Bursting onto screens with her strikingly English rose features and vivacious demeanour, Kate Winslet has carved out an impressive and eclectic resume over the years. Whilst she has tried her hand at several genres (always successfully), she has, in particular, made a name for herself in acclaimed, brilliant period dramas. To celebrate the release of her latest, A Little Chaos (available on digital platforms from 10th August, 2015, and on Blu-ray and DVD from 24th August, 2015, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment) we take a look back at some of her other best portrayals of characters from yesteryear...
A
Little Chaos (2014)
This
wonderfully romantic period drama focuses on brilliantly talented
landscape gardener Madame Sabine De Barra (Winslet)
who
finds herself an
unlikely candidate for landscape architect of the
still‐to-be-completed Palace of Versailles. Thrown into the
bewildering world of the court of King Louis XIV (Alan
Rickman), she
finds she has little time for the classical, ordered designs of her
employer, the famous architect Le Nôtre (Matthias
Schoenaerts).
However, as she works on her creation, she finds herself irresistibly
drawn to him, while attempting to negotiate the perilous rivalries
and intricate etiquette of the court.
Mildred
Pierce (2011)
Set in
1930’s California, this acclaimed HBO series stars Winslet
as Mildred Pierce, a young mother with a talent for baking, hunting
for work to support herself and her two young daughters after
throwing out her husband Bert (Brían F.
O'Byrne). Visiting an employment agency only
to encounter job opportunities she feels are beneath her, she
resolves to open a restaurant business- straining an already tense
relationship with her eldest daughter Veda (Evan
Rachel Wood).
Revolutionary
Road (2008)
This
atmospheric and unsettling adaptation of Richard Yates’ acclaimed
novel reunites Winslet
with Leonardo Dicaprio,
as they take the roles of Frank
and April Wheeler, who in 1955 find themselves in the seventh year of
their marriage, and in a life that appears seemingly perfect but is
in fact deeply unfulfilling. When April suggests that they move to
Paris - a city where Frank visited during the war and loved, but
where April has never been - as a means to rejuvenate their life, an
initially doubtful Frank ultimately agrees to the plan. However, when
circumstances change around the Wheelers, April resolves to do
whatever she has to in order to escape her humdrum existence- with
tragic consequences.
Finding
Neverland (2004)
Winslet
co-stars alongside Johnny
Depp in this charming biographical drama set
in London in 1903. J.M. Barrie (Depp)
is left reeling after his latest play flops, and by chance meets four
boys and their widowed mother Sylvia (Winslet)
in the park. Over the next few months, the childlike Barrie visits
the boys daily, and with help from their endlessly imaginative games,
begins to develop the idea for his next play. Meanwhile, his
friendship grows with Sylvia, much to the fury of his wife Mary
(Radha Mitchell), and
to the judgment of the wider high society they inhabit, which gossips
incessantly about his attraction to Sylvia and her sons. As Sylvia's
health begins to deteriorate, Barrie's bond to the family
strengthens, and he resolves to finish his play about the place
called Neverland.
The
Reader (2008)
Winslet
won a Best Actress Oscar for her role in this
deeply affecting drama, which begins in post-war Germany. Teenager
Michael Berg (David Kross)
is taken ill and helped home by Hanna (Winslet),
a stranger twice his age. Recovering from scarlet fever, he seeks out
Hanna to thank her, and they begin a passionate affair. Michael
discovers that Hanna loves being read to and their physical
relationship deepens as Michael reads to her from various classics.
Despite their intense bond, she suddenly vanishes one day and Michael
is left heartbroken. Eight years later, while Michael (now played by
Ralph Fiennes) is a
law student watching the Nazi war crime trials, he is stunned to see
Hanna again - this time in the dock. As Hanna's past is slowly
revealed, Michael uncovers a deep secret that will impact both of
their lives forever.
Enigma
(2001)
This drama
centres on the British code-breaking efforts during World War II.
Cryptoanalysts at Bletchley Park have discovered that Nazi U-boats
have changed their Enigma code. Authorities enlist the help of the
brilliant young Tom Jericho (Dougray Scott)
to help them break the code again, with the help of an equally
brilliant team. The possibility of a spy within the British
code-breakers' ranks hangs over them and Tom's lover Claire (Saffron
Burrows) has mysteriously disappeared. To
crack the code and try and discover the spy, Tom recruits Claire's
best friend, Hester Wallace (Winslet),
and in delving into Claire's personal life, they unearth betrayals
which go farther than either of them could imagine.
Quills
(2000)
This
Oscar-nominated biography of infamous writer the Marquis de Sade
(Geoffrey Rush)
focuses on his times spent imprisoned for unmentionable activities at
Charenton Insane Asylum. He manages to befriend the young Abbé de
Coulmier (Joaquin Phoenix),
who runs the asylum, along with beautiful laundress named Madeline
(Winslet). Secretly
continuing to write his provocative books, Madeline assists by
smuggling the manuscripts out of the asylum to be published. However,
when they are discovered, the ramifications are severe, and stretch
far beyond the walls of the asylum...
Titanic
(1997)
Catapulting
her to the A-list, this James Cameron directed epic romantic drama
focuses on the ill-fated love affair between young aristocrat Rose
DeWitt Bukater (Winslet)
and penniless artist Jack Dawson (Leonardo
DiCaprio), as they
both embark on RMS Titanic’s maiden voyage. The film won an
astounding eleven Oscars, including Best Picture, and Winslet was
nominated for Best Actress, making her the youngest actress to ever
receive two Academy Award nominations.
Sense
& Sensibility (1995)
Winslet is perfectly cast as the flighty, fanciful Marianne Dashwood who couldn’t be more different to her older sister Elinor (Emma Thompson), but ultimately comes good. Ang Lee directed this adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, and Emma Thompson won a thoroughly deserved Oscar for her adapted screenplay. Hugh Grant, Greg Wise and Alan Rickman play the various suitors which the Dashwood sisters must navigate.
Winslet is perfectly cast as the flighty, fanciful Marianne Dashwood who couldn’t be more different to her older sister Elinor (Emma Thompson), but ultimately comes good. Ang Lee directed this adaptation of the Jane Austen classic, and Emma Thompson won a thoroughly deserved Oscar for her adapted screenplay. Hugh Grant, Greg Wise and Alan Rickman play the various suitors which the Dashwood sisters must navigate.
Heavenly
Creatures (1994)
Based on
the true story of Pauline Parker (Melanie Lynskey) and Juliet Hulme
(Winslet), this crime drama charts the meeting of the two young girls
in school during the 1950s, and their instant friendship. Spending
every minute possible together, and concocting a fantasy world and
religion of their own invention, the girls grew more and more
estranged from their respective families, and as the two families
became increasingly concerned about the intensity of the friendship,
the girls conspired to kill Pauline’s mother, to ensure they
wouldn’t be separated.
A
LITTLE CHAOS is available on digital platforms from 10th
August, 2015, and on Blu-ray and DVD from 24th
August, 2015, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment.
