It’s safe to say that Cate Blanchett is one of the best actresses of our time. With a career now spanning decades, Blanchett has kept her own character relatively elusive while wowing audiences with her unparalleled shapeshifting abilities. From starring as Queen Elizabeth I in 1998’s Elizabeth to her Oscar-winning performance in Blue Jasmine, Blanchett has proven time and again that she is a true master of her craft in any role she chooses.
With the release of Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag, in which Blanchett plays a killer spy suspected of treason, now is the perfect time to review some of Cate Blanchett’s best performances. Check out all 10 of Cate Blanchett’s best films, and find out where you can stream them from the United Kingdom below!
Tàr
In one of her most triumphant portrayals to date, Cate Blanchett plays Lydia Tár, a fictional chief conductor of the Berlin orchestra whose life and career are upended by accusations of abuse and inappropriate conduct. In Tàr, Blanchett manages to tow the line in her portrayal of Lydia, balancing the character’s deeply unlikable characteristics with her drive, ego, and artistic passion to give a truly mesmerising performance. She received a well deserved eighth Oscar nomination for Best Actress at the 95th Academy Awards for her work.
Blue Jasmine
In Blue Jasmine, Cate Blanchett delivers another brilliant and multifaceted performance as Jasmine, the (ex) wife of a corrupt businessman whose luxurious life is unceremoniously destroyed after he is imprisoned and she goes to live with her adoptive sister in a working-class area of San Francisco. Throughout the film, Blanchett never falters in her portrayal of a character who is at times relatable, mostly self-absorbed, and extremely exhausting. The performance earned Blanchett her second Oscar, and her first win for Best Actress.
Carol
In a career defining performance, Cate Blanchett stars in Todd Haynes’s Carol as the titular character. The film takes place in the 1950s, where Carol is in the midst of a divorce and custody battle when she meets and falls for store clerk Theresa. Blanchett manages to convey Carol’s dilemma as she carefully pursues her desires while plagued by fear as she tries to break the mould—all while maintaining an elegant, guarded exterior.
I’m Not There
In another Todd Haynes collaboration, Cate Blanchett is one of six Bob Dylans featured in I’m Not There. The film is divided into six parts, each starring a different actor as the elusive musician at a different moment in his career. While the film features the likes of Heath Ledger and Christian Bale, Blanchett’s gender-bent performance stands out from them all. In her segment, Blanchett plays Jude, a Dylan on his ‘Judas’ tour in England, facing angry crowds after unceremoniously ditching the calm acoustic guitar for a loud, electric sound. While the film itself received mixed reviews, Blanchett’s impersonation of Dylan while maintaining his mystique makes it worth the watch on its own.
The Aviator
In her first Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress, Cate Blanchett gave an incredible performance in The Aviator as iconic actress Katharine Hepburn. Known for her independent and outspoken personality and trademark Transatlantic accent, it would have been easy for the portrayal of Hepburn to be a miss in the hands of a less capable actress. Luckily, Blanchett was more than up to the task, proving her shape-shifting abilities while portraying the icon’s recognisable toughness mixed with her tenderness towards the suffering Howard Hughs.
Elizabeth
After the release of 1998's Elizabeth, Cate Blanchett became a household name. The young and relatively obscure actress rocketed to fame after portraying the shrewd and powerfully underestimated Queen Elizabeth I. Her performance earned her a Best Actress win at the 1999 BAFTAs, and a nomination for Best Actress at the Academy Awards. She went on to star once again as Elizabeth in the 2007 follow-up film, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which once again earned her nomination for a Best Actress at the Oscars and BAFTA.
The Lord of the Rings
In Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film series, Cate Blanchett plays the over 8,000-year-old elf Galadriel. Although she is a side character, Galadriel plays an important role in furthering the Hobbits’ journey toward Mount Doom, and Blanchett’s portrayal enhances Galadriel’s mystique and hints at a terrifying power she keeps barely tempered with her wisdom and discipline. Blanchett appears in the role in all three Lord of the Rings films, and later in the Hobbit trilogy.
Nightmare Alley
In Guillermo del Toro’s raucous melodrama Nightmare Alley, Cate Blanchett plays Lilith Ritter, a psychologist and antagonist to Bradley Cooper’s Stan Carlisle. While Stan carries his fraudulent act as a telepath on the road, Blanchett’s relentless, sly, and alarmingly stylish Lilith seeks to slowly expose him. While her part is relatively small in the film, Blanchett’s performance is remarkable simply for the fun she seems to be having while doing it.
Manifesto
In Julian Rosefeldt’s Manifesto, Blanchett is front and centre playing 13 different characters including a CEO, a news anchor, an unhoused man, a school teacher, and a punk. The film revolves around some of the most important manifestos from the 20th century on subjects including Marxism, Dadaism, and Pop Art. Naturally, Manifesto is a prime demonstration of Cate Blanchett’s unparalleled abilities as an actress as she oscillates between wildly different characters with the same level of skill, craft, and dedication to all.
Black Bag
In Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag, Cate Blanchett plays Katheryn, a top spy married to fellow spy George (played by Michael Fassbender). After Katheryn is suspected of betraying her country, her husband George has a week to find out the truth. In this perilous game, Katheryn and George’s bond is evident, and Blanchett’s performance as the calculating, fun, and dangerous Katheryn elevates the film to another level.
Where to watch the best Cate Blanchett movies streaming online
Find out how (and where) to stream the best Cate Blanchett movies online by scrolling down to the list below. The films are all available to stream online across a variety of platforms in the United Kingdom, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, ITVX and more!
