Sunday, February 22, 2009

The Reader on Revolutionary Road

Kate Winslet has been nominated for an Oscar, but for the wrong movie.

Winslet was simply fantastic in The Revolutionary Road. She made sure that the character came across as real--that no viewer would ever think that the character she played could not have been possible in the 1950s. In fact, thanks to her performance, viewers would think that Winslet's character was indeed the norm, than otherwise.


I don't mean to suggest that Winslet was not good in The Reader. She was awesome. I agree with reviewers and critics who have opined that Winslet is such a terrific actor that she even in the nude scenes she is so real. However, she suffers from the story line and conversations that some times seemed rather stilted.


I suppose it is to Weinstein's credit that Winslet ended up being nominated for The Reader, and not for Revolutionar Road. I am not sure whether he did her a favor there; I think the category would have been a slam dunk for Winslet had she been nominated for the other role she played.

I have watched Winslet in so many movies that I am no longer suprised with her remarkable ease in performing the roles. What I really like about her is that she does not have the clinical/sterile approach that Meryl Streep presents. A long time ago, soon after the Titanic, Kate Winslet appeared in a movie, Hideous Kinky, that was set in Morocco. It was an impressive performance for a young actor--she was only 22 when that movie was made. In Little Children, she played the role of a restless and unhappy housewife with perfection. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was another gem.

After all the movies that she has made, she is only 33!

Well, I hope Kate Winslet is awarded the Oscar this year--even if for the wrong movie.

No comments: