Performance Review: Olivia De Havilland in To Each His Own

Olivia De Havilland received her third Oscar nomination and won the Oscar for playing Jody Norris a woman who is forced to let her son live a life without knowing she is his mother in To Each His Own.

Given the legal victories that De Havilland won for herself and the industry against Warner Brothers and her pedigree as an actress it”s easy to believe that De Havilland was the favorite this year especially considering the fact that she had never won an Oscar before. I”d have to check some resources but I”m pretty sure now that it would have been an upset if she was overlooked in favor of someone else.

To Each His Own is a very typical soapy melodramatic movie from the 40s- none of the plot lines are really that credible and the movie isn”t really noteworthy even if it is entertaining and well crafted. The only real reason to watch it is for Olivia De Havilland who commands the screen while carrying the film completely without letting it”s implausible  plot drag her down.

Jody is a very interesting character- she appears to be a strong willed, independent, and dominating woman  who hides a great degree of loneliness and emotion underneath. De Havilland captures all of this extremely well in addition to technically playing the older Jody flawlessly- it”s amazing to think that this woman also was a southern belle in Gone With The Wine and a rich heiress in Tbe Heiress. As the movie enters into its flashback phase, Jody is shown as a very young woman. Practical and strong but also vulnerable, inexperienced, and romantic. We see her faith in finding the right happiness in her life as well as her passion for adventure. There is a great sense of spirit, of confidence and maturity that De Havilland brings to Jody that makes her wonderful to watch. As the film goes on we see Jody get pregnant with her dead lover”s child, her excitement and determination towards having the baby as her own, and her heartbreak over the loss of the child to an old friend of hers who will now always be known as his mother. Granted, Jody is a little bit selfish and overzealous in her attempts to become the baby”s mother(so much to the point that she bribes her friend into letting her have her son who becomes so lonely he gets sent back to her) but De Havilland wonderfully displays how Jody”s powerful love for her son motivates her to create a better life for herself and for him. Despite the ridiculous almost uncomfortable nature of the way the film portrays this woman De Havilland makes it believable and effective  every step of the way even with the clunky script and  sometimes unsympathetic nature of Jody.

It”s a terrific performance that rises above her film when another actress could have made it a complete disaster. Luckily, Olivia De Havilland had the right instincts and the technical as well as the emotional skills of a quality actress to pull it off making it something memorable. A deserving winner.

Best Actress 2008: Meryl Streep in Doubt

Meryl Streep received her fifteenth Oscar nomination for playing Sister Aloysius, a domineering nun who suspects that a  priest (Phillip Seymour Hoffman)  is sexually abusing a young  black boy and enlists the help of a somewhat reluctant young nun named Sister James in order to help her put an end to the priest's actions.


Meryl Streep was always a shoo-in to be nominated for this film, but a win seemed to be somewhat of a long shot, given that Kate Winslet was considered extremely overdue for an Oscar at this point and Anne Hathaway was gathering great praise and accolades for her performance in Rachel Getting Married. Streep tied with Hathaway for the Critics Choice Award, but her absence from the ceremony didn't really make this seem like a big win and after losing the Globe to Winslet, her chances of winning her third Oscar  didn't look that promising . However, she pulled off a Best Actress  win at SAG leaving Hathaway in the dust (Winslet won in Supporting for The Reader) and Hollywood was widely reminded that it had been quite a while since Meryl had graced the Oscar stage. Her chances increased greatly after that but I don't think she had any real chance of winning due to Winslet being too strong of a contender to beat.

Doubt is an excellent film-powerfully executed and extremely compelling. Is it a little too overbearing with it's symbolism and devices? Yes. Is it a little stagey? Yes. But the film's compelling moral dilemma is too strong to resist. There is fabulous acting throughout and the writing is fantastic(besides the storm stuff lol).

The character of Sister  Aloysius is one that is often felt to be a caricature or a vileness. To my mind, she most certainly isn't: She's someone who greatly believes in her faith and in her responsibility as Mother Superior as well as Principal of the school at large. She is someone who sees evil everywhere and believes in strict adherence to rules and to appearances. But she does have a heart and I honestly believe that it was in the right place the whole time. Little is known about her past besides the intriguing fact that she was married before joining the church. In my opinion, Sister Aloysius's certainty probably comes from some sort of past experience or trauma that makes her unwilling to even openly consider the possibility that he is innocent, at least that is how I interpret Streep's interpretation of the character. Streep plays this nun as a woman on a crusade,  driven to stamp out all evil  at all costs and is driven to setting a high moral standard for everyone to follow,  especially Sister James, who is rather naive and oblivious to any possible wrongdoing by her pupils.

Streep's character may seem one-dimensional, but Streep shows us that she is strong, determined, caring, and extremely intelligent. Streep understands her character perfectly and nails all of the aspects of her- her vulnerability, her humor, her strength, her natural mistrust in others. She and Phillip Seymour Hoffman play extremely well off of each other as do she and Amy Adams and of course Viola Davis(in an incredible performance BTW). In her final scenes, she superbly shows how her strength is shaken by Father Flynn's resolve and how SPOILER ALERT that she is not sure that she has done the right thing by finally removing him from the school and the church. For me,  it was easy to identify with her character more then anyone else in the film due to also seeing evil in many places where others may not believe it to be there. Streep is also very specific and detailed in much of her characterization, either it be her line delivery or her body language, showing us the Sister's reactions and thought processes wonderfully.

All in all, I find Meryl Streep's performance in Doubt to be extremely high in  quality even though the material she is working with has it's flaws and her Bronx dialect can be a bit overly mannered at times. She gets 

Best Actress 2008: Kate Winslet in The Reader

Kate Winslet received her 6th Oscar nomination and won the Oscar for playing Hanna Schmitz, a German woman who has an affair with a teenage  boy  named Michael(David Kross) and through the eyes of the later, is eventually revealed to be a former SS guard.

When thinking ahead to the 81st Academy Awards 10 years ago, I had this image in my head of Kate Winslet's name being called as Best Actress was announced and receiving her long overdue recognition from the Academy. But for Revolutionary Road, which was one of the most anticipated films of the year that ended up coming out too late in the season to gain any traction in the BP and BD races. Still, Winslet's performance was considered to be a near-lock for a Best Actress nomination as was her candidacy in the Supporting Actress category for The Reader, a film that was mixed in terms of reception but was doing fairly well all the same, especially for Winslet who garnered the Broadcast Critics Choice Award as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. Trouble was is that she also picked up the Leading Actress in a Drama award for RR, which made people wonder which film would she be honored for or would she somehow be shut out? Well, it turned out that the Academy made the decision to put her performance in The Reader in the Leading Category, snubbing her RR performance and making her the de-facto frontrunner for Best Actress, especially after triumphing at SAG and The Reader getting surprise nods for Best Picture and Best Director. Winslet was clearly overdue and while Meryl was great in Doubt, her momentum came too late to best Winslet while Anne Hathaway was hampered by her film's lack of support as well as the fact that she had other chances ahead of her. Neither Melissa Leo or Angelina Jolie had any chance of winning.

The Reader is actually a film that I greatly admire- Unlike a lot of Holocaust films that are honored at the Oscars, the film explores the aftermath of the Holocaust itself and the way that post World War 2 Germany views the actions of those who took part in and stood by the Nazi regime and how those two generations try to communicate in order to understand Nazi Germany's actions. The film is extremely well directed and well acted all around and is a powerful story, although too simplistic at times.

Anyway, Winslet plays Hanna, a woman who is very cold and calculated, yet also passionate, strong, authoritative. In the first half of the film, Winslet shows us her many shades both unlikeable and like-able- her somewhat callous treatment of Michael, her love of stories, her passion for romance and intimacy. Hanna is an enigma in many ways, but is also very close to us: We understand why Michael falls in love with her and why she falls in love with him. There are many superb moments in Winslet's portrayal of Hanna in the first half of the film, particularly the church scene which takes place on a trip that she and Michael take together. She is luminous and fascinating to watch.

The middle half of the film presents us with a much different view of Hanna, although it does not appear that she has changed much since she ended her affair with Michael. She is on trial for war crimes, that she allegedly committed in the course of her work as an SS guard. Hanna is the only woman out of all the guards who openly admits her actions, which eventually lead to her being scapegoated by her fellow defendants.  Winslet is quite riveting here, showing sides of vulnerability that we have not seen the full extent of in Hanna before as well as Hanna's  strength and reserved nature.

The third act of the film  is where she is sadly held back a little by the ridiculous age makeup(LOL), but Winslet still shows Hanna's internal changes and reflections. Her choices and morals are still a mystery, but Winslet makes the character of Hanna Schmitz mesmerizing to watch. A fascinating and beautiful portrayal. She gets

Best Actress 2008

The next Best Actress year I'll be doing is 2008 and the nominees were: 

Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married 

Angelina Jolie in Changeling 

Melissa Leo in Frozen River 

Meryl Streep in Doubt 

Kate Winslet in The Reader 

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri And The Shape Of Water

Three Billboards Outside Of Ebbing Missouri: I came into this film knowing it would be good and did not disappoint: The film is a harrowing, extremely funny film with such perfectly funny details and an extremely good balance of comedy and drama throughout.  The cast is filled with fantastic acting and it tells a strong impactful story that holds it's power all the way through.  McDormand gives an extremely brave, powerful performance which is both extremely funny and riveting. You see and identify with her pain and her being at the end of her sanity with truly nowhere to latch onto. Harrelson is terrific as the police Sheriff dying of cancer, but still sympathetic and wanting  to help Mildred(McDormand's character), but she won't have any of it.  Sam Rockwell's character Dixon is perhaps the least sympathetic and most irritating at times, but he is great and progressively more like-able as the film goes on.  Pretty much everyone in the whole cast is excellent. My problems with the film though are somewhat numerous: It stretches reality a little too much with all the violent actions the characters do and no consequences for them and the progressive violence goes a bit too over the top after a while and repetitive, but that doesn't bother me. The ending is also pretty flawed too, but I think that was the purpose of it. Still, it's a great film, even though it's problems make me frustrated with it because it could have been a masterpiece.  It's still the best film I've seen all year though so far.

The Shape Of Water: This was the first Oscar contender I saw and it was certainly a beautiful achievement. The film is wonderfully directed and filled with such strong, great moments telling a really great love story that's unconventional, but entertaining. Still, the film's story is flawed: Michael Shannon's character is overall great throughout, but I thought he needed more backstory to his character or perhaps a different way of handling his character arc as the film ended because it came across as a little too much. Also, the Soviet storyline is really unclear and not well executed and  (slight spoiler) the Doctor's choice at the end isn't credible to me. But the film is a luminous love-story that is also a great thriller with great acting. Hawkins gives a moving,  well-developed, radiant performance and the aforementioned Shannon, Jenkins, Stuhlbarg,Spencer(although her character is like Minnie  from The Help decided to move to Maryland)  and Doug Jones as the  mysterious creature are all excellent. I hope it gets honored somewhere on Oscar night and I hope it gets a bunch of Oscar nominations on Oscar Nominations morning. 

Best Actress 1987: Holly Hunter in Broadcast News

Holly Hunter received her first Oscar nomination for playing Jane Craig, a T.V Network producer who finds herself caught between the handsome new news reporter  Tom(William Hurt)and her best friend Aaron(Albert Brooks) in Broadcast News.

Broadcast News is surprisingly a kind of WTF movie for me- I couldn't really tell what the hell was going on for a lot of it and it's kinda stuck in the 80's LO  but it still has its merits. The acting is overall quite strong, with both Hurt and Brooks turning strong work. Hunter, despite winning the N.B.R award for this film, probably didn't have much of a chance at winning  the Oscar given her stiff competition. She was too new to Hollywood at the time and Cher took the romantic comedy votes away from her and  Moonstruck overshadowed Broadcast News for these same reasons in the general Oscar race.  Not to mention Kirkland and Close had more passionate supporters. So I think Hunter came in fourth with Streep bringing up the rear.

Holly Hunter is an actress who I like a lot: I personally love her southern voice and she has great acting instincts and a real presence on screen. Here, she does a lot of great work. Her best moments are when she is listening to her co-stars during a scene or reacting/feeling on her own: With her facial expressions, she communicates exactly what Jane is feeling and we can read her like a book. She makes us care about Jane, admire her for her spirit and intelligence, and even love her when she is radiant and happy about her love life with Tom. She is beautifully natural and fiercely present at the same time, never making her work become too subtle but letting the character speak for itself. She is perfectly cast in the role: who else can you imagine in this part? And she has great chemistry with Hurt and especially Albert Brooks. Their scenes together are probably the best in the film because the two  character are so alike and have such a strong, passionate relationship that is extremely funny and moving.

But the problem that Hunter can't get out of  is the fact that the character's whole purpose is just wondering whether or not she's good enough for Tom and the conflicts that she has over both him and Aaron.  We definitely see her commitment to her work and to her job in the beginning but in my opinion we don't see enough of it. I wanted to see more fire in the character, more of a love/hate relationship between her and Hurt, and that just doesn't seem to come across. Jane Craig could have been a lot more opinionated and less needing of a man to define her but the script cheats us out of this. It could have been a lot worse but the writing and the acting is just three levels or so above this that it doesn't sink the film or Hunter's performance. But it still could have been better.

Still, though Hunter gives a luminous portrayal that is both funny and touching and beautifully captures the full range of her characters emotions and quirks, in the end creating an extremely  memorable   character.  She gets

Best Actress Overall Winners: Part 6

Moving right along to the finish line! Please  feel free to comment on and check out Part 5 below! I updated it to include Fritz's, Dinasztie's, Alex's, and my own choices for the years in which I've/they've  done profiles on and which races I have opinions on who I think the winner should have been  currently even though I have not done a profile yet. I would have included all of Sage's too, but since she deleted  some of her Best Actress posts/rankings and a great amount of time has passed since she posted all of her rankings when she concluded the category, I can't  definitively  consider   the majority of them her choices anymore, unless I get clarification from her. Anyway, we miss you Sage and hope you're doing well!!

Best Actress 2008: This one is hard, because I haven't heard too many opinions on the race in general- Some dislike Winslet, others don't, so I'd say she's split down the middle. Streep has more detractors then supports and Jolie even more so. That leaves Hathaway and Leo- I guess I'll go with Leo? Fritz picked Winslet, Alex picked Streep, I need to rewatch all of them to get a definitive opinion on my thoughts.

Oscar Winner: Kate Winslet

Overall Winner:  Melissa Leo

Best Actress 2009: Sandra Bullock's win is one of the biggest WTF winners in many  people's minds, but on a rewatch of a chunk of the film a few weeks ago, I personally liked the performance film much more then when I saw it the first time all those years ago. Who would have thought? Anyway, she still is no overall winner. I'll go with Mulligan, despite strong support for Sidibe and Streep. Dinasztie went with Streep, Alex went with Mulligan.

Oscar Winner: Sandra Bullock

Overall Winner: Carey Mulligan

Best Actress 2010: It's getting to the point that the more recent the winners become, the harder it is to judge who is the most popular winner these days. This is a strong lineup though, so I think you could find any of the nominees being someone's pick. I'll just go with Portman for now, but feel free to help me on this guys!  Dinasztie went with Portman , Alex went with Portman, and  although I never completed this year officially , I think Kidman was the best of the nominees.

Oscar Winner: Natalie Portman

Overall Winner: Natalie Portman

Best Actress 2011:  Ah, the year Meryl finally won her third Oscar. I think you can find people that both love and hate the performance, but despite some support for Williams, I think Davis is the overall winner here.  Dinasztie picked Meryl, Alex picked Meryl as well.

Oscar Winner: Meryl Streep

Overall Winner: Viola Davis

Best Actress 2012: Lawrence's win is largely disliked now it seems, unfairly IMO, but there you go. I think Chastain has some love out there, but Riva probably is most people's pick nowadays. Alex picked  Riva, Dinasztie picked Riva as well. Sage has stated Chastain is her pick.

Oscar Winner: Jennifer Lawrence

Overall Winner: Emanuelle Riva

Best Actress 2013: Cate Blanchett won the Oscar and her win is hugely popular.  Alex  went with Blanchett and for me it's a tossup between Blanchett and Adams, with a nod to Streep.

Oscar Winner: Cate Blanchett

Overall Winner: Cate Blanchett

Best Actress 2014: I get the impression most consider Julianne's win a makeup award, but I don't think she is disliked for her win. I'll go with Pike as the overall winner.  I haven't seen Witherspoon yet, but both Pike and Cotillard are amazing. I think Cotillard deserved it the most. Sage stated her choice is Julianne Moore.

Oscar Winner: Julianne Moore

Overall Winner: Rosamund Pike

Best Actress 2015: This is the second to most recent win, so it's hard to say who the overall winner is. Certainly not Jennifer Lawrence or Cate Blanchett. I'll just give this one to Rampling, lol. Alex picked Rampling.

Oscar Winner:  Brie Larson

Overall Winner: Charlotte Rampling

Best Actress 2016: Stone's win seems destined to become unpopular, but as I've noted again and again, it's a bit too soon to be definitive about who most think should have won this year. I'll pick  Portman  and Huppert in a tie for now. Louis gave his personal Best Actress award to Emma Stone and Alex picked Streep.

Oscar Winner: Emma Stone

Overall Winner:   TIE- Natalie Portman & Isabelle Hubbert

So, that's it!! Feel free to comment on your thoughts about these years and who your personal winners are, if you disagree with me, and more!

Best Actress Overall Winners: Part 5

                                                             

Decided to finish this series!!!  Here's a link to my  third  post in the series on here (https://filmoscarsandmore.blogspot.com/2014/02/best-actress-overall-winners-part-4.html)  and a links  to the second (http://oscarfan69.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-actress-post-part-2.html) (http://oscarfan69.blogspot.com/2010/09/best-actress-post-part-1.html) and first post from my retired blog, Oscarfan.

Best Actress 1995: Hmm, hard to say since I could see all the nominees besides maybe Emma Thompson having a passionate fanbase. I'll go with Elisabeth Shue, although I could be wrong. Let me know if you think so.  Dinasztie picked Shue.

Oscar Winner: Susan Sarandon

Overall Winner: Elisabeth Shue

Best Actress 1996: Another tricky one, but I'm going to go with Emily Watson in Breaking The Waves. Her performance is astounding and her fanbase is strong and loud, despite the love for McDormand out there. Dinasztie picked Watson, Fritz picked Watson, I'd pick Watson.

Oscar Winner: Frances McDormand

Overall Winner: Emily Watson

Best Actress 1997: Oh, this is an easy one. Judi Dench clearly takes the crown here as the overall winner these days, with Hunt's win becoming one of the most hated and infamous in the Academy's  history. Dinasztie picked Helena Bonham Carter.

Oscar Winner: Helen Hunt

Overall Winner: Judi Dench

Best Actress 1998: Another no-brainer and another queen taking the prize: Cate Blanchett has even been asked about her infamous loss to Gwyneth Paltrow, whose career immediately took a turn for the worse after this and she's now one of the most unpopular actresses around. Fritz picked Blanchett, Dinasztie picked Montenegro.

Oscar Winner: Gwyneth Paltrow

Overall Winner: Cate Blanchett

Best Actress 1999: Well, here comes a nice change of pace from the Oscar winner losing out in the last previous three years: Swank's win is regarded as one of the best winners in this category and one of the best choices the Academy has ever made. Alex picked Swank.


Oscar Winner: Hillary Swank

Overall Winner: Hillary Swank

Best Actress 2000:  Sadly, we can't say the same for Julia Roberts, another extremely disliked win (and IMO, unfairly). People have been saying Ellen Burstyn was robbed for years.  Alex picked Burstyn.

Oscar Winner: Julia Roberts

Overall Winner: Ellen Burstyn

Best Actress 2001: Berry's win/speech is ridiculed all over the Oscar fan world and beyond, but it's hard to say who the overall winner is. Perhaps the then perceived favorite Sissy Spacek? Or maybe even Nicole Kidman? I'll go with Spacek. Fritz picked Nicole, Dinasztie picked Berry, Alex picked Nicole.

Oscar Winner:  Halle Berry

Overall Winner: Sissy Spacek

Best Actress 2002: Kidman's win is largely panned here, but in my mind, not as much as the previous winners I've mentioned, although maybe that's just around here? I think Lane and Zellweger have their fans, but in most people's minds, this is Moore's year, as it should have been at the Oscars as well. Fritz picked Moore, I picked Moore, Dinasztie picked Moore.

Oscar Winner: Nicole Kidman

Overall Winner: Julianne Moore

Best Actress 2003: Charlize Theron's win is widely regarded as highly deserved and her performance is indeed  stunning. I'm sure the other nominees have their fans though. I picked Theron, Dinasztie picked Theron.

Oscar Winner: Charlize Theron

Overall Winner: Charlize Theron

Best Actress 2004: SIGH... Back to the hated wins. Swank's turn in Million Dollar Baby is another unpopular victory. Staunton has her supporters, but Winslet is no doubt the winner here. Fritz picked Staunton, I picked Winslet,  Dinasztie picked Winslet.

Oscar Winner: Hillary Swank

Overall Winner: Kate Winslet

Best Actress 2005: And yet another disliked win this year with Reese Witherspoon's Oscar win for Walk The Line. Felicity Huffman is the overall winner easily.

Oscar Winner: Reese Witherspoon:

Overall Winner: Felicity Huffman.

Best Actress 2006: A hard one to call because most people don't feel that Helen should have won, but her win isn't hated either.  And all the other nominees have their supporters: it  was a fantastic year in this category after all. I'll go with Judi Dench.  I picked Dame Judi, Dinasztie picked Dame Judi.

Oscar Winner: Helen Mirren

Overall Winner: Judi Dench

Best Actress 2007: Not everyone goes gaga over Cotillard's win, but that doesn't mean she isn't still the overall winner here. Many call her performance one of the best ever and I count myself as a fan of her work here. Fritz picked Marion, Alex picked Marion, Dinasztie picked Marion.

Oscar Winner: Marion Cotillard

Overall Winner: Marion Cotillard

And that's it  until Part 6!! You guys agree with my analysis? Who do you think are the overall winners in each of these years?

Performance Review: Kathy Bates in Misery

Kathy Bates received her first Oscar nomination and won the Oscar for playing Annie Wilkes, a very disturbed woman who is fictional writer Paul Sheldon's number one fan,  "rescues" him from a car crash and saves his life, only to eventually force him to burn his new book out of retaliation for killing her favorite character in his romance novel series  Misery. She forces him to write a new book  resurrecting Misery while also   both threatening and executing   violence on him and continuing  to  hold him capture  in her house, all the while making Paul greatly fear for his life in the process.


On the surface, it seems rather odd that the Academy decided to honor Bates's performance- Films like Misery are hardly ever recognized by the Academy in any way and characters like this  had been passed over previously by the Academy(see Glenn Close's loss to Cher for Fatal Attraction 3 years previously). And Bates was no A-lister  in Hollywood at the time. But Bates beat the odds.  I think she had the always desirable advantage of too many things going against her competition: Woodward may have been the sentimental favorite, but the film may have been too slow for Oscar voters. Huston gave a great performance as another villainous character, but she had just won an Oscar five years earlier and she  is more of a co-lead then a de-facto lead.  Julia Roberts was not going to be honored for a film like Pretty Woman, the nomination was the reward for her. And Meryl Streep had no chance of winning. So voters rallied around Bates, who was helped by her Golden Globe win and her unforgettable character.

Annie Wilkes is certainly one of the  more complex and memorable characters in this  category: She very clearly has serious psychological problems, most of which are believed to be  a mix of Bipolar Disorder, anti-social personality disorder, erotomania, ect.  Given all these aspects, Annie Wilkes is a tricky character to get right for any actress, but Bates gets her to a T. When we see Annie for the first time, we believe, like Paul, that she is a sweet,  eccentric, but well-meaning woman.  Bates plays all these traits perfectly: She plays all the flattery, the adoration, the kindness, the hesitancy about asking Paul certain things, all wonderfully. Of course, we come to notice Annie is not what she seems very quickly, due to her erratic nature. She gets extremely angry about things that are relatively minor or not worthy of the amount of anger she spouts about them. For example, she loses it when Paul scoffs at her dislike of profanity and spills soup on his bed after going on an angry tirade about how she never uses profanity(at least not the normal kind, lol).  And when she  finds out Misery is dead, she goes completely insane and violent. She and James Caan work extremely well together, with Bates always commanding the screen in every scene she's in.

 Bates is very convincing and terrifying throughout as Annie: She brilliantly shows her character 's cleverness, longing for control over everything she does, her charisma, her high status over Paul in their power struggle, her continued adoration over Paul, and eventually her obsessive, disturbing, unfathomable love for him.  Annie Wilkes is a juicy role and a brilliantly  written character and Bates milks her for all she's worth.

The one slight complaint I have is that some of Annie's outbursts come across as slightly cartoonish and overly mannered, but it doesn't take away from the power of her performance.

Best Actress 1987

The next Best Actress year I'll be doing a profile/ranking on is 1987 and the nominees were:

 Cher in Moonstruck
 
 Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction

Holly Hunter in Broadcast News
 
Sally Kirkland in Anna

 Meryl Streep in Ironweed

     

So who are you rooting for?  Who do you think will be my pick? What is your preference/thoughts on the quality of this year and on the  awards race in this category this year? 

Thoughts On The Oscar Season

Hello everyone!!! It's literally been forever, I know, but I'm very active on Golderby, covering this year's Oscar season and seasons from the past.  I'll try to post as much as I can about my thoughts on the films I'm seeing and this year's Oscar race and there may even be some sort of profile activity in the future.  I can't make any promises, but we'll see.

Anyway, this Oscar season has been very exciting in terms of how open this season is.  With no clear frontrunner for Best Picture and Best Director as well as an exciting race for Best Supporting Actress makes a more interesting season  then we've had in quite a while.  I'm hoping that it'll stay that way, but we all know it could turn very predictable very quickly. Anyway, here's my predictions for this year.

Best Picture:  A three way race between The Revenant, Spotlight, and The Big Short.  It's all down to momentum- The Revenant has it with 12 Oscar nominations, box office success, and an epic sweep to it, but will the Academy embrace it enough to honor it? Spotlight most certainly recovered from its spotty precursor performance with being able to gain two acting nominations and that editing nomination, but it needs to do well with the guilds in order to win. The Big Short is very popular and I can see it winning SAG and then going on to win more at the Guilds, but we'll see. We can't make any  confident predictions until the guilds happen.

Best Director: I can definitely see Miller winning this one, since Alejandro had quite a big year last year. It's not impossible for him to win, but right now I'm not betting on it. If Spotlight or The Big Short dominate the guilds and become the BP frontrunner,  I could easily see McKay or McCarthy winning.  Again, I think DGA will help clear things up.

Best Actor: Leo is largely locked here. If Trumbo was more well liked by the Academy, Cranston could have a better chance, but The Revenant is way too strong right now and Leo's extremely popular. I could still see SAG going for him, but I think Leo is too strong to lose right now.

Best Supporting Actor: Stallone has a lot going for him, but with no precursor love from SAG or BAFTA makes me not believe that he is a lock like others do. However, if the awards split between contenders whose support is soft, he most likely will win, unless Hardy can really ride the momentum of The Revenant here.

Best Actress: Larson seems to be winning this one. Ronan still has a slim chance, but she needs to beat her at SAG and right now, I don't see that happening. Room has stronger Oscar support then Brooklyn does and Larson seems to have a home turf advantage: She's much more popular then Ronan. If Larson wins SAG (and I expect she will), she's winning the Oscar.

Best Supporting Actress: A hard category right now that does come down to SAG. Kate looks like a really strong contender with her now being a 7 time Oscar nominee and after winning the Golden Globe, but she needs to win another precursor to get the Oscar. Both Vikander and Mara have shots, but both need SAG to win. I'm more skeptical about Mara since Carol was snubbed in Best Picture and she also gives a very restrained performance.  I don't think Jennifer Jason Leigh is winning, but she's not out of it just yet.

Best Original Screenplay: Spotlight is most likely picking this one up unless white guilt causes an upset for Straight Outta Compton.

Best Adapted Screenplay: The Big Short is the likely winner here unless Room upsets.

What do you guys think? What films are you rooting for? Who are you not rooting for?