Given the remarkable array of characters Cate Blanchett has portrayed – from Elizabeth I to Bob Dylan in I'm Not There – it's no surprise that when the two-time Oscar-winner approaches a fairy tale, she doesn't ham it up. The Australian actress stars in Walt Disney's live-action version of the classic tale Cinderella, playing Lady Tremaine, the wicked stepmother to the orphaned heroine. "I think it's easy to play someone who's evil," says Blanchett. "I think it's more interesting to try to find out why they're cruel, why they're wicked, why they're ugly." It's a typically thoughtful statement from the actress, who last won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as a woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (2013).
Cinderella's stepmother may not be her first time playing a baddy – see her Russian KGB agent in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – but Blanchett didn't simply want to create a pantomime villain.
“There’s a bit of moustache-twirling, which is always fun to do,” she says. “But I think the challenge was to try to flesh her out.”
Blanchett, 45, was among the first actors attached to the project, even before director Kenneth Branagh came on board, and she was keen to explore the dynamic between the good-hearted Cinderella (played by Lily James) and the embittered Lady Tremaine.
“Cinderella is a very confronting mirror held up on a daily basis to the stepmother,” she says. “In every measure, she is kind and good and the stepmother feels judged by that … women often compare themselves unfavourably to one another.”
Having won her first Oscar for playing Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator (2004), Blanchett turned to other stars from Hollywood's Golden age when it came to preparing for her role in Cinderella.
“We talked a lot about the wonderful roles that Bette Davis and Joan Crawford and Barbara Stanwyck had played,” she says. “I think about those women all the time, every waking moment the legacy of their work is constantly inspiring to me. I think it’s the deliciousness, the relish that they had, the wonderful attack they had on the characters they play on screen.”
Growing up in Melbourne as the middle child of three children, Blanchett was no stranger to fairy tales. Her mother, June, was an Australian property developer and teacher and her father, Robert, was a Texas-born petty officer in the United States navy, who later went into advertising. "My parents read me oodles of fairy tales and every Sunday night, our family would sit down at 6 o'clock to watch The Wonderful World of Disney, so I think I've seen every single Disney property – animated or otherwise."
Even so, Cinderella was not a story Blanchett "gravitated" towards. "I think because the character of Cinderella was a beautiful victim," she says. "And that wasn't something my mother wanted to use as a role model. It was always the ugly, dangerous, horrible things as a child that I gravitated towards."
Rather like Cinderella, Blanchett's early years were also marred by tragedy – her father died of a heart attack when she was 10. She later described her teenage self as "part extrovert, part wallflower".
It's a little different now, with Blanchett one of Hollywood's unparalleled actors. She has just completed Todd Haynes's Carol, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel; acted opposite Robert Redford in the newsroom drama Truth; and will soon voice the snake Kaa in a new version of The Jungle Book.
Somehow, she juggles it with being a mother of four: she has three sons and a newly adopted daughter with her playwright husband Andrew Upton. At least she can keep them quiet by showing them Cinderella. "I'm really looking forward to taking them," she says.
artslife@thenational.ae
Engine: 80 kWh four-wheel-drive
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 402bhp
Torque: 760Nm
Price: From Dh280,000
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo and dual electric motors
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Torque: 520Nm at 1,500-3,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.0L/100km
Price: from Dh199,900
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What is graphene?
Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms arranged like honeycomb.
It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were "playing about" with sticky tape and graphite - the material used as "lead" in pencils.
Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But as they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.
By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment had led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.
At the time, many believed it was impossible for such thin crystalline materials to be stable. But examined under a microscope, the material remained stable, and when tested was found to have incredible properties.
It is many times times stronger than steel, yet incredibly lightweight and flexible. It is electrically and thermally conductive but also transparent. The world's first 2D material, it is one million times thinner than the diameter of a single human hair.
But the 'sticky tape' method would not work on an industrial scale. Since then, scientists have been working on manufacturing graphene, to make use of its incredible properties.
In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. Their discovery meant physicists could study a new class of two-dimensional materials with unique properties.
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
SPECS
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Power: 235hp
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Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
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On sale: Now
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Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.