This was the only category of the main five that had any intrigue. This was a two horse race all through awards season between Stone and Gladstone. They shared Globes wins and then split SAG and BAFTA wins. I was rooting for Gladstone because she would have been a historic win and because Stone already has a win and you know how I feel about that. The other shocking thing was Margot Robbie missing out on a nomination and Bening getting that slot. I think everyone had Robbie as an absolute lock and then she was shut out and it kinda spelled doom for Barbie after that, with it only winning for Best Song. I'm still surprised she wasn't nominated and I don't know what that means for her future chances. As always, excited to dive in and see if the Academy got it right and if I think Gladstone (or someone else) should have won.
2023 Best Actress
Emma Stone - Poor Things
I'll be honest again, I wasn't hoping to like this which is the wrong attitude to have going in to watching films and performances, I understand that. If you've read this blog at all (you have not), then you know I am not a big fan of repeat winners, especially one so soon after their first. That's just a personal thing for me where I'd rather give it to someone who doesn't yet have an Oscar and skip all the make up Oscars down the line. Obviously, there are some actors who deserve and demand more than one win, I get that. So is Stone becoming an actor of that stature? Very possibly! I was blown away by this performance. But it is like a couple different roles in one as the story follows Bella Baxter as she essentially matures before our eyes after being reanimated by Willem Dafoe's character. So Stone has to play a grown woman with the brain of a young child who is curious about everything in a very in your face kind of way, much like a child. Stone worked with a choreographer to get Bella's distinctive walk down pat and it only enhances the performance and shows even the smallest of things was worked on by Stone which is the dedication you want to see out of an actor for any performance. It's also obvious that apparently this was somewhat rehearsed for a bit with the Director to allow Stone to really inhabit Bella and make her apart of herself and I love that. It shows in the performance that Stone has made so many deliberate choices with the character that it only serves to elevate the material overall. Stone is so funny in what she does with Bella, especially when she is discovering her body and sexuality which seems weird to say about a woman with a child's brain and many articles online were written about this very subject. I was laughing out loud many times at Bella's antics and that was when I knew Stone had won me over. Especially continuing to watch as Bella grows up and deals with everything going on around her and dealing with those that try to prey on her naivete. Honestly a fantastic performance that I was surprised that affected me this much and I absolutely see why the Academy loved the performance a ton (the nudity probably helps, it's still a male dominated Academy after all) even if I was a bit bummer for Gladstone on Oscar night. I say go into it with an open mind because it's way better than you think it could be and is absolutely Stone's best acting work to date. Now there's talk of her winning her third and OMG please miss me with that talk! Let's enjoy this performance and win and go from there.
Annette Bening - Nyad
Many may view the Nyad nominations as a nod to two esteemed veteran actresses for their enduring contributions and perhaps as a tribute to Bening with her fifth acting nomination. This perspective is not unfounded. The film is a pleasant, watchable piece that doesn't venture into uncharted territory with its familiar narrative of an underdog's victory. The performances, particularly the swimming sequences, are the film's main attractions and are executed superbly. The dynamic between Bening and Foster is remarkable, sparking a desire for a sitcom featuring the duo (kinda like Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda in their Netflix show). Their interaction is so genuine that one could easily believe they've been friends since childhood or have shared a long-term bond; they resonate and enhance each other's presence seamlessly. The plot revolves around Bening's portrayal of Nyad, a seasoned marathon swimmer who, after a failed attempt from Cuba to Florida at 28, aspires to conquer it again at 60. The film chronicles her multiple attempts before her eventual success. Bening doesn't just resemble Nyad; she captures her essence, tackling the arduous process of training, fundraising, and swimming with authenticity. Her portrayal exudes confidence, making the character appear real rather than a mere imitation. Bening fully immerses herself in the role, displaying a vast emotional spectrum that greatly benefits the film. It's a robust display of talent from a seasoned actress, rendering a challenging tale with apparent ease. (This was AI written where you can write a paragraph and I guess Blogger will rewrite your words with AI. I liked this so much, I left it as is after trying it. Won't do this in the future because I want these reviews to be authentic for me, but thought it was a fun little thing to try. It also captures my sentiment spot on, just with some more flowery language lol.)
Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon
Gladstone was the first Native American woman ever nominated for this category and it felt way too overdue. I'd like to start this off first by saying that I saw Gladstone for the first time in a film by Kelly Reichardt called Certain Women. Gladstone played a character in that film which was basically just three different vignettes, where she was a ranch hand that came into the city and randomly followed people into an adult education class taught by Kristen Stewart and Gladstone keeps coming to the class and strikes up a friendship with Stewart. They get close and Stewart then stops teaching and Gladstone goes to where she lives to find her and tell her that she had to see her once more or she never would again and Gladstone's performance was so heartbreakingly honest and quietly devastating that I screamed into the online world that she deserved to be nominated back in 2016 for Supporting Actress for that performance. It's utterly amazing and I felt that she would someday get a chance for something bigger and here she is nominated at last. But seriously, please go watch that film for Gladstone's story and see just how incredible she is. And then look at this performance and see some similarities in that in the earlier film she is super shy and demure, so she is doing a lot of acting with her face and eyes and then you look at this performance and see just how stoic her Osage Indian woman with oil rights is. She says so much with these little glances and facial expressions, that's what stuck out the most for parts of this performance. Couple that with the Osage language and how meekly at times she sounds or maybe shy is the better way of putting it, I don't' know. But she will whisper some word/phrase to Leo and it feels like she's saying a lot. Even at the end of the film when everything has come to light she still supports her husband to a degree and tolerates him and is just a very strong. I do wish that the film would have delved a bit deeper into who she was as a person, but the film keeps the Osage at a distance seemingly out of reverence or respect and it would have allowed Gladstone to show off a bit more than just being a suffering wife. Gladstone has had some traction since this nomination with a TV series on Apple, I think and a small movie or two, I just hope she gets another chance to show everyone how great she can truly be. She will win an Oscar if the opportunity presents itself, no doubt about that. I can't wait for that day.
I apologize to start off because I have no idea how to make an umlaut in Blogger, so just pretend that Huller's name has it in every instance. With that said, what a year for Huller! She had some international success back in 2016 with Toni Erdmann (which is now on my watchlist) but she had a banner year with this film and The Zone of Interest, both being nominated for Best Picture, and I think that helped her get nominated here. She's attached to some projects in the future with big name producers and actors, so we will be seeing more of her soon which I am excited about. I'm excited because she gives a stellar performance here as a woman whose husband dies after a fall from a third story window in their home and we are left to wonder did she kill him or did he kill himself. The film is a family and courtroom drama that dives deep into their troubled marriage. What I love most about her performance is the directness of her acting. She was told by the director, Justine Triet, to play the character as if she's innocent without actually telling her whether she was innocent or guilty. That comes out in the performance where she's pretty steadfast in her manner and even when faced with embarrassing or hurtful or emotional accusations or evidence at trial, she doesn't launch into hysterics or cry and scream or any of that. She's at times exasperated, but she is always trying to stay level headed and I really liked that part of her performance. She does have a great flashback scene where she and her husband are having a fight and tempers flare and they start yelling and towards the end of the scene is when she starts screaming at him before it cuts away to the courtroom where we hear her break a glass and the two physically fight somewhat. It's in contrast to what we see in the courtroom and outside of it when she's trying to be a mother to her son and it all adds to the confusion of if she really did it or not. She is just so immensely impressive in this role and it's crazy to me that she learned French for the film, I assume she had to have some prior knowledge of it. But one of the things is that she's German in the film (and real life, of course) living in France and she speaks French a little, but mostly speaks English in the film. Some extra layers to the performance there and it just felt like an actress at her peak. Hopefully, it's not exactly the peak and we see more from her in the future because she is someone I can see being a big star internationally and I can't wait for it.
Carey Mulligan - Maestro
I'm not going to lie, I always seem to have trouble reviewing Mulligan's performances. I don't know why other than they don't push me too far in one direction or the other and I simply recognize them as being good, which can seem like an insult at times, but she is good in the performance as the wife of Bradley Cooper's Leonard Bernstein. Mulligan really has to do a lot going against Cooper's domineering performance and the two really play off each other well. Mulligan is in a weird situation as Bernstein loves her almost as much as he loves composing and their time together is a bit contentious since Bernstein also openly flaunts being with younger men. The number of emotions that Mulligan goes through on screen is immense and it's like we are seeing her process her relationship in real time as some of these things are happening. Which is incredible to see as she often has to pretend she is not as mad and pissed off as she really is because she is with family and her kids or around other guests or people. It's almost dizzying how many scenes she has to show she cares for Bernstein while he disrespects her to her face with his actions. It's a bit like a horror film watching her give him all her love while he gets to be the big star doing as he pleases and we see her dutifully standing by his side or doing her own thing since she is from high society herself and had sang and been an actress, meaning she had just as much to offer Bernstein as he brought to her. I wish I could do Mulligan's performance more justice than this slop, but if you go into the film, make sure to pay attention to just how strong she is as Felicia against Cooper's performance.
This group was a lot better than I could have anticipated. It's nice to be surprised even when following the Awards all season long and seeing the discourse, as good and bad as it can be, throughout the season. This year could have legit had 3 different winners and I'd have been okay with any of them. I still give the win to Gladstone's very understated and beautiful work, though I am not mad at Stone winning at all. Huller would have been a great winner and really shook up the Academy for finally rewarding a foreign female performance. Mulligan really helped keep that film from going way off into Cooper's masturbatory pretentiousness. She kept this film grounded a bit and kept Cooper in check. Bening is just happy to be here again, knowing she was never going to win. A phenomenal group that I wish we could see every year.
Oscar Winner: Emma Stone - Poor Things
My Winner: Lily Gladstone - Killers of the Flower Moon
Emma StoneSandra Huller
Carey Mulligan
Annette Bening
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