So many actresses in their early prime seem in arkested adolescence. Their coquetry and little-girl voices suggest they're campaigning for prom queen, not great film roles. Cate Blanchett is gloriously different. She's a grownup, radiating an aristocracy that has no fancy airs, just a warm, alert intelligence. Beauty helps, and height (she's 5 ft. 8 1/2 in.), but what's crucial is that regal poise. Onscreen her magic can ennohle those in her orbit (when she's a virgin queen in Elizabeth or the Lady of Lorien in The Lord of the Rings). Sometimes it dashes them on the rocks of malice (as in Veronica Guerin and Notes on a Scandal). Either way, as an icon or a threat, the Blanchett woman is a prize worth fighting, scheming, dying for.
展开▼
