Best Actress 1985: Geraldine Page in The Trip To Bountiful

Geraldine Page received her 8th Best Actress nomination and finally won for playing Carrie Watts, an old woman who runs away from her son and his annoying wife to her old home Bountiful. Along the way, she meets a lovely woman named Thelma (Rebecca De Mornay) who she bonds with on the bus and helps her get there.

The Trip To Bountiful is a wonderful movie. I love the way it's shot and made and the performances are fantastic. I think a Best Picture nomination would have been a bit much, but it is still a very good film. I feel Geraldine was the easy frontrunner this year.I think Whoopi was really close to upsetting, but I think she was too new to take the prize just yet(She had to wait 5 years later for Ghost). It was sentiment and the quality of Page's performance that put her through to the top.

This is such a beautiful, stirring portrayal that is the heart and soul of the movie. Page's performance builds and builds, it starts out subtle, and gradually gains more emotion. I love how she comes to life after she leaves the apartment. Her whole self starts to awaken again and it's so wonderful to watch. I think her chemistry with Rebecca De Mornay is perfect and their scenes on the bus are some of the best scenes in the film. We can also really see her love for Bountiful and how it drives her to go there at last. Page is quite heartbreaking in the scenes in which we feel she may not make it to Bountiful. But when she finally does, it's so beautiful to see. We can feel her happiness and great array of emotions at being back home. I also love her body and her mannerisms. Sure, they can be a bit grating at times, but this is hardly a complaint given she is so great and this is how her character should be played.

Geraldine Page gives such an affecting, beautifully wrought performance which gets