Kate Winslet’s Titanic Role Was Ripped to Shreds by One French Director Who Called Her ‘Unwatchable’
Kate Winslet in Titanic gave one of the most beautiful and gut-wrenching performances of her early career days. Titanic not only put Kate Winslet on the map of Hollywood but firmly established her as an actress who should not be trifled with when it comes to acting. People from nearly every corner of the globe were singing praises for Kate Winslet’s performance in this James Cameron magnum opus.
However, no matter how exemplary a performance might have been for the masses, there will always be criticism in some shape or form. Many fat-shamed Kat Winslet post-Titanic, saying that if she were a leaner person, then Leonardo Di Caprio’s character Jack could have fit on that floating door and would be alive. However, the harshest criticism she probably had to face was from an acclaimed French director who called her “unwatchable.”
Filmmaker Jacques Rivette heavily criticized Kate Winslet’s performance in Titanic
Filmmaker Jacques Rivette is a cult film director who is best known for some of his great arthouse flicks like L’Amour fou and Celine and Julie Go Boating. He has never worked with James Cameron before, so the reason for the animosity is unknown. He was one of the harshest critics of Titanic after Jean Luc Godard, who, according to Jacques Rivette, called the movie “garbage.”
In an interview with Sense of Cinema, he opened up and did not hold back. He went on to first criticize Cameron by saying:
“Cameron isn’t evil, he’s not an asshole like Spielberg. He wants to be the new [Cecil] De Mille. Unfortunately, he can’t direct his way out of a paper bag”.
He did not just stop there but rather directed his focus on Kate Winslet, calling her a role model for “plump American girls,” which leaves quite a bad taste in the mouth in today’s day and age. He said her acting was “unwatchable” and even went on to term her “awful.”
“On top of which, the actress is awful, unwatchable, the most slovenly girl to appear on the screen in a long, long time. That’s why it’s been such a success with young girls, especially inhibited, slightly plump American girls who see the film over and over as if they were on a pilgrimage: they recognize themselves in her, and dream of falling into the arms of the gorgeous Leonardo”.
Criticisms that Kate Winslet faced after Titanic
Kate Winslet was quite young (19 years old) when she landed the part of Rose on the Titanic. It turned out to be one of her career-changing moments, from which she never had to look back again in terms of success. However, she also had to face a plethora of body-shaming after the movie, by critics and audiences alike.
When she appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast in 2022, he called out the press and the critics, calling them “borderline abusive.”
“Apparently I was too fat. Isn’t it awful? Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f*cking fat.”
She then went on to say what she describes as something she would have said to the critics back then, given a chance:
“If I could turn back the clock, I would have used my voice in a completely different way. I would have said to journalists, I would have responded, I would have said, ‘Don’t you dare treat me like this. I’m a young woman, my body is changing, I’m figuring it out, I’m deeply insecure, I’m terrified, don’t make this any harder than it already is.’”
Also Read: Kate Winslet Net Worth: How Much Money Did She Earn For Titanic?
Many modern audiences find this behavior sad and absolutely unacceptable, as no one’s merit should be judged based on their appearance. Especially with body inclusivity being such a big deal now, these comments are just ignorant and hurtful in retrospect.
Titanic is available to rent on YouTube.
