as, although I respected it, I was not a huge fan of director Todd Field's acclaimed previous project, IN THE BEDROOM. In LITTLE CHILDREN, Winslet plays a bored and underappreciated housewife named Sarah Pierce. Sarah and her daughter frequent a park where she meets Brad, an equally underappreciated househusband and things click. They begin an affair that the audience can be sympathetic to. Sarah's life is forcing her to waste intelligence and education on daily chores and tending to her picky daughter. Her husband prefers sex with his Internet girlfriend. And, as much as I loathe the stereotype, Brad's wife is an emasculating ballbuster (played by Jennifer Connelly). But between the relationships, the neighborhood drama, book club, and the hubbub surrounding a local pedophile, the movie tries to do too much. Still, it's a good critique of suburban America, an interesting drama, and a terrific job by Winslet.
These selections constitute the bare minimum of Kate Winslet films that should be on your queue.
Honorable mentions/additional suggestions:
She was so excellent in SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (1995) that she received a supporting role Oscar nomination. In HIDEOUS KINKY, Winslet plays an idealistic, if not somewhat dim, mother who brings her unenthusiastic daughters along with her on a quest of self-actualization, or perhaps escape, to Morocco from London. And while THE HOLIDAY was not a great movie (even considering the genre), Winslet shows her range: not only is she splendid as a period-piece damsel, she can also do a romantic comedy alongside the likes of none other than Jack Black, no less. Not easy.
Well, Kate, I can't imagine you'd ever find yourself in Milwaukee, but if you're in Chicago, let me know and I'll take the train down. I'm sure we can find a proper afternoon tea, if you're so inclined, or maybe you'd prefer a couple of mojitos instead. My treat.
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| Take Your Queue From Du |
Every other Sunday
Semi-wholesome Midwestern girl and certified Geek Magnet offers her suggestions - often new, sometimes classic - for DVDs that are definitely queue-worthy.
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9 out of 10 librarians think Denise is a hoot. The 10th one couldn't corroborate because she was dead.
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