Throughout the Awards season, Janney has consistently been the winner and is expected to win the Oscar, too. Just like in some of the other categories, there hasn't been a whole lot of competition and it's made for an almost boring Awards season. It's possible there could be a shocker at the ceremony tomorrow but I doubt it. I'm fine with Janney as a winner because I like her a lot as an actress but I'll have to see if that still holds true after I watch these five ladies.
2017 Best Supporting Actress
Allison Janney - I, Tonya
Well, this is your presumptive winner a couple days before the Oscar ceremony. She has cleaned up the precursors and there is little doubt it will be any different for this one. And it's very easy to see why this has caught so many voters' eyes. Janney plays the mother of disgraced figure skate Tonya Harding. She is an overbearing presence on the film due to her vulgar bullying of her own daughter in hopes it'll push her to be a good competitor. It's funny stuff and I'll watch Janney call someone a cunt every day of the week. I think Janney is the appeal that draws you into the film from the start. We first see her as a mother on the ice with her three year old with a cigarette hanging from her lips demanding the skating coach actually coach her daughter and when she refuses sends little Tonya out to skate anyway. Tells you all you need to know about her parenting skills and who Tonya's mother is as a person and she sure doesn't hide it. It's a flashy, loud performance for sure and one that is meant to get people talking. It was specifically written with Janney in mind which tells you how perfect she is for the role. There is no doubt she will win an Oscar for this and I'm fine with that. I think the voters also love Janney as not only a film actress, but a veteran TV actress who has been in a bunch of well known roles. So I am indeed saying that her past roles are playing a part in her winning because the Academy members feel comfortable with picking her. It makes sense and at least it's for a really great performance. I think if not for Metcalf, I'd have easily wanted Janney to win. It's a fun role, even despite the beating her own kid thing. I struggle to see an arc with Janney, though. She is a terrible mother who pushes her kid past the brink to make her a champion but once she does become a champion she is still an irredeemable twat. She even tries to tape her daughter admitting to kneecapping Nancy Kerrigan, probably for money. It's a good performance but it is a little one note and that's why I'd vote Metcalf. But I'll be happy either way.
Mary J. Blige - Mudbound
These are the kind of films that Netflix needs more of in their selection. I'm not usually a big fan of voice over to explain what characters are doing and thinking but I guess it works out fine in this film. I do like that we get the views from six of the characters as the story switches between their points of view. One of those being Blige's character. She plays the mother of Ronsel who goes off to fight as a tank crew member in WWII. He becomes a sergeant, experiences some freedoms in Europe, and isn't looked down on for being black by the people there. He comes back home to the same terrible racism he left and the story deals with that along side the white family they work for on a farm. It's a heavy film that you know is going to end in tragedy but is very well done. Blige in the mother role is the soft spot of the film. She has a soft, quiet voice and is always calm. She works the fields with her husband, tends to her kids, and also has to help out with the white family's kids when they are sick or when Carey Mulligan is sick. She does this because she is good person and because she knows it's her duty and she can't exactly say no but faces her issues with a noble face. She's just that calm, caring person and Blige does what is necessary for the character. Unfortunately, I don't think Blige is all that special in this performance and doesn't really stand out. In fact, I'd say the acting can feel a little weak and timid which I get could be a choice Blige makes for her calm, quiet character but Florence is also pretty strong and that doesn't always shine through in Blige's acting. So the character works great in the film but Blige doesn't do much to stand out and be rewarded for the performance. I hate to say that but it's the truth. You'll like the character and the acting is good but if Blige's name wasn't attached, I don't think she gets nominated. I do recommend checking the film out on Netflix because it is very good. Oh, and the first time a woman has been nominated for Best Cinematography is for this film.
Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread
At first, I wasn't exactly sure what kind of relationship Manville had with Daniel Day-Lewis in this film. She plays Cyril, who is like the overall manager of the fashion designer and his House of Woodcock production team. I thought that she might have been his wife or lover of some sort who allowed him to have his young ingenue around for inspiration and to take to bed when he wanted and they just had an unusual arrangement. But then it became obvious that she was his sister and that the two had a close relationship where she managed his women in all aspects. My confusion comes from the fact that Cyril is pretty mysterious. Manville plays her character with a reservation from the audience. We don't get to know much about her as she is a distant presence even when close up on the screen. We first see her at breakfast with DDL and one of his ingenues who wants more than to just wait around for him to pay attention to her. Manville matter of factly and politely tells her that maybe she should move on. We then see her as DDL has brought home Vicky Krieps and is dressing her after their first date and she comes in eyeing her up and down and perfectly guessing the scents she has on her before sitting in a corner and writing down her measurements in a business-like manner. Those scenes told me all I needed to know about what her character was all about. She is devoted to serving her brother and to making sure their business thrives. It's like she's a protector of DDL, keeping him focused and ignoring when he lashes out because she's dealt with him so much. There then grows a competition of sorts between her and Krieps as the two wrangle to be DDL's go to woman. I like that Manville imbues her character with this cold, yet calm demeanor silently watching over everything but is also professional and courteous when necessary. I think her performance fits the tone of the film perfectly and while not as flashy as Janney or Metcalf, is still a powerful part of what makes Phantom Thread so entertaining.
Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
You might remember her as Roseanne's sister on the TV show, but Metcalf is a pretty serious stage actress, too. She's won a Tony Award and been nominated for others and seems to be a pretty accomplished actress in her own right. Only natural to add an Oscar nomination to that list, and frankly I wish it would be an Oscar win. I was blown away by Metcalf as the mother of Lady Bird in this film. The writing from Greta Gerwig is incredible but Metcalf turns it into something indelible. The crux of the film is the relationship between Saoirse Ronan and Metcalf and it's one of the most authentic and real portrayals of a mother-daughter relationship that I've ever seen on film. I mean that wholeheartedly, too. Metcalf is a huge reason why I feel that way. She portrays her mother character like she's in a documentary. Lady Bird is kind of a self absorbed teenager who thinks she knows everything, a typical teenage girl, and Metcalf holds the line as the mom. By that I mean, she isn't some super hip and cool mom or one that adheres to some cliche of what a mother can be in Hollywood. No, she plays it shockingly accurate. Her mother is a hard ass at times who works double shifts because the father has been laid off and she needs to bring in money for the family and to pay for Lady Bird to go to college. She's at times overly critical of her daughter who does notice that and is part of the source of their frustration with each other. But she's also a mother who is genuinely warm and cares about her family and her daughter. The two have these really intimate moments together like bonding in a car over an audio book or when out dress shopping. But those moments can also be punctured with motherly advice and chastising for not seeing the bigger picture at times. Metcalf emotes this all as if she were talking to her own daughter. I feel like this could really be her in real life because it has that switch from motherly love to mother knows what's best for you and I work hard so you better appreciate it kind of thing. That's what I love about it is that it just feels so real. She's not really an asshole and she does genuinely love her daughter, but you can see her having to be the authority figure and none of it feels manufactured for drama or effect. And there's no big acting. She's not screaming and yelling and crying and all that. It's a normal family dynamic. And it really shows itself in the end scene when she drops Lady Bird off at the airport and won't say goodbye and see her off but then circles around because it hits her how much she'll miss her. That scene is brilliant and Metcalf is the reason why. I wish she would win but she probably won't.
Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water
I think I said something similar for Spencer last year for her nomination for Hidden Figures that the Academy likes going back to the same well of previous nominees/winners, especially in the Supporting categories. But I feel like this year, Spencer deserved the nomination for playing a cleaning lady at a government facility who is friends with and translates for Sally Hawkins' character. Whereas last year, you could have taken her co-star and had the same result, this year Spencer gives a much stronger performance. Some of that is due in part to the fact that Spencer, as a black woman mind you, gets to speak for Hawkins and gets to speak quite often at that. One of the reasons Spencer said she took the role, besides working for del Toro, is that a black woman and a closeted older gay man got to speak for the main character and weren't just sidekicks or background characters (paraphrasing, of course). And that's notable, because it allows Spencer to act and not just be confined to a stereotypical minority cleaning lady type of role. You can tell the two have been friends for a long time because Spencer can read Hawkins' signs without skipping a beat and she can also read her face and know what she's thinking or going to do. The two have great rapport and Spencer seems more like a friend than a supporting character there to explain what Hawkins is doing. Now, this role is very similar to her other two nominations and I'd love to see Spencer rewarded for doing something different but I know that takes actually getting offered different roles which is the struggle in Hollywood right now. But I very much enjoyed Spencer in this performance as a comforting presence not only for Hawkins but for the viewer, too. I should also note that this ties Spencer with Viola Davis as the most nominated black actress ever with three total nominations and that's a positive we can take away from this.
I feel like the most recent years have been delivering really solid Supporting Actress categories and this one is probably the best of the recent bunch. As I go through the years, there are so many times when this is the worst category and I wish I could throw out most or even all of the performances. Not so with this year as this is a really strong group. The one weak spot being Blige as she just kind of exists in the story as this quiet, but strong character. She's fine but she doesn't really stand out in the film and I hate to say that her being black may be why she was voted in. She has the name recognition factor, too, as an accomplished singer and I think that helped get her in. Spencer does a great job in her role of being the voice for Sally Hawkins' character. It's an enjoyable performance, but also one that Spencer has seemed to give a couple times over now. So I drop her down for that as the three ahead are really wonderful. Manville does a great job of matching the tone of her film and I liked how mysterious she was, even though she is solid in the role. Janney is my runner up because, while she is wildly entertaining, she is pretty one note in her performance and doesn't have any real arc. Sometimes a supporting character doesn't need that but Janney is mostly the same throughout the film and needed something else in the performance to secure a win from me. Metcalf is amazing. She created a character that felt real and that wins with me every time. She gets the nod over Janney because she has depth and really made me say wow. So this is a pretty great group of actresses with no one being bad at all which is what I wish I had more often from this category. A really strong start to 2017.
Oscar Winner: Allison Janney - I, Tonya
My Winner: Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
Allison Janney
Lesley Manville
Octavia Spencer
Mary J. Blige
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