Supporting Actress 2000

I haven't seen any of these performances before and I'm hopeful that I'll get a good group for once. Always hopeful!

2000 Best Supporting Actress

Marcia Gay Harden - Pollock

Marcia Gay Harden looks like a chubbier Bettie Paige throughout this film and it works. She plays the wife to Jackson Pollock and is the driving force behind his rise to fame. I loved her entrance to the film when she pops up unannounced to Pollock's apartment and says hello with her fast talking New York accent. Eventually she gets let in and sees his paintings and they become a couple. She stands by him even though he's a raging alcoholic and treats her poorly at times. Harden imbues the character with an earnestness of being. While Harris' Pollock is a moody, temperamental artiste, Harden makes her Lee Krasner become a doting, maternal, business like wife and manager. I think Director Ed Harris gets a lot out of Harden's performance and the sense of the film is so low key and not your typical biopic that the characters come off as a bit more real. You don't get the broad, over the top caricatures as in some biopics. Harden and Harris feed off each other wonderfully and have an interesting dynamic. I enjoyed every time Harden was on screen because Harris could be a bit intense as Pollock, which is not a knock on him at all. She grounded the film and was a realist and offered up a whole lot more than the simple, boring supporting character. I think in the early goings of the film she was what held it all together and made the ending more satisfactory to watch even though she wasn't in it because we were able to suffer through Pollock's destructiveness. Looking at this group, it's clear Harden gives the best performance.

Judi Dench - Chocolat

(I had a bunch written out but my computer froze writing this one and none of it saved grrrr) I'll be honest, I'm all Judi Dench'd out. Like I legitimately am not all that interested in watching her anymore. She was nominated like 6 times in 10 years and I think that can take a toll on a reviewer when not every nomination is worth it. And when not every nomination is of substantial quality, well, fuck right off with your Judi Dench nominations! Find someone new to nominate every year. We could get something new, interesting or different instead but the Academy likes to go to the same well over and over and it's frankly boring and frustrating, especially when the performances aren't all that worthy. Part of that blame can be placed squarely on the Weinsteins (fuck them) who pushed through movies and performances like Chocolat that most likely wasn't going to get a Best Picture nom and maybe not even it's other nominations. That strong arm, buy everyone off approach left out some great films and performances, unfortunately. As for Dench's performance here, she plays an eccentric old landlady who rents to Binoche so she can set up her chocolaterie. It's a character that seems all too familiar for Dench. I'm saying this going backward through her oeuvre so in 2000 this might have been seen differently but it's what I think of when I think of a Dench performance. She plays a grumpy old woman who may also have a kindly interior or something like that. This fits that to a T. She's grumpy but has a warm heart as seen when she connects with her grandson and helps out Binoche's character. There's a big reveal that's laughable and then she meets a tragic end and that's it. It's pretty standard stuff from an actress that is certainly one of the best going, no doubt, but it doesn't register with me as anything important. It's very much like a piece of chocolate that is good for a few seconds but then that's it and you wonder if eating it was a good idea. Just not something I think is Oscar worthy.

Kate Hudson - Almost Famous

I was always wary that Almost Famous wouldn't be as good as everyone said it was, especially since it seemed like so many different people loved it. Maybe I don't think it's the best of the year after watching it, I certainly do think it's really good and highly enjoyable. It's kind of a feel good-y film and one that was a hit with critics but also played to the nostalgia factor. The detractors all seem to be way older or of the way younger variety. But I think it touches on more than just nostalgia for a simple or better time. Obviously it speaks to early loves and the sense of adventure and wanting to be cool, which is something everyone can relate to. Another thing everyone can relate to is their fantasy woman. Kate Hudson portrays the manic pixie dream girl and to her credit she's up to the task of playing that ideal. She's not a groupie but a super fan that shags one of the band members, which seems true to life for her given her personal history. Nowadays you don't think of Hudson as this Oscar nominated actress, she's more well known for terrible rom coms so it was nice to watch her in this film and actually like her performance and her character. She plays the dream girl but she does it in a non-cloying way. Her character could easily get swallowed up in the attractive character who is only there to be eye candy abyss but she actually brings some legit acting to the table. As a supporting character she's what you'd want, I think. She gives a sweet performance and never tries to take her character into dangerous territory and ruin a simple, loving, honest role. Reading back over that it sounds like a whole bunch of nothing but Hudson keeps it sweet without being sickening and resists just being the pretty girl. I don't see it as being good enough for a win but I quite enjoyed the performance and the film as a whole.

Frances McDormand - Almost Famous

In the very beginning of the film, I was worried it would just be Frances McDormand playing Frances McDormand and that was it. It kind of looked like that might be what we would get because it's not an easy role to build a character from. But as the film went on, I fell for the character McDormand was creating. She plays the overprotective mother to a charmingly sweet T. When she shows up, she brings some fun levity to the scenes she's in and wins you over with her gosh darned earnestness. Her maternal charm is something easy to relate to and you're glad that she loves her son so much but sees his potential and allows him to go off and find himself. Director Cameron Crowe modeled the character after his own mother and I think that shines through in the script and story. McDormand brings a warmth to the film that helps ground it in reality. It's sort of a quaint, understated performance that also hits big when you least expect it. It also doesn't seem quite there for a win but the two nominated women for this film help make it into a deceivingly good film.

Julie Walters - Billy Elliot

I'm not sure what makes some critics pick out performances such as this one and champion it with a lot of adjectives about how good and remarkable it is. Julie Walters does not give a bad performance at all as the local ballet instructor who sees real potential in Billy Elliot, that's not where I'm going with this. This is a typical, solid supporting turn of acting. But while watching it, I didn't get any sense of something amazing unfolding in front of my eyes that deserved to be singled out. These are the hardest performances to write about because I just don't feel strongly one way or the other. Walters does a good job at playing the determined old ballet teacher who must convince Billy's father that he has the talent necessary to go on to the Royal Ballet School. What could have and should have been her big shining moment in the film is eclipsed by music playing over top of her arguing with Billy's father. She's a veteran actress that does exactly what's needed of her character. Hopefully her nominated work in Educating Rita from 1984 will be more interesting.


Overall not too bad! Having not seen any of them prior, I'm glad they all weren't terrible. Eventually I'll get a year where they all hit with me but 2000 wasn't so bad. I've been reading Inside Oscar 2, which is this great book that details (and I mean details!) each Oscar year with the lead up to nominations and then the race and ceremony itself. It's great and the original Inside Oscar is a must have for any movie buff and it covers the beginning up to 1994. The second books covers 1995 to 2000 and I wish they'd come out with a third. Anyway, the buzz was mostly around Kate Hudson and Judi Dench so Harden's win was like a minor shock but damn if she doesn't deserve it in this group. She's clearly the best and my winner, too. I can understand why Hudson was so praised as she is my second and I enjoyed McDormand as well. Then we get Walters who is just kinda meh and Dench who I just don't think belongs (Walters either but yeah). So I'll take 3 good performances any day!

Oscar Winner: Marcia Gay Harden - Pollock
My Winner:  Marcia Gay Harden - Pollock
Kate Hudson
Frances McDormand
Julie Walters
Judi Dench