Last night, I picked up a movie that I had received several weeks ago in the mail from Netflix, but always hesitated to watch because I had heard it was downbeat. Yet, after watching the first 45 minutes or so of Little Children, I was so engaged that I wished the evening were longer so I could have watched the rest. But, wanting a full night’s sleep, regrettably I had to save the balance of the flick for tonight.
What blew me away in the first third of the movie was the quality of the script and the acting. Once again, Kate Winslet doesn’t fail to impress; she even makes the most of poorly written roles as she did in The Holiday (and to some extent Titanic).
I had been aware of her before Titanic introduced her to the broader public, having been impressed by her performance in Sense and Sensibility which won her her first Oscar nomination. Given how convincing she is in a variety of different roles, I wondered if she was on her way to be the next Meryl Streep, a versatile actress who will never be typecast because no matter in what role she is cast, she never plays to type. She becomes the character.
And with just a twitch of the nose or a slight lift of one eyebrow, she can let us know what her character is feeling. She never seems to struggle to portray complex or conflicting emotions.
I have no idea how Little Children will turn on, whether I will continue to enjoy the remainder of the film as much as I enjoyed its first few minutes, but it’s a pretty safe bet thatn I’ll remain impressed by Kate’s performance, just as I always am with her acting elder.
She is amazingly versatile and poised. Even her first movie role in Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures back in 1994 displayed a sense of certainty that actors far older than her 19 years (at the time) struggle to capture. I think that part of her charm lies in her down-to-earth-ness off the set. She seems very put together, not taking herself or her fame too seriously.
I don’t know. Is she a rabid, America-hating leftist?
To quote Camille Paglia, “Helen Hunt, give Kate Winslett back her Oscar!”
I have loved KW since I saw her in “Heavenly Creatures”. She’s a true talent, & I absolutely love a woman with some meat on her bones!!! 😉
Well (at the risk of sounding like an echo of American Elephant), if she is the next Meryl Streep, let’s hope it’s just the talent without the annoyingly sanctimonious left-wing posturing.