Sunday, June 29, 2008

Oscar's Past Decade in Actressing

I've been having fun compiling Oscar history pages. Eventually I hope to have one up for every decade of both Best Actress and Best Picture, two of the four most important Oscars handed out each year --the others are costume design and foreign language film. Duh!

So, here is a nostalgic look back at Oscar's Best Actress choices for the 2000 ~ 2007 years. Each contestant is ranked and graded according to me actressexual whims. (Despite my absolute love of actressing, Oscar and I rarely see eye to eye in this category) There's also two reader's polls so we can determine your favorite nominees & winners from this decade, too. You know how we do.
*

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

where is it?

NATHANIEL R said...

oops

Anonymous said...

XD I've been looking for it for the last ten minutes..... i need a life.

NATHANIEL R said...

here it is. post is fixed. sorry

Catherine said...

Wheeeee. This is neat. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

nathaniel you are actressexual force of nature,i too am undertaking this huge task albeit in different from,i am doing the acting categories 1908 - 2007,i have done 1985 - 2007,i am missing just a few from 1980 and 1981,1983 and 1984 i am currenty doing.

i have justed watched the bostonians what did you think of madeleine potter in some ways i though she was wrong in others better than redgrave,will you be doing your own list or maybe an alternatives in each ooohhhh i cannot wait,you r probably likely to throw a spanner in my works.


i love this blog i do.

Anonymous said...

hi nat,

performances you missed

00 -gillian anderson -the house of mirth
01 - tilda swinton - the deep end
02 - maggie gyllenhaal - secretary
03 - gwyneth paltrow -proof
04 - julia roberts - closer
05 - gwyneth paltrow - proof
06 - annette bening - running with scissors
07 - halle berry - thing we lsot in the fire

Anonymous said...

oh also here are some from 90 -99 you should re watch,watch for the 1st time or revaluate or what you may have missed

99 - sigourney weaver - a map of the world
98 - kathy burke - nil by mouth
97 - jessica lange - a thousand acres
96 - winona ryder - the crucible
95 - kathy bates - dolores claiborne
94 - meg ryan -when a man loves a woman or crissy rock - ladybird ladtybird not sure if it's 94 or 95 nice if you could clear that up for me !!!
93 - jodie foster - sommersby
92 - mia farrow - husbands and wives
91 - judy davis - impromptu
90 - laura dern -wild at heart

Anonymous said...

in 03 i meant paltrow in sylvia.

Anonymous said...

Haha, when I first saw your BP archive, I was going to commend you for finally singling out another category than Best Actress. Never mind that now...

adam k. said...

So you no longer think Björk should've won the oscar in 2000? That's rather shocking, considering your response to that film.

Anonymous said...

hi,nat can we post out nominees too.

NATHANIEL R said...

anon -sure

oh and mr ripley --i did not miss any of those performances. I haven't posted my 90-99 lists because i still have some movies to watch that I missed. There are a few Oscar nominees I missed in the 90s. It was only in 2000-2001 (when i launched thefilmexperience.net) when I began to never miss anything. ;)

adam k -- my thing with Bjork. I love the movie. love it love it. But part of the power of her performance is in her singing and the song score. Which i already gave her the gold for... so it feels like overkill when even at the time it was a very very close race between her and Burstyn for gold/silver.

Carl Joseph Papa said...

i love love this idea of yours i guess i might do the same thing in my blog if you won't mind :D

Anonymous said...

it's funny to see how you hate marion cotillard! she's probably one of the most astonishing performance of the decade and you don't see that!

Anonymous said...

"it's funny to see how you hate marion cotillard! she's probably one of the most astonishing performance of the decade and you don't see that!"

Naaaaah! This really is one of those cases where deglam and mimicry wins out. Whenever I ask people why they think Cotillard is so super, they say "she became Edith Piaf". As if Julie didn't become Fiona, or as if Laura didn't become Wendy Savage just 'cuz they're fictional characters.

Anonymous said...

in this case it's the same for charlize theron in monster, nicole kidman in the hours, reese witherspoon in walk the line, helen mirren in the queen - for those performances it's also just a question on mimicry and deglam as you said . Nicole kidman and charlize Theron are far away to be glam in the hours and Monster.

NATHANIEL R said...

once you get years past any win it's easier to be OK with it if you don't agree but the problem (for me at least) has always been the CUMULATIVE one... i'm just so ready for the voting body to see other types of accomplishments as worthy.

Maybe this year.

Anonymous said...

I too am in the Marion Cotillard gave one of the best performances of the decade camp, but not because she "became Edith Piaf". I know nothing about Piaf, and frankly I don't think I need to in order to apprecite how great the performance was. For me, she became the character AS WRITTEN, and that's why I salute her work.

Rob

Anonymous said...

I'm mexican and I think Marion Cotillard is outstading, yes, it's cliche to said "Marion is Edith Piaf", but I think is true, she became a perfect portrair of Edith Piaf (Voice, actions, expressions, faces) and she's great especially in a OK film like La vie en Rose; it's not like Reese Witherspoon in "Walk the Line" where she's pretending to being June Carter, Reese is forced and used the same voice and expressions like Elle Woods. Without the considerable point that she's singing in the movie, she's a case of mimicry, and she didn't deserve that Oscar. Julia Roberts is another example of that, especially with a great actress like Ellen Burstyn

I saw Julie Christie in "Away from Her" and Laura Linney in "the Savages". In the case of Christie is a fine performance but I'm sorry, I don't see any great or better in Christie's perforamnce instead Judi Dench in "Iris", and also I thinking "Why Julie Christie won many awards instead Marion Cotillard or Laura Linney when those performances are better that Christie's?". Laura Linney, for the other hand, she's easily my second option of winning this year behind Cotillard's deserving Oscar.

My favorite perofrmances:
07. Marion Cotillard
06. Judi Dench
05. Joan Allen (if we count the nominees maybe Keira Knightley)
04. Annette Bening
03. Charlize Theron
02. Julianne Moore
01. Nicole Kidman
00. Ellen Burstyn (I also think Bjork should be nominated)

Anonymous said...

nat,please see crissy rock in lady bird ladybird she is astonishing.

Anonymous said...

there's 40 performances worth of topic. must we get hung up on Cotillard again?

Anonymous said...

Every time you list Annette Bening in Being Julia as better than Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine..., Crash wins Best Picture all over again.

Michael B. said...

Best Win: Nicole Kidman in The Hours. I wrote a book report in the 7th grade comparing the book and the movie. It was genius. 5 paragraph essay and the 3 body's were each about 1 chracter. Compare and contrast. My teacher was about to kick me out of class becuase of the subject topic, but I fell in love with the performance right than and there. I defended it in my essay lol.

Best Nomination: Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This performance in 10-20 years will be remembered as one of the most fascinating and brilliant female acting of all time. I promise you that. And too bad J. Carrey wasn't nominated. If the movie were to have been released in September it would have been a huge Oscar player.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I forgot...

04. annette bening / Kate Winslet (I don't know why I forgot her great performance)

NATHANIEL R said...

17 --i disagree that a different release date would have solved the ETERNAL SUNSHINE problem.

it was just too brilliant and unusual for them in a mass acceptance kind of way... and the only way it could have maybe broached that divide was critical awards. But the critics got hung up on Sideways instead.

It had to be OK with just Winslet & the script.

"Every time you list Annette Bening in Being Julia as better than Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine..., Crash wins Best Picture all over again."

what a cruel thing to say... anyway, it hardly matters since I don't vote and my favorite is now Staunton AND if I controlled it Kate would have already won two Oscars anyway and you'd all enjoy Kate being a double Oscar winner more than the Academy's version which is that she's a never winner. So don't act like I'm the Kate enemy ;)

Anonymous said...

i might as well chuck in with my nominees criticism welcome in 00 - 07 order winner first

00
julai roberts
ellen burstyn
michell yeoh
laura linney
gillian anderson

01
sissy spacek
nicole kiman
tilda swinton
halle berry
judi dench

02
julianne moore
maggie gyllenhaal
diane lane
renee zellweger
nicole kidman

03
charlize theron
evan rachel wood
gwyneth paltrow
samantha morton
jennifer connelly

04
imelda staunton
kate winslet
nicole kidman
julia roberts
hilary swank

05
joan allen
charlize theron
gwyneht paltrow
keira knightley
reese witherspoon

06
helen mirren
kate winslet
judi dench
annette bening
meryl streep

07
marion cotillard
laura linney
halle berry
julie christie
tang wei

nat cate b c - for the golden age and mrion c c for la vie en rose those roles were not nearly on par with each other i think this your deglam bias run wild!!!!

NATHANIEL R said...

oh and despite your cruelty I do agree about Winslet. I was thinking of switching that up so I have. Still, if I was voting on the Oscar I personally wouldn't have voted for Winslet... (on account of the two oscars' she'd already won from me)

imelda staunton all the way for my vote --I've seen all three performances again in the past year -- and so my theoretical gold, silver, bronze still are theoretically divvied the same women ... but in a different order ;)

oh and one more thing about 2004.

despite my slight over-enthusiasm for Bening (which was in no small part due to the Swank rematch, I'm sure) I still maintain that it is a fucking great performance. I really don't see why other people can't see it. She's on fire in that movie, running circles around everything. The film might be mediocre but that performance is ANYTHING BUT.

so there ;) I'm very comfortable with my top ten nominated performances of the decade.

Moore Far From Heaven (2002)
Burstyn Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Staunton Vera Drake (2004)
Christie Away From Her (2007)
Linney You Can Count on Me (2000)
Kidman Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Linney The Savages (2007)
Roberts Erin Brockovich (2000)
Winslet Eternal Sunshine (2004)
Bening Being Julia (2004)

but the order isn't really that important to me. But what a year 2004 was. Five performanes that I'd feel comfortable handing gold medals to in one single year. If 2008 has that many I will be the happiest camper alive. It's quite a feat.

Anonymous said...

Marion Cotillard was beyond incredible in "La Vie En Rose". Unbelievable performance, and I'm glad she was able to win that Oscar. My choices:

2007: Marion Cotillard, "La Vie En Rose"
2006: Helen Mirren, "The Queen"
2005: Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica" (Reese Witherspoon shouldn't have been anywhere near that category)
2004: Imelda Staunton, "Vera Drake"
2003: Charlize Theron, "Monster"
2002: Nicole Kidman, "The Hours"
2001: Halle Berry, "Monster's Ball"
2000: Julia Roberts, "Erin Brockovich"

Anonymous said...

I gotta stick up for Nat here; I'm an absolute Winslet NUT, and if it were down to me she'd have way more nominations (Heavenly Creatures, Holy Smoke, Hamlet and Quills) and 2 wins (Sense and Iris)... but as much as I love her in Eternal Sunshine, I simply don't get the fanboy worship for the performance. I think it sits as a vote for the character above her work.

In my mind Bening and Staunton were the top 2 that year. As with Nat I've struggled with which deserved it ever since, and I confess that my initial preference for Bening has switched to Staunton over time. Barely.

Rob

NATHANIEL R said...

thanks Rob. In my mind all three are so top notch that it's easy to be swayed at any given moment. Today I'm feeling very STAUNTON -WINSLET -BENING. but tomorrow i might feel WINSLET -BENING -STAUNTON

but my favorite WINSLET performance is still easily HOLY SMOKE! which i have valiantly proselytized forever but which few Winslet fanboys seem to take seriously (maybe because the Academy ignored it and the film is difficult) ... but i think it's her bravest most fascinating and an entirely creative performance. I love it.

for me WINSLET's top 5 goes

1. HOLY SMOKE! --shoulda won. not even nominated.
2. SENSE & SENSIBILITY
3. ETERNAL SUNSHINE
4. IRIS
5. HEAVENLY CREATURES

The Pretentious Know it All said...

For me, my three favorite b.actresses of the aughts come from the first three years. Roberts, Berry and Kidman. Though I'm still kind of torn about Kidman winning "Best Actress in a Leading Role" for a film that's essentially an ensemble piece.

I'm still kind of surprised/impressed that the Academy nominated Winslet for Eternal Sunshine at all. Throughout the season, she was a fixture, nominated in all the precursors. But as brilliant as this performance is, it seems kind of devoid of all the bells and whistles that the Academy usually goes for.

I disagree about 2003 being the worst year. It was definitely 2005, when they failed to nominate Joan Allen, as well as Claire Danes, who did what I think is probably her best work to date in Shopgirl. The amount of things she juggles in that quiet performance are astounding.

Unknown said...

My own picks:

2000 - Gillian Anderson
2001 - Naomi Watts
2002 - Julianne Moore
2003 - Charlize Theron
2004 - Kate Winslet
2005 - Q'Orianka Kilcher
2006 - Laura Dern
2007 - Tang Wei

Anonymous said...

Yes, Holy Smoke! easily the best Winslet turn to date. Fascinatingly, it's far more 'baity' than either Eternal Sunshine or Little Children, AND it was distributed by Miramax who - back in 1999 - only had to snap their fingers and get a nomination. So their failure to realise what they had with Holy Smoke! was quite the shocker.

My Aught Picks of those nominated (non-nominated preferences in brackets where applicable):
2000 - Ellen Burstyn
2001 - Sissy Spacek
2002 - Diane Lane
2003 - Charlize Theron (preference: Evan Rachel Wood)
2004 - Imelda Staunton
2005 - Judi Dench (preference: Joan Allen)
2006 - Judi Dench
2007 - Marion Cotillard

Strongest year for nominations: 2004
Strongest win: Charlize Theron
Weakest year for nominations: 2005
Weakest win: Nicole Kidman

Rob

Anonymous said...

i agre in 2004 i had a hard time picking 5 perfs i loved in 04 10 perfs

kate winslet
hilary swank
julie delpy
kim basinger
julia roberts
imelda staunton
annette being
nicole kidman
laura dern
scarlett johansson

Catherine said...

My favourites of the aughts, both nominated and snubbed:

07 - Laura Linney / Anamaria Marinca
06 - Penelope Cruz / Maggie Gyllenhaal
05 - PASS / Catherine Keener
04 - Kate Winslet / Nicole Kidman
03 - Samantha Morton / Ellen DeGeneres (okay, it's voiceover but Dory cracks me up everytime I watch it - genius)
02 - Julianne Moore / Maggie Gyllenhaal
01 - Nicole Kidman / Maggie Cheung
00 - Ellen Burstyn / Bjork

Barry said...

Ellen Burstyn deserved that Oscar 1 billion times more than Julia Roberts did.

Barry said...

My Best Actress choices:

2000: Ellen Burstyn - Requiem for a Dream
2001: Drew Barrymore - Riding in Cars with Boys
2002: Diane Lane - Unfaithful
2003: Charlize Theron - Monster
2004: Uma Thurman - Kill Bill Vol.2
2005: Reese Witherspoon - Walk the Line
2006: Kate Winslet - Little Children
2007: TBA =)

Carl Joseph Papa said...

hmmm my picks...

2000
fave from nominees: Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich)
actual fave: Roberts

2001

fave from nominees: Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!)
actual fave: Kidman

2002
fave from nominees: Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven)
actual fave: Moore

2003
fave from nominees: Diane Keaton (Something's Gotta Give)
actual fave: Jamie Lee Curtis (Freaky Friday)

2004
fave from nominees: Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake)
actual fave: Julie Delpy (Before Sunset)

2005
fave from nominees: Felicity Huffman (Transamerica)
actual fave: Maria Bello (A History of Violence)

2006
fave from nominees: Meryl Streep (Devil Wears Prada)
actual fave: Streep

2007
fave from nominees: Julie Christie (Away From Her)
actual fave: Nicole Kidman (Margot at the Wedding)

Anonymous said...

The rigid groupthink about some performances is scary... Some people were automatically dismissing your list on IMDB because of the poor showing of Cotillard and/or Huffman.

Haven't seen Transamerica, but I feel the same way about Cotillard's gimmicky mugging as you. It's nice to know I'm not the only one not head over heels in love over her silly Edith Piaf impersonation. Of the nominated performances, Julie Christie was easily the best.

Anonymous said...

Oh Nat, why all the hate for Felicity Huffman? You made me cry:(

Neel Mehta said...

Not here to criticize your subjective opinion in order to praise my subjective opinion, but only to ask: of all the actresses to illustrate this post, why the orange one?

Michael B. said...

Don't agree with Huffman but agree with Cotillard. I think Huffman should have beaten out Witherspoon, who was good but Supporting. That year was the year I disagreed with every acting win in the aughts. I still flip flop on Rachel Weisz/Amy Adams but Witherspoon should have gone to Huffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman to Heath Ledger, George Clooney to Jake Gylenhaal.

NATHANIEL R said...

neel --i live to surprise. the orange one was the best choice to do so ;)

Janice said...

Another YES to the Holy Smoke love (also Campion's most underrated film, I think, or least well-known?)

While I LOVE Winslet in Sunshine, it was Carrey's performance that stood out for me, in much the same way that Billy Bob Thorton stood out over Halle Berry in Monsters Ball (except that Winslet in Sunshine is way, way better than Berry in MB.) But now is not the time to discuss the menfolk, sorry.

As to my beloved Kidman - whilst I love MR! I thought then and still believe that she should have been nominated for the Others instead. In MR she is one more gem in the (very bright) crown that Luhrmann has constructed; with the Others, she had to carry that entire movie on her shoulders and damn if she didn't pull it off at every turn - the fear, the brittleness, the claustrophobia, the longing, etc. But alas: 1) horror films don't get no respect (even if this was more of a thriller or "psychological horror" a la Turn of the Screw), and 2) she was a "monster mother" but was neither a lesbian nor did she deglam sufficiently. Alas.

The thing about this list, Nat, is that I was able to see why, exactly, you have harped against the deglam/biopic trend - looking at all the winners I can't help but say "my god he's exactly right". (I'm not sure if Swank really "deglammed" in that she's not that glam to begin with, but whatever.)

Anonymous said...

This is one of the reasons I have to give you money.

Congrats, Mr. R., I love your lists and I love reading your opinions.

Marcelo - Brazil.

Anonymous said...

Top five 2000-2007 (In order of preference)

2000:
1. Ellen Burstyn (WINNER)
2. Bjork
3. Laura Linney
4. Julia Roberts
5. TIE: Gillian Anderson / Juliette Binoche
The first time that I saw "Chocolat" I didn't like the film and Binoche's performance... Beside my admiration for Binoche why she got an Oscar Nomination instead Gillian anderson?" The second time, my personal opinion to the film and Binoche's performance changed and now I can't decide who's better, if Anderson or Binoche?

2001:
1. Nicole Kidman (WINNER)
2. Naomi Watts
3. Sissy Spacek
4. Renee Zellweger
5. Judi Dench
Simple Nicole Kidman is this year's real queen. Berry is a little bit overrated and Thornton and Ledger are better that her.

2002:
1. Julianne Moore (WINNER)
2. Renee Zellweger
3. Nicole Kidman
4. Cate Blanchett "Heaven"
5. TIE: Diane Lane / Samantha Morton
Beside Salma Hayek is a good lineup. Cate Blanchett deserved a Best Actress Nomination that year for an underrated film like "Heaven".

2003:
1. Charlize Theron (WINNER)
2. Naomi Watts
3. Diane Keaton
4. Evan Rachel Wood
5. Jamie Lee Curtis
Curtis is more my wishful thinking, if I changed her I choose Uma Thurman

2004:
1. Kate Winslet
2. Annette Bening
3. Hilary Swank
4. Imelda Staunton
5. Catalina Sandino Moreno
The perfect lineup. The five actresses has very deserving nominations and in the top three I didn't decide wich one deserves the Oscar

2005:
1. Joan Allen (WINNER)
2. Felicity Huffman
3. Keira Knightley
4. Resee Witherspoon
5. TIE: Toni Collette / Charlize Theron
The worst lineup of the year. This was Allen's Oscar (The only perfect performance of the year, unleast in English language) not Reese "ELLE WOODS" Witherspoon

2006:
1. Judi Dench (WINNER)
2. Laura Dern
3. Helen Mirren
4. Penelope Cruz
5. Kate Winslet
Meryl is fantastic but is clearly (Unleast for me) a supporting performance

2007:
1. Marion Cotillard (WINNER)
2. Laura Linney
3. TIE: Angelina Jolie / Tang Wei
4. Julie Christie
5. Ellen Page
The opposite case to "Chocolat". I liked Juno the first time that I saw it and I considerate Ellen Page in the third place. But when I saw the film for a second time... This was one of the most overrated films of the seasons and Ellen Page is nothing great

I'm also a supported of "Holy Smoke!" and Winslet's performance. She's fantastic with a perfect aussie accent and hilarous. In fact she's one of my two important snubs that year (1999). The other one is Cecilia Roth in "All about my mother"

NATHANIEL R said...

anon --i guess my big question is this: why would one ever watch CHOCOLAT a second time ;)

Anonymous said...

The second one that I saw Chocolat it was a surprise... Sunday, any interesting program on TV and my sister wanted to watch the film again (She and many of her friends love the film), I accepted with anger but after five minutes the film was more fantastic that the first time. I never was thinking I'll see the film one more time after my first experience. The film isn't my favorite but it's a nice film...

In conclusion, it was a surprise, not necessary my decision to watch the film again. It's like epople who watch "American Beauty" (I still like it) or "juno" (My deception) and the second time to watch those films, that people chnged their view and considerate them overrated films.

Anonymous said...

By the way, Nathaniel, according to last reports, Cheri would have the release until 2009 because Miramax wants to have full promotions to Happy-Go-Lucky (Sally Hawkins) and Doubt (Meryl Streep)

So, it's official Michelle Pfeiffer is out in this year race. Good Side, now Hilary Swank have strong competition

Anonymous said...

1. Re Kidman, 2001. I think both performances are about equal, actually. I think The Others actually suits Kidman's persona a bit more (I'm more interested in her cold, I guess), but given that the Oscars are really a Hollywood celebration, I do like that Moulin Rouge (her greatest "star" performance) is the one selected.

2. In many respects, I feel the same way about Winslet in Eternal Sunshine (my favourite of that line-up). It's such an iconic performance (the hair!), but the reason I love it is because she manages to have chemistry-for-the-ages with Jim Carrey. Yes, he deserves a shitload of credit (just like McGregor deserves a tonne of credit with Moulin Rouge), but I don't think that takes away from Winslet's tour-de-force creation. When Nathaniel did his oscar celebration that year, he pointed out just how difficult that performance actually was - besides having chemistry with a notoriously asexual actor (I mean on screen, not in life), she couldn't play down Clementine's cruel streak (after all, we need to believe that not only will she break his heart, that she could do it again because that's who she is). So yeah, in 2004's line-up, she's far and away the best.

3. I love that what Nathaniel says about The Bening is the same as what the anonymouses say about Marion Cotillard.

4. My big problem with the 2006 line-up is that despite the year's jaw dropping brilliance, Helen Mirren won it in a walk. She was destroying her competitors when she should have been barely getting victories (which was the case with Whitaker, from what I could tell). I remember her win at the BFCAs. She won more points then her competitors combined and then doubled! That's insane

To be fair, the 2006 nominees aren't the greatest bunch. Dench and Mirren, of course, are both phenomenal. And Streep is pretty good if nothing special. Cruz gives an adequate performance but gets people convinced it's a great one because she doesn't.. ya know, actively suck. And Winslet is intriging if not actually great. But when the possibilities include Mol, Dern, Gyllenhaal, Gong Li, Jentsch (technically ineligible), Sandra Huller, Shareeka Epps, Cate Blanchett (totally leading)... well, yeah, the way Mirren won is underwhelming to say the least.

5. 2005 was such a weak year. I thought Allen totally deserved a nod... for Yes or Off the Map, but definitely not The Upside of Anger. This is another case where my favourite nominated person is given by one person (Felicity Huffman in Transamerica, a far better film then it could've been with a great central performance), but the one I want to win is another (Witherspoon, if only because her film career deserves the oscar appelation more). But without Kilcher, Devos, Clarkson... I just don't care

NATHANIEL R said...

arkaan --

1. I prefer her "cold" too. ;) but then i have a thing for the ice queens obviously

3. you mean the OTT complaints?

4. Yeah, i don't get it at all. But i remember people being SO pissed that I considered Mirren the least among the nominees. People really bought into the greatest performance ever type of thing that was happening there. but if you think Penelope Cruz won praise just for not actively sucking I suggest you watch Volver again. Consider her when the scene belongs to others and how adeptly she still conveys character, her pissiness even in moments where the screenplay doesn't ask for it ... she's always remembering the whole characterization. I love that performance.

5. ooh, what a topic. Years when you don't want your favorite performance to win. I dig it.

Anonymous said...

Just the lines

anon @ 11:05: "it's funny to see how you hate marion cotillard! she's probably one of the most astonishing performance of the decade and you don't see that!"

Nathaniel @ 3:38: "I still maintain that it is a fucking great performance. I really don't see why other people can't see it."

re: Cruz
Maybe I was overstating things, but I've seen the film, and it's a solidly crafted work (before it falls apart), but I definitely think at least half of the praise for Cruz stemmed from the simple fact that no one had seen her act the strongly. Most people knew her as Tom Cruise's arm candy who didn't act (in English) very well. Given Volver faltering with the academy, I don't think I'm wrong here.

Anonymous said...

Arkaan is funny how you show those arguments. nathaniel's Bening is like Cotillard's many People

he loves Bening's performance in "Being Julia" but he hates Cotillard's "La vie en Rose".

And many people loves Cotillard's perforamnce but didn't like or even hate Bening's performance.

In my case I like Bening's performance but I also thinks thatg Kate winslet deserves that Oscar and I'm support Cotillard's Oscar. She gaves the Best Performance of the Year, the only one of the nominees who was close to her was Laura Linney in "The Savages".
In the case of Cruz, Pe is decent actress and very good in Spanish language productions (she has a deserving nomination for Volver) and the italian film "Don't move", but I'm agree with akraan. "Vicky Cristina Barcelona could be the first Cruz's good performance in english language film

Anonymous said...

Sorry I forgot- I'm agree with akraan in cus¿estion that this is an ensemble work and beside the deserving Cruz nomination, anyone is near perfect (Maybe with the exception of Yohana Cobo who didn't convince me at all) but Blanca Portillo, Lola Dueñas, Chus Lampeavre and the great Carmen Maura are marvelous as Cruz. Cruz got the Oscar Nomination for other factors:
*She's famous
*She was in important (Not necessary convincent) big Hollywood Productions
*She has PR and important contacts

Barry said...

Kate Winslet was way better than Helen Mirren and deserved that Oscar.

NATHANIEL R said...

I 100% agree that there were other factors involved besides her fine work.

but then when aren't there other factors.

there are ALWAYS other factors with voters ;) ...that's why the Oscar race is so maddening and exciting and annoying and thrilling and sad and joyful and ______________ (insert any adjective here)