“Acting should be bigger than life. Scripts should be bigger than life. It should ALL be bigger than life.”
– Bette Davis
Is your tolerance for drama just about up?
Too bad. If you’re like me and prefer it on stage and screen where colossal meltdowns and other “hot messes” are all in a day’s work, then you’re in luck.
The good folks at TIFF ( that would be the other thing that puts us on the global map) have lined up a retrospective of the Queen of Drama, Bette Davis, that should offer temporary relief from the current circus in town. The Hollywood Classics series runs from November 15 through December 8 and traces Davis through four, feisty decades of excellence on screen.
I remember watching All about Eve with my daughters when they were tweens, just twigging into machinations to come. Davis was a revelation to them with her sheer watch me! life force that burned through the screen. Her ferocious grasp of dialogue, pacing and presence had few equals and made her immediately memorable. Contemporary mean girls had nothing on Davis. Her steely delivery stood out from the eyelash batting rom com flowers.
Is there an actress capable of exploring neurotic like Davis?
Well, actually I can think of one.
Here is that other screen goddess, Meryl Streep with a lovely tribute:
TIFF will roll out the Davis gems as the November skies darken and Torontonians ponder the bruising left from real life political dramas. Imagining the legendary screen figure slamming down these pathetic public figures with one of her trademark quips is cathartic.
“Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”