Actress Keira Knightley who traded in her football jersey and jeans for corset and ball gowns, isn’t ready to hang up her bonnet just yet. She’s laced up her corset one more time to star in another period drama, and if history is any indication, her turn in the movie 'Colette' may pave the way for another Oscar nomination. Say, if we were to follow the crumbs strewn across her previous nomination trail - she's been passed over for Oscars two times - the odds are very strong, that she might be driven off the road yet again.
In the two decades she's been around, Knightley has deftly portrayed characters from a time when dueling at dawn was all the rage, with eloquence and grace, and which only a few can brag about in their acting resume.
Be that as it may, she gets passed over for every award, even though her movies have been raving successes with the critics, and a few have done incredibly well commercially too. It’s time to say, give the woman a break. She deserves an award just for walking around in those uncomfortable Victorian garments, which can poke a hole through your rib, if one were to stay too long in them.
We are aware there are no awards for that (although we contest there should be), however, the gross oversight of her skills as an actor is criminal in itself. The industry that milks her talents for all its worth, has been quite remiss when it comes to rewarding that talent in terms of awards.
She’s is one of the most bankable stars around and one of the highest paid actresses of our time.
Ever since Pirates of the Caribbean graced our movie screens and became a phenomenal hit in 2003, Knightley, all of 18-years at the time, was elevated to the status of an A-list celebrity.
She also became a force to be reckoned with, when she effortlessly depicted Elizabeth Bennet in the period drama 'Pride and Prejudice'. The critically acclaimed movie was nominated for several Oscars and Knightley herself was a contender in the Best Actress category, But as fate would have it - or not - she was passed over for Reese Witherspoon as June Carter in 'Walk The Line'.
Her roles in 'Atonement', 'Anna Karenina', 'Imitation Game suffered similar fate. It can be argued that she’s become so hinged on period pieces, that she often seems contained as an actor. There is little wiggle room to push yourself when all that is required of you as an actress is elegance and tightly corseted manners.
However, this argument can be contested since Knightley did push herself in 2011’s 'A Dangerous Method' as trailblazing psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein. Prim and proper had to leave the building in this sexually charged historical drama where Knightley played a patient who was being treated for psychological issues by Dr. Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), who became her lover. The movie tanked as very few charged the theaters to watch David Cronenberg’s historical drama.
While 'A Dangerous Method' slipped the notice of the audience, 'Imitation Game', starring Knightley and Benedict Cumberbatch, was quite popular with the audience and critics alike. Knightley in her supporting role as real-life cryptographer Joan Clarke, a vital player in breaking the Enigma code that won the allies WWII, was inundated with positive feedbacks.
Guardian critic Catherine Shoard describe Knightley as “miles better than she’s been in a while; sitting on a shelf rather than centre stage seems to suit her. She has fun with her plummy vowels, even when saying lines like ‘I’m a woman in a man’s job.'”
However that didn’t get her any favors from the showbiz gods. Now it's a new day and a new award season but the buzz stays the same. Since Knightley isn’t ready to slip out of her 20th century satin dancing slippers any time soon, gear up to see her in another period piece this year.
She’s all set to star in literary biopic 'Colette' a story about a young French novelist who defies expectations, breaks through society’s shackles and becomes a muchh revered author. The movie isn’t even out yet but is being touted as a top contender at the Oscars.
Despite the media waffling on about Knightley’s strong odds with the Oscars, the fickle nature of the Showbiz gods makes winning a highly uncertain scenario. We just have to wait for the movie to be released and see where the chips will fall.
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