OVP: Best Supporting Actress (2009)
The Nominees Were...
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'Nique, Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
My Thoughts: And let's do one more before we break it up with another post (then we'll hit the Big 4). Considering the recent bout of category fraud that has hit a number of races in recent years (Julia Roberts...seriously?) it's quite impressive that all five of these women seem to have fallen into actually being a supporting performance, which is definitely cause for celebration. Gyllenhaal arguably comes the closest to lead, but I feel stays on the sides enough to not quibble. And there's my segway into the race-let's start with Maggie.
Gyllenhaal's nomination was the giant surprise of Oscar nomination morning. Aside from not knowing what would happen in the Best Picture race (A Serious Man triumphing over Invictus is definitely a headscratcher) and The Secret of Kells stunner, the only other real surprise that morning was that Gyllenhaal made it over a number of more likely contenders. Gyllenhaal likely benefited from what was a major Jeff Bridges love-in at the time; the man could do no wrong. As a result, she got an Oscar nomination many of us had been expecting for her eventually, but unfortunately it was for a role that was SO poorly cast. Gyllenhaal cannot seem to get inside of this woman-she's far better at dark comedy, and this is a dramatic character study. It's the sort of role that Marisa Tomei was born to play. With Gyllenhaal, she tries to find some wryness where there is none, and doesn't get the emotional bouts with alcoholism and her inner demons that Bridges does to flesh out her character. Plus-that soppy ending does her no favors, and she doesn't know how to sell conceivable forgiveness in such a quick time frame. A throwaway nomination for an actress who can do so much better.
That's kind of how I felt, quite frankly, about Penelope Cruz in Nine, to be honest. This is an actress who has been consistently spectacular, and was coming off a trio of great performances (is this streak over now-I feel like while Cruz will stage a comeback the heat from this giant brilliant run has subsided...that's what working with Johnny Depp will do to you, apparently). The problem I have with this performance, and the movie in general, is that I don't feel a lot of what she's feeling-she doesn't have the same connection with her character (who is mostly surface level) that her costar Cotillard is able to achieve. I know it's not in the spirit of the OVP to compare a non-nominated performance (click the link up top for a further explanation, but the goal really is to be an Academy voter and just consider these five women), but it's hard not to when you have such a strongly felt character happening on the other side of the screen. Cruz can sell sex, and her "Call from the Vatican" is a sultry delight, but this is all surface level, and a performance that got nominated more from the heat of the performer than from the actual work onscreen.
The same could not be said for Mo'Nique (I'm throwing you off and not starting or ending with the presumed frontrunner, but putting her squarely in the middle). So much has been written about this work I don't really know where to begin, or if I can possibly be original (or not just throw out superlatives). What makes Mary Jones so special is the way that Mo'Nique grounds her into our world. This is the sort of monster that we could encounter every day-we see people in the supermarket and at the bus stop who could be Mary Jones-regular, average people with a nightmare in them. Mo'Nique finds that terror in her character-think of that monologue at the end, where Mary confesses to the abuse, of knowing that her daughter was being raped, and then justifying it in her words. So many great speeches in movies are from characters who have clearly rehearsed them. Mary Jones is not a character that thought she'd ever need this speech, and you can see the ever-so-real pain in her eyes as she says things she didn't realize she believed. All three women (even Mariah) sell this scene brilliantly, but it's Mo'Nique that makes it devastating. Her Mary is a monster, but one that is grounded in true life, and that's what's so chilling about her work.
It's hard to come off of Mo'Nique, but I do want to be an advocate for one Anna Kendrick. I know that she's found her niche in musicals (god bless her for that), but her work in Up in the Air is fascinating. I know this wasn't a performance suited for everyone, but it was for me. I love the way that we're left to believe that Vera is the true threat to George Clooney's Ryan Bingham, but in reality it is bright, young Natalie. She's the embodiment of his worst nightmare-being on the other end of the table, forced to find a new worldview. Kendrick knows this, and though Ntalie is shaky and constantly looking for reassurance, she has the knowledge to be able to take the upper-hand occasionally (and sometimes without realizing how she did it). And the moment where Natalie actually has to look someone in the eyes, over the computer, and see what she's doing-it's haunting acting from Kendrick.
Her costar gains points over Kendrick in the sense that she seems to know her character much better than Kendrick does, but doesn't always share that with the audience. Farmiga's Alex is a standard movie trope-the gorgeous fantasy woman, the perfect companion to Clooney's Ryan, and during the early scenes with the seduction and them showing off their cards-it's soulmate sort of stuff, even for potentially soulless people. The later scenes, though, when Farmiga's secret family comes to light and her coldness pulls through-we see in Clooney's eyes what this is doing, but we don't quite get there with Farmiga. She's not bad (she's never bad), but I don't feel the pull that I did with Clooney's work in these same scenes-Farmiga doesn't seem to give as much in what her character can show, there's no slips and she's clearly trying to make one happen. It's definitely a performance with promise and some of it is delivered (and she can connect sexy to her character better than Cruz did), but it's not in a tier by itself.
Gyllenhaal's nomination was the giant surprise of Oscar nomination morning. Aside from not knowing what would happen in the Best Picture race (A Serious Man triumphing over Invictus is definitely a headscratcher) and The Secret of Kells stunner, the only other real surprise that morning was that Gyllenhaal made it over a number of more likely contenders. Gyllenhaal likely benefited from what was a major Jeff Bridges love-in at the time; the man could do no wrong. As a result, she got an Oscar nomination many of us had been expecting for her eventually, but unfortunately it was for a role that was SO poorly cast. Gyllenhaal cannot seem to get inside of this woman-she's far better at dark comedy, and this is a dramatic character study. It's the sort of role that Marisa Tomei was born to play. With Gyllenhaal, she tries to find some wryness where there is none, and doesn't get the emotional bouts with alcoholism and her inner demons that Bridges does to flesh out her character. Plus-that soppy ending does her no favors, and she doesn't know how to sell conceivable forgiveness in such a quick time frame. A throwaway nomination for an actress who can do so much better.
That's kind of how I felt, quite frankly, about Penelope Cruz in Nine, to be honest. This is an actress who has been consistently spectacular, and was coming off a trio of great performances (is this streak over now-I feel like while Cruz will stage a comeback the heat from this giant brilliant run has subsided...that's what working with Johnny Depp will do to you, apparently). The problem I have with this performance, and the movie in general, is that I don't feel a lot of what she's feeling-she doesn't have the same connection with her character (who is mostly surface level) that her costar Cotillard is able to achieve. I know it's not in the spirit of the OVP to compare a non-nominated performance (click the link up top for a further explanation, but the goal really is to be an Academy voter and just consider these five women), but it's hard not to when you have such a strongly felt character happening on the other side of the screen. Cruz can sell sex, and her "Call from the Vatican" is a sultry delight, but this is all surface level, and a performance that got nominated more from the heat of the performer than from the actual work onscreen.
The same could not be said for Mo'Nique (I'm throwing you off and not starting or ending with the presumed frontrunner, but putting her squarely in the middle). So much has been written about this work I don't really know where to begin, or if I can possibly be original (or not just throw out superlatives). What makes Mary Jones so special is the way that Mo'Nique grounds her into our world. This is the sort of monster that we could encounter every day-we see people in the supermarket and at the bus stop who could be Mary Jones-regular, average people with a nightmare in them. Mo'Nique finds that terror in her character-think of that monologue at the end, where Mary confesses to the abuse, of knowing that her daughter was being raped, and then justifying it in her words. So many great speeches in movies are from characters who have clearly rehearsed them. Mary Jones is not a character that thought she'd ever need this speech, and you can see the ever-so-real pain in her eyes as she says things she didn't realize she believed. All three women (even Mariah) sell this scene brilliantly, but it's Mo'Nique that makes it devastating. Her Mary is a monster, but one that is grounded in true life, and that's what's so chilling about her work.
It's hard to come off of Mo'Nique, but I do want to be an advocate for one Anna Kendrick. I know that she's found her niche in musicals (god bless her for that), but her work in Up in the Air is fascinating. I know this wasn't a performance suited for everyone, but it was for me. I love the way that we're left to believe that Vera is the true threat to George Clooney's Ryan Bingham, but in reality it is bright, young Natalie. She's the embodiment of his worst nightmare-being on the other end of the table, forced to find a new worldview. Kendrick knows this, and though Ntalie is shaky and constantly looking for reassurance, she has the knowledge to be able to take the upper-hand occasionally (and sometimes without realizing how she did it). And the moment where Natalie actually has to look someone in the eyes, over the computer, and see what she's doing-it's haunting acting from Kendrick.
Her costar gains points over Kendrick in the sense that she seems to know her character much better than Kendrick does, but doesn't always share that with the audience. Farmiga's Alex is a standard movie trope-the gorgeous fantasy woman, the perfect companion to Clooney's Ryan, and during the early scenes with the seduction and them showing off their cards-it's soulmate sort of stuff, even for potentially soulless people. The later scenes, though, when Farmiga's secret family comes to light and her coldness pulls through-we see in Clooney's eyes what this is doing, but we don't quite get there with Farmiga. She's not bad (she's never bad), but I don't feel the pull that I did with Clooney's work in these same scenes-Farmiga doesn't seem to give as much in what her character can show, there's no slips and she's clearly trying to make one happen. It's definitely a performance with promise and some of it is delivered (and she can connect sexy to her character better than Cruz did), but it's not in a tier by itself.
Other Precursor Contenders: This category wasn't quite as lockstep as some of the other fields, though the Globes were close. Mo'Nique won, and all but Gyllenhaal were there, with Julianne Moore in A Single Man taking the final slot. Gyllenhaal also missed at the SAG Awards with Diane Kruger taking her spot for Inglourious Basterds (Mo'Nique won again). Finally, there were the BAFTA Awards (who were off on their own beat in 2009 which was great in such a monotonous awards season), giving the trophy to Mo'Nique but skipping both Gyllenhaal and Cruz in favor of two actresses in Nowhere Boy (Anne-Marie Duff and Kristin Scott Thomas). For the sixth place, I think I'd call it for Julianne Moore, but this was a VERY tight race. I honestly could have made a very solid argument that Samantha Morton in The Messenger or Marion Cotillard in Nine could also have been sixth place (when everyone is going to cheer for one person to win, the nominations can be surprising-see also 2003 Best Actress race).
Actors I Would Have Nominated: I would probably throw out three of the nominees, and definitely find room for Julianne Moore's boozy frenemy in A Single Man, Melanie Laurent's silent warrior in Inglourious Basterds, and especially Marion Cotillard's neglected ex-wife in Nine. Cotillard's inability to get an Oscar nomination since her giant victory for La Vie en Rose continues to baffle me (I personally would have given her three since then), but for some reason the Academy cooled on her right around the time the rest of the world felt enamored.
Oscar’s Choice: It was clearly more about the performance than the politics, or so she said in her speech, as Mo'Nique emerged triumphant. One of the great puzzles of 2009 remains who was in second place here. My gut says Kendrick, who is the pretty young ingenue in this category, though I honestly could be convinced that anyone but Cruz was in second. I also think that had Precious never been made this would have been the year that Julianne Moore finally won an Oscar.
My Choice: Like every sane individual, Mo'Nique also makes the top of my list. I'll follow her with Kendrick in silver, then Farmiga, Cruz, and finally Gyllenhaal.
Those are my thoughts-how about yours? Is there anyone who doesn't side with Mo'Nique for the win? Does someone want to defend the Gyllenhaal nomination? Which of the Up in the Air ladies was your favorite? And who was the best supporting actress of 2009? Share in the comments!
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