This is my first time doing my reviews in the midst of the Oscar race and it's really been a lot of fun. Seeing the race develop from the very beginning has been eye opening. And reading all the many different blogs and articles about which person or movie would and/or should be nominated was interesting to see just how wrong our predictions can be. I love knowing how the race shaped up and knowing that when I look back on this year that I'll have a more in-depth, personal knowledge of it instead of relying on Oscar history books and wikipedia! Normally I might have already seen 1 or 2 performances and would need to see the rest to make up my mind, but of course all of them were new so this has been refreshing and let's me know what it'll be like when I get deeper into this.
2011 Best Supporting Actress
Octavia Spencer - The Help
The presumed front runner, it is all but assured that Spencer will win. But does she deserve to? I'm inclined to think otherwise, but her performance is by no means bad. Her character, Minny, is very broadly written and comes off very much like a stereotype at times. Minny is the strong black woman who takes no shit when it comes to her daughter, her work, her friends but suffers violent abuse at the hands of her (presumed) husband. Spencer does act with an earnestness that is refreshing at times but during others, you half expect her to snap her fingers in the air three times and say "Mmhmm" and a laugh track to start playing. A lot of the issues stem from the actual story which is far from being Best Picture worthy, but Spencer does her best to give Minny the depth the character deserves. However, for what should have been a fully fleshed out role, it falls victim to the kid gloves treatment the whole movie is subjected to and that's a shame for Spencer.
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
It is no small feat to be able to steal scenes from the uber charming Jean Dujardin and uber cute Uggie the Dog, but steal scenes Bejo did. She plays the role with pitch perfect simplicity. From the first time we see her getting her picture taken with Dujardin's character and parlaying that into working on silent films as an extra, she deftly conveys the shy, young, demure girl trying to break into Hollywood. As her roles increase and she becomes a major star with the advent of the talkies, we see her remain gracious and pure from the stain of Hollywood's brutality. She even shows concern for her former inspiration, George Valentin, as he fails to adapt to a movie business with sound drowning out the silent era he reigned over. Bejo does this all very convincingly, keeping up with her charismatic co-stars with equally expressive faces and movements that really show off her acting abilities. However, it becomes obvious through the movie that Bejo is merely a character for Dujardin to interact with as we experience his ups and downs. There's not a whole lot of depth to the character of Peppy (who lives up to her name) though Bejo does a marvelous job with what she is given. She's a sweet, caring, loveable woman who avoids any real conflict that could challenge her and push her performance from good to great.
Jessica Chastain - The Help
I feel this nomination is due more to Chastain bursting onto the scene with 7 different movies in 2011, 6 of which were critical and/or commercial successes, rather than on the merit of this role itself. Chastain's character, Celia, is a dopey, newly married, white trash southern woman who is in over her head as she tries to fit in with the other society women in town. She is an outsider who has married into wealth and the other women can't stand her uncouth behavior. So she takes on Spencer's character as a maid and treats her as a sort of equal and confidant. Chastain is essentially used as a character to show that not all of the white society women are evil racists and that they can somewhat coexist with "the help." Chastain does a convincing enough job in her role, one that is sincere in her innocent personality, which further shows how The Help treats its subject with kid gloves.
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
I'm still a bit unsure if this performance deserves its nomination here or if it just rode the popularity of the movie into one. That's not to say I dislike McCarthy in this movie. She is actually the flat out funniest thing about Bridesmaids, which says a lot about her comedic chops that she can come out on top in a movie featuring many other funny women. But how much of it is people overreacting to there finally being a raunchy, all-girl, gross out movie that rivals some of the many similar movies that feature mostly men? I could see a Jack Black or Zach Galifianakis filling the same type of role and getting no Oscar love though they might be equally as funny. It seems odd to me that this would get nominated as if a woman playing this type of comedic role is more worthy because it is so rarely done. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it because I'm definitely for more comedy roles and movies being included in these awards, male or female! McCarthy does steal almost every scene she is in, though I do feel she is given some of the best writing (although I'm sure some is improvised) and best situations with which to act in. I'd say that her character makes this movie worth watching on her own and helps elevate it to a level where awards talk isn't totally unwarranted.
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Janet McTeer is the only good thing about this movie, so I can understand why she was nominated here. When her character first appeared onscreen, it took me a good while to tell that she wasn't actually a man (obviously I had never seen McTeer before to be able to tell differently). The make-up and effects were obviously very good, but the mannerisms and voice of McTeer really helped to convince me she was a man for the first part of the film. What really impressed me was that in every scene she is in, even with Glenn Close, she acts circles around everyone else. She completely owns this otherwise dreadful movie and is its only saving grace. She gives a decent and believable performance that is sabotaged by a weak script and an awful role by Glenn Close that would make me look like an accomplished actor.
This group was really underwhelming and it feels like I say that about almost every Supporting Actress category so I don't want to come off as some sexist guy that hates women actors. I think the Supporting category lends itself to having some performances get nominated that aren't exactly worthy and we all know the Academy indulges itself in whatever suits their whims. So you might get lifetime achievements, make up nominees, or ones that make the Academy seem hip or not the stuffy club it really is. But with all that said, all I want is good performances that blow me away more than leave me wanting more, men or women. None of these 5 performances really wow me. In fact, they all are about the same in that you could mix em all up and randomly rank them and I'd probably be ok with all the different iterations. I like things about all of them just as I dislike different things about all of them. I don't think I can definitively give the win to any of these (though I think I like Bejo's performance the best so far) and I feel I may need to give these a little distance in time to better judge their impact on me.
Oscar Winner: Octavia Spencer - The Help
My Winner: Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Octavia Spencer
Jessica Chastain
Melissa McCarthy
Janet McTeer
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