So I started this year before the newest Oscar nominations came out so I'm dealing with processing all of that. At time of writing I've seen just one of the acting noms and nothing else. I don't feel as motivated for some reason to try and watch them all before the ceremony and I'll have to figure out when I'm going to squeeze 2016 into the mix. I've only seen The Color Purple and remember those were strong performances so I'm interested in seeing Huston and the others to see how they stack up.
1985 Best Supporting Actress
Anjelica Huston - Prizzi's Honor
Knowing what we have in The Color Purple's nominees just from watching that film in high school and those being very good performances made me wonder even more at what Huston would be able to do. The many different films of hers that I've seen have been good and her performances have been strong so I was anticipating that she would at the very least compete for my vote. After seeing the film, yeah she gives a decent enough performance but this film just completely lost me. I personally didn't like it all that much and thought it was pretty boring. Not sure why this got so much awards love besides maybe it being a John Huston film with Jack Nicholson in it about the mob. Which makes me wonder if the Academy voting for Huston's daughter in his film isn't just coincidence and is instead rotten nepotism. Huston is good and fine and brings a lot to the role of Maerose Prizzi, estranged daughter of Don Corrado Prizzi. She's on the outs with her family because she dumped Nicholson and ran off with another guy. She's a sultry, sexy, scheming woman and is actually a lot of fun to watch in the role but the film is so boring to me even with all that's going on that it made me not really care. She then finds out Nicholson's new wife who is also an assassin/hitwoman like he is, was keeping money from the family. This gets her back into the good graces of the family and her father and sets in motion the calamitous events that follow. Again, Huston stands out and is enjoyable in the role but I'm not so sure she's winner worthy. This would have made a great first nomination and Huston put in great work after this. Obviously, I'll have to watch the other nominees and be sure that Huston wouldn't be my winner. I just don't feel too strongly about the film as a whole, so the parts suffer, too.
Margaret Avery - The Color Purple
To me, this was the lesser of the two Supporting nominees from this film even though it's still mostly good. Avery plays Shug Avery (serendipitous, right?), a sometimes lover of Mister who is married to the main character Celie. Now in the book, from what I remember and have read in the reviews for the film, Shug has much more of an impact on Celie than she actually does in the film. Their lesbian moments are only briefly hinted at in the film and it looks more like two friends embracing. The point is that the two women, Shug and Sofia, have an impact on Celie and are why she reaches her breaking point in being submissive and quiet. Shug is the one who is wild and free and sings and dances in juke joint and travels around and has flings with guys and is sexy and seductive. Avery is good in the role and captures the duality of her character. She's a preacher's daughter and has a good heart as evidenced by taking in Celie and helping her out but is also a wild, free spirited woman who does what she wants. Avery doesn't wow as much as Oprah does in her performance, probably because the singing and dancing elements do nothing for me (and the singing isn't even Avery). I feel like Avery gets lost in a film with a ton of other great performances. You remember Whoopi and Oprah more and Danny Glover comes to mind before Shug ever does. That's not entirely the fault of Avery because the others are so strong. It's a good performance, just not memorable or worthy of the win. Still a good nomination, though.
Amy Madigan - Twice in a Lifetime
I was only able to find what looked like an old VHS rip of this online, which felt like an appropriate way to watch an 80s movie. This movie is an interesting look at divorce. I don't know if it's trying to follow in the footsteps of some of the more serious family dramas of the early 80s, but it's a different look at what goes on for the family when divorce happens. Madigan plays the middle child of Gene Hackman and Ellen Burstyn and she is the sparkplug of the family and of the film. And that's both a good and a bad thing. She breathes life into what is a very tepid film which I give her credit for. She's pissed off that her parents are splitting up and furious at her father because he cheated on her mother and she can't understand why. I would like this performance a lot more if Madigan wasn't such an over actor. It's kind of manic and frenetic and is very acting! like which I dislike greatly. She overacts at times which stands out against everyone else in the film. I understand that is what her character is supposed to be like but she can be angry and tough and loud without being so theater major-like. Plus, she's not very subtle at all even when the performance calls for her to be a little more introspective and quiet. She's angry because the parents divorce thing but also because she herself is married with kids and struggling to make ends meet and now her faith that all the struggling is worthwhile later is shaken to the core. She lashes out because she's the only one in the family with any emotion. This has the makings of a good performance but it never quite gets there for me. Her style is definitely not my favorite, either. I also read online that this might have been a make up nomination for the year before where people felt she gave a great performance in Places in the Heart. If so, that would explain a lot about the nomination.
Meg Tilly - Agnes of God
I feel like I should stop reading about performances before watching because oftentimes people will over praise something or really tear down a performance and then I watch it and wonder what those people actually saw. Everything I read about Tilly was that she was good but the material and role is too much for her. It made it seem like she was lost in the performance but I didn't feel that way about it at all. Tilly plays a nun (Agnes) who had a baby and it was strangled and put into a trash bin in her room. She claims it was a virgin birth and a psychiatrist (Jane Fonda) comes in to see if she did it, if she was raped, and if she is crazy. It's a performance that is designed to be over the top because Tilly's character is delusional and emotional about God (and quite obviously a bit crazy and easily manipulated). Would a more accomplished and experienced actress have done a lot more with the role and maybe given a winning type of performance? Yes, but that doesn't make Tilly's take on it bad. I liked her performance probably because she's the only interesting thing about the film. Anne Bancroft is a bullying Mother Superior and Jane Fonda is pretty good but not great as the psychiatrist. Tilly is the only reason you continue to watch, however. She has a strange quality to her, she's a little weird and not very smart. But the simplicity of Tilly helps make Agnes into a more believable character and she really goes all out with the histrionics and visions and the religious fervor. She nails the aesthetic with the cherub-like face and the lack of caring what anyone else thinks of her. Tilly might have been young but this was the perfect role for her to display her talents, even if it's not as good as say what Meryl Streep could have done (which is an unfair comparison, I know, but you get my point). Especially after watching other supporting performances where they contribute nothing overall to the film, it's nice to see one where the actress is the driving force of the film like Tilly is in this one. Both Bancroft and Fonda play off Tilly in almost a faith versus skepticism tug of war, which is really interesting to watch unfold. But it's because of Tilly that it's all so interesting. I'll have to see where Tilly fits in my rankings because it might turn out to be pretty high.
Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple
Winfrey has the juicier role of the Supporting nominations from the film and she definitely makes the most of her opportunity. She plays the big ol Sofia, a woman who shows Celie that it's okay for a woman to stand up for herself by any means necessary. Sofia takes no shit from anyone and dominates her husband, Harpo, and is the essence of what a strong, independent, black woman is. Even when they separate she takes it in stride and keeps on going, that's the kind of woman she is. It also gets her in trouble when she knocks out some old white dude for getting in her face. She gets thrown in jail for this which breaks her spirit and her health and she becomes a shell of her former self until Celie's outburst at her family where she tells everyone off. This gets her back to feeling like her old self and it's a nice little character arc. Oprah is great in the role and nails every aspect of Sofia. Her heft adds weight to the performance and it never feels like she's a Hollywood personality trying hard to impress. She realizes what the role is and what it means for some people and approaches it head on (much like Sofia would) and gives it the sincerity it deserves. Oprah has proved to be a great actress when necessary and that is on full display here. You can't watch this film and not be awed by her performance and she is equally good in the louder moments as she is in the quieter ones. She, along with the other women, make the film worth watching despite Spielberg's missteps.
The two ladies from The Color Purple help make this a decent category overall. Madigan is the clear cut 5th place. I'm not a fan of her acting style and her performance didn't do anything for me. Avery, though good in her role, ends up 4th because she's overpowered by Oprah and the other two offer up more memorable and fun turns. Huston is fun to watch, but the further I get from having watched her performance, the less I remember or even really care about it. It leaves no lasting impression. Tilly challenges hard for the win and I liked what she did with her character. I don't think she quite gets there when compared with Oprah but she's close. Oprah is the winner because she leaves a mark on the film and is pretty good to boot. Decent enough year with some interesting films.
Oscar Winner: Anjelica Huston - Prizzi's Honor
My Winner: Oprah Winfrey - The Color Purple
Meg Tilly
Anjelica Huston
Margaret Avery
Amy Madigan
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