Supporting Actress 2005

Finally getting into some categories where I haven't seen most of the nominees. I've only seen Catherine Keener from this group and I'm really excited to finally see some of these that I've heard so many good things about. It's not a very diverse group at all so it kind of makes the years to come (meaning the ones I've already reviewed) a little more interesting and surprising.

2005 Best Supporting Actress

Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener

Throughout my time watching this movie, I was expecting Weisz to just blow me away with some superb acting or at least have a truly Oscar moment where I could point and say yeah she totally deserved the win for that. But alas, that moment never actually came which isn't to say this is a bad performance or anything. It's just that I was expecting a lot more from an Oscar winner. What we got was a good enough effort, one that felt natural, realistic and effortless but ultimately underwhelming. Reading some of the reviews that actually do mention her role and you'd think it was some magnificent piece of work. Weisz's African activist wife does portray a strong, determined, intelligent character. But these moments are fleeting and don't leave a lasting impact for me. It's the start to something great but it never is allowed to plant itself and take hold of the viewer. Yes she's beautiful and admirably noble in her cause, but I can't help feel that some get caught up in her British charm. The role itself seems like it could be done in much the same way by the myriad of actresses who tried out for it and lost, which is hardly a knock against Weisz. The talent is there but I don't think the character was fully realized in this film. And that may very well be because of the editing or director. There is something good there - not quite great - that is fully capable of being nominated, I'm just not sure about actually winning. I'd love to be persuaded otherwise.

Amy Adams - Junebug

This is the film that first launched Amy Adams onto Oscar's radar and helped introduce her to the general public (along with Enchanted the next year). Just as in that movie, Adams comes off as incredibly sweet and likeable as the pregnant Southern girl in Junebug. She has such a frenetic energy about her, best described as a chatterbox. She zips from subject to subject sometimes in the same breath and it's instantly obvious the amount of talent that Adams possesses. She reminds us all of someone we know just like her that's so innocent and full of whimsy. She allows the viewer to connect with the movie which is admittedly really slow to progress and she is honestly the driving force of the movie. I wasn't all that interested in the art gallery owning woman from Chicago as she seemed to be merely a side plot to Adams' pregnant, eternal optimist wife. This is a great introduction to Adams and watching this performance makes it quite clear that she would be nominated again. Indeed, she was nominated 3 more times after this one for a total of 4 and it's quite possible she'll be nominated again for 2013. She's way overdue and I hope the Academy rewards her sooner than later. Not much else to say except that I'm glad the Academy was able to recognize this jaunty little performance.

Catherine Keener - Capote

Keener is a solid actress, but here, it's as if she exists solely for Hoffman's Capote to talk at. Sure, he dominates scenes with his powerful performance but Keener's Harper Lee should have had a lot more weight to the overall picture other than as something for which Hoffman to bounce lines off. I wanted more, more, more! She's a strong, serious, Southern woman that never gets to display those qualities in full. It would have been great if she was more of a moral voice and a friend that had more of a say. Instead, we get a supporting role that seems to typify a lot of the nominees in this category. I assume that Keener's nomination was ushered in with the movie as whole since it was up for Best Picture and won an Oscar for Hoffman. I really wish this didn't seem like just a throw in because I'm sure there were other deserving women out there.

Frances McDormand - North Country

When you think of Frances McDormand no doubt you think of her Oscar winning turn as the cop from Fargo. So that brings an aw shucks, folksy kind of connotation with it. A woman who can charm and be like one of the guys to hide the fact that she's a woman in a typically man's world, helping her avoid confrontation. That sums up her role as the union rep of a Minnesotan iron mine in this film perfectly. But unfortunately her character is incredibly thin. Yes she paved the way for Charlize Theron's character but she does nothing to improve the conditions for the women. She's content to placate the men so that they don't harass her and honestly she does absolutely nothing in this role/film to make her stand out. That's kind of sad for a film that is based on a landmark sexual harassment case. Her character get's Lou Gehrig's Disease but it feels like a random addition to the screenplay and not much is made of it. In fact, not much is made of McDormand's character after about 20-30 minutes. So her end state has no emotional reverberation for the viewer and really no point to the story. She is underutilized and just plain underused throughout the entire film. I'm unsure as to how she was nominated. It's not terrible but certainly not awards worthy, either!

Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain

Michelle Williams does a capable job playing Ennis' wife in this movie. But as is true to the theme of the nominees in this category this year, she's just not giving much to do. She plays wife and mother just fine, putting up with a meager existence in small town Wyoming content to love Ennis. After she witnesses Ennis' secret, however, we are treated to an understated yet complete devastation. Her world is turned upside down and she realizes he doesn't really love her. Those few scenes where Williams witnesses the event and keeps everything to herself are great but small. We see the fear and devastation and realization on her face. We see the light bulb click on over her head all because of Williams' acting. It's good and definitely a sign of things to come in the future as she has had some fantastic performances since this one. But besides a later scene where her contempt is made clear there's not much else for her character to do. She drives home the wounded wife and makes you feel for her greatly, I just wish we had a little bit more.


You can call this the year of the underwhelming Best Supporting Actress class. Every one except Amy Adams completely underwhelmed me. I admit I had some high expectations for this group because I had heard and read so many good things about a few of these women and their performances that I was just expecting to be blown away or at least enjoy them. Amy Adams wins by default as she had the only performance I truly enjoyed. Not to say that Rachel Weisz was bad but I was expecting amazing stuff and only got good. Williams was also good but I've heard so much from the Brokeback people on the interwebs that I thought she had a bigger part. The final two just really added nothing much at all to their respective movies and that's a shame. A shame because they deserved bigger and better parts but also a shame because there was probably other deserving women that could have been showcased instead. All in all a very disappointing year due to high expectations, something for which I won't apologize having.

Oscar Winner: Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
My Winner:  Amy Adams - Junebug
Rachel Weisz
Michelle Williams

Catherine Keener
Frances McDormand