Cate Blanchett stars in the controversial new movie Truth, which revolves around the 2004 "Rathergate" scandal. In the film, out Oct. 16, Blanchett plays Mary Mapes, the CBS News producer who was fired after a 60 Minutes report on then-president George W. Bush's military records came under siege for possibly being fraudulent. The scandal was obviously a major blow to Mapes' career, since being a news media figure requires having unquestionable credibility. So what happened to the producer after Rathergate, and what does Mary Mapes think of Truth?
Although the scandal was over a decade ago, Mapes is still enmeshed in it. She wrote a book in 2005 about the events called Truth and Duty: The Press, the President, and the Privilege of Power, and it's upon this book that the movie Truth is based. Mapes supported the production of the film, and even attended its premiere. She also proclaimed the movie was accurate, telling Variety, "It is very close to my truth, and Dan’s truth, and the truth for those people who worked on the story with me."
It makes sense that she would feel this way, given that the film is told from her point of view. Blanchett, as Mapes, is therefore the main emphasis of the movie, and the actress' performance has received rave reviews. But it's not surprising that Blanchett is able to portray Mapes so elegantly; the actress has a wealth of experience playing characters who are involved in scandals. A quick look at Blanchett's filmography reveals multiple scandalous roles; here are a few notable ones.
Blue Jasmine
Woody Allen's 2013 film portrays a socialite's fall from grace (and sanity) after her husband is convicted of massive financial fraud. Blanchett's performance as the unstable Jasmine showed the unraveling of a 21st-century Blanche DuBois, and it won her the Oscar for Best Actress.
Hanna
Blanchett portrayed a corrupt CIA agent named Marissa Wiegler in this 2011 thriller. Her character seeks to assassin another CIA agent who has valuable information, but then her target shifts to his daughter Hanna. The film then becomes a game of cat and mouse as Blanchett hunts the young girl — effectively showing that the actress is very capable of playing a malevolent figure.
Notes On A Scandal
The role of Sheba in Notes On A Scandal is arguably Blanchett's most scandalous role — after all, the word "scandal" is in the film's title. The character was an art teacher who became involved with a young student, creating a gigantic explosion when the affair was exposed. Blanchett was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.
Cinderella
It's weird to think of fairy tales as being scandalous, but then one remembers a few facts about the evil stepmother in Cinderella: 1) She was a bankrupt widow who married a man under the false pretense of love to gain access to his money, 2) After his death, which she was entirely indifferent about, the character quickly revealed her cold true nature and imprisoned her late husband's daughter in her own home, and 3) She then sought to sneak her way into the royal family through marriage, once again to gain access to their money. Are you seeing a pattern here?
There's a lot of buzz surrounding Truth, but Blanchett has proven she can hold her own when it comes to acting in movies about scandals. If her portrayal of Mapes is anything like her previous work, it'll definitely put Blanchett in the spotlight — just hopefully in a different way than it happened for Mary Mapes.
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