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Press - 2006
Supporting actress the real race for women
The sad truth is that the best performances by women in film are not to be
found in the best actress category, but rather here in best supporting. Even the
lead performance that will probably win this year’s best actress Oscar — Reese
Witherspoon, in “Walk the Line” — is arguably a supporting role. It’s hard not
to wonder: if they didn’t have the gender divide, how many women would be
nominated in the lead category at all (consider if you will, the thought of a
best female director category)?
All of which is to say, that despite Hollywood’s long-standing gender bias, many
women did wonderful work this year, including a handful that were overlooked.
Maria Bello deserved a nomination for her stellar work in “A History of
Violence.” In the course of that movie, as she realizes the truth about her
husband’s past, her interactions with her husband (Viggo Mortensen) transform
completely, and you can see it in every action and every look.
Scarlett Johansson had her first real adult role in Woody Allen’s “Match Point”
and came through with a performance that would have made Barbara Stanwyck proud.
Johansson, like Charlize Theron, proves you can be gorgeous and still do
excellent work. She, however, doesn’t feel the need to cover up her beauty.
Other notable performances from this year include Robin Wright Penn in “Nine
Lives,” Anne Hathaway in “Brokeback Mountain,” Tarij P. Henson in “Hustle &
Flow,” Michelle Trachtenberg in “Mysterious Skin” and Laura Linney in “The Squid
and the Whale.” That’s a pretty deep bench for this supporting actress team. But
despite the howling omission of Bello, let’s move on and talk about the
actresses who were nominated.
The biggest factor going against Frances McDormand is that “North Country”
simply isn’t as good a movie as the other five on this list. McDormand, as
always, is dependably good as Glory, the only female union representative who
also just happens to suffer from Lou Gehrig’s disease (movie of the week,
anyone?), but she’s done better work in much better films.
Glory is such a saintly character that without the McDormand spark, she would
have been completely uninteresting. I kept thinking, what if the screenwriter
hadn’t saddled her with the disease? It would have been more interesting to see
McDormand’s character, who has succeeded to a degree by working within the
system, have to struggle with whether she’s taken the right path — whether she’s
actually made things better for the women of the mine. With the disease, her
actions within the film take on a “nothing left to lose” quality, which makes
them a lot less interesting.
McDormand is good in the role, but she already has an Oscar for “Fargo” and a
lot better work ahead of her.
Catherine Keener may have been nominated for her outstanding work as Harper Lee
in “Capote,” but the actress also showed her versatility on screen in four
separate roles this year including, “The Ballad of Jack and Rose,” “The
40-Year-Old Virgin” and “The Interpreter.”
In “Capote,” Keener has to be the moral conscience of the movie. She loves her
friend (Philip Seymour Hoffman), yet sees, as we do, exactly what dark road he’s
traveling down. She doesn’t use histrionics to express herself — and there’s not
one large dramatic scene that will be showcased come awards night — what she
does is work quietly, observing as a writer would (appropriately enough since
she’s playing a writer) and witnessing his downfall.
All of Keener’s roles have one thing in common: They are smart women. In the
past Keener has played the vixen (“Being John Malkovich”), the neurotic (“Lovely
& Amazing”), the bitch (“Your Friends and Neighbors”), but she’s never had to
work in this subtle way, and though she won’t take home the Oscar for this role,
it proves that she is an actress who can take on any challenge.
For those who haven’t seen “Junebug,” this film about a woman (Embeth Davidtz)
who meets her new husband’s (Alessandro Nivola) Southern family for the first
time, is well worth renting. As Nivola’s pregnant sister, Amy Adams provides the
engine for this film. Her sunny spirit, which is seemingly undaunted by her sour
husband (Benjamin McKenzie) and a mother-in-law (Celia Weston) who waves her
away like an irritating but harmless house fly, is contagious. She’s fascinated
by Davidtz’s worldliness, without being envious.
The heart of the film comes in a scene between Nivola and Adams, in which we see
how vulnerable she’s been throughout the movie and how much she needs someone to
see her pain. And it’s not a moment that feels like victimhood — that optimist
that we’ve seen through the course of the film is still there.
The best thing that can be said about Adams’ performance is that she surprises.
And if Academy Award voters take the time to view this small film, she could
come through and steal this award. If nothing else, it’s hard not to hope that
this is the breakthrough that will help directors and casting agents think of
her in the future.
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