Femme Fridays: Gloria Swanson

I adore these two images of Gloria Swanson

The top one is a still from the 1928 silent film, Sadie Thompson, in which Swanson played a plucky young prostitute who finds love in American Samoa. Swanson, who was 28 when the film was made, was also an uncredited producer. There's too much to like about this image: the eyes, the hat, the fur, that stony-eyed glare...

The bottom image, is of course, from Sunset Boulevard. Swanson played her most celebrated role as Norma Desmond, the loony and delusional silent film star who's incapable of realizing that the "talkies" have passed her by. I love that this image captures Norma in all of her glory, as if lounging in bed in diamonds while sipping on a cocktail and smoking a cigarette is the most natural state of being. Swanson is nothing short of amazing as Norma, and as I watched the film recently, I was reminded of how frightening Swanson played her to be.

I couldn't resist posting the final scene from the film. Enjoy & have a wonderful weekend.

Femme Fridays

Laura Dern. She's captivating in Smooth Talk, quite adorable in Blue Velvet and terrifically terrified in Jurassic Park. I have a serious soft spot for her as the inspiring Miss Riley in October Sky, who pushes Homer Hickam (bitty Jake Gyllenhaal) to build his dream rocket. She has the gusto to play wholesome and vanilla with the hint of something dark and off-kilter underneath. In her new comedy series, Enlightened, which premieres on HBO this October, she plays an executive who has a nervous breakdown and embraces a meditative lifestyle in its aftermath. A little bit crazy & a few parts cool--sounds like the perfect Laura Dern role to me. 

Femme Fridays

Rachel Weisz kicks off this week's inaugural Femme Fridays, a weekly post dedicated to some amazing women in film and TV. Ms. Weisz, who won the 2006 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The Constant Gardener, stars in The Whistleblower, a thriller based on real events of an American policewoman who exposes U.S. military contractors involvement in a human trafficking network in post-conflict Bosnia.  There's something about her understated poise and command on screen that I find very appealing. Now officially Mrs. James Bond (having recently gotten hitched to Daniel Craig), she's got exceptional talent, beauty and the apparent leeway to play substantive, take-no-bullshit female characters. You go, girl lady.