Supporting Actress 2009

Feels good to finally be done with 2010 (well, besides Javier Bardem's movie I can't find) since I've been watching those movies since Jan/Feb and thinking about what to write for the blog entries since then, too. On to new movies I haven't seen yet which will hopefully be a nice breath of fresh air.

2009 Best Supporting Actress

Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

Mo'Nique is an evil, terrible person in this movie. She owns the character of Mary Lee Johnston and delivers a completely unlikeable performance which is far from a bad thing. She is seething with contempt and hostility at her daughter Precious for seemingly just being born. Any time she puts on a demeanor of niceness, it's only to keep her welfare checks coming or the social workers at bay, and that demeanor looks like it's ready to fall off at any moment. She lashes out at her daughter to deflect away any sense of vulnerability and we witness a mother who is unwilling to change because she blames her daughter for everything wrong in her life. My one complaint is that the performance feels too one-note. Mo'Nique plays evil well but there's not much depth to the character. We get a small peak at the end of the movie when she begins to let down her guard a bit, but then we realize it's not a breakthrough so much as it is another ploy to get her money.

Penelope Cruz - Nine

Not gonna lie, I saw this movie in theaters and enjoyed its aesthetic and some of the songs but will admit it's not that good of a movie. I wonder if Cruz's win the previous year and the Weinstein factor in an otherwise weak group led to this nomination. Cruz is basically eye candy as the woman Daniel Day-Lewis is having an affair with. The character seems more like a caricature than anything else and doesn't do anything to help the movie from looking and feeling like one big joke. The movie seems made to win Oscars and not much else and Cruz's role reflects this idea perfectly. All style, with no substance.

Vera Farmiga - Up in the Air

This performance isn't all that exceptional or powerful, it's sort of basic and run-of-the-mill. Farmiga produces a decent enough performance as George Clooney's love interest but ultimately she lacks any real oomph. I think a lot of that is due in part to the director/writer of the movie. As the viewer, we enjoy her character as a fit for Clooney and root on their blossoming romance only to have all of that interest in the character suddenly and unceremoniously pulled out from under us when we find out she isn't who she says she is. That scene really seems like it's there to provide some jarring, serious moment to get Clooney's character to change but it comes off utterly ridiculous and the movie suffers from that point on. There's just nothing really special about Farmiga's role here, though she does try to match Clooney's charm and almost comes close. Being able to keep up with Clooney doesn't really make the performance any more compelling than it already isn't.

Maggie Gyllenhaal - Crazy Heart

Honestly, I had to watch his again because I could not remember a thing about her performance. Watching it a second time, I really think she was miscast. The romance between her and Bridges isn't believable and her Southern accent is pretty bad. At first, there is a wariness for Gyllenhaal's character in going for a relationship with Bad Blake and she does a good job in showing her hesitation in beginning the romance but gives in to her loneliness and need for a fatherly figure for her child. But the actual relationship part and the tribulations that come after just fall flat and seemed rushed to move the plot along. Why is this young aspiring journalist falling for an old, usually drunk, chain smoking country singer? There's no real chemistry or believability and that is due in large part to Gyllenhaal.

Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air

At first, Kendrick annoyed me a bit in this movie. Her character was just this insufferable, know it all, corporate do-gooder in the beginning and coupling that with Kendrick making the performance look like she was acting, well, I thought I was going to hate this one. But luckily her performance got better and better and added some depth which was much needed. She plays feisty yet vulnerable, self-assured yet doubting her life choices, independent yet still needing people and these can play out in the same scenes with minimal effort. I was glad I was wrong with my initial thoughts because I enjoyed whatever scenes she was in and thought she was a perfect foil to Clooney in this movie. I wish at times she acted with more power (not saying louder or overdone) and had been able to steal the movie away from Clooney, which I thought she was easily capable of doing.


Not a very strong group at all in my opinion. I'm satisfied with Mo'Nique winning because she gives such a searing performance, one that I think will be looked at fondly in years to come. I give the same performance the edge over Anna Kendrick, which I also liked. From there I feel there's a drop off into the more average to below average range and I know that there were probably more deserving actresses out there. I have a feeling this category is going to be the one I least want to watch and review. Hopefully I am proven wrong in the coming reviews.

Oscar Winner: Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
My Winner: Mo'Nique - Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire
Anna Kendrick
Vera Farmiga
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Penelope Cruz