The New Lana Turner?
The art-deco, film noir, epic movies theme of the 2006 Oscars was really a bit of a mishmash, but still, some of the actresses pulled off beautiful dresses with beautiful jewellery.
What struck me was how much Charlize Theron resembles Lana Turner, whom I'd recently watched in The Postman Always Rings Twice(1946), and The Bad and the Beautiful (1952).
Lana Turner, nonetheless, has the confidence and maturity despite her age (when she filmed The Postman Always Rings Twice she was only 25) which Theron, who is now 30, lacks.
Theron may play the role of a female serial killer, or a working-class feminist. Yet I wonder if she can play a smouldering opportunist who manages to get a reasonably honest guy (despite being a bit of a drifter) to commit a murder with her, and still look beautiful.
One gets the feeling, though, that Lana Turner went into her role in The Postman Always Rings Twice understanding the full implications of the character's evil intentions and actions.
Theron, on the other hand, along with the director of the film, pitied and tried to "understand" the female serial killer in Monster.
Lana's mature acting far surpasses Theron's childish excuses.