“ One actress that has been a role model and inspiration to me, both on-screen and off-screen, is Kate Winslet.“
This is how my contribution to the LAMB Acting School 101 starts. It's been a little more than four months now, since I promised to watch five particular Kate Winslet films before I turn 17 - and now there are only three days left! It is quite amusing to look at the list and remember how curious I was about finding out what lies behind those five images. How much has happened since then...
Has my view on Kate Winslet changed? Certainly. I can't say whether it's for the better or the worse, it has just changed. Before, she was this "period" actress that I loved, loved, loved, but couldn't really imagine in something more modern. Now, she is a very versatile and great actress that I love, love, love and want to see even more of. Even if the films were decent only, Kate was always the saving grace of my watching-experience - if it weren't for her, I might not have finished Hamlet.
There is one sad news before I start evaluating the films; I (ironically) haven't had the opportunity to watch Heavenly Creatures, because I don't want to watch it online just to watch it. But hopefully I'll get the DVD soon.
When I did my post, I listed the five films in "chronological, most-anticipated/"curiosifying" order; this time I'll list them in favorited-order and along with that I'll see if they have dropped (pretending that Heavenly Creatures isn't in the list, the films before will naturally not fall "more"):
The films
4. Romance & Cigarettes (2005) John Turturro
Position? The same.
What did I expect? A terrific performance by Kate Winslet, good songs and choreographies and a lot of fun.
What did I get?Kate Winslet was just as good as everyone had said before, the choreographies as well - the songs were all right and appropriate. Sadly, the film would sometimes try to be more serious than it should to keep up the fun, so it got boring. But in a nutshell it's a nice modern musical (I love musicals) with some very funny scenes.
Rating: 7.2
3. Hamlet (1996) Kenneth Branagh
Position? One down.
What did I expect?Beauty; beautiful cinematography, setting, actors, dialogues etc. etc. And to finally see (instead of reading) Hamlet, and thereby understanding it.
What did I get?Beauty yes, indeed - the sets were lavish, just as the costumes, and certainly realistic in that way. However, I had problems with the old English dialogues, the length and its resembling of theater. Though on the other hand, it was something else than most films, even of the same genre. All actors were great, especially Kenneth and Kate and without having read the story I think it's a good filmatization that includes everything (even all original dialogue!). I hope it was better and easier than reading the original play.
Rating: 7.4
2. Little Children (2006) Todd Field
Position? One up.
What did I expect?An arthouse-y tale of two people who are bored of their suburban life and start an affair. I expected beautiful images (due to the stills), some discussion with myself while and after watching the film, and a breeze of boredom.
What did I get?The foregoing minus boredom and pretentious arthouse-feeling, plus an interesting side-story. Much of it was predictable to a certain point, but nevertheless gripping and suspenseful. Also, this was one of the films that really changed my view on Kate Winslet, because I had never seen her in a role like this one. I find her character extremely interesting, actually I haven't really figured her out even now.
Rating: 7.7
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Position?Same-same.
What did I expect?I expected to love this from the very first minute and that it would become one of my favorite films that I would love to bits.
What did I get?Just what I had expected - surprise, surprise! All the people who share big parts of my cinematic taste admire this movie so much that I was actually afraid of not liking it. The story was not at all the way I had thought it would be - I haven't seen such a creative screenplay for a long time. And the characters! They were lovable, completely lovable, and I simply couldn't decide which one I liked the most. Jim Carrey should really make more films of that sort - as for Kate, that was a once-in-a-lifetime role, and nobody could have played it the way she did. Absolutely amazing.I want to re-watch it right now!
Rating: 9.3
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In the end I can say that this was one of the best ideas for a filmic "series" of watching, as it introduced me to various and very different films and at the same time showed the versatility of one of my favorite actresses. I am now able to call myself an admirer of her work, because I feel that I've seen the most important part of it. Furthermore, this has been a lot of fun, so I am already sure that I'm going to do something similar with someone else in the near future... If you have any ideas, be sure to write them in the comments!