Cate is camp and crazy-good in "The Man Who Cried"
Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 6:17PM by Nathaniel R
I'm pleased to share that I have returned for a second appearance on Murtada's fun podcast "Sundays with Cate" in which he's surveying Cate Blanchett's whole career (not chronologically) with various guests. This week's topic is the strange Sally Potter misfire The Man Who Cried (2001), a pre World War II drama about dancing Russians, singing Jews, and operatic Italians in Paris. I requested this one because I remembered being absolutely bewitched by one closeup in particular when the film was in theaters. But the film had become so entirely forgotten (even by me) that I could barely remember anything of the context. The film stars Johnny Depp and Cristina Ricci (both having just co-starred in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow) placing it forever in a very specific place in Hollywood time. Give us a listen!
Reader Comments (6)
It's no Seasons of Bette...
I've always wanted to see this movie, despite the low ranking. Sally Potter's films are just so great to look at!
This picture holds a very special place in my pantheon, because when it was released in France i didn't know anything about it (budget, reception, awards...), but the cast made me crazy.
I just discovered Cate Blanchett in Paradise Road on cable, and i just saw Sleepy Hollow so Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci were the biggest stars in my own movie universe.
I saw the trailer on a CD-Rom and i couldn't stop thinking about it : i finally saw it on cable, and loved it because Blanchett was on fire and it looked beautiful. And then this was the first DVD i ever bought.
I didn't see it for a very long time, and it faded from my memory except for that devastating close-up of Blanchett near the end, when she realize Turturro is the devil.
Most of all i remember The Man Who Cried because it is an important part of my "falling for Cate" period, when i watched the DVD again and again, saw Bandits in theater with my father, then The Community of the Ring, then got Shipping News on DVD and loved An Ideal Husband on cable .....
It was a very "Cate" period, but it was also a time when i fell in love with the Movies, with a capital M.
There's a fun discussion idea from Clement_Paris - what was the first DVD you ever bought? Mine was The Thin Red Line.
I remember the red lips, the sophisticated character and the excellent Russian accent.
The movie is boring. Ricci is sleepwalking thru the entire movie. Johnny Depp is very handsome in the movie
Scissorhands aside, Johnny Depp’s best decade 1993-2003 (Benny & Joon-Pirates of the Caribbean) had some real snoozes in it (like this one and Chocolat), but at least he was trying and he looked great doing it.