Blonde Ambivalence

We're in a huge West Los Angeles antique market, buying Christmas presents. Pfeiffer looks fetchingly casual in her shopping clothes — bib overalls, T-shirt, black Doc Martens — but she's not down-dressed enough to fool fawning salespeople. Every time we turn a corner, a new one appears, describing items, offering to open another cabinet. An especially persistent blue-haired saleslady shows up for the third time; Pfeiffer makes a flea-flicking gesture when the woman isn't looking. ''Have you thought about what you're going to do as you get older?'' I ask.

''I've thought I should invest my money very, very wisely,'' she says. She smiles. ''I had a really interesting thing happen when I was working on Age of Innocence. We were in Brooklyn Heights, and we were on the street, and all of the neighborhood people would come out — we were like the circus that came to town. And I was in my trailer, and they were being — so loud. And I kept trying to find a place where they couldn't see in. So I find myself in the back of the trailer, and they can't see me, but I can hear them a little clearer. Now, these are people who are usually, like, 'Michelle, Michelle! We love you! Michelle!' And I hear somebody say, 'Hey, man! I saw her, and she look old!'''

She laughs delightedly.

''I'm not worried about age,'' Pfeiffer says. ''But I'm very aware that this is my window of time. I mean, I costarred with Sean Connery in Russia House, and nobody batted an eye. When he was 60, he was voted the sexiest man in the world. This just is not gonna happen for women — not in my lifetime. I want to be allowed to age gracefully, but they don't let you do that in this business.''

Pfeiffer picks out a present for her agent: a gilded statuette of a man wrestling a wolf to the ground. Should we see symbolism here? No doubt the agent has done some grappling to get his most beautiful client all she deserves. No doubt the client has wrestled with some tough decisions herself.

But just for a moment — back in the parking lot, under a fierce L.A. sun, as she pops on shades, climbs into her four-wheel drive, and waves goodbye — she makes it all seem easy.