October 31, 2006

Gong Li's 5 favorite film femmes (WSJ)

By TomTapp

Gong Li has picked her five favorite movie heroines for The Wall Street Journal. It's a little out-of-the-box (but refreshing) from a paper which usually leans on the estimable but aged Joe Morgenstern to provide its sex factor.

Li's list:

Virginia Woolf played by Nicole Kidman, in "The Hours" (2002)

Three eras, three stories and three women come together in "The Hours." Virginia Woolf and her novel "Mrs. Dalloway" provide the backbone for the movie's plot, which flits between the stories of Ms. Woolf in the early 1920s, a 1950s homemaker and a present-day book editor. Each woman suffers from depression or is dealing with issues related to suicide. "I play characters that are strong, brave, and with personality. These are all traits I admire in a woman," says Ms. Gong. "Woolf may not seem like she was all these things, but I think in her own strange way she was."

Velma Kelly played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, in "Chicago" (2002)

In the musical "Chicago," Velma Kelly is a nightclub star who gains even bigger celebrity after she kills her cheating husband. Together with the most famous murderess in town, Roxie Hart (Ren�e Zellweger), the two women struggle to get what they both want: freedom and fame. "This character has so much passion and energy. I love her tenacity and unwillingness to admit defeat," says Ms. Gong, "She is definitely a woman with attitude -- definitely. I love that."

Mia Wallace played by Uma Thurman, in "Pulp Fiction" (1994)

A tale of violence and redemption, the multilayered plot of "Pulp Fiction" follows two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife and a pair of small-time robbers, as their lives become intertwined. Uma Thurman plays the gangster's wife, Mia Wallace, who is taken out for dinner by Vincent Vega (John Travolta), a hit man employed by her husband; the evening, which begins with victory in a dance competition, nearly ends in tragedy. "Like I said before, I like women with personality. How can you forget the dancing scene with John Travolta?" says Ms. Gong.

Clarice Starling played by Jodie Foster, in "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991)

Clarice Starling, a young FBI agent, is assigned to help find a missing woman and save her from a psychopathic killer. To complete her mission, she has to find one serial killer by interviewing another, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a sinister master criminal with cannibalistic tendencies. "She has a job that's stereotypically male," Ms. Gong says. "But she can achieve things no man can, precisely because she is a woman. She's smart and tough."

Mathilda played by Natalie Portman, in "L�on -- The Professional" (1994)

This violent thriller tells the story of a 12-year-old girl, Mathilda, whose parents are murdered in a drug-related conspiracy, and her neighbor L�on, a childlike professional assassin who reluctantly takes her in. As their relationship develops, Mathilda emerges as the wiser and stronger one. "Mathilda is mature beyond her years. She's so young yet she has experienced much more than the average person," says Ms. Gong. "She is just a kid, but you have so much respect for her."

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