If you had a ballot sitting in front of you right now, for example, and the only films that were eligible were films that had already opened (at least on the coasts -- we'll cheat and include next week's Precious) which supporting performances would be on your ballot? The pickings might be arguably slim but I'd probably choose from these ten. Which boxes would you check off?
- Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies
Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent Inglourious Basterds
Kerry Fox, Bright Star
Juliette Lewis and Marcia Gay Harden, Whip It
Rosamund Pike and Emma Thompson, An Education
Carrie Preston, That Evening Sun (and Duplicity)
Mo'Nique, Precious
Or maybe you can't bring yourself to care yet. You're only thinking about Nine and how you hope it clogs up 150% of your personal ballot in all categories.
Recently Update Oscar Predictions: Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Original and Adapted Screenplays and more
Posts
57 comments:
I think Marion Cotillard deserves to be a part of the conversation for Public Enemies.
If the movie hadn't been such a shlock-filled disaster, I'd probably throw in Joan Cusack (My Sister's Keeper) as well. A well-measured performance that not enough people noticed.
definitely Melanie Laurent. I just love her. I can't get that scene where she ate dessert with Waltz. Blew me away.
I would have to go with...
Emily Blunt, Sunshine Cleaning
Marcia Gay Harden, Whip It
Diane Kruger, Inglorious Basterds
Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds
Juliette Lewis, Whip It
...since I as a non-NY or LA dweller still haven't seen An Education or Precious. And I think Blunt's is arguably a supporting performance, since the bulk of the film is really about Amy Adams and her business and her relationships.
And of those 5, Harden would probably be my winner. She's the only one to really hit me on a deep human level (in Whip It of all things). And she did wonders with what is generally a stock character in those types of films (though Whip It's solid script helped her out).
Rosamund Pike all the way. Takes a stock character and gives it life and unexpected depth.
The work Diane Kruger and Melanie Laurent did in "Inglourious Basterds" was truly special, but I don't think they'll be remembered come Oscar time.
I was also extremely fond of Rosamund Pike and Olivia Williams in "An Education", but they're both quite minor performances compared to Kruger and Laurent.
Obviously I haven't seen any of the films where the big competitors are coming from... "Precious", "Nine", "The Lovely Bones", "Up in the Air", "A Single Man"... it's just a shame that Basterds probably won't be recognised beyond Christoph Waltz.
At this point, it seems to me that all the actual male leads and female supporters are better off in their rightful categories, rather than attempting fraud: Which actor wants to fight it off with Christoph Waltz when there's barely any competition in the lead category? And for all of Mo'Nique's frontrunner status, would an actress rather duke it out with Meryl and Carey and Gabourey?
(Yes, I'm talking to you, Christopher Plummer and Marion Cotillard. But I'm sure this applies to other contenders...)
Actresses are no longer the same as thirty, fourty, fifty years ago. What a pity!
What exactly was memorable about Diane Kruger in "Inglourious Basterds"? Or Melaine Laurent for that matter...besides the fact that they both looked great in red.
Marion Cotillard should be nominated, but I doubt she will since "Public Enemies" has been ashamedly relegated to the shitlist by so many people.
Emily Blunt in "Sunshine Cleaning"? You mean that role where she runs around chasing Mary Lynn Rajskub for an hour? Really?
Obviously Mo'Nique is the slam-dunk in this category right now.
Loved Rosamund Pike in An Education. She was so funny. Even being in the background in some scenes, she was still noticeable and added so much that could have not been there with a lesser actress.
On Supp Actor, Sarsgaard is number 14 on your list? I thought he was phenomenal. True the movie is full of fantastic peformances and Molina seems to have the early buzz. However his performance stayed with me. He made us understand exactly why Jenny would fall for him, despite being kinda creepy.
I'm with you all the way in the opinion that Mo'Nique simply can't lose. When she was on-scren (esp. during her final breakdown), she completely took me out of the other events in the film (which probably isn't such a great thing for the movie itself, but its telling of the power of the performance).
To humor the rest of this hypothetical game, I'd have to go with the "Basterd" gals, Kerry Fox, and Emma Thompson. The scenes with Thompson and Mulligan were that movie's most delicious.
I love love love Mélanie Laurent, and I knew it'd be a great role since we all had seen the screenplay. I thought she'd a nominne in lead back in January, but unfortunately, she seems do be a risky bet now, and supporting.
I loved her turn, maybe the critics could go a his & hers route giving kudos to Laurent and Waltz.
Mo'nique may be unstoppable, mas Laurent still can get a nomination.
By the way, Cottilard's lead campaign may cause her a delightful nomination for Public Enemies. She was superb.
My favs
Melanie Laurent/Inglourious Basterds
Mo´nique/Precious
Marion Cotillard/Public Enemies
Right now, I want to go with these five:
Judi Dench, "Nine"
Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"
Melanie Laurent, "Inglorious Basterds"
Mo'Nique, "Precious"
Julianne Moore, "A Single Man"
I have seen so little. My ballot would be
Mo'Nique - Precious
Mariah Carey - Precious
Emily Blunt - Sunshine Cleaning
Blanca Portilla - Broken Embraces
Rachel McAdams - State of Play
CHRIST! I need to see some movies!
Melanie Laurent and Carrie Preston. I'd put Mia Wasilkowska in the conversation for That Evening Sun, too, though. Too many others I haven't seen yet.
I've seen roughly 70 films from 2009, and I can only come up with roughly three (all of which will likely be overlooked by every awards body):
Nicole Dogué, 35 Shots of Rum
Edith Scob, Summer Hours
Mimi Kennedy, In the Loop
on Supporting Actor, I don't know if you've seen A Serious Man yet but I think we can all take Richard Kind off our lists. He's fine but he's just one smallish part of a large ensemble without any real opportunity to stand out.
clarification - by "off our lists" I mean "off completely" or at least below Sarsgaard and Schneider.
My favs are:
Marion Cotillard for Public Enemies
Mélanie Laurent for Inglorious Basters
Emily Blunt for Sunshine Cleaning
Rosamund Pike for An education
Emma Thompson for An education
Cotillard really deserves it!
My list is:
Rosamund Pike, An Education
Edith Scob, Summer Hours
Anna Chlumsky, In The Loop
Gina McKee, In The Loop
Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies.
Pike slamdunked that character. Hard.
At the moment mine would be:
Kerry Fox "Bright Star"
Mimi Kennedy "In the Loop"
Melanie Laurent "Inglourious Basterds"
Rosamund Pike "An Education"
Lorna Raver "Drag Me to Hell"
Of course M'onique and the "Nine" girls will make my poor lineup laughable in a few weeks, but the year so far has been splendid for Supporting Female roles, even the little girl in "Bright Star" was awards worthy!
AS YOU REQUESTED - these are my choices based on WHAT I HAVE ALREADY SEEN this year (I have not seen Public Enemies, Whip It, That Evening Sun or Precious).
Kerry Fox - Bright Star (I love that such a quiet, unassuming but effective performance can get any sort of attention at any time)
Maggie Gyllenhaal - Away We Go (for me there was something awfully discomforting about her in this movie in a very real-person, recognizible sort of way)
Diane Kruger - Inglourious Basterds (although Laurent was luminous in this movie I think Kruger gave the more interesting, daring performance)
Sari Lennick - A Serious Man (this was some strong, very interesting work that added lots of interest to the movie for me)
Rosamund Pike - An Education (so far, this would be my winner - she was fascinating, funny, sad, complicated, and fresh)
I LOVE these snapshots in time! (I wish all of the responders would have followed your suggestions more carefully.) It is great to see certain performances have their brief moment in the sun.
I haven't seen IN THE LOOP yet either, dammit!
The three I'd choose from your list are:
Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies)
Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds)
Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds)
The only reason I didn't say Mo'Nique is because I haven't seen Precious yet
My other two picks would be:
Emily Blunt (Sunshine Cleaning)
Kristen Stewart (Adventureland)
For the win, based on what I've seen, either Laurent or Stewart
It would be great to see...
Juliette Lewis or Marcia Gay Harden, (Whip It)
Mo'Nique, (Precious)
Vera Farmiga, (Up in the Air)
Julianne Moore, (A Single Man)
Sophia Loren, (Nine)
I loved Melanie Laurent's performance, and wish she was a front runner for a nomination. I just don't think Basterds will be an Oscar film.
My ballot for the year so far would be:
Kate Del Castillo, Julia
Aylicia Delmore, Humpday
Catherine Keener, Where the Wild Things Are
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Carrie Preston, Duplicity
Del Castillo would definitly be in last place of this lineup; I just couldn't really think of anyone else better. Delmore gives the best performance of her film, with carefully judged line readings that give the character surprising nuance. I'd the same for Keener, who is a blessed, stabilizing force in WTWTA. Laurent, as is often discussed on this blog, is just utter perfection, and does the remarkable job of making us forget all the other characters when she's on screen. Shoshanna is all that exists. And Preston is my favorite part of Duplicity; she makes that short, virtual extra role of a character into something fascinating.
Hmmm...I'd probably replace Del Castillo with one of the gals from 'In The Loop' now that I think about it. But which one? Anna Chlumsky, Mimi Kennedy, and Gina McKee are all fairly evenly matched in my opinion.
Rosamund Pike - An Eductation
Melanie Laurent - Inglorious Basterds
Lauren Ambrose - WTWTA
Based on what I've seen thus far this year, which hasn't been much. Three magnificent performances.
All the Rosamund Pike love is making my heart soar. More and more she's emerging in my mind as the favourite part of the entire film - and yes, that includes Mulligan. I feel like I shouldn't favour her over Mo'Nique, because the character seems so much more... inconsequential (?), but honestly, that's the way I'm leaning. (Mo'Nique is still fantastic, of course, and I won't quarrel with her inevitable win.)
Melanie Laurent is also a big favourite of mine. My ballot before the LFF was almost empty, though... although have to agree with Nick M's mention of Edith Scob, the one brilliant part of such a disappointing film.
As of right now Rosamund Pike (An Eduaction), with Emily Blunt (Sunshine Cleaning), Melanie Lynskey (Away We Go), Olivia Williams (An Education), and Emma Thompson (An Education) rounding out a top five.
Still so much out this year I haven't seen, though.
Rachel Weisz, The Brother's Bloom*
Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies
Melanie Laurent Inglourious Basterds
Zooey Deschanel, (500) Days of Summer
Sienna Miller, The Edge of Love
Haven't seen An Education or Precious.
So Far:
Benesch - The White Ribbon
Cotillard - Public Enemies
Krüger - Inglourious Basterds
Laurent - Inglourious Basterds
Miller - The Edge of Love
PS. the Basterds Girls rules!!! DS.
...and Clarkson in Whatever Works.
* I Don't think The White Ribbon has opened in US.
I hae yet to see Precious, An Education, Bright Star, Whip It, That Evening Sun so with that said my line-up would probably be...
Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies)
Allison Janney (Away We Go)
Catherine Keener (Where the Wild Things Are)
Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds)
Melanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds)
It's be close between Laurent and Cotillard, but I'd give Laurent the win.
I also want to put it out there that I thought Amy Adams in "Night at the Museum 2" (a just-miss for the shortlist) was better than Hilary Swank in "Amelia"
At this stage, Jessica Haines in "Disgrace" would take my award, and I assure you there's no patriotic bias at play there.
But I'm thrilled to see so many people recognizing the marvellous work of Rosamund Pike.
Melanie Laurent, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
Olivia Williams, AN EDUCATION
Edith Scob, SUMMER HOURS
Rinko Kikuchi, THE BROTHERS BLOOM
Kerry Fox, BRIGHT STAR
Laurent's my winner, thus far.
Diane Kruger Inglourious Basterds
Melanie Laurent Inglourious Basterds
Mo'Nique Precious
Rosamund Pike An Education
Patricia Clarkson Whatever Works
Although Melanie Laurent could be pushed into the best actress category if Marion Cotillard in Nine can.
Haven't seen Public Enemies or In the Loop, but at this point if I was picking any people for supporting it'd be Mackie for The Hurt Locker and Rachael W for The Brothers Bloom.
@Guy: I totally forgot about Jessica Haines in "Disgrace"! She and Malkovich would be shoo-ins for nominations if there was any sense to the world.
In order of preference:
Melanie Laurent-Inglourious Basterds
Patricia Clarkson-Whatever Works
Diane Kruger-Inglourious Basterds
Marcia Jean Kurtz-Big Fan
Sari Lennick-A Serious Man
Alex... agreed that Adams was a better Amelia than Swank :)
Adelutza ... yeah, i'm still debating about INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. are they all supporting? or are Pitt, Laurent and Waltz leads? Or are Laurent & Waltz the leads and everyone else support?
I think they're all supporting. It's really about the auteurial vision, and the ensemble work. And there are enough twists and turns that we don't really stay with anyone enough for a real lead connection.
I think Waltz comes closest, actually, but he's so much of an impenetrable antagonist, in the Anton Chigurgh vein, that I think a supporting campaign is defensible.
None of the great supporting performances I've seen this year approach Mo'Nique's work. I was at a screening a couple of days ago followed by a Q&A with Lee Daniels and Gabby Sidibe, and I am still astonished by the transformations he accomplished with at least five of the actors in Precious. Sidibe, Carey (excellent), Kravitz (very pleasant) and Mo'Nique appear to be nothing like the characters they portray. The biggest surprise, however, was seeing the abominable Sherri Shepherd's name in the end credits. She was unrecognizable during the movie, and I actually enjoyed her few scenes.
My ballot:
Mariah Carey, Precious
Patricia Clarkson, Whatever Works
Melanie Laurent, Inglorious Basterds
Mo'nique, Precious
Lorna Raver, Drag Me to Hell
Damn Nat! You moved Carey (whose chances, I think, are better than people are thinking) all the way to 18 and removed Clarkson completely? I mean, Alice Krige is on the list before them. And so are unknowns whose films have come and they've gotten very little fanfare (Kerry Fox, Diane Kruger, Emma Thompson). The upper tier I do agree with though.
My ballot from the 2009 films I've seen so far:
Mariah Carey - Precious
Anna Kendrick - Up in the Air
Melanie Laurent - Inglourious Basterds
Mo'Nique - Precious
Julianne Moore - A Single Man
Paula Patton - Precious
Yeah, so that's six. I know. I can't choose between them yet...
Rosamund Pike, Emma Thompson, Olivia Williams aka the Education girls - roles all too minor (especially Thompson, hello, she said, like, two lines!) and characters too one note for consideration.
Vera Farmiga didn't really do it for me (again, good performance, very thin character who gets forgotten about for a whole chunk of the film) and I'd be rather annoyed if Kendrick gets passed over but Farmiga gets in.
Why is no one buzzing about Paula Patton in Precious? She brought incredible pathos to her schoolteacher role (the kind of role which used to be a big Oscar draw back in the day...)
Oh and Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies) would be a very close 7th on my list. Can't be forgetting about that powerful final scene of the film now, can we...
Here are my 10 favorites so far:
Kristin Stewart in “Adventureland”
Olivia Williams in "An Education"
Lorna Raver in “Drag Me to Hell”
Diane Kruger in "Inglorious Basterds"
Mélanie Laurent in "Inglorious Basterds"
Cecilia Weston in “Observe & Report”
Collette Wolfe in “Observe & Report”
Marion Cotillard in “Public Enemies”
Rachel Weisz in “The Brothers Bloom”
Gwyneth Paltrow in “Two Lovers”
Props to Pike and Clarkston.
I don't expect any of them to score nominations except for possibly Cotillard (only if her Nine performance really ends up going lead. I can see Universal push a hard campaign for her here) and Laurent (I don't see it happening but people aren't forgetting her. Maybe the chatter could generate something. If she manages to snag a critics award or two over Mo'Nique, who knows, it may snowball in her favor towards a nomination.)
Juliette Lewis was pretty rad in Whip It but I don't think she'll get a nomination or a win. Marcia Gay Harden might have a chance though. Whip It was such a fun film I hope it get some kind of awards!
My 5:
Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds
Rosamund PIke, An Education
Mo'Nique, Precious*
Paula Patton, Precious
Marion Cotillard, Public Enemies
And Nathaniel, what do you think of Zach Galifanakis as a "dark horse" for supporting Actor for The Hangover?
Karen... oh, i know some of these have zero chances. I just like to keep lists as the year goes by for consideration in my own awards. Oscar isn't as broad minded -- they couldn't be because with 1000s of voters peculiarities naturally get watered down.
This is why i find people's individual favorites so interesting. They usually contain some stowaway performances from genres unloved by big awards groups.
Jane Lynch in JULIE AND JULIA...the whole audience smiles and laughs the whole time. Streep becomes even MORE delightful as soon as Lynch enters the scene.
Post a Comment