Leading Actress 2024

Well, this was certainly a wild race for a lot of the year. Madison was the front runner before awards were given, then Demi wins at the Globes and the narrative flips to her. Then Torres also wins at the Globes and the Brazil fans get vocal and then Gascon has all of her drama and controversy and meanwhile Erivo is just happy she gets to sing occasionally and be weird with Ariana. And then Madison ends up winning, which was a slight shock to me on Oscar night, though not an upset or anything. Very excited to watch these and see how it all shakes out for me.

2024 Best Actress

 

Mikey Madison - Anora

 

I don't know what it says about the Academy or Hollywood that for two years straight now, Best Actress has gone to someone who has been in I guess you could say 'explicit' sex scenes or at least was nude a lot. I'm no prude, but I am not into gratuitous nudity, just feel like it's unnecessary, though understand Madison is a stripper / sex worker and establishes how comfortable she is in her skin. I just hope next year's winner isn't part of this trend because then it just feels exploitive and makes the Academy look like a bunch of gooners. But anyway, there is an actual performance from Madison in this film and it is honestly very good. Her interactions with her fellow strippers seems authentic and she has that very New York accent that works well for the character. Her romance with Vanya is very business like at first since he is paying for her time, but you can obviously see her falling in love with the money and the big house and parties. This ain't no Pretty Woman performance, though, as things start to get messy after she marries Vanya in Vegas and his family finds out and sends some goons to make him divorce her. In this part of the film, you almost believe she actually loves her man as she tries to fight to keep her status and stay married. This is where I think that Madison really starts to shine in the performance. She gets almost primal fighting against the goons and trying to get through to Vanya as they drag her along everywhere searching for him. I love that she keeps fighting and trying to convince them he won't divorce her and it makes the meeting with his parents that much more tense and raw and somewhat emotional when she realizes she meant nothing to him all along and it was just him being a rich spoiled brat using her as his own personal sex toy. The performance has a lot of power behind it as we see Madison trying not to get thrown back into the life she thought she left. The ending is also very interesting in how Madison reacts with Igor and it feels like her trying to process things and someone showing her kindness gets her into working mode, though I don't know to what end. It's a good performance from Mikey and it's cool how a mostly unknown actress comes out of nowhere and wins Best Actress. It feels like the opposite of when they give the Oscar to a veteran like Demi and then have to make up the loss to the new, young actress who then has a couple more great performances. I don't know if Mikey will be great again, but I hope this opens up some new opportunities so we can see what else she can do besides be a scream queen.

Cynthia Erivo - Wicked

I don't really know why I was so worried that Erivo might not be able to pull off this performance. She was the only good part about her previous nomination and that's where I feel like some actors just need to be put in the right spot or even just put in a big budget film to be able to shine. I feel like that's what Colman Domingo needs and is exactly what Erivo got as a huge part in Elphaba and really got to show off what she can do. She has impressive pipes and knocked her famous song out of the park. But she also nails the acting part of the unloved, green witch who has to prove herself to everyone else. I enjoyed her performance and chemistry with Grande a lot, even if it got weird during awards season, because it is the crux of the film them becoming friends and pushing each other. It's fully believable and Erivo displays the anger and anxiety and fear perfectly for the role. I'm interested in how the second film will play as I think Erivo will have a more important part of the whole film as she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. I imagine it should be great again as the filming was all done at once, so she's not having to recapture the magic of this performance years later and I bet we will see her nominated again for this role next year. Not really a hot take but I'd bet a lot on her being back here again. I think this will become one of those beloved performances that people love when looking back on the Oscars years later and I'm glad she was able to deliver it.

Karla Sofia Gascon - Emilia Perez

This should have been a great, celebratory nomination of the first trans female ever in this category. Instead her awful tweets resurfaced and her behavior in response turned a lot of folks off to her as a person and soured many on the film and performance, too. Obviously, trans people can be awful shitheads just like anyone else and I think highlights that we can't just anoint trans folk as infallible and amazing just because they are trans. Not trying to be controversial, but being trans doesn't mean you are automatically an amazing actress or person. I mean, this performance definitely has its flaws. For one, it's a musical and Gascon can't sing for shit. They even used AI to enhance her voice and make it better, and the director and people that did the songs seemed proud of that fact. But you should at least be able to sing if you're going to be in a musical. I think it's cool that she played the pre-transition version of the character which was probably tough for her to return to those roots and that mindset. It was convincing to me and made the performance better because there was a tangible connection there. I also think she settles in once she is able to truly be her real self. That part of the story is fine, though I don't really see anything amazing in her performance. If she weren't trans, would we be nominating this at all? I don't think so, because the acting isn't quite great, which makes sense as Gascon had mostly acted in telenovelas before this. I'm not anti-woke (which is such a nonsense term) or transphobic, I'm just calling it as I see it, because I think her being trans is a big part of why she was nominated and I hate stuff like that as I've said many times in this blog. I want to see the best of the best nominated and I frankly don't think Gascon's performance is good enough.

Demi Moore - The Substance

 

This was the darling nominee and performance of the year. Moore was the frontrunner for much of the year after Madison and trading off with Torres at times. She won the Globe, which is what really skyrocketed her to possibly winning an Oscar, and also won the SAG for this role. It had pedigree and a narrative of her making a comeback after years in the business and not being recognized and I legit thought that on Oscar night, we'd hear her name called. That didn't happen but I imagine being a part of all of this was so thrilling and exciting and nice that the nomination was the reward. She plays a decorated actress who is now doing exercise videos and gets cancelled. So she turns to the substance which will create a younger version of herself, don't we all want that when we get older (no.)? But she has to switch off every 7 days and her younger version doesn't adhere to that because she is caught up in her fame and self indulgence. This means Moore starts becoming more hag like in various ways. It starts with her finger becoming ancient, which she obviously doesn't like. Things happen (watch the damn film) and Sue wins out temporarily, as this creates a monster that takes over Sue and ruins her celebrity life. I think the acting from Moore while searching for the substance and going through with it are great. She meets the physical demands of the horror role and you can sense her frustration at the newer version of herself who doesn't respect her time. It's great physical acting and the acting between the two souls is great as well. It doesn't feel as if Moore is stretched much in an actor sort of way though. Once hot actor gets old and has to try and come to terms with that, which is Demi to a T, so it's not exactly some new unseen side of Demi. It's good acting and I enjoyed it, but I was never wowed and never understood the love Demi was getting other than she's an actor people know from the past who has been in shitty things recently and then finally popped off again for the first time in forever. The nomination is the prize here and I'm glad the Academy didn't just give it to her in a sympathy vote for being older.

Fernanda Torres - I'm Still Here

 

Torres sort of came out of nowhere, winning the Golden Globe for Drama - Actress, though not against anyone else in this category. But it was a kind of big win for her as it got people paying attention to the performance and the film. At one point, she was the frontrunner and there was a lot of hype around her possibly winning and it being huge for the Brazilian fans and acting community. It was interesting to note that she is the second Brazilian actress ever nominated in this category, the first being her mother Fernanda Montenegro in 1998. So she has the pedigree and I feel that was part of the reason she was so hyped up at times. But also, this is just a great performance overall, all that other stuff be damned. It parallels what is going on in America right now. The alt right gestapo in ICE is disappearing American citizens because they dare oppose the Orange Fuhrer and also ironically have darker skin than them. Torres plays a wife and mother whose husband is disappeared by the military junta (though I think in Brazil it's just military dictatorship, at this time). She was taken in at the same time but let go very quickly and we see the abhorrent conditions and the chaos of not knowing where someone is. She then has to put on the brave face when back with her kids of everything is fine and we will get through this and we will keep fighting to get your father out. And she really does continue to fight as the years go on as she eventually learns her husband was killed from the democracy that took over. And then we see her go on as her family does the same and we see her (actually her real life mother) enjoy a family gathering. Torres is so great in this performance and this role. I wish I had more to say than she was just great, but she holds the family together and navigates a shitty bureaucracy that goes from you get nothing, to here's everything. I dunno, it's a very good performance that is starting to resonate for too many people these days. Torres is actually exceptional in this role and if she had won, I don't think I'd be that mad about it.

A wild race that came down to the one who was originally crowned the winner back in Sundance or Cannes or whatever. Gascon is utter garbage. Not good or interesting or worthy of the actual nomination. Let's forget her. Erivo was a great part of that film and sang the shit out of her songs, respect but not very worthy. Moore is so brave in exposing herself like she did, but we need more than nudity to win, (I say as Madison slaps her pussy one more time to taunt Moore). Torres I think was super close to winning. I think if Madison didn't have the nudity, Torres could have won and I think that is a super hot take! Yes, nudity seems to be a factor for winning recently and it's awful. Great group of women. I kinda want Torres as the winner, a year later, but Madison is fine.

Oscar Winner: Mikey Madison - Anora

My Winner: Mikey Madison - Anora

Fernanda Torres

Demi Moore

Cynthia Erivo

Karla Sofia Gascon

Leading Actress 2023

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.

Sandra Huller - Anatomy of a Fall

 

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 Stone

Sandra Huller

Carey Mulligan

Annette Bening

Leading Actress 2022

What a wild ride this race was all awards season! Yeoh and Blanchett were going back and forth all season to where I didn't know which name was going to be called come Oscar night. And that's so exciting when we have no idea who it will be! It gets boring when the same person wins everything and is a matter of formality at the ceremony. There was also the controversy of Riseborough's nomination because of the crazy campaigning on her part, which came from the director of her film and his wife. They launched a campaign that had other well known actors advocating on Riseborough's behalf with the same copy pasted language essentially and it just felt real scummy and wrong. The Academy has had this happen before and has changed rules in response to these efforts like they did for this one. They changed the whole social media campaigning rules as they should have. Her film was barely in any theaters, made very little money as in thousands, not even hundreds of thousands, and set off a racism controversy because her nomination left out two possible black women in Viola Davis and Danielle Deadwyler. So yeah, some really sketchy stuff going on that I hope doesn't happen again. I haven't seen Riseborough's performance yet, but I am wholly interested to see how she does now.

2022 Best Actress

 

Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once

 

This was such a great and historic win. The first Asian woman to win Best Actress and it goes to a legend like Yeoh. I was rooting for her all season long and hadn't even seen her performance, so I'm glad she ended up winning. Having seen the performances now, it's a good showcase of her talents. She's a strong actress with a commanding presence and this film asks her to do a lot of heavy lifting. At first, she starts out as this incredibly busy laundromat owner that is getting audited by the IRS and when events start happening, she is extremely confused just like we the audience are. Once she learns what all is happening, she embraces and accepts her role and we get to see Yeoh play a couple different versions of herself in the multiverse. The one I enjoyed the most is the movie star version and it was funny that they used actual red carpet videos of her in the film. I liked that she also got to have some action and fight scenes since I think that's what a lot of folks know about her and it was just fun to see her in her element being the badass we all know she is. Her character has a great arc where being nice is what ultimately defeats the villain of the story and it felt like Yeoh's performance got stronger as the film went on. It's just a performance that draws you in and keeps you captivated and you realize you are watching something really well done and is unique and just fun. Yeoh's performance is a good winner, and I would say elevates the film, but all the acting is good and the film itself is already elevated so she is just another great component of a Best Picture winner. I'm super happy she won and glad that the performance is good and worth watching and worth winning.

Cate Blanchett - Tar

I kinda wanted to hate this one without ever having seen it. Not because I dislike Blanchett or think she's a terrible actress or anything. No, it's much more petty than that: it's because she already has two Oscars and I just can't get behind awarding three or more unless it's like the greatest performance ever. And boy, does Blanchett try her hardest to do just that. This is a masterclass in acting. Blanchett is the whole focus of the film and is in every scene of the film. It's undeniably impressive work from probably the current best actress working today, assuming Meryl Streep is mostly done and Katharine Hepburn is still dead. Blanchett plays Lydia Tar who is a world renowned conductor and maestro of the Berlin Philharmonic. She is at the top of the mountain peak and excels at her craft and this story shows the downfall of her career. Blanchett is incredible because of what is asked of her to do in the film. There's a scene where she guest teaches at Julliard and it's a long one shot scene where she has to move about the classroom, play some piano, and is dialogue heavy. It's always impressive to me when an actor can do a long scene with lots of intellectually dense dialogue and make it look not scripted or heavily rehearsed. It's fun to watch and the film has a few of those types of moments. Blanchett re-learned how to play the piano, learned how to speak German, and learned how to conduct an orchestra. That is dedication to a role and the craft and it pays off because she looks natural at all of these things in the film. If you told me Blanchett was actually raised in Germany and that's why she speaks German so well (assuming she does, I don't know German), I would absolutely believe you. I don't know if there is another actress out their today that could handle doing this film and making it work. It's why director Todd Field said he would only make the film with Blanchett and nobody else. He'd rather trash his own script than work with some other person in the main role. I honestly think this could get talked about in best ever actress performances and yet I will still give the win to Michelle Yeoh because she already has two Oscars. If this was to be her first, it's a no-doubter. But this is probably the performance of Blanchett's illustrious career and I don't know how she could ever top it. I would like to see her try because that means we will continue getting outstanding performances from her.

Ana de Armas - Blonde

This was an interesting choice for the Academy. It was a very minor surprise that she was actually nominated, but I think it really shouldn't have been much of one. She is playing Marilyn Monroe and there's probably enough of the old members of the Academy that would for this performance just because of that reason. They probably would also want to fuck de Armas and I wonder how much that played into her nomination. The film itself was a bit controversial because it was rated NC-17 and there was a ton of nudity, but honestly nothing very graphic or really titillating. The film is also pretty bad when it comes to the story. It's based off a novel by some woman who basically made up everything we see in the film including all of the rapes and sexual assaults and the abortions and a lot of other things. I just can't get into the story knowing it's all a bunch of distasteful bullshit and how badly it exploits de Armas. She herself said she was cool with all the nudity and trusted director Andrew Dominik (he who directed the utterly brilliant The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and very good Killing Them Softly, films!) but it's hard to watch that film and not feel like she was used in the wrong way. She does an admirable enough job with the performance and looks very much like Monroe with the help of some prosthetics, of course. She tries her best at the breathy, distinct voice of Monroe but her natural Cuban accent slips out so often that it's really distracting at times. Apparently, it was even worse in early screenings and they had to work on it in post production. Her acting is fine, but she mostly just cries and looks terrified or confused and there's just a ton of reacting to something. It's not a fully fleshed out performance because it's just pieces of one that de Armas acts out without anything ever coalescing into something you can really grasp onto. To me, it's mostly style over substance, though I believe that de Armas thought she was doing great work. I'm not hating on her at all, I just think that becoming Monroe in this type of film was a really hard sell. I would have liked to see her work in a more traditional biopic since this isn't even a biopic really. I think she may have been nominated because she's young and hot and nude a lot and maybe to honor Monroe one more time. I don't think her nomination is solely because of her acting, sadly.

Andrea Riseborough - To Leslie

 

Well, here we are finally. The most controversial thing about this year's season was Riseborough getting the nomination. Lots of things going into that which started with a (even still) little seen film that made almost no money all the sudden exploding on social media and heavily backing Riseborough to be nominated. It was criticized immediately for how shady and scummy it felt. The director's wife is an actress and I guess they have lots of friends and coordinated this social media push to get their film out there and to try and ram Riseborough into the nominees by getting the acting branch to vote for her last minute. It rubbed me the wrong way because I hate campaigning so openly like this. For Your Consideration campaigns are fine to me, but I dunno, something about how particular this was handled didn't sit well. I'd rather just let the best rise to the top and not force anyone into the nominees because you have connections. I live in a fantasy world with that belief, but point stands it's not a good look. I have no idea how much influence, if any, that Riseborough had with this so I don't know if this is a Chill Wills situation or not. But finally having seen her performance I can somewhat understand where all this campaigning is coming from and why her director and other actors got behind her so hard. I think that if someone got into the Oscars say 10 years from now and started watching everything they could and got to 2022 and came across Riseborough's nomination and performance, well I think they'd believe it fits right in this group. I think it's a good enough performance that it doesn't feel out of place. Yeah, it's a small indie film but it's got an Oscar winner actor in the film in Allison Janney. It's got Marc Maron, Stephen Root, and even Bubbles (Andre Royo) from The Wire. It's not like this was a bunch of unknown actors from a local community group or something. It's a legit film. It just also doesn't tread on any new ground or do anything unique or different. The story is that Riseborough plays a woman who wins a small lottery in a small town and blows it quickly. Life spirals and she is an alcoholic who can't keep a job or a place to live and is somewhat estranged from her son, who is now 20. It's a story we have seen a million times where someone with an addiction has to try and get their life back together or risk losing everything. These kinds of stories rest solely on whoever is playing the addicted or outcast person. They have to be great to make it interesting and worth watching and I think Riseborough accomplishes that goal. Trying to play a drunk is hard. You have to be convincing without going over the top into histrionics or not being believable enough. Riseborough plays a great drunk/alcoholic and is wholly believable as a woman who has hit rock bottom. She prances around and is in good spirits when finally stealing some cash to get her first drink of the day. She sways and looks tired when at the bar. She sizes up men at the bar and tries to flirt her way into a drink but it all comes across as awkward and painful to watch. She gets angry the more she drinks and moves around and flails about as the night goes on. Riseborough gets all the particulars right and it makes for a more authentic performance and story. We would laugh at times, but we see how put off everyone else is and how much of a fool she's making herself to be. I would say that's the best thing about the performance. The story ends up being almost too good of a feel-good story all neatly wrapped up in the end. Which is why the film itself is just alright, but Riseborough gets us to invest in her character and hope that there is a payoff at the end, that she can overcome her demons and be a normal person again. There are other parts to the performance like when she starts trying to get right at the end or when she is staying with her son but she is really just using him for a place to stay and to steal from. The main draw for this is Riseborough playing the drunk. If you ask me if I think this belongs in this group, I'd say yes. But I have to see the rest of the group and figure out where she fits. This could just be a fifth spot that could go to anyone and would thus be fine getting nominated. I can't be angry at the performance, but I can be disappointed in the way she got here in the first place. After this, I'll be keen to see what Riseborough does next or at least down the road and see if she lives up to being an Oscar nominated actress.

Michelle Williams - The Fabelmans

 

This was Williams' fifth Oscar nomination in her career and probably the least exciting one I've seen so far. It feels like it's only a matter of time before she finally breaks through, but I hope it's for something more challenging. And that's my main issue with this role and performance. She plays the fictional version of Steven Spielberg's mother. It's a good performance. It's a fine performance. It's a performance that Williams could do her in sleep. We know she's a phenomenal actress, but nothing blew me away here and I feel that's where she has set the bar for herself when it comes to nominations. Brokeback Mountain, Blue Valentine, My Week with Marilyn, and Manchester by the Sea all offer up some really juicy, dramatic roles or at least something challenging like being Marilyn Monroe. This performance at least has more to do than just be a mother and wife, I'll give it that. Her character needs to be the center of attention and is a very artsy, somewhat bohemian type of person. She encourages her son who is most like her to make movies and we see that motherly love on display. She gets an added bonus of playing a woman who is in love with another man who is friends with her husband, Paul Dano. Bennie, played by Seth Rogen, is always around and eventually through the film we see that as the family moves west because of Dano's jobs and has to leave Rogen behind, Williams can't handle the separation and is makes her relationship with Dano contentious. That sounds really juicy, but we see it develop and there's no one to really stop her and change her mind. So when it comes to a crescendo, it lands with a whimper. We also see Williams' character be a little quirky with only using disposable plates and silverware, keeping a pet monkey she names Bennie, dancing in a see through nightie in front of her whole family. The character is an interesting woman and Williams is more than up to the task of portraying that bit of kooky. But some of her performance comes off a bit chintzy to me where she is a little too cutesy or too theatrical. It feels like a deliberate choice but it doesn't always work for me and can be annoying at times. That probably speaks more to the character but Williams is the one portraying her. I just don't think it's her best work and the nomination feels more like an afterthought or a nod to Spielberg more than Williams actually delivering something worth voting for.

This was definitely a two-horse race between Yeoh and Blanchett and I'm super glad that Yeoh got the Oscar. Blanchett would have been very deserving but I am not a fan of repeat winners. Simple as that for me. The rest were all pretty mid. Williams has done much better work and honestly I wouldn't have nominated her here. It just felt like a rubber stamp nomination coming along for the ride with Spielberg's film. Then we have to see if Riseborough truly belonged here. She was good, but it's a small, low budget film that most people would not and have still never seen. Obviously that shouldn't truly matter but with how the campaigning went and that it possibly pushed a black actress out of a nomination, I think it really needed to be better than good. Unfortunately, de Armas tries her best in a mess of a film though she has a much tougher job to do than Riseborough. The bottom of this group was a bit rough to watch because none of them really inspired me. At least the top two were pretty great.

Oscar Winner: Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once

My Winner: Michelle Yeoh - Everything Everywhere All at Once

Cate Blanchett

Michelle Williams

Ana de Armas

Andrea Riseborough

Leading Actress 2021

This race was all over the place for a bit. Kidman won the Golden Globes and BAFTA went to someone not even nominated anywhere else (Joanna Scanlan). Chastain did get SAG and I don't think anyone else really contended after that. There was a lot of Cruz love in the anonymous Oscar ballots that always come out before the ceremony in the press, but obviously she didn't win. The others had buzz at different times, so it will be interesting to see how strong this category really is.

2021 Best Actress

 

Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye

 

This is the same person who was nominated for Zero Dark Thirty (she should have won), so this just shows her absolute range of two opposite ends of the acting spectrum. This was only Chastain's third nomination but it just felt like from the get go that she was destined for an Oscar. She had turned in killer work after killer work and admittedly this may be a weaker year where two former winners were nominated but weren't serious contenders. But no knock on Chastain who does all the heavy lifting in this film where she plays Tammy Fay Bakker, a wife of a televangelist who got caught up in some controversies like every other televangelist. First thing that jumps out to me is that her high pitched, sing song Minnesota accent is adorable but also so spot on. She has this giggly, school girl laugh and just comes off as a very naive young woman in the early parts of the film and Chastain was totally believable in those moments. When she busts out the puppets or is giving her new husband a hand job in the bath, her demeanor is exactly as you'd expect a sheltered but curious Midwestern girl to be. She keeps up the high energy throughout the film except where the story calls for her to be depressed or sad or whatever, but she nails this character and makes it her own. It's also those moments where she turns real and in the midst of her post baby blues she puts on airs and acts like her persona to help reel in a big investor for the religious channel's theme park and hotel. Those moments puncture the film in various places and serve to highlight the range that Chastain can work in and reminds us that she isn't a one note smiley, cheerful, ditsy, ignorant woman. But boy does she excel at playing the made up, big haired, fancy dressed Tammy Faye. The film itself may not be very strong but cannot deny how great Chastain is in this performance. It's wild that she wins the Oscar for this and not the badass woman on the front lines in Afghanistan and Pakistan who gets the job done by any means necessary. A striking performance that I hope leads to more great roles for Chastain because I love watching her work and wouldn't mind a few more nominations out of her.

Olivia Colman - The Lost Daughter

Colman has quickly become the new darling of the Academy and good for her! Pretty much everything she has done recently has been great but I do think she is still in that window where she recently won an Oscar and everything she does after that is considered for a nomination. I will admit that I don't like this film at all and believe it's okay to straight up not like films but can at least appreciate the performances. Colman is fine in the role, but it doesn't feel like something that should have been nominated to me. Colman plays a professor who goes to a Greek seaside town for a working summer. She interacts with other guests and watching them makes her reflect on her own choices as a mother in her younger years. She doesn't do a whole lot besides sit at the beach and watch another family and interact with them, an Irish guy who works at the beach during the summer, and her American landlord who has been in the town for ages; all foreign. She does an odd thing where she helps find a missing little girl on the beach but steals her doll which everyone is looking for for most of the film. Her character has these little funny and awkward moments where she may say something naughty and then immediately back track or wave at someone thinking it's another person and then dash away when realizing it's not who she thought it was. It's a bizarre character that Colman does what she can with, but it never makes much sense to me. We never really understand the motivations for anything other than knowing she was an awful mother when younger through flashbacks that shows also Oscar nominated for the role, Jessie Buckley. They play the same woman, yet are wildly different in tone from each other. I think that is part of the intent, but the two never really feel connected and I don't see Colman in Buckley's performance and I need that thread that connects them in my mind for it to work. I could see this same performance working in like a dark comedy or something if you change up some things like the score and the flashbacks, which means it feels a bit out of place. Like I said already, Colman is fine and not really the issue. I think the source and the film let her down by trying to be too ambiguous about who she is and what's going on in her world. I thought that maybe her daughter was killed or molested or she killed her daughter but it just turned out she was a shitty mother. There's not much for me to grasp onto to claim it's a great performance or something worth watching. I'd rather watch Colman work with a better writer and director than first timer Maggie Gyllenhaal (did not understand her Adapted Screenplay Oscar nomination, honestly). Majorly disappointed in this because I know Colman is fantastic and can create amazing things, we were just let down on this one.

Penelope Cruz - Parallel Mothers

Interestingly, this performance had no precursor nominations anywhere other than some local critics groups, but none of the big ones like the Globes, SAG, or BAFTA. So that tells me how much the acting branch loves Cruz to nominate her and how much they seem to enjoy Pedro Almodovar films because his work has been nominated a bunch in various different categories. This was a bit of a wild film, not gonna lie, so I get the appeal of this one. Just the brief description of the story about two mothers giving birth on the same day who bond together and confront motherhood. Sounds innocent enough and that is exactly what I was expecting. Cruz is older and pregnant for the first time but the man is already married but she doesn't regret having the baby. Her hospital roommate is a teenager and scared and regrets the situation that put her there. You'd think they'd bond over the babies and maybe Cruz gains another, older daughter type of thing. Nah, (spoilers ahead, so be advised) she begins to doubt that her daughter is hers and goes to talk with the teen later on and we learn that the teen's daughter died a crib death. Sad, but then we learn that it wasn't Cruz's daughter and the babies were probably accidentally switched in the hospital. Cruz gets close with the teen before telling her and offers her a room in her house and money to nanny the baby. Well, naturally they sleep together intimately before Cruz tells the teen her daughter is actually alive. Drama and tears ensue of course, but this is all with an undercurrent of the guy Cruz slept with being a forensic archaeologist who she is hoping can help get funding to dig where there is a possible mass grave that has her grandfather and others from her small village. I kid you not. It's a very strange combo for a story to film, so needless to say that Cruz has a ton of emotions to work with in her performance. Seems like an actor's dream and Cruz easily rises to the occasion. She's a terrific actress and I have now watched a few of her Spanish performances and I prefer her in her natural language. She runs through the gamut of emotions from being worried and vulnerable, to strong and decisive, to being confused and devastated, sometimes within the same scene. The impressive part is that she never fails to convince us that she is going through any of the myriad of emotions the film pulls from her. It's all done very naturally and normally and we start to ride that emotional roller coaster with her. It's an entertaining ride that I now see why she was nominated and why a lot of the anonymous Oscar ballots that are in various trade publications were saying she was their pick to win. Just know that this is a bit of a crazy ride that can border on melodrama and just enjoy where Cruz takes you.

Nicole Kidman - Being the Ricardos

 

Doesn't this just kinda feel like a no-brainer of a casting for Lucy Arnaz? I think if you tried to come up with anyone else, you really couldn't. It's a dream match, but the film is such a huge disappointment that it's a shame that Kidman didn't get to shine in a film that could match her star power. The film is bad and Aaron Sorkin is mostly to blame. His writing is noticeably poor where some scenes just fall flat and don't have that punchy wit and bite he is known for. He also directed the film which was the wrong move because it needed a different eye and to avoid his stylistic choices. Another poor choice was Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, who just could not embody Desi at all. I know this is about Kidman's performance, but all that needs to be said to understand that she's the only good thing about the film. I have never been the biggest Kidman fan, but she gets the look and, mostly, the voice down for Lucy. Seems like a low bar to clear but it's not the case for Bardem and others in the film. I love that she has that domineering presence that Lucy commands and she feels like she is in charge and part of the mastermind behind a very successful show. The film is about a single week in the life of Lucy and Desi as they produce and work on an episode while other issues pop up behind the scenes in their personal life. Kidman handles her husband, her co-stars, the studio folks, the press, everyone with a hard headed determination. She can turn and become the Lucy we know from TV and be lovable and funny and engaging. The chemistry with Bardem is okay, but I feel like with a different actor, maybe that love would have been a bit more spicy and palpable which is what I was expecting. It's hard to get super excited for the performance because the film is a mess and you know that in more capable hands with a more accurate cast, that Kidman would have been more of a contender. It's a decent performance that is betrayed by a bad film.

Kristen Stewart - Spencer

 

I don't think a lot of people realize that Stewart has turned into a phenomenal actor and has been delivering great work for years now. It's good to see the Academy finally recognize her with a nomination, as she has already won a Cesar Award (which is the French Oscar equivalent) back in 2015. I feel people still think of her from her Twilight days but she was acting way before that. Her nomination for this film shows that her talent has grown immensely as she takes on the role of Princess Diana in a very un-princess like way. This is a Pablo Lorrain film, so if you have seen Natalie Portman's turn in Jackie, you know what kind of film it is. It's a highly stylized film with sweeping camera motions, dramatic ethereal score, and an intense acting job at its core. Intense best describes Stewart's performance of Diana as she seems to constantly have a grimace or frustrated, exasperated look on her face throughout the film. It's mostly a look at the pressures she faced assimilating and being comfortable in her role within the Royal family. She wants to be an everywoman but has to contend with the traditions and expectations of the private Royal life. Stewart matches the intensity of the film with her performance and she matches the accent and mannerisms of Diana extremely closely. I read an article that asked some worker, maybe the chef that is featured in the film, about how she compared to Diana and said that she was the closest he had ever seen to match her movements and personality. High praise because there have been so many variations of Diana on screen especially recently. But that's what Stewart brings to the performance is that attention to detail and high quality work ethic. I read that she worked on the accent for six months before shooting began for the film and it shows in the performance and makes for such a great piece of work from her. I'm not a big fan of the film overall but Stewart makes it a must see for her performance alone. I know that we will see more of Stewart in the future in these categories and hope to see more great work from her soon.

Maybe not the strongest group this category has ever seen. I don't think Chastain would win in stronger years, but I am glad she did. She just feels like she should have an Oscar because she consistently puts in great work. I keep it as the winner because everyone else already has one except Stewart and she deserves it. Surprisingly, I wasn't really a fan of Colman's work. The performance is fine enough, but it's not nomination worthy and was totally different from Jessie Buckley's version. I wish someone else had been selected here in her place, no slight against Colman, though. Kidman was entertaining as Lucille Ball, the film just kinda stinks is all. Stewart was fantastic in a tough role that has been done to death recently, no pun intended. It feels like we will be seeing her again in this category very soon with everything she's been doing recently. Cruz was actually very good in a film that was pretty wild. The performance could have been total melodrama but she skates that line perfectly and we get an interesting creation out of it. A decent group with intriguing performances. Let's get to 2022 now.

Oscar Winner: Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye

My Winner: Jessica Chastain - The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Penelope Cruz

Kristen Stewart

Nicole Kidman

Olivia Colman

Leading Actress 2020

I'm a little annoyed at this win. I have no idea why the Academy felt like they had to rush to reward McDormand for a third time, especially with the last two coming in just the last four years. And this race was a decent one throughout the season. The wins were actually all split between everyone but Kirby in the other major awards groups and Davis had the most, while I would have said Mulligan had the best shot. But then it swung for McDormand and I think her film winning Best Picture probably helped. I'm hoping her performance will hold up to being a good third Oscar winning one because I have a feeling the others will be very good, too.

2020 Best Actress

 

Frances McDormand - Nomadland

 

Okay, so I still haven't seen any of the other ladies yet, but thankfully I don't hate this performance. It's a good, little film about a woman whose husband has died and the town she was living in, which was ran by the company the husband worked for, is dissolved because they closed the gypsum plant at the center of it. So she starts a nomadic, van dwelling lifestyle and we just kinda watch as she interacts with folks and goes from state to state and job to job to survive. I see and get the appeal. She is dealing with her traumas in a way that makes sense to her while still trying to honor her late husband. McDormand is good in the role and she mostly plays a version of herself, which is what she and director Chloe Zhao came up with after trying something else originally. It's a very natural performance helped along by interacting with non-actors throughout the film and not having to actually do a lot of heavy lifting acting wise. It feels more like improv, which is still good, but not something that should have been rewarded with a third Best Actress Oscar, the second within four years. I enjoy the performance and think it worthy of a nomination but McDormand walks around a lot, makes small talk, is filmed doing odd jobs, and that's mostly it. A handful of small scenes where she cites Shakespeare to a young nomad boy, or gets a bit personal with a guy who is like a community nomad leader type. She does much better work in Three Billboards and of course is iconic in Fargo. This one doesn't match up to those and I'm still annoyed they rushed to give her a third win. A good performance but not on a winning level, though I say this without having seen the others so I could be dead wrong (but I don't think I am).

Viola Davis - Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Davis was a front runner along with Carey Mulligan for much of the season before Frances McDormand took over and won. She won the SAG award, defeating all of these ladies except Andra Day who wasn't nominated. So there was real belief that she could win her second Oscar and first Best Actress award and make history, which this nomination did itself by making her the most nominated black actress in history. But how is the performance you ask? I actually really enjoyed it. It's Davis doing what she does best which is inhabit a take no shit kinda role. She is Ma Rainey, a successful black singer who comes to a recording studio to cut a record with her band and entourage, so to speak. She's a powerful lady and people make way for her and do her bidding because she is a star. Davis exudes this attitude and confidence of someone who has had to deal with so much as a black woman in the 1920's. When she says go, you go. I like that Davis can bring a little ferocity to the performance in the moments when she needs to put her foot down and get her way or say no or whatever it is. Her accent is great and her bad makeup fully rounds out the character. I think some people may point to this performance as being too short for this category and I can understand that. It clocks in only around like 26 minutes or so, roughly about a third of the film's run time. But besides the young woman she keeps around as eye candy, Ma Rainey is the only female role in the film and of course the film's name is about her. She is the focus or is hovering around the edges even when not on screen, kinda like Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector. So I do feel like she belongs here and isn't category fraud. I don't quite like the fact that Davis didn't sing the songs, which I get and totally understand it's a very specific sound, but when you play a singer and don't actually sing (minus a barely sung little thing that doesn't really count) I'm going to count that against you. Davis nails the personality of Ma Rainey perfectly and gives a good performance, it might just be too little for me to fully get behind. Definitely worth the watch, though, easily.

Andra Day - The United States vs. Billie Holiday

This performance reminds me so much of Cynthia Erivo from the year prior. Strong, important black woman in history (of varying degrees) with a singular great acting performance coming from a very lackluster to mediocre film. That's exactly what Day is in this performance. The film is not that great and honestly felt like it dragged on way too long even though it's just over two hours. Day is the only reason you pay attention and she claims this film as her own with just a powerhouse performance that dances circles around everyone else involved. This was the second Billie Holiday performance nominated in this category all time, with Diana Ross doing it first in 1972. I enjoyed her debut role which was raw but had obvious talent. I even preferred her version of Strange Fruit. This was also Day's film debut as she was a singer originally, too. I think if you had to make me compare them, I'd take Day's performance in Ross's film as the two better products. Day is good and is a force in the film. I'm glad she was nominated because she really goes all in with the role and makes it something worth watching because Lee Daniels (the director) certainly does not. Like I honestly did not know that Day is an R&B singer first. I thought this was an up and coming actress who had put in some dues to get this role. But no, this was her first just like Ross and Day is easily better and more convincing. And a little more brave, though you can do a lot more things in film in 2020 than in 1972. Day portrays the addicted and out of it part of Holliday's life really well, slurring words, drooping eyes, swaying body. I mentioned something similar in Ross's review, so it really is hard to not compare them both even when I don't mean to do so. This is a solid performance, although it doesn't make me root for it as a winner. I can just recognize she is doing good work and hope that she is able to do more like this and not just be a footnote in Oscar history.

Vanessa Kirby - Pieces of a Woman

 

This was the one nomination that never really won anything but was always on the list of nominees. Kirby plays a young woman who has a homebirth that goes wrong and her baby dies. And so the rest of the film deals with that loss. The homebirth takes over twenty minutes from the start of the film and feels like that is what got the attention of the awards folk. It's not as strong from there and the film is not all that great. Kirby does her best as a grieving mother/woman as we see her deal with an overbearing mother, a too supportive husband who spirals out of control, and her own delusions that having a homebirth was the sane and rational thing to do. Don't understand homebirths and trusting yourself to people who have no medical knowledge and who suggest going to the hospital when things go wrong. She did this to her self and I don't think we really see that guilt in the film. We see her reacting negatively to everyone around her who tries to help and then questions her decisions. Then she stands up for the woman who was in charge of the homebirth and spares her from being convicted of a crime. It's some absolute garbage and the film and performance suffers greatly from that scene. Figures that the writer/director of the film suffered the same thing and thinks homebirth is okay. Totally ready to defend my anti-homebirth stance because it's so dumb but also the performance goes downhill after the birth scene. I think it's that there is a real relationship at first and then they both react as if they are strangers. Then Kirby becomes unlikable despite the writer and director trying to make her into a sort of strong character because she moves on and forgives the homebirth woman. Not a fan of this one, though I understand all it offers and that Kirby is only playing a character and does a great job of inhabiting her. I just don't think it's as strong as it thinks it is and Kirby goes downhill a bit from the very vivid and intense opening. Hoping we get to see more from Kirby in this space because I recognize she is a talented actress and could excel given a better role.

Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman

 

Mulligan was the presumptive front runner for most of the season even though the awards were spread out to everyone. I thought it was going to be Mulligan winning and yet McDormand won her third because reasons. Having now seen this film and performance, I understand why people thought it was going to win. I feel like it's the most interesting of the five to me, though I'm sure folks can argue the merits for everyone else being more interesting. But this is a tough role to pull off because it teeters right on that edge of comedy and realism. It's some real dark humor with lots of actual true to life moments that make you uncomfortable. Mulligan has such an unenviable task of making this character who is out getting revenge for her best friend who was raped and then killed herself into a fully fleshed out person who we can connect with. I think Mulligan succeeds at that because she can deliver dark comedy or dark truth on the same wavelength. She effortlessly slips into the drunk woman who trusts anyone only to become that guy's worst nightmare later. She has moments of great comedy just by certain looks and way she says things. She's terrifying at times and could honestly see her pulling off some serial killer horror film vibe. She's caring and warm at times when she needs to be and it just points to how many different characters she has to play, often in the same scene. This was the only performance that I was truly intrigued by right from the beginning and through to the end. It's not just some revenge porn fantasy, since the ending isn't the happiest it could be and because she only tries to scare scumbag dudes straight and not anything worse except for those directly responsible. I think Mulligan is terrific as an actress and probably should re-watch her Oscar nomination for An Education now that I've grown my own education of film and the Oscars. But this is solid and should have been an easy win for her. Will never understand the urgency to crown McDormand so quickly when you can reward a super strong performance like this right now. This is the only performance I'd rather watch again of the five and I think that says everything about this group for me.

Continuing that theme from the last sentence there, this is a disappointing group of nominees because most of them just didn't move me to really get behind them. Honestly, McDormand for a third Oscar winner, doesn't do much for me at all. Too much of her just reacting to things around and playing herself rather than giving us an all-time performance, which is what I feel that should be. Especially when she doesn't do anything exceptional or better than her fellow nominees. Day is good and probably caught lightning in a bottle just the same that Diana Ross did, but she gave it her all and was entertaining and I can't hate on her being in this group. Kirby does have a tough assignment and does well within the confines of the film and the role, but it could have been better. I blame the film more than Kirby who is good and I can see her getting some roles down the line to return here. If not for Mulligan, Davis would have been my winner, even with the short role. Maybe category fraud, but she is large and in charge and a force in the film felt even when not on screen. That's a good performance in my book. Mulligan has the hardest role and I think turns in a great performance that is more understated than maybe it should be. She could have been louder with it if she wanted but I enjoyed what she was able to do and was the only one to really intrigue me for me than a little bit. Some good names, but not the best which speaks to leading roles for women in 2020 and beyond. Kinda sad, but hopeful for 2021 now.

Oscar Winner: Frances McDormand - Nomadland

My Winner: Carey Mulligan - Promising Young Woman

Viola Davis

Andra Day

Frances McDormand

Vanessa Kirby

Leading Actress 1960

Some big names here that we are going to start to see more of as we keep going back in time, so I'm looking forward to these below. Taylor's first Oscar I know has some controversy attached to it, but I'm hoping it's at least a good performance. Let's see.

1960 Best Actress

 

Elizabeth Taylor - BUtterfield 8

 

What is crazy about this nomination and win is that Taylor herself hated this film. Loathed it. It was the final film done to satisfy her contract with MGM after some legal wrangling and she didn't want to do it. So she did it along with her new husband Eddie Fisher, who is not very good in the film. It's about a call girl, prostitute, whore; whatever you want to call her. She is mad that a john gave her like $250 and her dress was ruined and so she steals a mink coat at his place. That john is Laurence Harvey and the two reconnect and start a relationship that damages his relationship with his wife. There are some complications but that is the film. I have always hated the title of this film and realize it had to do with an area code where BU and 8 equals 288. Also, the only reason Taylor won the Oscar here is because she was on death's door, literally dying, and that is why everyone voted for her. Like no shit, she had some pneumonia or something and was dying and the Academy was like oh, no! We haven't rewarded her yet so let's do it for this truly awful performance. And her accepting the Oscar was like this Jesus rising from the dead moment. The film is terrible and Taylor does nothing to make it great. It's just a whore who tries to get away with being awful and is confronted with her reality. Watch the film to see how it ends, but it's not good. That previous sentence seems harsh, but it is accurate for the film and the performance so I'm letting it stand. This in no way deserves a nomination, let alone a fucking Oscar win! It's crazy that because Taylor got sick that they just decided to say fuck it and give her a win. She deserves an Oscar for other works, but deserves garbage for this performance. It's not that great and deprives the others in this category of possible glory.

Greer Garson - Sunrise at Campobello

Wow, this is not what I expected from a Greer Garson performance. I know that she won the Oscar in this category for her role in Mrs. Miniver and I am excited to watch that film, but this performance just ain't it. I get that Garson is a respected actress but this is a totally awful performance that just misses on all accounts. Her choice to use that lilting accent that goes up and down as she speaks is horrendous. It makes no sense and sounds nothing like her and is just an odd choice. And that permeates the whole performance to where you can't really shake it and get over it. She looks nothing like Eleanor Roosevelt, which by the way I probably should have mentioned earlier, and just looks like Garson with fake teeth. The film itself is about Franklin Roosevelt's early years after he gets polio. Which the film can't say polio because of the production code, like what the fuck? God, I wish the Code never existed so we could have decades of films without that hindrance and maybe move Hollywood forward in the process. Anyway, the film only is good at the very end when we get to see the political maneuverings of picking a Presidential nominee which is fascinating and more media needs to be on that. Before that, the whole film is mostly filmed in rooms because it was based on a play so we get a ton of boring content of FDR in bed or at a desk. Garson is fine, whatever. She's really not great at all and something to overlook and wonder why she talks that way. A truly forgettable performance that should not have been nominated, not sure what the Academy was doing here.

Deborah Kerr - The Sundowners

Kerr (pronounced like Car, by the way, because I've been pronouncing it wrong for forever) has the distinction of most Best Actress nominations without a single win. This was her sixth and final nomination, though she would get an Honorary Oscar years later from the Academy. We will be getting very well acquainted with Kerr in the next decade so I was excited to see how she was in this film. I've seen her in a couple of her other nominated roles and just other films in general and she was always solid to great. That's no different here as she plays a wife and mother in a roving sheep herder family in the Australian Outback. One of those films where we follow a family through their trials and tribulations. Kerr is solid as expected and she really pairs well with Robert Mitchum who were good friends in real life and it shows. She plays the wife and mother role perfectly and is a sort of bedrock for the family and others they encounter like when she helps a woman give birth or encourages her husband to do a sheep shearing contest. She is supportive and caring and understanding, never really letting her frustrations of wanting to settle down get the best of her or her family. Kerr helps make this an entertaining film with a solid performance where she can play sexy, strong, lively, funny, and a hundred other adjectives. It's a good introduction to Kerr if you have never seen her on screen before. We will be getting to her more well known works in short time and I can't wait for that.

Shirley MacLaine - The Apartment

 

I always forget that MacLaine's lone Oscar win was for Terms of Endearment and not this film and it feels like she should have more than five acting nominations. I think that speaks to just how charming and talented an actor she is that I expect her to have many more. This is one of those films that people point to as being perfect or one of the best of all time and some of that is due to just how great MacLaine is in the role of Fran. She's so cute and charming but in a non purposeful way. She is just being herself and not some manic pixie dream girl and that's what attracts me most to the performance. It seems so effortless and she absorbs a lot of the attempts at flirting that the men in the film throw at her. She is unfazed at Jack Lemmon trying to take her out that it feels real. I love when the woman in a story is just nonplussed by whoever the lead of a film is that is trying to get in her pants or even just get her attention. It's better when the woman isn't some one dimensional piece of meat. MacLaine is certainly not that as her character has a range of emotional depth to mine. Without ruining the film, she has some dark moments and tough scenes to get through that she gives the seriousness they deserve. She can also have some great comedic moments and it's this balance that makes the performance so successful. I like that her character is not just being used and manipulated by the men in the film and she makes her own decisions for the most part. It's nice to see a well developed female character and that MacLaine can go toe to toe with anyone. It's just a really charming and effective performance from a really terrific film that everyone should see at least once.

Melina Mercouri - Never on Sunday

 

Another foreign actress getting a nomination, this was in the thick of the Academy rewarding actresses outside the norm. Mercouri is a Greek actress who won best performance at Cannes for this role, so it's not like it came out of nowhere. The film was well received by the Academy with five nominations, including Best Director and a win in Best Song (the first song from a foreign film to win). The film is a short one that essentially is a combination of Pygmalion and the hooker with a heart of gold trope. Mercouri is an independent prostitute who sets her own rules and enjoys her lifestyle. An American named Homer is trying to find himself and after seeing Mercouri, puppy dogs her everywhere. He actually comes off creepy at times just showing up in her room unannounced and following her everywhere. He doesn't like that she's a hooker and tries to change her into a more intelligent woman. Mercouri goes along with it for a bit and then is like nah, I like my old life way more. Mercouri is fine in the role although it didn't really wow me or anything. She is very fierce and independent and this take charge and take no shit kind of person. Mercouri leans into that mentality and runs with it to great effect. Definitely a pro woman type of film and it was interesting to watch. Mercouri does well with the role, but the performance just didn't stand out all that much to me. Worth watching for a very feminist type of film from the early 60s that feels a little fresher than being 60 years old.

What a fucking mess of a category, holy shit! At least two of these probably should not have been nominated at all. Taylor is a weak performance in a bad film that won because the Academy thought she was dying. So absurd! At least her second win was well deserved. Greer was just painful to watch. A boring film with a really awful performance from Greer. That just felt like the Academy rewarding someone they liked over liking the actual content. Mercouri was fine and it was a bit of an interesting film, but honestly if she wasn't nominated I'd be fine with that. Just not a big fan of the hooker roles, no matter who or what they are about because they are so overdone in this category. Kerr is solid and I am excited to watch more from her in the next decade. I guess I give my award to MacLaine who was pretty great in a wonderful little film. I feel she does a bit more than Kerr so she gets the win. What a terrible year to end the 60s on for this category. Really hoping to avoid disasters like these in the 50s, but we shall see.

Oscar Winner: Elizabeth Taylor - BUtterfield 8

My Winner: Shirley MacLaine - The Apartment

Deborah Kerr

Melina Mercouri

Elizabeth Taylor

Greer Garson

Leading Actress 1961

I may have first looked at this group and totally disregarded Sophia Loren because I only knew her as some sex symbol and was this an actually well earned Oscar? I'll admit I'm not a good judge and this category has some greats, so let's get into it then.

1961 Best Actress

 

Sophia Loren - Two Women

 

I think it gets forgotten that Sophia Loren was an accomplished actress and we remember how beautiful she was/is and her being an international sex symbol. But Loren did win many international acting awards including here as the first acting Oscar for a non-English language performance. This isn't just some token nomination and win, either. Yes, she was mostly in romantic and comedic films prior to this win, but this film definitely had a bit more heft with it's subject matter. The film is about Loren and her eleven year old daughter getting out of Rome to avoid bombings in WWII. She meets up with some distant family in the countryside as the Italians and Germans retreat from Americans and eventually both she and her daughter are raped in a Church by Moroccan troops. This was a real tragedy that occurred on a wide scale where these rural villages were raped and pillaged with many murdered. It's a heavy story that asks Loren to be both defiant and vulnerable, sometimes at the same time. She has to stay strong for her daughter, yet is terrified just as much as her daughter is. It's not really a glamorous role, though Loren does manage to look beautiful throughout, even in her characters worst moments. But that really just speaks to how she really looked back then, you couldn't really make her ugly and probably didn't want to so as to keep the audience coming. I have seen Loren in a few other films and she always has a presence and can command a room just because of her stature and beauty. But this was one of those performances where she came to act and not just be a movie star. She takes it seriously and her desperate pleas and crying out in anger and frustration at a passing troop vehicle are entirely visceral. All the pointless death and destruction and trauma for what? The innocence lost that will forever remain a deep scar. That pain is something that resonates loudly and shows just how good Loren can be as an actress. It may be tough to beat and I might be surprised that the Academy got it right for once, I'll have to see how the others stack up first.

Audrey Hepburn - Breakfast at Tiffany's

One of the most iconic roles in all of film, I think everyone who thinks of Hepburn sees her as Holly Golightly in shades and a black dress and a long cigarette holder. Hepburn didn't consider it one of her best performances, but it's definitely become her most memorable for the general public. Not really much to say that hasn't already been said for this film based on Truman Capote's novel. Hepburn is a young woman making money by essentially being an escort and getting drunk guys to give her lots of money and then slips away. Her new neighbor is a writer and a boy toy to some rich woman. Their friendship grows until it finally becomes more than friends. A simple story that is made better by Hepburn's eccentric, impetuous performance. Holly is wild and impulsive as she flits around with a carefree attitude. She can defuse anyone being mad at her with her smile, but we can see this is a front for her to not face her past and her problems. Hepburn is great in the role and it's hard to imagine anyone but her playing Holly. She has the perfect spirit and charisma to play Holly and to play her more introspective and dramatic moments. There are a lot of better reviews about Hepburn's performance here (and you should go read those), but I did love a point someone made about how this role set up her future roles in the 60s with kooky romantic characters and more grounded serious roles and how this kind of mixed those two. Obviously, this performance is more light (no pun intended) with just a few poignant parts thrown in, but it is still very good work and entirely memorable. If you haven't seen, not sure what you're waiting for as this is a cultural touchstone.

Piper Laurie - The Hustler

Okay, wow. Piper plays a perfect drunk. Alliteration aside, it's true, she is fantastic in her role. Already ahead of myself, Laurie plays an alcoholic woman that Paul Newman meets in a bus station and falls for. Laurie plays it so good because she at first tricks him and pays for the drink and vanishes. We then see her later and realize she is a bonafide alcoholic that Newman latches onto. Laurie's drunk acting is actually phenomenal as she is so believable. There is no hiccuping or closing your eyes or whatever, she just looks around and slurs her words and has that uncontrolled drunk aspect to her performance. I love the fuck out of great or even good drunk performances and Laurie is setting the bar for how to act while your character is drunk or under the influence. It's not conceived, it's grown. Kinda weird to write but she hits all the perfect notes of being angry but being drunk and also balancing what that means for Newman. She walks around sipping on a drink and you know something is happening and you wish it wouldn't. Laurie is fantastic at burrowing into scenes with her drunken shenanigans and just hitting that desperate note so perfectly. I also think Laurie is a good equal to Newman and not just something he acts against or a like a prop to act with. She challenges him and delivers the only real female performance in this very manly film. Crazy to think that after this film, she would take a 15 year break from acting to start a family and then her first role back in Carrie was nominated in 1976. We probably missed out on some really great acting but props to her for making family a priority.

Geraldine Page - Summer and Smoke

 

Thank goodness I only have one more Geraldine Page nomination to go after this one. There is nothing personally about Page that I dislike, it's just that most of her eight nominations, including her one win, has failed to connect with me. Either just something I outright disliked on an acting level, or just too small of a part that really probably shouldn't have been nominated to begin with. I did enjoy her nomination after this one for another Tennessee Williams film adaptation, Sweet Bird of Youth, so maybe it's a Tennessee thing because this performance wasn't terrible or anything. Not as enjoyable as the previous mentioned performance, this one is way more melodramatic and easy for Page to lay it on thick. She is a reserved, proper Southern woman who is infatuated with a wild, good looking young doctor who lives across the street. Now the doctor is wholly unlikable and really keeps you from being more engaged with the story because he is so awful. He plays with Page's naivete while hooking up with Rita Moreno and lusting after a 17 year old girl, who he later gets engaged to when she comes back from boarding school. All the while trying to get with Page who continues to play a very shy, anxious, fragile woman who can't keep herself away from the doctor. He takes her to a cockfight and then tries to sexually assault her later, is constantly drunk and partying while belittling her. It's one of those wild, intense Tennessee Williams relationships. And it's really hard to stay invested in it, not that you really should be, but I didn't get why Page's character was so desperate. But then at the very end of the film, I think we get a very telling reason as to why. Page does most of what the role commands her to do. It's like her character belongs in Gone With the Wind or some 30s or 40s film. It doesn't match the same energy of Laurence Harvey's doctor and it feels like they are almost in two different films at times. But Page plays it earnestly even if that just kinda feels like a bit much. It's decent and I understand why it was nominated and certainly is among the best of her eight nominations for me! Can't wait to see if her last one is her best one.

Natalie Wood - Splendor in the Grass

 

Let's be really real, the only reason Wood is nominated here is because this is a combination of this and her work in West Side Story. I mean, the biggest film of the year and you get nominated for a sexual coming of age film? That's what this role and film is about. Wood is infatuated with Warren Beatty (in his first ever film) because he is from a rich family and captain of the football team and he wants to fuck her. Wood denies him and it sets off the film, essentially. Beatty complains to his dad and teachers and friends that he is preoccupied (cuz can't get laid) and is doing poorly. He breaks up with her because he saw his sister getting ran on and wanted to end the relationship for whatever reason. She decides to be like his sister and a friend of his tries to rape her and jumps into a waterfall but is rescued and then her family institutionalizes her. That's a whole lot of context to take in and not to dismiss any of it, but it all explains her teenage decisions. It's a film about what may have been. Wood is great in the role as hesitant and unsure in the relationship at first, though she is smitten with Beatty from an outside aesthetic. Wood seems like a genuine teenager, desperate for the only person she believes she loves and afraid of losing the only thing she knows. I think we've all been there in some form, so we can commiserate when Beatty cheats on Wood. Just because you are seemingly perfect, does not mean you are okay. As Wood's character goes through therapy for years, she is happier after the fact, but easily slips into her old issues when meeting Beatty who now works on a farm and is married with a kid. You can see that Wood was wanting him in that moment and re-experiencing everything from her youth because she thought she could be with him again. It's a great look at young love in this moment and how some people looked at each other. Wood's performance is great because it just feels so real when she looks at you. A great use of her talents as she plays a small town girl confronting her demons. One of those moments of another film lifting up a different performance that is better for the actor.

Almost done with Geraldine Page and thankful for it. Not a terrible performance by any means, it was interesting, but still not that great. Wood gives a very Oscar baity performance. Hepburn gives her iconic role life and is a joy to watch. Laurie blows me away with her alcoholic person and it may have won in weaker years. I'll go with Loren who eschews her sex symbol self and all those romantic comedies. She was better than that being wasted on inferior slop and got to show her chops in her own language. It's a good group if unassuming. Ready to move on now.

Oscar Winner: Sophia Loren - Two Women

My Winner: Sophia Loren - Two Women

Piper Laurie 

Audrey Hepburn

Natalie Wood

Geraldine Page

Leading Actress 1962

Wow, a bunch of heavy names I recognize here. Should be a really great year for this category, fingers crossed.

1962 Best Actress

Anne Bancroft - The Miracle Worker

This project has made me a big fan of Anne Bancroft and made me realize she is a legitimately great actress. I always just kinda knew her as Mrs. Robinson and the husband of Mel Brooks and that was the extent. But she is utterly fantastic in everything I have seen her in during this project. That's why I wanted to do this thing in the first place. Bancroft is one of the very few actors to win the triple crown of acting which is a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy. Not quite the EGOT, but very impressive regardless. Bancroft's second, yes second, Tony Award win was for playing this same role of Anne Sullivan on Broadway. It's honestly no surprise that she won the Oscar here because both her and Patty Duke have this great chemistry and you can tell they are comfortable in their roles. Bancroft is the teacher that helps Duke's Helen Keller come out of her shell by teaching her to communicate. It's a frustrating role to watch in a good way. Duke is combative and thrashes about for most of the film and you just kinda feel like she is never going to learn how to communicate. But then she does and it's a feel good moment. Bancroft up until that time is determined and stubborn and exhausted and exasperated and just plain focused on getting through to Helen. Everyone will point out the long food fight scene for good reason because there are only two words spoken the whole time yet so much is communicated between Bancroft and Duke in this scene. It's incredible acting and a true Oscar moment for both. I also like how Bancroft reminds me of Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove with the glasses she wears sometimes throughout the film. Not nearly as funny, though. It's just a strong performance for me. There are a lot of frustrations with what's going on because we want Helen to get it and for Anne to succeed and both actors suck you in to rooting for them. Bancroft is great in the role and she should be considering her pedigree with it, but also just enjoyable from an acting perspective.

Bette Davis - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Ah, Bette Davis. We will be seeing a lot of her eventually, but I feel like for a lot of people this is her most recognizable role. She plays the crazy Baby Jane Hudson, a washed up child star living with her crippled sister who was the bigger star in the family, played by Joan Crawford. Their actual real life feud is well documented, so its interesting to me that they would appear in the same film together, especially one like this. Davis goes full bore into the role. She created her own wild makeup look which has become somewhat iconic now. You can see her picture and know exactly who and what the film is without ever having seen it. This film also helped usher in the psycho biddy film genre where older actresses who were once prominent then terrorize those around them. I feel like all of this is because of how intensely Davis took this role and created something very memorable. I actually really like her acting style, too. It's almost as if this crazy woman wandered on set and just started reacting to those around her. Compare it to Crawford's style which still feels old school melodramatic and Davis stands out even more. It surprised me because I was expecting something more like Crawford and instead it's a performance that feels way more fresh and modern. The way she switches from being crazy and threatening to acting like an innocent child is kind of fun to watch. We are watching an actor just go for it and create something long lasting in the process and it's a joy to witness. A very good effort from Davis and we have about nine more reviews of hers to go, which I am excited about.

Katharine Hepburn - Long Day's Journey Into Night

Katharine Hepburn. She of the twelve nominations and four, four!, wins. She won her last three nominations in 1968, 1969, and 1982. I hated her 1982 win for On Golden Pond, completely undeserved. She was awesome in 1969 for The Lion in Winter and tied with Barbra Streisand, so maybe didn't deserve that one - up for debate. Have no clue why she won for Guess Who's Coming to Dinner in 1968. So basically maybe shouldn't have won her last three nominations and only had one win. As I travel back in time, I have more chances to see if/when Hepburn should have been rewarded. This film is a film adaptation of Eugene O'Neill's play. Not really an adaptation, I guess, but just using his play straightforward word for word. It's an interesting role and performance for Hepburn. This is one of those family dramas where everyone is fucked up and the film is about how they don't discuss how fucked up each person is and just avoid confronting anything. Hepburn is a morphine addict with a super successful veteran actor husband who cheated on her a lot. Her youngest son is a drunk who is also sick with consumption. Her older son is a drunk and I guess just an overall degenerate and womanizer. Her husband is a drunk. Addiction is in the family. Hepburn's performance to me feels way too melodramatic and theatrical. She is playing to the back row and I feel this would have been great on Broadway. But she is reciting lines she memorized and rehearsed more than she is giving a lived in performance. She is all over the place and that fits the addict aesthetic but doesn't quite fit what the role is. She is just too actorly. It does fit with the rest of the film and the performances and I kinda like the direction from Sidney Lumet, but it's a filmed play. I actually think that Dean Stockwell as the younger son is the best actor of the bunch. Jason Robards is pretty great because he is 40 years old playing I think maybe 20s or 30s. Ralph Richardson is as theatrical as Hepburn is. It just really is not a natural performance. It suffers from being so calculated and rehearsed that I can't really enjoy it as much as some of these other women in this category. To make clear, she is a good actress, but I feel she doesn't have the right tone for the film and it just seems off to me. I know she can be better and I'm hoping this is a blip in her many nominations.

Geraldine Page - Sweet Bird of Youth

If you have followed this blog at all, you know I have not been very kind to Geraldine Page in my reviews of her. This is the sixth out of her eight nominations I have reviewed and I have to say that this is the best one I have seen so far. That isn't any faint praise or anything, she gives her best performance so far to me. It's a Tennessee Williams play that Page originated the role on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for it. So this performance has that lived in quality where the actor is more than familiar with the role and character and it shows. Page plays a movie star who is getting away from Hollywood due to her own perceived notion that her career is over. She is a drunk and pill popper and sleeping with Paul Newman as they hide out in his hometown. She mostly just stays in her hotel room, figuring out who Newman is and where they are and coming back down from her bender. She laments her work and her life and she is a very dramatic type of person with wild mood swings, definitely the Hollywood type. Page plays all of this very well without it ever feeling melodramatic or it being too much. Her interactions with Newman are fun to watch as they are both using each other to get what they want. Page also looks the best that I have seen of her, she looks like a movie star. She plays a woman trying to figure out her life and assuage her fears and Page communicates the myriad of emotions wonderfully. It's nice that I have enjoyed one of her performances finally because I hate to dislike an actress, especially one that people consider one of the best to ever do it. Hoping her final two nominations are on this same level.

Lee Remick - Days of Wine and Roses

This is a film you could probably consider a forgotten gem. Yes, it also stars Jack Lemmon in an amazing dramatic role, but I think it feels mostly forgotten in today's film and Oscar world. Which is a shame because it's a great film. Remick plays a young woman who works as a secretary at a public relations firm and meets Lemmon and is mostly standoffish to him. I actually really enjoyed Remick early in the performance because not only was she so natural in her acting unimpressed with Lemmon, she felt refreshing in that she didn't feel like an actress from the early 60s. She felt very modern and her swatting Lemmon down at every turn was nice to see. Eventually she agrees to go out with him and he gets her to start drinking. They get married one night after getting drunk and there we see that this is a story about alcoholics. The two become heavily co-dependent on each other and the booze and we see them get into all kinds of issues because of drinking. Lemmon loses his job, there are arrests and hospital visits, Remick burns the house down while Lemmon is away. It's a greatest hits of all the terrible things that alcohol can do to two normal, functioning adults who have a great life. They have a baby and Remick actually stops drinking, but then is urged by Lemmon to do so because he misses her being drunk. This parasitic relationship is tough to watch and Remick is so good in the role. I appreciate how she plays her drunken character because it never devolves into campiness or anything theatrical or melodramatic. It feels real, especially because she is this beautiful woman who as the films goes on gets less attractive and looks like an old barfly. Both she and Lemmon have great chemistry even when drunk and watching their trainwreck unfold is mesmerizing. You can't look away even though it's pretty raw at times. And there is no happy ending, which I liked about the film. It's true to life because she doesn't magically one day become sober and all is perfect again. That's why this is a devastating performance from Remick because she is this bright, beautiful, independent woman who has a great future and alcohol utterly destroys all of that and leaves her a shell of her former self. A really strong performance from Remick that I recommend watching.


Damn, what a great year for this category! Actually kinda hard to figure out where to place everyone and now I see the limits of a ranked system. I know I was a bit harsh on Hepburn, but she is the weak link for me. Some people would probably vehemently disagree and that's okay. Just didn't think the performance meshed well with the film. Page surprised me that I actually really enjoyed her. Maybe because she was playing an actress coming off a bender that it wasn't much acting? Not saying anything about Page personally, don't know her like that, but it feels like that's a role that is easy to have fun with and make into something good. Davis was awesome. Way more modern than I anticipated and just a crazy fun performance. Man, if not for Bancroft living in that role and owning it, Remick would be an easy winner. She is so good at her role and especially playing the drunk parts, which is usually so hard to do and comes off campy. Bancroft deserved the win and I loved it. Great group of nominees and what I always want this category to be.

Oscar Winner: Anne Bancroft - The Miracle Worker
My Winner:  Anne Bancroft - The Miracle Worker
Lee Remick
Bette Davis
Geraldine Page
Katharine Hepburn