Farewell to Natasha Richardson, the woman we could’ve known

From Stephanie Zacharek (Salon):

[...]But when I watched a Richardson performance, I never found myself comparing her skills to those of her mother, unfavorably or otherwise. I would look at her face and marvel at how her mother’s face was now also alive in hers. Richardson resembled her mother even more than her sister, Joely, does (although of course the resemblance is there, too), and I always loved that sense of continuity and promise. Over the past few days, I found myself enraged to see that numerous celebrity gossip sites — I refuse to honor their existence by linking to them here — ran pictures of Redgrave as she arrived at the hospital to see her daughter: There’s a distinction to be made between covering a story that means something to people and intruding on a family’s private grief. But under any other circumstances, I’m happy to look at pictures of Redgrave. Now the child’s face lives on in the mother’s.

Ms. Zacharek talked about how some very gifted actors never get their due time in Hollywood because their peculiarity made it difficult for them to find suitable roles. This was unfortunately the case for Natasha Richardson; having seen none of her works, I could only infer from her relationship with Liam Neeson – whom I respect as an actor – and her attention to theatre despite coming from a cinema royal family that she was someone special. Hollywood is indeed unforgiving of failed dreams, but what of missed ones?

The Clothes Make the Man!

Rouge: I invite my fellow Chicks to contribute to this one, favourite film costumes! A work in progress if there ever was, I’ll be updating this over the course of… a long while.

If I were to choose the single most titillating and arousing film costume, my mind doesn’t run towards Ursula Andress’ white bathing suit in Dr. No or Barbarella’s space suit in … well Barbaralla. Less is more, and the less we see the more our imagination runs wild. In Von Sternberg’s Morocco (1930), Marlene Dietrich is a stage performer who has arrived to make a new life for herself. It’s made clear to her that making it on the stage in Morocco is like finding a needle in a haystack, usually within a month those who arrive on the boat are never seen again.

When Dietrich emerges onstage dressed in a tailored man’s suit, the audience is already booing. Performers have to fight from the bottom up to make a success, and Dietrich makes it seem effortless. What people often forget about costumes, is that the suit is only as good as the person who wears it. This is not a case of simply looking good, but inhibiting what the clothing suggests. Dietrich’s indifferent sexuality, and gender ambiguity are played up to maximum effect as she performs her song parodying he other sex. She oozes a laissez-faire attitude, while simultaneously having every man and woman pining on her every word and action. In the film’s most notorious moment, she flirts with one of the society women before embracing her tenderly.

The costume is integrated as being an essential to the scene, and it’s because of this that the costume becomes so ingrained into popular consciousness. I also have to wonder, if any other actress could have pulled if off quite as well as Dietrich. Not only because audiences would have been aware that she was a bisexual, but her attitude and relative calmness that leaves us all clamouring for more. As good as the costume may be, if the figure inside is bland it’s never worth remembering. It takes that added Ooomph! to pull if off.

Aurelle: You’re so right, Rouge. It’s the person wearing the clothes that brings out the messages suggested. I haven’t seen too many Marlene Dietrich to make a proper comment regarding her working the suit, but she does look smashing wearing it in these pictures.

My personal favourite in recent years is Uma Thurman’s yellow jump suit in Kill Bill Vol. 1. It is a homage to the one Bruce Lee wore in his famous Game of Death, though she certainly made it all her own. It’s the only piece of film costumes that I actually searched far and wide for. As you can see, the suit is both tough and chic, comfortable (at least it looks that way) and form fitting. And check out the shoes she wears with it! Who says you can’t kick butt in style?