 |
|
|
In Showtime's “The United States of Tara” created by Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody (“Juno”) and based on an idea of the executive producers Steven Spielberg, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank and Alexa Junge, the lead character, Tara Gregson, is played by Toni Colette, whose clashing identities go far beyond normal. The 36-year-old actress is embodying a wife and mother with dissociative identity disorder. In other words she has multiple distinct personalities which silently surface and disappear depending upon the circumstances of her colorful suburban life. She and her husband, Max played by John Corbett, have decided she should try life without her medication and perhaps discover what caused her problems in the first place.
The result to that was the reappearance of all her others personalities, which were somehow kept under control until then. The 40-year-old Kansas woman becomes acting flirty and also like a funky teenager. Since she can do a porn-loving Vietnam veteran, she positively can do a '50s housewife who would put Betty Crocker to shame too. Tara seems to be the typical American woman: a wife, a mother and a working professional, just that…totally insane.
The series, which has its premiere set for the 18th of January on Showtime, plays the situation of the main character just for laughs, unlike "The Three Faces of Eve" (1957) or "Sybil" (1976).
Tara seems to be like a whole nation and a single person divided, and if you carefully make an analogy with today’s modern woman, you will see it perfectly fits. But one question arises: why isn’t it ok to adjust your personality to different circumstances?
A native of Australia, Collette is probably the best candidate for this role especially due to her string of unusual but endearing film characters, including the ABBA-obsessed girl in "Muriel's Wedding," the suicidal mother in "About a Boy" and the offbeat mom in "Little Miss Sunshine.”
Her familiarity with odd, complex characters might just have the answer to our question; furthermore, it looks like the appetite for programs about dysfunctional families seems insatiable.
Colette has been nominated for an Oscar (“The Sixth Sense”) and Golden Globes (“Muriel's Wedding,” “Little Miss Sunshine”).
© 2007 - 2009 - eFluxMedia
