Cate Blanchett evokes Hollywood era of old
From Christine Kearney

NEW YORK — Days after playing an alluring English art teacher, actress Cate Blanchett adopted a German accent to transform herself into an enigmatic Second World War prostitute in a performance some liken to Marlene Dietrich.
Such transition is not unusual for the Australian actress hailed for her work ethic, intellect and cool charm emblematic of leading figures of a Hollywood era long gone. Film professionals say Blanchett, 37, who won a best supporting actress Academy Award two years ago portraying Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator,” has a long career ahead similar to some of Hollywood’s greats.
She has three new roles touted as Oscar contenders: the already released “Babel” opposite Brad Pitt, “The Good German” co-starring George Clooney out this week and “Notes on a Scandal,” in which she plays an art teacher opposite Judi Dench due on December 27. “She seems sort of other-worldly,” said Steven Soderbergh, director of “The Good German,” noting Blanchett’s short preparation time for the film shot in black and white in a tribute to 1940s Hollywood films including “Casablanca.” “It seemed to appear just out of nowhere,” Soderbergh said of her performance while in New York to promote the movie. “I have never seen anything like that.”
Clooney told reporters she was “Spencer Tracy-like” for her ability to slip in and out of character on set. And Variety said Blanchett “summons shades of Dietrich, to be sure.” But the blond Blanchett told newsmen, “I had to use my own resources and invent my own version, because what was the point of imitating Marlene Dietrich, she does it perfectly herself.” While Blanchett has yet to achieve the status of a Dietrich or Garbo, Soderbergh said her desire to play different characters would ensure a long reign in movies.
“We are eventually going to compare other people to her,” Soderbergh said in an interview with Reuters. Blanchett said playing opposite Dench, 72, in “Notes on a Scandal” was a career highlight. Looking at the endurance of the respected British actress, Blanchett said she would be satisfied “if I can have the diversity and length of her career and half of her talent,” but viewed her own career choices as “erratic and random.” “I’d like to say I have a five-year plan but I am not that Stalin-esque,” she said. But just as Blanchett cemented a place opposite leading men such as Pitt and Clooney, she recently announced she will take over running the Sydney.