OVP: Best Actress (2008)
The Nominees Were...
Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Melissa Leo, Frozen River
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
My Thoughts: 2008 was the Year of the Winslet. After more than a decade in Hollywood, where she tried pretty much every angle to win an Oscar (Austen, Shakespeare, Hardy, Manic Pixie Dream Girl, famous author, adulteress, dying mother, death row journalist, Nancy Meyers, mistress, maid, and the highest-grossing film of all time), she came out with not one but two major pictures, going both the route of the Holocaust (an Oscar-bait tactic she cheekily parodied years earlier on Extras) and the lonely suburban housewife (another major Oscar-bait tactic). While most people thought headed into the nominations that she'd end up with a Best Supporting Actress trophy after committing category fraud with The Reader, she was completely overlooked for Revolutionary Road and was cited for Stephen Daldry's film in lead instead. However, though her win was never in doubt, she did get a pretty solid collection of competitors. Let's take a look at them, shall we?
Anne Hathaway is in the only film we haven't yet discussed in the OVP writeups, so we'll begin with her. Honestly, you'd be forgiven a bit if you couldn't recall that Hathaway scored this nomination-so much press has been spilt over her victory for Les Miz and the Hathahate that followed that it's difficult to remember she was actually on her second Oscar nomination in 2012, and her previous one had been in lead, no less. It's also worth remembering that her Rachel was absolutely splendid-she portrayed an addict not as someone afflicted by her demons, but as someone who is romanced by them. We see why this woman was able to have such an intoxicating persona, making such a mark on her family. Hathaway plays Kim like a marvelous, complete creation, never sacrificing the good times to go along with the cold pricklies. It helps that RoseMarie DeWitt and Debra Winger are great scene partners, but anyone who doubts Hathaway's talents needs to see this movie, where she plays someone too cynical to care but too electric not to still bruise those around her.
Angelina Jolie, on the other hand, could have used some of Hathaway's panache onscreen. Though my opinion of Changeling has improved slightly with these write-ups, the impact of Jolie's performance hasn't gotten much better. Jolie's performance in the film is plum, filled with Oscar-tastic moments about a woman who has lost her son, but she never really plays to much more than concerned mother. There's great shouting and crying, but that's about it-every scene she seems to modulate not just her performance to the mood of that scene, but also her character, to the point where she's just reflecting those around her. This could be an interesting tactic, except this strategy stops randomly, where suddenly she's in-charge and having none of it for no reason other than it's convenient to the plot. It's a performance where she goes in so many directions that I just couldn't get into it, and wished that she would have picked a better crescendo or made more consistent character choices.
The same can't quite be said for Meryl Streep. Her Sister Aloysius is someone who is consistent to the point of potentially devastating consequence. Streep is an actor of such incredible range and ability that the film feels a little bit odd-there's never a moment of subtlety, and she doesn't have the advantage that she did in Devil Wears Prada where she isn't at the center of the story, instead just glaring from the sidelines. Here she's constantly in the spotlight, and it does occasionally throw some harsh light on her work as she overplays certain dramatic scenes (particularly the wildly theatrical spars with Hoffman), but she does find moments of great wonder, particularly when acting off Viola Davis. In those scenes you see not just Sister Aloysius challenged, but also Meryl Streep, watching an actress who came to win and to impress, and Streep plays those scenes like Serena Williams when she's being challenged by a surprisingly good upstart. Still, it's a weird act where Streep is sometimes mesmerizing and sometimes hammy.
Melissa Leo doesn't have this problem-her work in Frozen River is outstanding, full stop. The film is just a centerpiece for Leo to deliver her best performance to-date, here as a woman who is at the end of her rope, trying to find a way to survive in the poorest of situations (where she's trying to keep her trailer and force her son into school). Watching the way that Leo transforms in this film, finding her life was in auto-pilot and then she suddenly finds a reason not only to live, but to think about the world outside of her purview is outstanding. There's nothing particularly new about what Leo is doing here, and yet she sells the character and her work as if she does. It takes an actor of fine talent to be able to transform a story we have seen before and engage us and challenge our way of thinking. Melissa Leo's Ray Eddy does that.
Which brings us back to Kate Winslet. Years later, I am still a bit swept-up by The Reader, a film that I loved when it came out and was stunned by the fact that it made it into so many Oscars, and then shocked to find out other people hadn't felt the same way about the film. To me, though, it was a truly well-kept love story, romantic in its passions as well as in its questionable morality. Winslet's pining for something, a world outside of her own, feels genuine here-I never felt like I was looking at someone creating a part, but instead at someone who was desperate to escape the tragedy of her existence. Winslet plays her as someone who was not trying to improve her own world, but instead as someone who was desperately trying to understand it but didn't seem to have the grasp to be able to do it. Her Reader is finely thought-out and fascinating, but Kate also finds a way to bridge her actions with the rest of the movie, which is not an easy feat.
Anne Hathaway is in the only film we haven't yet discussed in the OVP writeups, so we'll begin with her. Honestly, you'd be forgiven a bit if you couldn't recall that Hathaway scored this nomination-so much press has been spilt over her victory for Les Miz and the Hathahate that followed that it's difficult to remember she was actually on her second Oscar nomination in 2012, and her previous one had been in lead, no less. It's also worth remembering that her Rachel was absolutely splendid-she portrayed an addict not as someone afflicted by her demons, but as someone who is romanced by them. We see why this woman was able to have such an intoxicating persona, making such a mark on her family. Hathaway plays Kim like a marvelous, complete creation, never sacrificing the good times to go along with the cold pricklies. It helps that RoseMarie DeWitt and Debra Winger are great scene partners, but anyone who doubts Hathaway's talents needs to see this movie, where she plays someone too cynical to care but too electric not to still bruise those around her.
Angelina Jolie, on the other hand, could have used some of Hathaway's panache onscreen. Though my opinion of Changeling has improved slightly with these write-ups, the impact of Jolie's performance hasn't gotten much better. Jolie's performance in the film is plum, filled with Oscar-tastic moments about a woman who has lost her son, but she never really plays to much more than concerned mother. There's great shouting and crying, but that's about it-every scene she seems to modulate not just her performance to the mood of that scene, but also her character, to the point where she's just reflecting those around her. This could be an interesting tactic, except this strategy stops randomly, where suddenly she's in-charge and having none of it for no reason other than it's convenient to the plot. It's a performance where she goes in so many directions that I just couldn't get into it, and wished that she would have picked a better crescendo or made more consistent character choices.
The same can't quite be said for Meryl Streep. Her Sister Aloysius is someone who is consistent to the point of potentially devastating consequence. Streep is an actor of such incredible range and ability that the film feels a little bit odd-there's never a moment of subtlety, and she doesn't have the advantage that she did in Devil Wears Prada where she isn't at the center of the story, instead just glaring from the sidelines. Here she's constantly in the spotlight, and it does occasionally throw some harsh light on her work as she overplays certain dramatic scenes (particularly the wildly theatrical spars with Hoffman), but she does find moments of great wonder, particularly when acting off Viola Davis. In those scenes you see not just Sister Aloysius challenged, but also Meryl Streep, watching an actress who came to win and to impress, and Streep plays those scenes like Serena Williams when she's being challenged by a surprisingly good upstart. Still, it's a weird act where Streep is sometimes mesmerizing and sometimes hammy.
Melissa Leo doesn't have this problem-her work in Frozen River is outstanding, full stop. The film is just a centerpiece for Leo to deliver her best performance to-date, here as a woman who is at the end of her rope, trying to find a way to survive in the poorest of situations (where she's trying to keep her trailer and force her son into school). Watching the way that Leo transforms in this film, finding her life was in auto-pilot and then she suddenly finds a reason not only to live, but to think about the world outside of her purview is outstanding. There's nothing particularly new about what Leo is doing here, and yet she sells the character and her work as if she does. It takes an actor of fine talent to be able to transform a story we have seen before and engage us and challenge our way of thinking. Melissa Leo's Ray Eddy does that.
Which brings us back to Kate Winslet. Years later, I am still a bit swept-up by The Reader, a film that I loved when it came out and was stunned by the fact that it made it into so many Oscars, and then shocked to find out other people hadn't felt the same way about the film. To me, though, it was a truly well-kept love story, romantic in its passions as well as in its questionable morality. Winslet's pining for something, a world outside of her own, feels genuine here-I never felt like I was looking at someone creating a part, but instead at someone who was desperate to escape the tragedy of her existence. Winslet plays her as someone who was not trying to improve her own world, but instead as someone who was desperately trying to understand it but didn't seem to have the grasp to be able to do it. Her Reader is finely thought-out and fascinating, but Kate also finds a way to bridge her actions with the rest of the movie, which is not an easy feat.
Other Precursor Contenders: The Globes of course separate between Comedy/Musical and Drama, and they also kept Winslet in supporting so instead she won here for Revolutionary Road, taking out Hathaway, Streep, Jolie, and Kristin Scott Thomas in I've Loved You So Long, while Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky bested Rebecca Hall (Vicky Cristina Barcelona), Frances McDormand (Burn After Reading), Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!), and Emma Thompson (Last Chance Harvey). The SAG Awards went with a near carbon-copy of the Oscar lineup, except here Winslet was nominated for Revolutionary Road and Meryl Streep won for Doubt. The BAFTA's went with Winslet in lead for The Reader (she won here as well), with Melissa Leo being skipped for Kristin Scott Thomas. In hindsight, while it is hard to tell where Winslet stood (it seems certain that if she had been in supporting for The Reader that she still would have been cited for Revolutionary Road, perhaps even winning two Oscars in the same night), I don't know that it's in sixth place, it's just very hard to tell which was in that position. Sally Hawkins became the first person ever to miss after winning NYFCC, LAFCA, Boston, and the Globes, but Kristin Scott Thomas was in a drama that was far baitier. Hawkins makes more sense on-paper, but I kind of think Scott Thomas was closer, and let's not forget that Cate Blanchett was also in the running.
Actors I Would Have Nominated: This is one of those rare years where I would have bucked AMPAS's rules if I was allowed and given two nominations to the same actor-Winslet is so good in both The Reader and Revolutionary Road and both pieces of work would make my Top 5. Still, I can't help but feel a pang of sadness that Kristin Scott Thomas, who seems to be toying with retirement from film, didn't get a well-deserved second nomination for her mesmerizing work in I've Loved You So Long.
Oscar’s Choice: It was The Year of the Winslet-if she'd taken supporting already Meryl might have finally nabbed her third trophy or perhaps Angelina Jolie would have won the year after she was snubbed for A Mighty Heart, but with only one option the Oscars were claiming Winslet for their own.
My Choice: At the time I agreed with them and gave Winslet my statue, and I still love what Winslet was doing, but I will admit that I hadn't seen the stark winter of Melissa Leo's work, and I feel like that holds up better even if I like The Reader the movie more. So I'm going to defy my better judgment (I don't know if Winslet will win an OVP after this and she's a favorite of mine, but that's not what the OVP is about) and go with Leo, with Winslet, Hathaway, Streep, and Jolie coming in behind.
Is anyone with me on defying The Year of the Winslet, or are you all about Kate the Great? This is the lowest I've ranked Meryl Streep so far-do you have a "least favorite" of Meryl's nominated works? And Kristin, Sally, or Cate-who was in that coveted sixth place position? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Is anyone with me on defying The Year of the Winslet, or are you all about Kate the Great? This is the lowest I've ranked Meryl Streep so far-do you have a "least favorite" of Meryl's nominated works? And Kristin, Sally, or Cate-who was in that coveted sixth place position? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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