Today is Judy Davis' birthday. You may have forgotten just how good Judy Davis can be when she really wants to be - and not fluffing about on screen in stuff like The Break-Up, but I understand the need to let go once in a while - and that, by all rights, she should be an Oscar winner, not just an Emmy/BAFTA/AFI/Golden Globe winner. She seems to have moved primarily to television since even directors like Woody Allen have ditched her for younger, hotter property. But that doesn't mean we (well, I) don't still love her!One could say that Judy Davis has had - oh yes, I am going there - a "brilliant career". Who can forget her temperamental "Sally" in Allen's Husbands & Wives, or her temperamental "Caroline Chausser" in The Ref, or her temperamental "Joan Fraser" in Children of the Revolution or her temperamental "Sybylla Melvyn" in My Brilliant Career? I'm sensing a pattern here! What about the most temperamental of all, playing Judy Garland in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, a performance that Anne Hathaway is going to have a helluva time beating when that cinematic biopic eventually gets off the ground.
One of my very favourite Judy performances is her turn as "Kate Dean" in Phillip Noyce's Sydney-set political thriller Heatwave. This 1982 film revolves around the wheelings and dealings of a high-powered architecture firm with Davis playing the, you guessed it, temperamental environmental activist who stands in their way. It's a ripper of a film that just drips atmosphere. If you've ever lived through a heat wave in Australia then you'll recognise much in that film. It is unfortunately not available on Netflix for Americans, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere if you want to look.She's been nominated for ten Australian Film Institute awards (won six), two Academy Awards (Passage to India, Husbands & Wives for which she should have won!), ten Emmys (won three), three BAFTAs (won two) and six Golden Globes (won three). And that's not mentioning the SAG Award, the Independent Spirit Award and a bevy of critics prizes. How is this woman not hailed as one of the best actresses of her generation? Express your love and devotion for this woman in the comments if you so wish. What's your favourite performance? Speak up!
