As for Thor, it seems that Blanchett may be staying in MCU for a bit longer, as there are rumors that Hella will take the role of Mistress of Death making her one of the antagonists of entire MCU. It would be glorious to see Cate doing yet another franchise and enriching it with her talent.
As for performances, the one that I fell in love as the kid and the one that still makes me so small, simple and human is Galadriel. Let me be honest, there are many amazing roles across the fantasy genre, but Blanchett commanded such a presence as Galadriel that it is almost impossible to believe it is a human acting. She WAS the ethereal, magnificent and serene being we were all in awe with.
Performance-wise...
1. Carol Aird in "Carol". Those who have read the book know that Carol is not fleshed out character in the book and that she is more the object of fascination and love than a real human being. Cate exuded just the right amount of that energy that made audience (like sweet Therese) fall in love with her, but also humanizing her. The script and Cate herself truly made Carol memorable and through such subtle movements, stares and with such quiet voice, she managed to bring out enormously profound sorrow of her character.
2. Queen Elizabeth in "Elizabeth" and "Elizabeth: Golden Age". Oscar pundits will forever mourn the opportunity they missed in 1999 when they awarded Gwyneth Paltrow as the Best Actress in "Shakespeare in Love". It is one of the major Oscar crimes regarding the role that is so usually cited as one of the best performances in history. What is incredible about Cate in both movies is the mixture of youthfulness and wisdom. She managed to express growing into the "Virgin Queen" so beautifully and with such grace it is impossible not to watch every second of that performance... We can only hope Kapur and Blanchett are preparing 3rd movie for us some time in the future.
3. Jasmine French in "Blue Jasmine". It was a glorious year for women in leading role. Never before we had such a battle and so many performances that could so easily take that statue and be remembered in history. Streep, Bullock, Adams, Dame Dench were all on top of their game, not to mention horrendous snub of Emma Thompson or what darlings of indie cinema: Gerwig and Exarchopoulos have done. And yet, there were no other choice. It was all about "veni, vidi, vici" for Blanchett. The role is extremely difficult and technical, full of dramatics that had to be modulated with surgical precision and yet allow yourself not to be constrained. How Blanchett did that is beyond me but this incredible mixture of theater dramatics and cinema naturalness is what made Cate unquestionable winner in the year where people couldn't decide which performance was their favorite. The fact that this is not a solitary performance, that we are speaking of actress who can constantly push the boundary is truly astonishing.
4. Jude in "I am Not There". With the exemption of Tilda Swinton, nobody in Hollywood can approach androgyny in such way. The role was incredibly well acted, with proper mimicry that it was not dramatic or caricature-like, but an actual human being. It was an experiment, it was pushing of what someone can do and Blanchett proved that there are places where only the boldest and bravest can go.
5. Sheba Hart in "Notes on the Scandal". You want to watch a movie where a teacher is having intercourse with her minor student? I don't think so. But "Notes on the Scandal" is the movie that any true lover of cinema must watch. The actress who played Katherine Hepburn, Elizabeth and Galadriel went complete opposite and did someone who has fallen from grace in such a hard, devastatingly wrong way. There can be no excuses, no apologies and yet Blanchett's performance makes you think about stiffness of life and about various ways people break the cahoot they have found themselves in. By all means, what Sheba did was undoubtedly wrong, but when you see her destroyed like that, the performance itself makes you pity her more than just being disgusted by her. This was a marvelously acted fall from grace and the reason why this movie is truly among Blanchett's finest work.
That would be mine 5 best performances by Cate. Hope I you won't get bored reading ALL of that :D
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