Curious case of Cate's falling star

Andrew Taylor, The Age, reports

TAXES, death and a star performance by Cate Blanchett are often seen as three of life's certainties.

Blanchett's latest stage role as Lotte in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Gross und Klein has won praise from theatre critics.

But recent film roles such as her murderous CIA agent, Marissa, in Hanna, which opened this year's Sydney Film Festival, have not been universally applauded.

''I must say it's the first time I've seen Cate on screen where I thought she was over the top,'' said At the Movies co-host David Stratton in a review of Hanna in July. ''It just wasn't a strong performance.''

The Sydney Morning Herald's Paul Byrnes was not impressed with either the film or Blanchett's portrayal of ''another ice-cold modern witch - the kind of cartoonish character for which she has an inexplicable fondness''.

''This one's from the American south, although Blanchett's accent wanders widely over the map.''

Hanna is one of a growing list of underwhelming Blanchett movies.

''Cate Blanchett's talent has never been in doubt but it is true that recent film roles have not had the critical acclaim of earlier ones,'' Louise Keller, deputy editor of Urban Cinefile and Sun-Herald film critic, said. ''Perhaps the fact that the highly anticipated screen chemistry between Blanchett and Russell Crowe in their first film together, Robin Hood, did not live up to the hype, may have contributed somewhat to the muted response to her performance, good box office results aside.''

Both films were made after Blanchett became the co-artistic director of the STC, with husband Andrew Upton, in 2008. Blanchett said the theatre appointment was ''not a dalliance''. But has her firm commitment to the STC come at some expense to her film career?

The Oscar winner's original three-year contract included a clause allowing her to take three months out each year to pursue other activities.

Keller said: ''Her choice of projects - and what roles are on offer - would be limited.''

Keller also points out that as the mother of three young children, Blanchett may not want to constantly uproot her family to far-flung film locations.

Running a major theatre company may not be conducive to continued celluloid success, suggests the film critic Ed Gibbs. ''Kevin Spacey is the other most obvious example,'' he says. ''His film output has suffered somewhat while running the Old Vic in London.''

Blanchett's theatre focus may be a product of the ''celluloid ceiling'' that leaves quality actresses slogging it out for slim pickings, according to Professor Deb Verhoeven, from Deakin University's School of Communication and Creative Arts.

''Theatre offers roles that may not exist in the cinema [and] the opportunity to set the agenda in a way that the corporatisation of Hollywood sometimes limits.''

Even actors as famous as Blanchett required a plan B, Verhoeven said. ''The confronting career reality in Australia for actors is that, unless you want to work some of the time in retail selling shoes, you need to develop a suite of acting skills that can carry you from film to TV and to theatre and back again.''

Blanchett will not be performing in the STC's 2012 season, a decision that could impact the company's box office. In fact, Blanchett appears to be ramping up her film career, with the two blockbusters of The Hobbit and two other films, Lawless and Knight of Cups, being made.

Verhoeven said the critical reception to Blanchett's films, as shown by Slate's Hollywood Career-o-Matic, had consistently swung between good and bad: ''According to the Career-o-Matic, she's due for a critical hit and we should expect one soon.''