A few mentions:

The Los Angeles Times:
"You have the feeling that the actors are enjoying themselves--a feeling that is felicitously contagious. It is a special joy to see Blanchett shine, freed once again from the self-important ponderousness of "Elizabeth," as admirable as she was in last year's Oscar-nominated hit."

The New York Times:
"Ms. Blanchett's Gertrude strikes a winning balance between prudery and warmth with her performance of a hopelessly dated Victorian stereotype, revealing still another side of the actress's chameleon skills."

The New York Post:
"Still, as good as Moore is, Cate Blanchett is simply extraordinary. She not only fills out and makes believable a thinly written role, but her peculiar beauty is more beguiling than ever, and her presence makes every scene she's in leap off the screen."

The Village Voice:
"Of the three characters in this peculiar triangle, Sir Robert is the least developed (or perhaps Northam's performance is a bit too stolid). Blanchett, however, continues to amaze. She suggests a strength of character reminiscent of the young Ingrid Bergman, and her precise comic timing never distracts from the seriousness of her character's dilemma. A proto-feminist who tries to use her privilege for the common good, Lady Chiltern cannot make truly moral choices until she recognizes the contradictions in society and within human beings that make it impossible for anyone, including herself, to live up to her ideals."

Wow, likened to a young Ingrid Bergman! Is our Cate magical or what!?!

For The Los Angeles Times full review of Husband, as well as others, please feel free to wander into The Cate Library.
It is air conditioned this time of year, or heated depending on your locale, all for your reading pleasure. So, pull up a chair and revel in the endless praise heaped upon the delightful Ms. B.

Cate also turned up on E! this weekend to say a few words about An Ideal Husband. Speaking of her character, Lady Chiltern, Cate had this to say:

"It seemed that everyone else in the play is, sort of, embracing life. And, she's created such an ivory tower for herself, and is looking down upon the world, rather than existing within it."

On director Oliver Parker:

"He's such a good bloke, Oliver. And, I think he brings out the best in everybody...that you actually...you want to be as much as you can for him. And, he's FULL of backhanded compliments (smiling), and has such wonderful wit himself."

On the play's current political relevance:

"We're still analyzing the white lies that we expect politicians not to tell. When, in fact, they're dealing in a world that is a fabric of lies. So, I think that sense of opaque morality and political correctness that has characterized, sort of, the last ten years is incredibly relevant."

CATE PROJECTS

The Cate project rumour mill continues to grind away. A report we mentioned last week received some reinforcement this week. According to the New York Post, Cate is to star in an adaptation of Sebastian Faulks's novel Charlotte Gray. The story is about a Scots woman who is unlucky in love and travels to France to fight for the Resistance during the second world war. Shakespeare in Love director John Madden will take the helm.

However, later in the week, Variety distanced itself somewhat from its earlier claim of John Madden's association with the project. One never knows what that means...more than likely Variety's response came after a call from Madden's "people". They still could be hammering out the money details.

On another front, a book that has been getting a lot of buzz is Patricia Duncker's James Miranda Barry, a fictionalised version of the strange-but-true story of a Victorian woman who masqueraded as a man.

As first reported by This Is London, where George Eliot, George Sand and the Bront's were content to take men's names, Barry acted the male role completely, and to perfection for almost 50 years.

It enabled her to read medicine at Edinburgh five decades before women were officially admitted; it also procured her a place at St Thomas' hospital to study surgery. Barry went on to have a distinguished career as an army physician in the colonies.

The result of Duncker's imaginative engagement with her/him is a novel of rare brilliance, in which she immerses the reader in the mind of a woman who is living as a man. For in addition to "his" career as a surgeon, Barry fought duels, flirted, and donned regimental uniform to dance with the ladies at colonial balls.

Barry was famously volatile - she once had a spat with Florence Nightingale - and she fought a number of duels. "If she'd even been wounded in one of them," says Duncker, "then her sex would have been revealed. But fortunately she was a fantastic shot and never got hit. She also flirted - perhaps to put people off the scent, but more likely because she enjoyed the company of women."

In the novel, women - and men - fall in love with James Barry. "Barry was very charismatic," Duncker explains, "and perhaps because he/she had to be aloof, this added to his/her allure." There were rumours that Barry might be a woman, or a gay man, or a hermaphrodite, but the truth was only revealed after her death.

Duncker is negotiating to sell the film rights - but should Barry be played by a woman, or a man? "At first, I took the view that it could be either," she says, "but now I think it should be a woman but quite an androgynous-looking woman. When I saw Cate Blanchett play Elizabeth I thought she'd be perfect. There must have been so many other women who lived as men, but if they did it as successfully as James Barry, then we'll never know. I always wondered about Lord Kitchener," she adds with a grin. "Those moustaches - just not possible!"

So, how about them apples!! Or..errr...oranges.

CATE ARTICLE ROUNDUP

Rustled up another interesting article this week, this time from The New York Daily News. In it, Cate talks about Pushing Tin:
"After 'Elizabeth' I knew I wanted to do something really different and I didn't necessarily want to 'carry' the film. 'Pushing Tin' was that"

On bringing "Plenty" to Broadway:
"There's been interest, yes, in bringing 'Plenty' to Broadway and I love the play," is all she will say (until contracts are signed).

Speaking of Connie Falzone in Pushing Tin::
Asked about getting inside this very American, regular kind of go-to-the-mall wife, about losing all traces of the Cate Blanchett we've seen, the actress suddenly pumps herself up and out of her leather club chair and stands there. Her shoulders begin to hunch forward as she explains, "It started because I've got a friend who's got several kids, and she's got the 'mother stoop' because she spends most of her time stooped over, because she's used to dealing with little people."

As for filming The Talented Mr. Ripley", and her love for hubby Andrew:
...she does allow that filming "Ripley" in Rome, Naples, Venice, Palermo and Positano was "glorious" - not the least because "I finally had a honeymoon with my husband in Italy."

Cate also speaks on the subject of Lady Chiltern, and discusses her approach to choosing film assignments. All in all, it's a fascinating article, once you get beyond the author's rather bizarre comments such as "... said the actress, sitting in a club chair - in a Jil Sander scoop-necked dress with a weird, see-through mesh skirt - in a room on the top floor of Cannes' Carlton Hotel.

Check it out in its entirety at Wilde Thing.

Mmmmmmm FASHION !

Can't seem to get near fashion anymore without some mention of the stylish Ms. Blanchett. Cate made the news last week by her mere attendance at a little party thrown at Versace in London.

Donatella flew in to lend moral support to a outfitter than has seen its profit fall from 29.5 million pounds to 5.6 million, due primarily to the Asian financial crisis. In any case, it sounds like all worries were left behind on this night.

It was, apparently, a 'Warm Leatherette' kind of celebration, as leather ruled the evening. Celebrties included not only our Cate, but, David Beckham and Victoria Adams. And, since Spice girls are not allowed to travel alone, Baby Spice was there to keep Posh company.

All Saints performed six numbers, with sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton sporting Versace black leather bras. Boy, can not believe we misplaced our invite to this little rave, but, it sounds like we were rather foolish to blow it off. Oh well, next time... Alrighty then, now that we're all leathered up, guess it's a good time to say cheers until next outing, and to remind you, that when all else fails, PLAY A VOLTA!!