The Magic of Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet has earned international superstardom from the 90's blockbuster Titanic. I consider Titanic to be one of the best movies of the 90's because of its romantic interpretation of the Titanic era, the James Cameron tone and pacing, and the charismatic performances by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Fastforward ten years to 2008, and audiences see a different Kate Winslet in The Reader. The wonderful thing about this bleak drama is that the story is rich with the characters' complexities, and the story weaves an unpredictable tale about the sad, difficult subjects of Nazi Germany, adolescent angst and confusion, and issues of personal loyalty. That's a lot for a movie to tackle these days, in the age of Twilight and Transformers. The Reader is based on a novel, which accounts for the complexities in the story.

The saving grace of The Reader is the wonderful performance by Kate Winslet of troubled and manipulative character of Hanna Schmitz, and David Kross as the vulnerable and victimized young man Michael Berg. Their relationship is tense and confusing from the start. Hanna takes him in when she sees that he's out in the streets. From there, the scandal gets thicker and thicker.

Revolutionary Road (2008) is another somewhat offbeat cinema choice for Winslet. She stars as Leo DiCaprio's young wife in the suburbs, circa 1950's. Revolutionary Road is similar to The Reader in that it is emotionally charged, complex, and a showcase for Leo and Kate's acting skills. It's also an interesting re-pairing of Leo and Kate from the Titanic days.

Most recently, Kate had a relatively small part in 2011's movie Contagion. She plays Dr. Erin Mears working for the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga. She's on a mission to save the world from a destructive and mysterious sickness that is killing off a vast percentage of the world's population.

Kate Winslet's best performance, however, was in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. She seamlessly sheds all of her regal "Hollywood glamour" movie star demeanor and becomes the "artsy" free-spirited young woman, Clementine. She even makes a romantic relationship with Jim Carrey seem interesting and plausible. Not an easy task. With weird red and/or purple streaks in her hair, eccentric clothes, and a bubbly, talkative attitude, Kate was stunning in this role.

What's your favorite Kate Winslet performance?