Confidence and poise: Anne Hathaway Photo: Getty
We humans are suspicious of perfection: when we can't easily notice someone's shortcomings, we often come up with some of them ourselves, just in case. In retrospect, it seems like that's exactly what went wrong a decade or so ago for actress Anne Hathaway, who, during the press tour for her new film «Motherly Instinct,» reflected on the incredible outbursts of online and online vitriol that had struck her. career went downhill in the 2010s.
It was a perilous moment for Hollywood stardom in general: both #MeToo and #OscarsSoWhite were rumbling, even though Hathaway's alleged crimes: a) could hardly be called crimes at all; and b) seemed to change depending on who you asked and when you asked. At one point she was too enthusiastic, too serious, too modest to be consoled; the next time she was insincere, arrogant and insincere.
She was both the soul-baring star of Les Miserables and an Oscar-winning star — so pretentious! – and the millennial rip-offs of Julia Roberts’ Valentine’s Day and Bride Wars are so superficial! She essentially lived through America Ferrara's Barbie monologue 10 years before it was written, and apparently lost her job as a result.
«A lot of people didn't give me roles because they were very concerned about how toxic my online personality had become,» she told Vanity Fair this week. Luckily, not for everyone, though: Hathaway called Christopher Nolan an «angel» for casting her in Interstellar at a particularly low point, despite the cries of bad press.
“Pretentious”: Anne Hathaway in “Les Miserables” Photo: Alamy
“I don’t know if he knew at the time that he was supporting me,” she continued, “but it had such an effect. And my career did not lose momentum as it might have if he had not supported me.” Despite this, only Nancy Meyers dared cast her as the lead (in 2015's underrated The Intern) until 2018's poorly received female heist episode Ocean's 8, which required working with Todd Haynes and James Gray in the excellent films Dark Waters and Dark Waters. Armageddon time, accordingly, to finally break her out of a decade-long rut.
Perhaps there is no clearer description of the differences in attitudes towards male and female celebrities in the 2010s than the fact that Matthew McConaughey, who 10 years was also inevitable in projects of varying quality, about to enjoy his McConaissan at the very moment when Hathaway was looking down the barrel of the ten-year-old Hatahate. And Hatahate is apparently what we call it, although Anneimosity was right there.
Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises Author: Alami
It is worth noting that McConaughey and Hathaway both received their Oscars , when it all began, as well as Hathaway's acceptance speech in 2013, which began, perhaps a little too vainly, with «It's come true!» – have been waved around for years as evidence of an unhealthy character.
The same could be said of her face, which a psychology professor told Salon in 2013 was too edgy to match the post-recession optimism. «When times are good, we prefer actresses with rounder faces,» Terry Pettyjohn said. «They convey ideas of fun and youth… As the economy improves, Hathaway may just become a reminder of bad times.» (Compare Jennifer Lawrence, who was flying high at the time in The Hunger Games and X-Men.)
So did her crisp intonation in speeches and interviews, which a speechwriter told CNN sounded like she was overly rehearsed. (Again, compare Lawrence, whose naturally funny and down-to-earth vibe made her the decade's most beloved actress.)
Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway ran into each other. Photo: Getty
Tellingly, commentators have also repeatedly compared her to a «theater kid»: the ambitious young drama actor everyone remembers from school. Richard Lawson wrote in Atlantic magazine: «She has the manner of a theater child: she imitates the mood of every situation she finds herself in… but compensates for it wildly every time.» (She used the same look when she presented the Oscars in 2011, with a comatose James Franco providing a contrast. She even reportedly rehearsed her Oscar speech to make it sound «less annoying.» )
<р>Critics also felt she was simply «too happy», with the New Yorker claiming she represented the «happy girl archetype». Comparing the “stiff”, unsmiling women we are used to seeing on the red carpet with Hathaway, Sasha Weiss wrote: “She stands with her long arms at her sides, looking straight (even a little pleadingly) into the camera, her smile toothy. and takes up half of her face. It's a look of boundless excitement and openness, an expression of great joy that reminds me of none other than a nine-year-old girl about to take a big bite of birthday cake.» (Note that most of this criticism came from reputable publications, not Twitter trolls.)
But perhaps what was actually annoying, besides her confidence and poise, was that she was gifted with the talent to maintain those qualities. And this particular combination is gifted; knows this — was a red rag for social media, which was set to redefine celebrity currency in the years to come. Parasocial fandom suddenly appeared: it was a boom time for stars who could become imaginary best friends and/or lovers.
But few imagined the diligent and insightful Hathaway, and so she found herself frozen. In the less status-conscious 1980s and 90s, when the fame-equals-looks-plus-talent equation still held true, she would certainly have had it easier, but perhaps her 2020s will help restore the balance.
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