Some decent names! I've been curious about Glenda Jackson for so long that I'm glad I can finally watch her. I know the names but have only seen Burstyn. I look forward to diving in and crossing these off the list!
1973 Best Actress
Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class
I addressed this in the first of her nominations that I did for her work in Hedda, but she was an actress that won two Oscars and I had no idea who she was. She had a run of a couple years in the 70s with four nominations and two wins and was obviously well liked. She went on to become an MP in British Parliament and stepped down in 2015. She actually just won a Best Actress in a Play Tony Award in 2018, completing the Triple Crown of Acting. I didn't even know she was still working. An impressive lady that I still couldn't pick out of a lineup right now. Hedda was meh, so I went into her second win hoping to see what made her such a hot commodity for a couple years in the 70s. And I get it. She is intensely charming with the classical British wit and repartee, saying the perfect response to any question or comment and being intelligently funny. You definitely need an actress with the timing and ability to pull off landing every verbal punch and Jackson certainly does. Apparently this was a big shock on Oscar night as Burstyn and Mason were more favored, but having now seen them all, I can say that it doesn't seem as big a shock to me strictly speaking about the performances. Jackson here plays a fashion design something who meets a married man and decides to engage in a relationship with him knowing his familial status. I don't quite like the way the film seems to shrug off the cheating aspect and I feel that a woman like Jackson in this film would be a bit more prideful and not stoop to being the other woman. But that's on the film, Jackson at least does what she can with the role she is given. While she is witty seemingly game for the relationship, the two do have their moments when they are at each other's throat or when the remorse starts to set in or when they actually realize they have feelings for one another. Jackson at least makes those moments seem authentic and tries to bring some depth to the character and the situation. Though she isn't digging too deep into either one as this is more of a romantic comedy than anything too dramatic. It seems balanced enough for what the film is and I can understand the appeal of Jackson as she is clearly the best part of this film. The fun is watching her responses to everything and how she acts in the situations. I don't know if this will be my winner, too, but it's much better than the other performance of hers that I've seen. I'll have to see if her other win and nomination stand up to this one.
Ellen Burstyn - The Exorcist
This cements the fact that I am just not an Ellen Burstyn fan. I can easily separate the fandom from the objective criticism, but I can easily say I'm not a fan of Burstyn on both accounts. I'll be honest, I forgot she was even part of this film. It's probably her most well known role and I forgot she was in it. She plays the mother of Linda Blair who becomes possessed and has to deal with her daughter being messed up. What I like about the performance is in the beginning of the film and story. Burstyn plays an actress in DC shooting a movie and her daughter lives with her. When Blair starts exhibiting signs of abnormal behavior, she gets checked out. Burstyn in trying to figure out what is wrong with her daughter and the frustrations of being told this or that or nothing or let's try this is very real. Test after test reveal nothing and we sense her anguish. When things get creepy, we feel her fear and confusion. Burstyn just disappears, though, as the film goes along. That's a natural thing for a film depicting a girl undergoing an exorcism but Burstyn still fades away at the end. In the beginning she was supermom and hands on and all that but by the end we don't see her. It's a front loaded performance and it's really nothing more than reactions. Burstyn doesn't bring some iconic role to the horror genre, she just reacts and fades away. I may not be a fan of Burstyn's style but I can appreciate her realistic style and how interesting it is. Burstyn just doesn't work for me here.
Marsha Mason - Cinderella Liberty
This was my fourth and final Marsha Mason performance and I must say, she's been pretty consistent throughout each of her performances. I'd also say this role gave her less to do than her other nominations and thus she doesn't look as strong. Mason has the fortune of coming off as very warm and gracious and inviting as a performer. She's likable and pretty (with bad eyebrows here) and just has that gosh darn it quality to her. Mason is also very theatrical and at times overacts her character and her scenes in these big ways that feel too rehearsed and unnecessary for what the film(s) call for. In this film, she plays a bar whore that picks up sailors and makes her money that way. She's friendly and fun but also a boozer and a little too tough for her own good. She's got a mixed son and James Caan (in a performance that makes the film a lot better) falls in love with her. They have their ups and downs and the ending isn't exactly a Cinderella story. Decent little film that was hard to find and is very 70s in it's feel. Mason, though, is fine. She actually disappears for some lengths of time since the film is focused on Caan's sailor character. I would say she's Lead but you might be able to argue a little for her to be Supporting. Either way, she does a good enough job in the role. Everything I described above is what Mason entails in this character. I'd say it's almost a hooker with a heart of gold trope, but the ending makes it so she isn't quite a good person as we see she can be. But it feels like what the Academy would like out of an up and coming actress. Playing a hooker, getting naked a bit, holding her own against Caan, being pretty and funny and making it look easy. Very obvious why she was nominated and would continue to be nominated throughout the next decade. It's a good little performance, nothing mind blowing, but at least you can appreciate a good actress at her Oscar start.
Barbra Streisand - The Way We Were
It's a Barbra Streisand nomination. If you know anything about Babs, then you know the types of roles and films that she goes for. They are always going to make her the star and give her the most to do in the film. That holds true for this film and role where Streisand plays an idealistic young communist woman who is very firm in her beliefs yet falls in love with the dreamy Robert Redford who is your typical athletic college hunk who happens to write well. That's the main crux of the film is that these two opposites attract and get married and have successful careers while being madly in love but also still having their very stark differences. The film was a huge hit and had a big song for Streisand and a lot of people consider it one of the best romantic films ever made. It's okay to me, but I'm not the biggest Streisand fan and her appeal is mostly lost on me. She's incredibly talented, however, and she puts all that talent to work in her roles and music and directing and producing and all that. But this was a role designed to make Streisand look good. As I said, she's very idealistic and too perfectly right and sanctimonious all the time. She's the stick in the mud at a party who goes off on everyone for joking about President Roosevelt. The character can get annoying really quickly and then doesn't really recover from there. The romance between her and Redford isn't very believable and you wonder what he could possibly see in Babs who is constantly lecturing him. At the end they divorce and go their own separate ways and it's really the only part of the story that seems authentic. I just don't see how those two could stay together. So again, it's a part meant to be a star turn for Streisand and it succeeded with how much money it made and her getting a nomination here, but I don't think it holds up all that well and feel like it's a relic of the 70s.
Joanne Woodward - Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams
Going into this performance, I was wondering if this was going to be anything like Woodward's final nomination I watched for 1990, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge. In a way, it is. It's a minor forgotten film with an actress who is clearly talented and accomplished but not living up to her full potential. This film as a whole is an odd mess. Broken down into thirds, the first part has Woodward and Sylvia Sidney (playing her mother) go out on the town and talk and then Sidney dies. The next third is Woodward reeling from the death while also thinking about her own mortality and confronting her own past in these visions she has. The final third becomes more about her husband (Martin Balsam, who is terrific in this) and his own inner feelings when they go to Europe and visit old battlefields where he fought in WWII. I don't get how the film comes together since it's so disjointed. It's like everyone is playing a character in a different film, yet are all being filmed at the same time. It's strange but also the film doesn't dive deep or explore it's themes at all. It's all surface acting and seems more an exercise for everyone involved than anything else. Woodward is so good at acting in a natural way and it shines through in this performance. Some of the looks she gives her mother seem unscripted and genuine. But the performance was lacking any power behind it. It's like Woodward was going through the motions but excelling at it because she's such a great actress. There's a moment where she screams in frustration in the middle part where it just seemed like that was something the script asked for, she did it, then continued with everything else. She just coasts through the film and maybe it is because the film doesn't really know what it wants to be, I don't know. I know that I really want to watch Woodward in something where she actually looks like she's putting in effort to make something great. There are flashes in this performance where Woodward shows us what this performance, and film, could really be with some defined effort. I guess I'll have to wait a couple more years to see what she can truly bring to the Oscar world.
I kind hate having to come up with a response to all of these at the end of everything.Sometimes I'm just not clever enough. And sometimes I feel bad for putting down these performances! Woodward isn't bad! She's just kinda blah. I really like her style and the film in a weird way but she's clearly just here to round out the field. I'll put Burstyn 4th. I just don't care for her portrayal. I like her as an idea of an actress but I don't actually like her acting. In anything I've ever seen her in. Which is nuts, but authentic. I'll put Streisand third. This was a big film that showcased her everything but it was also romantic and boring as hell. Just not very lively. I actually liked Mason in her role. I think that might split her films for me. Some I liked, some I hated. If not for Jackson, Mason would have won. Jackson is just hilarious as hell! She is entertaining and I am glad she blessed us with this film and performance. It's an okay group, but also not amazing. So let's pretend all my opinions are correct.
Oscar Winner: Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class
My Winner: Glenda Jackson - A Touch of Class
Marsha Mason
Barbra Streisand
Ellen Burstyn
Joanne Woodward
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