Friday, October 2, 2009

My thoughts on my favorite supporting actress nominees part 1

Since my first post failed, I'm going to post them in parts.. Catherine Keener in Being John Malkovich: Keener manages to avoid one note scenery chewing and delivers a deliciously bitchy, unique, and three dimensional star turn that is a driving force behind Being John Malkovich. No small feat. Chloe Sevigny in Boy's Don't Cry: This performance seems to have a lot of fans these days (Shoutout to Twister!) and I'm glad to count myself as one of them. Her understated,heartbreaking portrayal was searingly authentic. Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler: A gut wrenching, raw performance. The fact that she managed to avoid "The hooker/stripper with a heart of gold" cliche is quite impressive. Holly Hunter in Thirteen: In a gritty, unflichingly realistic movie, Hunter shows us why she's one of our most talented and underrated actresses working today. Joan Cusack in In & Out: Hilarious and she also brings a lot of depth to the part. Shohreh Aghdashloo in House Of Sand And Fog: Aghdashloo conveys her character's sadness, anger, and love for her family wonderfully and her beautiful presence helps support and ground the film. Patricia Clarkson in Pieces Of April: Funny and heartbreaking. Marianne Jean-Baptise in Secrets And Lies: A subtle, detailed performance. It's weird that she now stars on Without A Trace. Please comment and my the 2nd part will be up soon.

2 comments:

Andrew K. said...

I always feel bad for Cate Keener. She wasn't my fave in either of her nominations [the winners both were fine to me] but she is a good actress..and BJM she was great ...along with Cameron.

Patty Clarkson was tops in Pieces of April

joe burns said...

Yes Keener was superb in BJM and Clarkson was wonderful. I don't understand why Pieces Of April is so underrated. It was terrific.