Best Supporting Actress 2014

Who was the best supporting actress of 2014?

Keira Knightley in The Imitation Game
0
No votes
Emma Stone in Birdman
8
24%
Patricia Arquette in Boyhood
17
52%
Laura Dern in Wild
5
15%
Meryl Streep in Into the Woods
3
9%
 
Total votes: 33

Kellens101
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by Kellens101 »

The Original BJ, I really wish Rene Russo and Jessica Chastain had been nominated. Even the weakest nominee though, was solid, if not best of the year.
The Original BJ
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by The Original BJ »

I'm going to barrel through these for the record books, but hopefully with more brevity than usual, given how much we've all discussed these films recently.

On the whole, I disagree with the take that this is a weak lineup -- I think it's fairly good. I was most disappointed about Rene Russo missing, for her from-nowhere career high. I also think Jessica Chastain is very good in A Most Violent Year, but it was hard to feel too bad for her -- she's been cited before, and will no doubt have many opportunities up ahead.

Keira Knightley would be the nominee I'd definitely remove, but this was no place-filler mention like last time. She has a pretty decent part in The Imitation Game, with a handful of very solid scenes. I don't think she brings enough that's special to the table for me to vote for her, but she delivers solidly throughout.

Laura Dern's part is small overall, but she makes a very vivid impression in her few moments, creating a fully rounded character who suffers greatly but who is nonetheless full of life. Dern's work is a big reason why Witherspoon's story has such emotional resonance, because we see the great void left after her passing. But I'll go with one of the actresses who had a bit more to do.

Meryl Streep gets nominations with such ease, it can be easy for some to dismiss her citations as by-rote recognition. But I felt she made a strong impression here, showing a sizable amount of range, from her comic invention in the opening rap to the sadness of "Stay With Me" to her ferocious rendition of "The Last Midnight." It's a performance that's both heightened in fantasy and grounded in real emotion, thanks to the actress's always terrific display of craft. But no, she doesn't need another supporting trophy.

Emma Stone is my runner-up, for a role that allowed her to show off her knack for delivering comic one-liners (which many of us first noticed back in Easy A), and then gifted her with one great dramatic scene in the "You don't matter!" outburst. I'd enjoyed her work in the past, but this was the first time I felt like she displayed some genuine acting heft to go along with her very appealing presence, and I think she's just one of the notable players in what is, for me, clearly the year's best acting ensemble.

But I voted for Patricia Arquette pretty easily. She portrays a character we sadly don't see on screen too often these days -- a working mom -- and she does so with warmth, humanity, and resilience. I most love the deeply moving "I just thought there'd be more" speech, but then on Oscar night I remembered how much I liked her in her awards clip scene as well, as a woman who doesn't always have the perfect answers, but is just trying so hard to do right by her family. I find her work to be easily the most humane and richly detailed performance of the nominees, and I was happy to cheer for her win.
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by CalWilliam »

Another weak supporting line-up, but far from being bad.

Meryl Streep is the first to remove. It's always pleasant seeing her at the Academy Awards nominated, but she doesn't need this nomination at all. Of course she is the best aspect of Into the Woods.

I have said this before. I think Keira Knightley is perfectly respectable in The Imitation Game. Nothing Oscar caliber, but I really like the way she delivers her lines. She has improved indeed. In Atonement she was bland, in A Dangerous Method she was over the top, in Pride & Prejudice she was just charming, but here at least she has done something more to me.

Emma Stone is next. I think Amy Ryan and Naomi Watts deserve the same consideration for their performances in Birdman as well. Emma is talented, and she'll enrich all her next good projects. Of course she's good in the film, but I don't feel the need for casting her a vote here, because I think the two mothers are more memorable, but my vote goes to Laura Dern. I think it's more difficult to make an impression in 10 minutes with that evoked character. Her performance may be summarized in quick shots, smiles, and two or three short scenes with Reese Witherspoon, but she's a better actress than Patricia, and her scene in the kitchen with Reese is utterly fantastic. Arquette is perfectly fine, but I can't understand all the praise. I would like someone to explain to me why is she THAT good.

Dern's nomination was a surprise, and it's really nice when the Academy considers this kind of dark horse performance.
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by mlrg »

Arquette but Stone would be a worthy winner as well
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by Precious Doll »

I am passing on this one.

I did like the work of Streep, Arquette and to a lesser degree Stone but I don't consider any of their performances worthy of a win.

Such a shame that Renee Russo didn't make the final cut.
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by Big Magilla »

Arquette easily.
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Re: Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by dws1982 »

Hard to get excited about any of these nominees, but I'll go with Streep. Emma Stone would probably be my runner-up. Keira Knightley is fine, but there's only so much you can do with that type of role. Patty Arquette's much-celebrated "I just thought there would be more" serves as a bit of auto-critique on the film and her performance itself. I thought there would be more too, Patty. And Laura Dern's nomination is one of the more inexplicable of all time. I don't really feel like Streep needs another win here (not sure how many times she's gotten my vote...this is at least the fourth), but I don't think any of the others are all that special. Streep wouldn't have really made a play at my vote in 2012 or 2013, but she did at least have "Stay With Me", a scene that offers way more than any of her fellow nominees, and gives the (enjoyable) movie a sadness and a depth that it didn't otherwise possess.

My nominees would be some combination of:
Jessica Chastain, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Carrie Coon, Gone Girl
Laura Dern, The Fault in Our Stars
Carmen Ejogo, Selma
Agata Kulesza, Ida
Rene Russo, Nightcrawler
Jess Weixler, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her

And hopefully I'll see some other solid contenders in my catch-up work. For what it's worth, I liked Chastain in Him than in Her, where she was the lead, and I didn't see the version that edited it all into one two-hour film, because the word from everyone I trusted was negative.
Last edited by dws1982 on Sun Mar 01, 2015 10:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Kellens101
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Best Supporting Actress 2014

Post by Kellens101 »

Who was the best supporting actress of 2014?
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