1992, Day Two: Actress

You can't call the 1992 Best Actress competition a "race" - or even a competition. Sure, there were five nominees, four of them named at previous awards shows, but the season had already decreed a winner by Oscar night. And that winner was Emma Thompson:

It's not just that Thompson was nominated across 16 different critics groups and awards bodies around the world; it's more so that she won all of them. All of them. Not a loss in the bunch. It was a total and complete domination. Everyone else was just happy to be nominated.

And who was that everyone else? Let's talk:

Casting Coup Tuesday: Witness for the Prosecution

It's Casting Coup Tuesday, where we dream-cast an imaginary adaptation of a beloved work. All month long, we're celebrating the work of Agatha Christie in anticipation of the November 10th release of Murder on the Orient Express. We've imagined adaptations of a Poirot, of a Miss Marple, even of Tommy and Tuppence - and now, for your approval...

We've discussed at length the history of Witness for the Prosecution, from its beginnings as a short story to its Tony-winning stage production to the Oscar-nominated film of 1957. It is one of the great courtroom dramas of stage and screen, centering on a charming young man accused of murder, his determined defense attorney, and his older wife who seems equally determined...to get him convicted. A remake is currently in the works with Ben Affleck attached, but I'm not 100 percent on board with that. And so I have a cast of my own in mind...

Note that I'm taking my cues from the original stage play, not the film - you'll find no Nurse Plimsoll here. Italicized descriptions are taken directly from Christie's stage directions, as published in the 1954 Samuel French, Inc., edition.

My Witness, after the jump.

Varying Volumes: Actress, 1993

The Oscars chose two flawless performances; one powerhouse bio; a rich curiosity; and Debra Winger, which is a shame, because there was a lot to choose from this year.

Holly Hunter SWEPT the season for The Piano

Old Friends Revisited: Supporting Actress, 1993

Two actresses find themselves double-nominated; two finally get their due; and a ten-year-old defeats them all!

Anna. Paquin. Fierceness.

Review-a-Palooza!

WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS

As incoherent and wildly over-the-top as this movie can be, I certainly loved it. Crazy Oliver Stone is great Oliver Stone, and here he's delivered an energetic, sometimes bafflingly edited (but in a good way) indictment of these times. Where Wall Street was a warning, Money Never Sleeps is a harsh reflection, and some wry observations about short-sightedness almost come with a shrug of "I told you so". Most of the monologues make their point in the first couple of sentences, then go on babbling nonsensically about some strange metaphor writers Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff have shoe-horned in. Sylvia Miles reprises her role as a realtor. Just go with it. Have fun. Rodrigo Prieto's cinematography rocks, Craig Armstrong's score is pretty good, and the acting's great! Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin: all great, all solid, all believable. Eli Wallach is a madman, but it's awesome and I dig it. It won't be for everybody, but the people who it is for will adore it.


THE AMERICAN

Beautifully shot, subtly directed, mesmerizingly acted. Director Anton Corbijn, cinematographer Martin Ruhe and star George Clooney take all the feeling of loneliness and visualize it. I don't mean just Clooney staring pensively while sitting alone, but the way in which everything is framed, the lingering on a butterfly, the hypnotic entrance of a prostitute, the solitary drives through serene vistas. It's all very beautiful, and (thank the Lord) not without purpose. I'm sure eventually I'll stop being impressed with the subtle ways Clooney humanizes his characters, but that day hasn't come yet. Violante Placido also impresses as the kind-hearted hooker (aren't they always?)...and her looks don't hurt either. What few action sequences there are are genuinely thrilling and cut together clearly! There was a time in the middle where I thought, "This is beautiful, but am I going to care after tonight?" Fortunately, the ending paid off, and I do.


DEAR JOHN

Channing Tatum does a fine job, charismatic and realistic. I like the chemistry between him and Amanda Seyfried. Terry Stacey's cinematography is nice. Otherwise? The film almost plays as a parody of such movies, it's so ridiculous. We get cancer, autism, class distinctions, 9/11, a beachside brawl, a Mysterious Past, coin collecting, a misleading opening monologue, a final scene that does not fit with anything. It's just too much. And not like a Tyler Perry movie, where its camp value is worth its weight in gold, but in a boring, "guess they missed the mark" way. Shame.


NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS

I thought it was just delightful. Never saw the first one, but this movie had me laughing and crying continuously. You can wait for the DVD, but I do recommend picking it up.  My all-time favorite actress, Maggie Smith, has a seemingly trivial role that becomes important as the film progresses, and her last scene absolutely broke my heart. And hey, Maggie Gyllenhaal's English accent is quite convincing! Emma Thompson, of course, is perfection, and Rhys Ifans almost carries off with the film. Great fun!

An Education

When I saw An Education with my roommate, he declared that in the last three days, "We've seen all the acting Hollywood has to offer." And although we've yet to see Nine, The Lovely Bones, Avatar, Up in the Air or Invictus, I am inclined to agree.

An Education, based upon Lynn Barber's memoirs, follows 16-year-old Jenny in pre-swinging 60s England as her parents push her towards Oxford and an older man begins courting her. We see hints of the youthful attitude that would spark The Sixties as we now know them, as Jenny questions the why and the wherefore of her uptight lifestyle. At the same time, the glamorous life of her suitor and his friends has a dark side that she is not ready for, making life quite difficult.

Carey Mulligan has been getting enough raves for her breakout performance. Must I really add fuel to this fire? Well--yeah! Yeah, of course I must! Mulligan gives a mature performance, utterly believable as an intelligent girl on the brink of womanhood. I am always most impressed with performances that remind me of people I know, and Mulligan reminds me of several. She's like Audrey Hepburn with a Daria-esque edge to her. It's a stunning performance that I can't do justice to, really. Suffice to say, she's among the year's best performances.

The female-heavy supporting cast is awesome. Cara Seymour is suitably loving yet a little distant as Jenny's pensive mum Marjorie. Rosamund Pike, who I love more and more, is tragic as the dim Helen, a woman desperately clinging to her ignorance as she becomes more aware of it. Sally Hawkins has only one scene and a few lines, but my God she's good. Emma Thompson and Olivia Williams are the teachers, and it is shocking to see the former so unlovable and the latter so plain. The men are represented by Alfred Molina, Peter Sarsgaard and Dominic Cooper. Molina is great as Jenny's exasperated, pushy father, and his monologue about the Oxford Tree is hilarious in both its writing and delivery. Sarsgaard is the older suitor, both charming and skeevy. Cooper is his bored friend, a more dastardly role than his turn in Mamma Mia!.

It's all good, really. Screenwriter Nick Hornby has crafted everyone believably enough, with the right dollops of humor, intelligence, and gravitas to make it all work. And director Lone Scherfig is brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I love the way she moves the camera and arranges her actors and executes her scenes. It's perfect, just perfect. Music from the era complements the fine score by Paul Englishby. Cinematography by John Borman is subtle yet effective. And this is the 60s, which means costume designer Odile Dicks-Mireaux has a field day with the women's gowns and the men's suits. Gorgeous.

An Education is a genius film that you would be foolish to miss out on. You might as well have missed Juno in 2007. There's no reason for it: it's one of the best films of the year, and all ages can appreciate it. Grand.

Smackdown Sunday!

If you haven't already, check out StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Smackdown of 1993, in which the hostess and I disagree on Winona Ryder and Rosie Perez, I defend my subjectivity, and an all-around good time is had by all.

These are all always fun to read and reflect upon, and I often find myself reading years in which I've seen none of the films, just to savor the brilliance of the writing. It's a pretty solid panel, and I think the range of hearts (I rated four where many did not) shows what an interesting year it was for the category -- though, as Alex in Movieland points out, not a particularly strong one.

So...did my beloved Winona Ryder win? Did Piano fans re-reward Anna Paquin? Or was it a surprise attack from under-used Holly Hunter? Seriously, don't keep reading this. Go over to StinkyLulu's RIGHT NOW.

Supporting Actress Smackdown '93: In the Name of the Father

This Sunday, I am taking part for a third time in the Supporting Actress Smackdown hosted by StinkyLulu. Five movies will be screened, with the Oscar-nominated supporting actress performances reviewed and rated. The year is 1993.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER



After a second viewing, I'll stick with my first impression: although a little long, it's a great movie. I am not resistant to the incredible force that is Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays wrongly accused prisoner Gerry Conlon with violent emotion. It's a great role that Day-Lewis sinks his teeth into, sometimes irritating, sometimes heroic. He's great at characters that are both frustrating and sympathetic. Hell, if he can make me love the amoral villains of There Will Be Blood and Gangs of New York, his work as Gerry Conlon seems almost child's play. But please, don't be fooled into thinking it is. It's goose-pimply.

If there is a flaw with the film, honestly, it's in its portrayal of the prison. We are told that Gerry and his father Guiseppe (Pete Postlethwaite, channeling everyone's father brilliantly) are with "the worst of the worst", yet except for a sadistic yet charming IRA leader, everyone seems pretty chill, throwing snowballs and listening to Bob Marley. I'm always concerned when films portray prisoners as no more menacing than the school bully that you wound up befriending come high school. It sends the wrong message, and while I know that this a story of a corrupt legal system...come on. Not everyone in that prison is an innocent man.

Truth be told, I think I might have liked this movie more if it focused on the trial more than the prison aspect. In both trial sequences, I found myself more interested and invested than anywhere else in the film. I guess that's just personal preference as far as genre goes.



The supporting actress here is Emma Thompson, fresh off her Best Actress win for Howard End. Thompson is given a character who could very well be a cipher. She's the lawyer working with Guiseppe for an appeal, who must convince the angry Gerry to have faith and cooperate, and who, of course, gives a rousing speech in the climactic courtroom scene. Such a role is fairly easy to fuck up, as it could easily become too preachy or too motherly or too lawyer-y.

Thompson, instead, goes with bad-ass. She can keep her cool, but when her emotions get her, they go whole hog. Oh, but she's not prone to outbursts. No, no, Thompson, as Gareth Peirce, plays it cool with the big boys, rarely letting her guard down. Consider her first scene with Gerry, where she sits coolly, allowing him to finish his "hardened prisoner" routine. Awesome, awesome stuff. And I love how there is no "build" to her yelling in court, but an outburst of disgust and incredulity.

She may have the least amount of screen time of the three leads, but there is so much Thompson has to pack into her character, and she does it. The actress is always a treat to watch, and it is no different here than in Love Actually. Great work, as always.

The Film: ***
The Supporting Actress: ****

Casting Coup: Wuthering Heights

*An oldie from the Livejournal days. This one goes back to the week before I started this blog. The news is already outdated after only a year, with Portman out, Gemma Arterton and Ed Westwick in. Many of the pictures are new, since I used to exclusively use hot-linking in the ol' LJ days.*

I'l go back to black next week, but recent developments have made today's Casting Coup necessary.

A recent announcement claims not only a new production of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is in the works, but Academy Award Nominee Natalie Portman (Closer) will be playing the role of Catherine Earnshaw.

I'm a fan of Natalie. I like her in a number of flicks. She's one of the few good things about the first two Star Wars prequels. In Leon, she's haunting. In Everyone Says I Love You, she's surprisingly realistic in a screwball musical-comedy. In Garden State, she's the wonderful embodiment of every high school guy's fantasies. She's just a brilliant actress.

And yet... I'm sorry, Catherine?! She's sickly and what not, but she's not exactly a pixie. Something about Natalie Portman has just never struck me as English. French, maybe, but English? I just can't see it. Catherine should be more intense, more strikingly beautiful. And let's be honest, Natalie looks perpetually 16.

Obviously, I'm going to give her a shot, try to keep an open mind. But meanwhile, I can't help but think of who else would be swell. Who would I choose?

LOCKWOOD
Who is He: The narrator representing us, the readers, he arrives at Wuthering Heights and gets to learn the whole history of everything. Hooray! Occasionally misunderstands things, due to his inability to really understand anything past his own privileged world.

Previously played by: Miles Mander (1939) and Paul Geoffrey (1992)


My Choice: Up-and-comer who insists on playing leading male roles billed as supporting in fictional dramatizations of real-life political events.

Michael Sheen (The Queen, the upcoming Frost/Nixon)


MRS. LINTON
Who is She: Privileged matriarch of the hoity-toity, conservative, probably in-bred Linton family. Not cool with Heathcliff.

Previously played by: Pamela Brown (1970) and Jennifer Daniel (1992)

My Choice: Funnily enough, she appeared in the 1992 version of the film, but in a different role.

Academy Award Nominee Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds, Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage)


MR. LINTON
Who is He: He, too, has a stick up his bum. Proprietor of Thrushcross Grange.

Previously played by: Cecil Humphreys (1939), James Cossins (1970) and Simon Ward (1992)

My Choice: Not actually British, but according to native Brits, he does the accent better than some Englishmen.

Daniel Davis (The Nanny, The Prestige)


MRS. EARNSHAW
Who is She: Matriarch of the Earnshaw household, she does not care for Heathcliff. Like, say, she hates him. But it's okay, because she dies first.

Previously played by: Rosalie Crutchley (1970)

My Choice: She only does a few things a year, but Lordy, she's awesome. And she's dating Saffron Burrows, so she has great taste.

Fiona Shaw (My Left Foot, the Harry Potter films)


MR. EARNSHAW
Who is He: Head of the Earnshaw clan at Wuthering Heights. Adopts Heathcliff, preferring him to his own son, Hindley. This creates a problem, naturally.

Previously played by: Cecil Kellaway (1939), Harry Andrews (1970) and John Woodvine (1992)

My Choice: Too old? Maybe, but I miss this guy, and he certainly has a kinder face than those other guys.

Timothy West (Ever After, Agatha)


JOSEPH
Who is He: Religious, elderly, fanatically, stubborn, unkind--a pain in the ass, but he remains a servant at Wuthering Heights throughout the novel. Which is weird, considering that he's pushing seventy at the beginning of the novel, so he's about 120 by the end.

Previously played by: Leo G. Carroll (1939), Aubrey Woods (1970) and Robert Demeger (1992)


My Choice: A bit more upper-class than the character, but he's an actor, so he can do it.

Hollmann Award Nominee Leslie Phillips (Venus, Millions)


FRANCES EARNSHAW
Who is She: Wife to Hindley. She, too, does not care for Heathcliff, and to call her a whiny bitch would be generous. Methinks.

Previously played by: Morag Hood (1970) and Janine Wood (1992)


My Choice: The original choice for Bellatrix Lestrange, actually, though now she's got another role in the Harry Potter series.

Helen McCrory (The Queen, Becoming Jane)


HINDLEY EARNSHAW
Who is He: Earnshaw's son and heir. After his father's death, he forces Heathcliff into servitude, before becoming a depressed alcoholic. Abusive and resentful.

Previously played by: Hugh Williams (1939), Julian Glover (1970) and Jeremy Northam (1992)


My Choice: Funnily enough, he's played Timothy West's son before.

Dougray Scott (Dark Water, Ever After)


LINTON HEATHCLIFF
Who is He: The weak, mopey son of Heathcliff and Isabella. Isabella takes care of him until she dies (everyone does in the novel, don't worry about spoilers), then he's sent off to the abusive Heathcliff and forced to marry Young Catherine.

Previously played by: Jonathan Firth (1992)


My Choice: Another Ever After alum. I guess I really miss that movie.

Lee Ingleby (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Marple: Nemesis)


HARETON EARNSHAW
Who is He: The son of Hindley and Frances, Heathcliff takes charge of him when Hindley is too drunk to do otherwise. Hareton becomes an ignorant, angry field worker. He's tender-hearted, though, and falls for Young Catherine.

Previously played by: Jason Riddington (1992)


My Choice: A little scrawny now, but I'm sure with some field work, he could buff up. And he's good-looking, and can play angry and belligerent. I'd believe it. Just add some facial hair, and he's good. Just watch his bare-knuckle boxing in Becoming Jane.

James McAvoy (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Atonement)


YOUNG CATHERINE LINTON
Who is She: The daughter of Edgar and Catherine, she's a lot like her mother, but also a little like her father. She's headstrong and stubborn, but she's also forgiving and tender-hearted. Looks a great deal like her mother, though, and at times, they are played by the same actress.

Previously played by: Academy Award Winner Juliette Binoche (1992)


My Choice: Uh, fuck that two different actresses crap. I'm getting girls about the same age, but who can play mother and daughter with the right make-up. And they resemble each other. And Young Catherine would be blonde, anyway.

Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, Poirot: Death on the Nile)


ISABELLA LINTON
Who is She: Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Linton, Isabella is meek and silly, falling for Heathcliff despite his obvious hatred for her family. She runs off to London with their son in the middle of the night, but dies anyway.

Previously played by: Academy Award Nominee Geraldine Fitzgerald (1939), Hilary Dwyer (1970) and Sophie Ward (1992)


My Choice: Oh, sure, red-head instead of blonde, but (1) they do it better, and (2) I would kill to see her in this part.

Isla Fisher (The Lookout, I Heart Huckabees)


EDGAR LINTON
Who is He: The son of the Lintons, he's kind of weak. Like, a spoiled brat who becomes a cowardly man. Marries Catherine, thus leading Heathcliff to hate and vow revenge upon him. Handsome and pleasant company, though.

Previously played by: Academy Award Winner David Niven (1939), Ian Ogilvy (1970) and Simon Shepherd (1992)


My Choice: Looks like Isla's brother. He's a handsome, pleasant enough fellow, but he's also skinny enough to play cowardly and pampered.

Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins, Breakfast on Pluto)


NELLY DEAN
Who is She: She narrates the core events of Wuthering Heights to Lockwood--and, thusly, us. A housekeeper, I guess, she is a little older than everyone else and so is able to narrate the events with an almost perfect memory. Her compassion for these people makes her unreliable at times, though.

Previously played by: Academy Award Nominee Flora Robson (1939), Judy Cornwell (1970) and Academy Award Nominee Janet McTeer (1992)


My Choice: Hey, she turns 49 today! And is one of the greatest actresses in the English language!

Academy Award Winner Emma Thompson (Howards End, Angels in America)


CATHERINE EARNSHAW
Who is She: Daughter of the Earnshaw clan, she loves Heathcliff to an almost ridiculous intensity, but marries Edgar for the money and social power. Then she ruins everyone's lives. Beautiful and spoiled, arrogant and free-spirited, she is prone to mood-swings and temper tantrums.

Previously played by: Academy Award Nominee Merle Oberon (1939), Anna Calder-Marshall (1970) and Academy Award Winner Juliette Binoche (1992)


My Choice: Now, this is one bad-ass chick that men would obsess for.

Eva Green (Casino Royale, The Golden Compass)


HEATHCLIFF
Who is He: The lead guy of the novel, a vengeful orphan who is obsessively in love with Catherine. Because he cannot have her, he exacts a lifelong revenge on the entire Earnshaw-Linton bloodline. Sexy, kinda, if you're into that kind of thing.

Previously played by: Academy Award Winner Laurence Olivier (1939), Timothy Dalton (1970) and Academy Award Nominee Ralph Fiennes (1992)


My Choice: Former comedian, with dark enough features to do this. Superb actor, in my book.

Eric Bana (Troy, Lucky You)

Still want Natalie Portman?