Re: Categories One-by-One: Best Actress
Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2014 7:35 pm
It'd be far too much to demand a nomination for Suzanne Clement in Laurence Anyways, but Julie Delpy for Before Midnight, Adele Exarchopoulos in Blue is the Warmest Color (or as I've taken to calling it in front of my lesbian lawyer, Blue is the Warmest Scissor), and Greta Gerwig for Frances Ha seemed on the cusp of a nomination were these damn mainstays not in their way. Given a fifth nominee this year (with much left to see) I'd teeter between Amy Acker in Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing (one of my favorite Beatrice's ever, and the only part of the film that truly works) or Amy Seimetz for Upstream Color. Or perhaps Lake Bell, such a charming rom com headliner in In a World... . Or maybe Brie Larson in Short Term 12, though her part lets her a bit down. Or Shailene Woodley in The Spectacular Now. Or had Catherine Keener flopped roles with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Enough Said, for sure Catherine Keener.
If you were to ask me what Sandra Bullock and Judi Dench both have in common a few years ago, I wouldn't have a clue. Now it's that they both poorly anchor the films they headline. I've yet to see Mrs. Henderson Presents but right now Philomena is easily my least favorite Judi Dench nominated performance. I have yet to see Meryl Streep in August, Osage County and that will likely remain. I've eased to the notion of Cate Blanchett winning the Oscar for her ridiculous part in Blue Jasmine because half of her performance is quite good and because it's not like it's her choice. It's a terribly written and directed role. At her best, she evokes Judy Davis, Faye Dunaway, and Gena Rowlands, but at her worst she evokes the parts of them I dislike. To separate Blue Jasmine from Cate Blanchett is impossible to think about it. It's a watchably silly film and I actually rather enjoyed it. So, give her another Oscar.
Amy Adams for me is the only clear choice of this group. In a big dress up movie, Adams' character takes her role-playing very seriously. If it seems that she takes it too seriously, it's because her dancing partner (Christian Bale) is no Fred Astaire and it makes her seem all the more brittle. Adams winning a wholly unexpected Oscar would be one of the highlights of the night.
If you were to ask me what Sandra Bullock and Judi Dench both have in common a few years ago, I wouldn't have a clue. Now it's that they both poorly anchor the films they headline. I've yet to see Mrs. Henderson Presents but right now Philomena is easily my least favorite Judi Dench nominated performance. I have yet to see Meryl Streep in August, Osage County and that will likely remain. I've eased to the notion of Cate Blanchett winning the Oscar for her ridiculous part in Blue Jasmine because half of her performance is quite good and because it's not like it's her choice. It's a terribly written and directed role. At her best, she evokes Judy Davis, Faye Dunaway, and Gena Rowlands, but at her worst she evokes the parts of them I dislike. To separate Blue Jasmine from Cate Blanchett is impossible to think about it. It's a watchably silly film and I actually rather enjoyed it. So, give her another Oscar.
Amy Adams for me is the only clear choice of this group. In a big dress up movie, Adams' character takes her role-playing very seriously. If it seems that she takes it too seriously, it's because her dancing partner (Christian Bale) is no Fred Astaire and it makes her seem all the more brittle. Adams winning a wholly unexpected Oscar would be one of the highlights of the night.