Friday, October 05, 2007

Give Kate Winslet 32 Spankings. And an Oscar Please


I almost forgot it was Kate Winslet's birthday today. JA reminds because he's a better fan than I --though I am amused to note from his post that we share almost the same favorite Winslet performances but one (I love Titanic but I'd trade in Rose DeWitt Bukater in an instant for Iris Murdoch)

So in honor of the best living actress under 40, a poll...








Every year it seems sillier and sillier that she hasn't yet won an Oscar. I know I'm preaching to the choir hear so I trust I'll get an "amen" If not --if you're OK with all those losses, explain yourself!

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

ugh, love her! and she was so robbed of a nom for Holy Smoke!

Jason Adams said...

I'm not gonna argue that Kate's Iris acts circles around her own Rose... but I just have warmer feelings towards her performance in Titanic. It's soppy and it's a threadbare character she was handed with a paint-by-numbers arc but she's so lovely to behold and I think it's where I first realized this lady is my love. She's my Pfeiffer, if you will. If I'd had your experience, Nat, of meeting her at a party, I'd have killed myself afterwards because it'd all be downhill from there.

Anonymous said...

Eh, I'm sick of the sight of that woman. There are plenty actresses far more overdue than Winslet.

NATHANIEL R said...

anonymous. wow. strange. she's hardly overexposed... what with only making 1 movie a year or so

Anonymous said...

Well, she was in three and a voice-over last year, so...

Anonymous said...

I don't think Winslet is overexposed so much as she has a way of attracting some of the worst and most irritating fanboys I've ever seen (mainly on sites like IMDB). Not her fault, obviously, but I need a break from her the way the universe needs a break from Blanchett. Sure, Winslet is a strong actress, but I don't think she's ever been robbed of an Oscar, I don't think she deserves as many as five nominations yet (I'd say three is plenty for now), and I don't think she's anywhere near as overdue an Oscar win as the likes of Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver, Glenn Close, Miranda Richardson, Joan Allen, Laura Linney or Michelle Pfeiffer.

adam k. said...

I'd keep both Rose and Iris, and drop Juliet Hulme. I do love me some Heavenly Creatures, but I just don't love Kate in that quite as much as mature, adult Kate.

Titanic
Sense & Sensibility
Iris
Holy Smoke!
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

...and a very respectable second tier including...

Heavenly Creatures
Little Children
Finding Neverland
Quills

...and some others I haven't seen. In the poll, I voted for Iris simply because there was no one else in that category that year who deserved to beat her. That shoulda been her time. I really wanted to put Eternal Sunshine cause I love her so goddamn much in that, but Bening and Staunton were both arguably having a more "this is my moment!" kind of year.

Oh actually wait, maybe Helen Mirren shoulda won in 2001... then she wouldn't've had to win in 2006. Argh. I dunno.

Kate basically just deserves to win every year.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm masoquist, but I sincerely hope a Winslet(Revolutionary road) x Moore(Blindness) battle in the next year, with Streep(Doubt) as a dark horse. Yes, I'm tired of Knightleys and Cotillards.

lawyer tony fernando said...

oh I´m still in love with Josephine and the true sensibility, those were her best performances for me, can´t forget the Little children of course

Anonymous said...

Her best perfomances:

1 - Holy Smoke
2 - Hamlet
3 - Jude
4 - Little Children
5 - Sense and Sensibility
6 - Titanic
7 - Heavenly Creatures
8 - Iris
9 - Quills
10 - Finding Neverland

I'd nominate her for the 1 to 8 performances. She should win Best actress for Little Children and supporting actress (Hamlet). Too bad she could't win three personal-Oscars, because Jude and Hamlet were released the same year.
She couldn't hate won for her best performance because, also in 1999, there was Hilary Swank's breakthough, one of the best performances ever - same league with O'Toole's LoA or Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar named Desire. No hyperbole here.

-cal roth

Anonymous said...

Interesting. I have no problem with five Winslet nominations, but looking at the poll, I really only whole-heartedly agree with two of them (Eternal Sunshine, which should have netted her the victory, and Sense and Sensibility). The other three should be Heavenly Creatures (a joint nod with Melanie Lynskey would be nice), Hamlet (an astonishingly physical Ophelia) and Holy Smoke (her best performance, and what should've been her first oscar).

She does her best in Titanic, but is hurt by Cameron's writing (god help me, I nearly said sunk). She was okay in Iris, but outacted by the Gosford Park ladies (Smith, Mirren, Watson, Scott Thomas, McDonald) as well as Uma Thurman (I loved her in Tape) and Marisa Tomei. And 2006 was a ridiculous embarassment of riches

---

anon# 9:09 - interesting that you feel Linney is more overdue than Winslet. Outside of You can Count on Me and Kinsey, she hasn't done a hell of a lot.

NATHANIEL R said...

i've been singing her praises for HOLY SMOKE! since the week it appeared in theaters (one week qualifer. ARGH) and it's so nice to see that as the years go by more and more people list it as one of her best. I think very best.

Anonymous said...

I love her.

But not as much as Oscar. I'd say:

Sense & Sensibility
Iris
Eternal Sunshine

And she's so good in everything else. I don't think she's deserved a win yet, though (but ESotSM is her career-best thus far... it's Sophie's Choice between her and Staunton that year, I think). Allen, Mirren, and Staunton are my choices for those years. 2004 is especially rough, a year where I waver between Delpy, Kidman, Staunton, and Winslet so often it's ridiculous.

I wish I loved Holy Smoke as much as people here seem to. Oh well.

Anonymous said...

In sort of her own words (though written by Ricky Gervais):
"I'm only doing this because I noticed that when you're doing a film about the holocaust - guarantueed an Oscar. I've been nominated four times. Never won. And the whole world is going: Why hasn't Winslet won one. That's why I'm doing it: Schindler's Bloody List, Pianist - Oscars coming out of their arse."

Which reminds me that, besides an Oscar or two, she also should have won that Emmy she was nominated for last year, for playing sort of herself on Oscar-bait in Extras.

Anonymous said...

arkaan,

Laura Linney has done nothing much besides You Can Count on Me and Kinsey? First of all, those performances were sublime, understated perfection. Secondly, what about The Squid and the Whale, P.S., Jindabyne, her excellent new role in The Savages, her small but eye-catching roles in The Truman Show, The House of Mirth or Mystic River, or even the way she manages to elevate a poor film like The Life of David Gale (which Winslet, incidentally, was not able to)? She has actually done a hell of a lot of good work over the past decade for just two Oscar nods, whereas Winslet is getting to the stage where she'll almost get nominated for breaking wind.

Anonymous said...

Agreement that Holy Smoke is her best work to date. It bugs the hell out of me that Julianne (sorry Nat) got nominated in 1999 over Kate. Hilary (begrudgingly), Annette, and Janet (my favourite) you can't argue with, and I'd have picked either Meryl or Reese for the 5th spot, but... I can't fathom how Harvey couldn't make a nomination for Kate stick.

I voted for Iris in the poll, though in truth I think she should have won for Sense as well (and having netted the SAG she can't have been too far off).

I must admit that, whilst I love Kate in Eternal, I don't see why it keeps topping polls and being cited as one of the greatest performances of all time. It's wonderfully natural, but I don't think as stretching as the work Imelda or Annette did that year.

Rob

Anonymous said...

TOP 10 KATE THE GREAT PERFS IN ASCENDING ORDER -
1 - IRIS
2 - ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND
3 - LITTLE CHILDREN
4 - SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
5 - HOLY SMOKE
6 - HEAVENLY CREATURES
7 - FINDING NEVERLAND
8 - TITANIC
9 - ROMANCE AND CIGARETTES
10 - HAMLET

97 PUZZLES ME IT WAS A RICH YEAR I GO WITH GRIER,HUNT,DENCH,CARTER & LANGE IN A THOUSAND ACRES.BUT LOVE ALLEN,PFEIFFER,FOSTER,WRIGHT PENN & WINSLET TOO.
I FEEL IN 99 MOORE,SWANK,BENING DESERVED THERE NOMS I WOULD'VE REPLACED MCTEER AND STREEP WHICH IS HER WORST EVER WITH WEAVER AND WITHERSPOON AND HAVE KATE AT 6.
06 - 4 I AGREE WITH WOULD'VE REPLACED CRUZ WITH BENING.
04 - BENING,SWANK,STAUNTON AND WINSLET OK BUT WHY DID NO ONE NOTICE JULIA ROBERTS IN CLOSER HER BEST BEST EVER!!!!
95 - ALLEN WAS MY WINNER PLUS WINNINGHAM,WINSLET,SORVINO AND THE MARVELLOUS JUDY PARFITT IN DOLORES CLAIBORNE

I FEEL SHE HAS BEEN NOMMED FOR THE RIGHT FILMS,IT'S ARGUABLE THAT SHE DESERVED ONE IN 99 BUT WAS SHOCKED SHE DID NOT RECEIVE THE DOUBLE IN 04 BIU PORTMAN,MADSEN AND BLANCHETT WERE I WOULD'VE ADDED WINSLET AND SHARON WARREN IN RAY.

08 LOOKS LIKE MOORE VS WINSLET VS STREEP VS KIDMAN VS BLUNT.

Glenn Dunks said...

Wow, that's a lot of caps!

It also continues to surprise me that a) Laura Linney wasn't nominated for The Truman Show and b) despite loving Kate Winslet I can't see what year she should have won. She's got the problem of being incredibly consistent but each year it's like there's just one other person I prefer. I feel like a bad fan.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you Kamikaze Camel - Kate's always been pipped to the post for me every year too.

As for her best, I'd say Little Children - she nailed a complex and ambiguous character with a real, newfound subtlety I thought.

Although haven't yet seen Holy Smoke or Heavenly Creatures! Will get round to it it one day.

Her Ophelia was incredible, and very physical - agreed with whoever said that before. I also loved her quiet tragedy in Finding Neverland - I know Nathaniel is not a fan of that one.

If she had to have won so far, it should've been for Sense and Sensibility - but then again I'm glad she didn't because it could have derailed her from racking up the noms the way she has been.

Anonymous said...

Also anonymous 8.46am (who likes caps lock) - agreed with you that Closer is Julia Roberts' best performance - was very surprised that it got no love from any awards body (especially the Globes). I had her on my shortlist until I saw Maria Full of Grace - and had to, reluctantly, push her to 6th place behind KIDMAN, STAUNTON, SANDINA MORENO, SWANK and WINSLET. A classy year for Best Actress.

Anonymous said...

Of her nominated performances, she deserved the award for Sense and Sensibility. Good as she is (Perhaps the best of her generation?), a nomination is sufficient reward for the other four, and even then she has arguably better unnominated perfs besides...

Holy Smoke, Quills, and Heavenly Creatures > Titanic and Little Children

Anonymous said...

nat is it tru you do not like her fn/land perf plus what do u think of roberts in 04 for closer was she overlooked and also basinger for door in the floor best thing she has ever done.

Anonymous said...

does any1 agree blanchett overacted to the point of nauseum in notes on a scandal "here i am " was so badly acted a scene really amateurish,i sense a backlash against ms b now,i fell out of love with her after the avaitor i really feel the oscar was for hepburn herself why oh why not give it to the heartbreaking portman or the natural soulfulness of madsen,it is true blanchett overacts in certtian parts why can't people see she is no meryl streep,kate w is the new meryl streep or simpy there is no new one becasue the old one is still knocking them out of the park.

c.p. iñor said...

I would have give Kate all five of those Oscars, and maybe 3 more for Holy Smoke, Heavenly Creatures and Quills.

The best actresses without Oscar are:
Michelle Pfeiffer, Kate Winslet, Glenn Close, and Sigourney Weaver.

Winslet is the only one of them I think will get one someday.

as far as foreign actresses in foreing language films I think Silvia Pinal should have at least be nominated once.

Anonymous said...

Whilst I still shudder over the choice of Oscar clip for Titanic ("And all the whhhhhhile I feel like..."), I still think it's a pretty almighty turn considering the absolute dog's dinner of dialogue she had to spout.

Yet, for me, it's in those stunning scenes where Kate frantically and determinedly trudges through those watery corridors... letting us know just how COLD the water in the corridor was as she went back with an axe (!) to free Jack... the vocal performance whilst breathing during the strobe lighting sequence...

...to my mind THOSE are Kate's high points in that movie.

Rob

Anonymous said...

anon # 4:45...

I think You Can Count on Me is overrated. Haven't seen her in The Savages. Will be skipping Jindabyne because I think Ray Lawrence is overrated (based on Lantana and Bliss). I also disliked The Squid and the Whale and P.S.

I forgot The House of Mirth, though. She was undeniably brilliant in that. She was good in The Truman Show, but I think any number of actresses could've pulled off that part. And my problems with Mystic River largely center on her characterization (though I rush to add that I solely blame writer Brian Helgeland for that. She did some heavy lifting there and did it effectively).

And everything about The Life of David Gale was crap.

I don't think she's a bad actress, just that calling her overdue and lumping her with the all those greats from the 80's or 90's seems odd to me. Winslet's done better work for longer, imo.

Glenn Dunks said...

Her Finding Neverland performance was sort of piss poor. If she had been nominated for it though she may have won, which... well, I'd rather her be 5/0 than 6/1 with a win for Neverland.

Anonymous said...

she is hardly piss poor in f//n she hasn't a lot to do but her reaction as johnny is telling her about his childhood or in the hospital telling johnny she doesn't wish to know about her disease are wonderful,i like her naturelness,there are no tics or methody calculated things, she doe not seem to have any mannerisms,i find that perf a weak one but piss poor is just silly,i suppose it's on a par with jessica alba in ff4 or madonna in whos that girl/

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry, did we just compare Winslet in Neverland to Madonna in Who's That Girl?

NO! Just... NO!

Rob

Anonymous said...

no i did not someone said winslet was pissp oor in f/n well imo madge is piss ppoo in who's that girl and to say winslet is piss poor is to put her in that category of actresses/

Anonymous said...

why the winslet bashing i would rather have hour uk rose than half of your hollywood actresses so called elisha cuthbert,kirsten dunst,katherine heigl,demi moore,jessica alba,julia stiles etc etc.

Glenn Dunks said...

I sort of love it when all the anonymous people seem to be living in their own little world.

Anonymous said...

it's lovely and fresh in my own little world it smells of meryl,julianne,sigourney,michelle,glenn,julia,kate & scarlett.

NATHANIEL R said...

mmmm such a pleasant actressy aroma

Anonymous said...

I think that Kate Winslet's incredible, but the only Oscar loss that's infuriating to me is her loss for "Sense & Sensibility", mainly b/c I think that Mira Sorvino's win is straight-up garbage. She was too much of a newcomer at that time, which is unfortunate considering what her track record would become down the line. 1997 was Judi Dench all the way for me in "Mrs. Brown", so no-go for Winslet in "Titanic". I didn't like "Iris" too much, and I begrudingly accept Jim Broadbent's win there alone. Anything over Swank would have been excellent, but it would have been Imelda Staunton for "Vera Drake" hands down that year. That leaves 2006, but I still have to go with La Mirren over all. I can see why she's lost each time, unfortunately. She really needs to win at some point soon though. I voted for "Sense & Sensibility".

adam k. said...

I totally agree with Rob about Titanic. Frankly, I just don't understand how someone can love Titanic and not love Winslet in it. Since she's basically the whole reason it works. Somehow, she spun gold from straw with that dialogue. Winslet as Rose is gold. GOLD.

But no, she didn't need to win that year. But wins for S&S, Iris, Eternal Sunshine, or even Holy Smoke! woulda been great.

One more year... one more year...

then Winslet in Revolutionary Road is sprung upon the world. And nothing will ever be the same.

Anonymous said...

I always admired Kate Winslett's beauty, and her talent is divine. There is another actress from New York who looks exactly like her, Janet Miranda is the name. Look her up. I am sure she is not as talented as Kate, but as for her face, the two can pass for twins.

Anonymous said...

Janet Miranda looks like her? Has janet Miranda been in any movies?
Where can I find what she looks like?

Anonymous said...

Does "Janet Miranda" really look like "Kate Winslett"?

Anonymous said...

No offense to Janet Miranda, I looked her up and yes she has a little resemblence to Kate Winslet, but this discussion is not about her. So let's get back to the brilliant Kate Winslet.