Heavy-hitting losses from the world of Hollywood keep coming, the latest being Robert Duvall. Like many people, I first encountered Duvall in “The Godfather,” where he plays Don Corleone’s right-hand man, an unexpected position of confidence for a man who is German-Irish. By all rights, Duvall’s Tom Hagen is an outsider in the Sicilian underground, yet he ends up the consummate insider. Contrast him with the other major outsider in the film — Michael’s wife Kay Adams — portrayed by another Hollywood great who also passed away recently. I’m talking, of course, about Diane Keaton.
What a coincidence — these two actors, who portrayed opposite ends of the outsider spectrum in one of the most seminal films of the 20th century — dying within months of each other. They were truly part of the Hollywood’s Greatest Generation, the kind of actors whom one knew would excel in any role, even in the film itself might be subpar.
Keaton, especially, made an impact on me, as a woman. I associate her with a whole new type of female actress, one who is smart, funny and intelligent. She was quirky and individualistic, signalling that women on screen didn’t have to be just one thing — as was and continues to be the case often.
Excellent acting must achieve a somewhat ironic goal — authenticity within the inherently duplicitous act of pretend. It was the honesty in Keaton’s acting that made her so relatable.
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Speaking of films . . . when I shared my best reads of 2025, I considered including a new category, “Oddest.” The entry would have been Melania, by the First Lady. The memoir traces her childhood in Slovenia, entry into the world of modelling, and then her emigration to the US and marriage to Donald Trump. Melania comes off as intelligent, thoughtful, extremely elegant and a caring mother. Her voice reads as authentic, but here’s where the “oddest” part comes in. Putting politics totally to the side, her descriptions of the president’s character are at such odds with his entire public persona. It’s true, no one know what goes on behind closed doors, but some of her descriptions of the president cast into doubt the veracity of the other parts of her story.
I’m curious if the new documentary about the First Lady contains that same dichotomous confusion.
Shana Goldberg may be reached at shana@ijn.com
