This diatribe is not going to be popular with all the 'Cate lovers' out there, and there must be several.
First I must say I think Cate is a very talented actress, and felt from the first time I saw her in the Aussie TV series playing opposite Ernie Dingo that she would become a star. Which she did, and quite quickly, and good on her. She now hasn't been out of the news since she won - gasp - her second Oscar, (Meryl Streep of course has won three Oscars with eighteen nominations) and Cate's quotes have been resonating on the sound waves and U-tube since her memorable speech, where after receiving a standing ovation she jokingly, but rather ungraciously in my opinion, told everybody to 'sit down you are all too old for that.' If people stood up for me I would thank them for their kind gesture, wouldn't you? But I'm afraid Cate has started to believe her own publicity, a fatal flaw in an actor.
This was only the beginning, Queen Cate has now really 'arrived'. On the strength of a few nominations, one actually for playing Queen Elizabeth 1, she is now well entrenched as Hollywood Royalty more so than ever before. If her could-be-construed-as-patronising double kiss with hands around the head of Daniel Day-Lewis, where she humbly referred to him as Mr. Day-Lewis in accepting the gold statue, was anything, it was strangely fawning and the body language quite patronising, in my humble opinion. However it was her use of grammar that beggars description.
She began by thanking Day-Lewis , saying his presence 'exacerbated' her honour of being there. 'Exacerbated', since when did Daniel Day-Lewis worsen anyone's experience? Sorry Cate, check your dictionary. But wait, there was worse to come. After having totally 'outed' the celebrated Dame Judi Dench as being 79 years old and still working, bless her, she gives a wink-wink nudge-nudge to her 'new best friend' in Hollywood, Julia Roberts, saying something about 'hashtag suck it.' Julia seemed to like it as she giggled uproariously but it left the rest of us in abysmal ignorance. It appears that she had been in the bar having a drink, or two, with Julia just before the win was announced. She also dissed fellow nominee Sandra Bullock's movie 'Gravity', with a rather selfish quip. Sandra just gritted her teeth and smiled through it like the trooper she is.
Cate, as well as giving a deftly thrown-in feminist rant about the money value of women actors, went on to thank ALL her family, amongst several others, including calling her husband Andrew Upton a 'legend', upon which he visibly blanched. Andrew of course was formerly her co-director of the STC, and still is, she having left with larger commitments. It is, she asserted, 'one of the the best theatre companies in the world', this to twenty million Americans who are not likely to become patrons. Then she stated she wouldn't be standing there at all if not for her three little boys...more the reverse I would think. Continuing on Cate thanked all her make-up artists who 'tried to make me attractive' - this from a self-proclaimed 'greenie' star who is contracted for a luxury skin product to the notorious multi-national company Procter and Gamble which makes Pringles potato chips, and whose face appears in every international glossy fashion magazine you pick up. Please, Cate!
Finally she thanked Woody Allen for casting her in her ultimate role, which in fact he wrote specifically FOR her after seeing her perform in the STC production of 'Streetcar Named Desire' which won an award in Brooklyn NY. Her rant as Blanche Dubois in 'Streetcar' obviously struck a chord with Woody, who saw a neurotic sexual psycho like himself and wrote 'Blue Jasmine' for Cate, who nailed it, and carried home, not one, but two, best actress awards for the eponymous anti-heroine (the Golden Globe being the first which virtually assured her of the second).
Cate then called her winning role a 'synthesis', which she repeated later in her post Oscar interview. She insisted on using this Hegelian Philosophy Greek word to mean the result of all her (great) acting with the Sydney Theatre Company now being fused in Woody's fantastic writing for her. I suppose she is entitled to her own opinion, but so am I, a bit pretentious, no?
Cate, a little good advice: stick to thanking Mum and Dad and get quickly off the stage. We don't need to be impressed with your linguistic knowledge and all your new best friends. You were great in the role, you deserved it, so just accept it and and be truly modest, not the false modesty which came glaringly through on this Oscar night, a night which should really be remembered by the wonderful acceptance speeches of supporting-actor winners, Lupita Nyong'o and Jared Leto, who both spoke sincerely and from the heart. Bravo them, and next time Cate, leave your Crown at home.
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