OVP: Best Supporting Actress
The Nominees Were...
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
My Thoughts: While Best Supporting Actor is oftentimes filled with venerable and previously celebrated men over 50, Best Supporting Actress is a little more diverse. In this particular year, we have five actresses who all have their moments of comic relief, but add solid depth to their films. We have hard-working character actresses who are getting their first chance at an Oscar, women highlighting Best Picture nominees, women stealing their respective films from their more famous costars, and in one case, a woman returning to the Oscars for the first time in twelve years after a seemingly "one-and-done" Best Actress nomination (just goes to show you-you never really can tell which first-time nominees will return and which ones will be getting their one dalliance with the little golden man).
Let's start with that former nominee-Janet McTeer, who received a nomination for Best Actress in 1999 for Tumbleweeds (so she's the only person in this race we're guaranteed to be discussing in a future, or rather past Oscar conversation, though I suspect one of these ladies gets another nomination in the next five years). McTeer's performance is the life energy of the film-while Close's performance is dignified and handsome, it's not in the same caliber of what we normally expect from her, and it pales in comparison to what McTeer is doing onscreen. Quite frankly, the makeup effects help a bit-McTeer, not nearly as well known as Glenn Close, is not instantly identifiable within the confines of her disguise, and that adds to her mystery. The way that she has found herself in a loving relationship, the way she is able to fend off advances from Pauline Collins, and find a sense of comfort and even normalcy in a at-the-time greatly unordinary relationship, is excellent. Think of how adrift the film becomes without McTeer to anchor it-in an otherwise ordinary film, she shows that you can always rise above your material by fully understanding your character.
Fully understanding a character is exactly what Melissa McCarthy is doing in Bridesmaids. In what was one of the "huh, really...that's awesome" sort of nominations that come along every now-and-again in a genre Oscar doesn't usually honor for acting (Weaver in Aliens, Depp in Pirates, etc), McCarthy carries her Megan from the confines of a slapstick/gross-out comedy to the Kodak Theatre. I mean, as I mentioned in Original Screenplay, it helps that McCarthy is not in-fact in a traditional gross-out comedy, but one with a deeper message. But you have to hand it to this veteran television actress (whom I have loved so much in the role of Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls, and has also won more fans over in roles on Samantha Who? and Mike & Molly, for which she won the Emmy)-she can most definitely act. Think of the tightrope she's walking with the character-keeping a character with few social cues and brimming confidence utterly believable. Most actors would have simply created an absurd, only-in-the-movies person onscreen, but McCarthy knows better. Think of our introduction to her-the way that she throws herself so easily into a conversation without knowing Wiig's Annie for longer than 20 seconds. She goes on-and-on about her life and troubles, with the certainty that Annie wants to hear this, despite Annie staying silent. We've all been on a plane or sitting on the subway with this person-the, no boundaries, complete sharer. Later on in the film, we see her open up a little bit to Annie, but never without losing her sense of self. And the physical comedy bits in the bridal shop and on the plane are of an actress who is more concerned about delivering for her character than ensuring she maintains a sense of glamour onscreen. All-in-all, even from a performer I have long admired on the sides, I wasn't expecting an excellence like this from McCarthy-a truly Oscar-worthy performance. I'm so hoping that directors take note and give her more chances to shine (and maybe even another shot at the gold guy please?).
On the list of actors that I also wish casting directors would consider for bigger roles, Octavia Spencer is certainly toward the top. Like McCarthy, Spencer was a big name in one of the largest original hits of 2011, so it would behoove directors to find better roles than one-off characters on forgettable sitcoms. After all, her Minnie is the terminator in The Help-a combination of confidence and fearlessness coupled with a genuine concern for the real dangers she has to face everyday. While she's not getting the heavy-lifting that Viola Davis is, she still manages to take advantage of her big moment in the sun ("Eat my shit!") and keep her character from becoming caricature. While all of the comedy moments are absolute fun, I also remember the sternness and graveness in her voice when she tells her daughter "no sass-mouthing." Spencer manages to brilliantly find that tone between a mother who is trying to sound stern and a woman genuinely concerned about her daughter's safety without trying to scare her. It's one of the many quieter moments that takes Spencer's comedy relief and creates a flesh-and-blood woman onscreen.
I am bound-and-determined not to end every article with The Artist, so we're going to put a pin in Spencer's costar and turn over to Peppy Miller. Heading into the Oscar nominations morning, I felt certain that McTeer, Chastain, and Spencer were going to be nominated, and that it would be Bejo, McCarthy, and Shailene Woodley in The Descendants that would be sparring for the final two slots. While I wasn't a big fan of what Woodley was doing onscreen (too easy, too many cliches that she chose to use to patch together her character), there was a nice chemistry between she and Clooney, and I guess that's my way of saying that I was hoping Bejo would be the one that got cut (actually, I would have picked someone completely different to fill the final slot if there was no holds barred-see below for that). Bejo also has strong chemistry with her costar Jean DuJardin, and she has an expressive and excellent face that works well in her role. That's about it, though. While Jean DuJardin finds the heart of George Valentin, I feel like I never really know what Peppy Miller's deal is. Why did she suddenly fall-in-love with George Valentin (aside from the obvious-hello handsome)? And if it is that shallow, why does she keep coming back to him? Her character is obviously ambitious and willing to go the extra mile-how is it that she falls so easily for Valentine the person in addition to Valentin the movie star? Bejo can obviously dance, and she understands the mechanics of silent film very well (the scene with the coat is easily her best), but I left the film wanting desperately more from her-great supporting actresses build on their character and give them depth and more direction. Bejo hits her marks, looks the part, and that's about it.
Finally, we will come to Jessica Chastain (in the time it took me to write this article, she probably already made another movie). Chastain made seven films in 2011, and received bushels of collective critics awards, so one suspects that this nomination was just as much for The Tree of Life, The Debt, Take Shelter, and Coriolanus as it was for The Help, but since we only judge based on the merits of the films, we'll stick to just Celia Foote. Chastain is almost unrecognizable in the first few scenes of the film with her bleach blond hair and "ahh, sugar" accent (I'll admit that I spent a few minutes figuring out which character she was before the eyes gave it away). She's also fifth on the cast sheet in a cast (blessedly) filled with women (I say blessedly because I could use some more predominantly female casts in my life-I get enough predominantly male casts), so she needs to strive to make an entrance. This is particularly difficult in a cast that features two other Oscar-nominated performances, not to mention two (now three) Oscar winners, three (now five) more Oscar nominees, and even more women who have made major impacts at the Emmy and Tony Awards.
Chastain does this by making everything connected. She's obviously playing a dumb blonde, but she's clearly not dumb about everything. The way that she hides her personal shame over the miscarriages, the way that she tries desperately to fit in, and yet isn't willing to compromise herself goes a long way to explaining this loveable, yet ostracized trophy wife. It's a tribute to Chastain that we leave having a strong understanding of her character, since her character is perhaps the most ancillary of the major players in the movie. You can't imagine how the story would work without Minnie, Skeeter, Hilly, or Abilene, but Celia could easily be just window dressing. With Chastain at the wheel, though, you get a performance that's worthy of the film, and even more so, worthy of Oscar.
Other Precursor Contenders: The BAFTA Awards were far more "hometown hero," skipping Berenice Bejo, and oddly, fellow countrywoman Janet McTeer in favor of Judi Dench's fairly routine work in My Week with Marilyn (never underestimate Dame Judi at the BAFTA's) and Carey Mulligan for her work in Drive (again, oddly not for her far more compelling work in Shame). The Screen Actors Guild Awards went with a carbon copy of the Oscars, while the Golden Globes skipped up-and-coming Melissa McCarthy in favor of up-and-coming Shailene Woodley as George Clooney's daughter in The Descendants. Octavia Spencer would successfully win all three precursor awards.
Performances I Would Have Nominated: I have to admit-though they wouldn't exactly be the lineup I would have put forward, McTeer, Spencer, Chastain, and McCarthy are all worthy of the category and I'm fine keeping them where they are, so unfortunately this discussion in directed toward the slot held by Berenice Bejo. If double nominations were allowed, I'd be all onboard with Chastain's even better performance in The Tree of Life as Mrs. O'Brien (the way of Grace). However, since they aren't, I'll advocate for a one-time Oscar favorite, Ms. Anjelica Huston. Huston's work as an overbearing mother dealing with her son's chances at survival in 50/50 is a tour de force of an actress given limited screentime. She makes every moment matter, and doesn't stop her nitpicking even when she's wrestling with every parent's worst nightmare underneath. It's a rare opportunity for the wildly underused Huston, and she doesn't let it slide.
Oscar's Choice: Like every precursor, Oscar loves a scene-stealer, and so Octavia Spencer won this rather decisively over presumed second place Melissa McCarthy.
My Choice: McCarthy. While Chastain would have been a real threat for The Tree of Life or if you could combine her filmography, she didn't get in for the right performance, and so I'm going with the actress that took a stock role and made it Oscar-worthy. Few people can do something like that when there's so little Academy-bait in the script, and so I want to take full advantage of Oscar nominating not only an atypical role, but a triumph of comic timing and acting, and the best supporting actress performance of the lineup. I'd follow that with Spencer, McTeer, Chastain, and Bejo.
I know that I said that I'd be done this weekend, but I had people in town, so we shall dive into the Big 4 tomorrow. But now, let's discuss these women-which of these five ladies deserved to win Best Supporting Actress? Who was wrongfully snubbed in the category? And of all of the performances of the year, who most deserved Best Supporting Actress of 2011?
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