If She Can Pull It Off, Then…

Featured image: Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I

I watched Begin Again yesterday (It’s one of the best films I’ve seen till date, by the way). The story is beautiful, the direction is ingenious and the actors are at their best (I already loved Mark Ruffalo and now, thanks to the film, have new-found respect for Keira Knightley).

What impressed me most about Greta (Knightley’s character) was her wardrobe (rather, the way she pulled off her wardrobe). How did she manage to make high-waist baggy trousers, short-sleeved tops and a simple ponytail look elegant, innocent and beautiful at the same time? The obvious answer would be, “Duh, Knightley must be having a plethora of stylists and makeup artists to make her look like that.” I beg to differ…

Greta is shown to be your everyday woman. So, quite naturally, she wears everyday clothes – clothes we all wear. She doesn’t have on a lot of makeup in any scene – just the way we don’t wear makeup when no occasion calls for it (actually, I don’t know whether women use makeup on a daily basis or not, so I’ll speak for myself: I never wear makeup because it was impressed upon my mind in kindergarten that lipstick is bad for you; over the years, my mind came to associate ‘lipstick’ with ‘all of makeup’ and as a result, even now, I abstain from lip gloss, mascara and what-not; and besides, I don’t like what the word ‘makeup’ in itself implies –  I’ll save elaborating that particular for another day). In a nutshell, there’s not much of a difference between Greta and us.

So we’re back to ‘don’t know how she pulled that off’. Here’s my take on it…  For some, her great physique might be the reason she was able to achieve this feat; for others, it might be her face; for me, it is the way she carries herself throughout the film. Greta [notice how this article went from talking about Keira Knightley to talking about a single character she portrays] holds her own when things seem shit (pardon my French). I’m certain I would chicken out of situations equally – if not less – distressing. The reason Greta left a mark on me, the reason she could make a seemingly-bland outfit seem nifty, the reason I want to be like her – the reason behind all of it – is that she is self-assured. Her belief in herself (not to be mistaken with narcissism) makes her elegant; it gives her panache; it makes her beautiful.

Why do I regard this particular persona as a role model? Well, because she’s realistic; what happens with her in the film can easily happen to a normal person. I could make Mulan or James Bond my ideals of self-confidence, but let’s be real; the chances of my becoming a warrior princess or a secret agent are pretty thin (and that’s putting it subtly). Imbibing Greta’s attitude is feasible, because she’s a common woman and so am I; that is why I found her self-assurance striking enough to make me want to change myself for the better.

In the era of ‘am I pretty or am I ugly’ videos, I find a fictional character’s morale refreshing. I agree that all girls and women don’t lack this quality, but I know I do, and I want to change that. Ergo, I’m going to strive to become comfortable in my own skin and – clichéd, though it sounds – to love myself and believe in myself more.