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Best actress
This nominees for best actress qualify as one of the biggest horrors in Oscar history.
The nominees: Anne Hathaway, “Rachel Getting Married”; Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”; Melissa Leo, “Frozen River”; Meryl Streep, “Doubt”; Kate Winslet, “The Reader.”
Why so horrible? Well, where on earth is Sally Hawkins in “Happy-Go-Lucky”? She embodied the role in one of the finest performances of the year, by man or woman. The movie would have been lost without her. It’s crazy to leave her out of the bunch. All I can think of is that the Oscar folks are so insular that they can’t bring themselves to nominate an unfamiliar Brit here. Good grief.
As for those who did get nominated: Kate Winslet in “The Reader”? Ugh, ugh, ugh. She won a supporting actress Golden Globe for this role, and now gets a best actress nomination in the Oscars? Plus, the movie was questionable.
Then there’s Angelina Jolie in “Changeling.” The role was absolute Oscar bait, and Jolie is popular. But the movie itself was lacking, and Jolie’s performance sometimes veered on being overwrought.
Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep should be the leading contenders here, and I’m rooting for Hathaway. She was great in “Rachel Getting Married,” and Streep has so many awards that she could retire in peace. But then again, Streep is always deserving. She’s probably the best overall movie actress alive today.
Then there was the big surprise, Melissa Leo for “Frozen River.” It’s nice to see the Academy honor this little movie, and it’s also nice to see Leo get recognition. Ever since the 1980s, she has been toiling away in small movies and small roles, starting with the ABC soap “All My Children.” She’s pulled down stints in lots of regular TV shows as a guest actress, and she has paid her dues. So this nomination mitigates the horror.
It’s surprising, however, that Cate Blanchett didn’t get nominated for “Curious Case.” She’s an Oscar favorite, and she’s the top rival to Streep when it comes to overall acting chops.
And I’m glad that Winslet was snubbed for “Revolutionary Road.” She’s a fine actress, so I have nothing against her. But I do have something against the movie. It’s a poor imitation of “Mad Men.”
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By Sug Casto
January 23, 2009 4:16 PM | Link to this
I think it’s sad that the industry has forgotten how brilliant Meryl Streep is. I think everyone is so used to her brilliance that they always backburner her for whateverr young or hot or never-won-an-Oscar actress happens to be campaigning. Watch Doubt. Watch Rachel Getting Married. Watch The Reader (if you can stand it). Isn’t it painfully clear that Meryl is the best of these three?
By joshua black
January 22, 2009 11:09 AM | Link to this
The opinion based comments do not deserve arguing, but since I’m already posting; what’s the Anne Hathaway thing? I went for smoke breaks in that boring, one-note film. Yuck, it was all wedding song and dance, no plot, stupid family crap that doesn’t even compare to my own for movie worthy storylines.