Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress with a long list of acting credits, featured in many big budget productions and independent films. Most might know her as Galadriel from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit series though she has been, almost chameleon-like, transforming herself to become dozens of memorable characters since the early 1990s. A classic beauty, she burst on the movie scene in 1998 as the lead in the historical drama Elizabeth, earning an Academy Award nomination and a slew of well-deserved high praise. From there, she set about becoming one of the most acclaimed and accomplished actors of her generation, starring in titles such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, Carol, The Aviator, and Blue Jasmine; those last two winning her Oscars for Best Actress. However, she’s also taken much smaller roles, one even where she was completely unseen and uncredited (playing Janine in the Edgar Wright comedy Hot Fuzz). Here are three times Ms. Blanchett made small roles just the opposite.
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
This 2004 Wes Anderson comedy didn’t really become the hit it should have, though is nonetheless a great piece of entertainment starring Bill Murray and Owen Wilson to name a few. The story, in brief, centers on an ocean explorer (Murray), who sets out to find an elusive shark that killed his best friend and colleague, along the way discovering much more about himself and his past, including the arrival of a son he never knew he had. It’s off beat, darkly funny, and often very emotional.
Blanchett plays a supporting role as Jane Winslett-Richardson, a journalist who comes along to document the expedition. She’s pregnant but single, trying to be taken seriously in a world where that’s not always possible. She comes aboard Zissou’s ship not intending to write a fluff piece, which is one part of the problem for Steve, as it’s greatly important for him to be perceived positively by the public, his need for approval a large weight of the many burdens encumbering him. The other problem is that Steve’s newly unveiled son, Ned (Wilson), an airline pilot hoping now to follow in his father’s footsteps, has a crush on the lovely Jane. But so does Steve, and so she becomes a source of competition as the younger man has a lot more in common with the woman than his father.
Blanchett serves as a catalyst in developing the complex relationship between father and son, Jane at the center of a male-dominated situation that initially pivots her as a sort of prize, which is the point. In a movie crowded with big talent, like Jeff Goldblum, Angelica Houston, and the very funny Willem Dafoe, Blanchett still manages to be a driving force in the film, despite her limited screen time. She ends up being one of the more memorable characters, fiercely proud, vulnerable, and uniquely enchanting. It’s a singularly intimate portrayal that fits wonderfully into Anderson’s off-center story.
Hanna
This 2011 action film directed by Joe Wright, helped further push into the spotlight the talents of then rising star Saoirse Ronan, who plays a girl raised and trained by her father (Eric Bana) to be a perfect assassin. Ronan is the titular Hanna, who, when she confesses is ready to leave training, comes to learn that her father is a former CIA operative who betrayed his team in keeping a secret that the agency can’t afford to become public. Revealing herself, Hanna is targeted to be killed herself and spends the film running and protecting what she knows.
Blanchett plays agent Marissa Wiegler, a corrupt assassin on the hunt for Hanna, who holds a few troubling secrets of her own, desperate now to find and kill the young girl on the run. The story is ostensibly an action movie but there is a larger mystery at play as Hanna, who has grown up in the woods, isolated and purposefully off the grid, tries to navigate an unfamiliar world, including that of romance. Meanwhile, she is constantly in need of defense, Marissa always only one step behind.
While the production is of course hinged on Ronan’s solid work as a girl coming-of-age while trained to be a world-class killer, it is Blanchett’s villainous take on Marissa that give the movie it tension, the character just the right blend of a little over the top while equally authentic. Blanchett really takes to the part, delivering a caustic yet highly intelligent adversary that is a bit of a reversal in gender for such a character. She’s great fun to watch.
The Monuments Men
This 2014 historical action comedy is set during World War II and directed by George Clooney. It follows the efforts of the Allies in France trying to find and save artistic treasures stolen and taken into German hands that could very possibly be lost for all time. Clooney stars with Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, and Bob Balaban as the soldiers charged with finding and protecting the art though come upon numerous hurdles from both sides of the war in completing the mission. It’s based entirely on real events but is presented with a touch of humor.
Blanchett is Claire Simone, a character inspired by a real French curator who risked her life in cataloging the rampant theft as she was forced to work for the Nazis in shipping the sculptures, paintings, and more to high ranking officials in Germany. In the film, Simone is contacted secretly by the Allies but doesn’t trust anyone and needs convincing that the Americans now claiming to protect the art will indeed do as they promise and have the art always in their best interest. It’s an impassioned plea.
While the movie does balance the drama and comedy pretty well, especially with talents like Clooney, Damon, Goodman, and Murray doing what they do best, there is nothing funny about the work of Claire, as Blanchett has the most emotional moments in the film, despite her brief screen time. In constant danger and yet unmoving in keeping her dignity, Blanchett gives Claire tremendous impact in trying to save some of the greatest works of art in history. She goes a bit under-appreciated in a movie crowded with big name male actors, who volley for attention throughout, but if you watch her closely, this is a truly inspiring bit of acting that is what Blanchett herself does best, make everything she does deeply affecting.