A striking presence in films from Psycho to Wag the Dog, her spiky intelligence did not help her in a town that likes its female leads conventional
The movies never really knew what to do with Anne Heche. Her gamine beauty and quizzically sharp intelligence were not easily absorbed into the Hollywood templates: she was not an obvious heteromantic lead and often complained that news about her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in the 90s cost her many film roles, when the overwhelmingly straight industry was in hock to fatuous “lipstick lesbian” stereotypes. (As it happened, all her other relationships were with men.)
She was too potent and pointed a presence to be comfortably cast in the traditional supporting roles of sister, colleague or best friend. Heche was charismatic and cool, with a terrific camera presence, an intriguing and sexually charged opaqueness, on the verge of disillusionment or hostility. Maybe longform TV was a better platform for her complexity, although it was clear that she was developing some excellent work in cinema in character roles and dark comedy.
