Scorsese & DeNiro: Three Favourites

I my have said it before, but I’ll say it again for good measure – I believe Martin Scorsese to be the greatest living director. And even one of the greatest of all time. I haven’t exhausted his filmography, but thus far I’ve yet to see a film from him that I consider to be bad. But I digress. Today, Scorsese is seen as a prerequisite of any Leonardo DiCaprio film; but back in the day there was no star more associated with Mr. Scorsese than Robert DeNiro – and three of their collaborations have ended up on my list of 100 favourite films. GoodFellas, Taxi Driver and Raging Bull are three great films. More often than not when we think of films worthy of being dissected bit by bit one of these come to mind. I had mentioned in my review of The Aviator that Martin Scorsese is probably the director who has most been touted to win the Oscar without ever succeeding. The critical reaction to Taxi Driver may not have been that overwhelming – it was one of the earlier works from Scorsese, but it was seen as a bonafide contender. And if you were to check the archives, there were quite a few betting on GoodFellas and Raging Bull. But what is it that I love about Scorsese…or more importantly, these three films?

                                        

There has been a recurring theme in the majority of Scorsese’s films – the disillusionment of the protagonist – Travis, Jake, Newland, Howard Hughes and even Jesus as far as Scorsese was concerned were perfect examples of broken men. It’s a theme that worked in each of these films, but also a theme that never felt heavy handed or unoriginal. GoodFellas emerges as my favourite of the three at #67. It’s ironic that that’s the one with the least bit of DeNiro. Ray Liotta has always been something of a guilty pleasure to me, and looking back I’ve always wondered why he didn’t make it as a ‘real’ actor. He was good looking and seemed to have more than a smidgen of talent, and what better way of being thrust into the limelight is a Scorsese film? GoodFellas is often regarded as the greatest thing that Scorsese has ever done, and though it’s all pretty subjective it is rather good. GoodFellas holds a certain importance because it saw Joe Pesci winning his Oscar. Despite not being one of my top ten favourites in the category, it’s one of the better wins of the 90s when Oscar made some glaring missteps. As with most Scorsese films the extensive cast plays an important part, and the cast of GoodFellas is pretty much spot on in terms of characterisation providing for a pretty good movie any way you look at it.

Raging Bull is a film I’m not sure I love as much as I appreciate or perhaps, respect. There is no denying that it’s something special and I must say that I consider it superior to Ordinary People – but that’s all blood under the bridge. Any one who doubts DeNiro’s prowess as an actor needs to see this film. Me, I’m no so big a fan of the guy – but when he does his thing he is outstanding. Still, I couldn’t help but be impressed with Joe Pesci’s supporting [Oscar nominated] role. It’s a performance that I like quite much, though I suppose I can’t fault Timothy Hutton either. You’ve probably heard the story of its production. After the unwittingly bad reception of New York/New York [a DeNiro classic no less] Scorsese sunk into depression and considered giving up filmmaking. Raging Bull was what pulled him back and although the initial reaction was not overwhelming it turned out to be nominated for a host of Academy Awards and today has become one of the greatest films of the eighties. Well as far as we’re concerned anyway. It’s my #90 in terms of favourites, but it’s still one hell of a film.

Taxi Driver is a bit different. Is there anyone redeeming in this film? Not likely, but it’s brilliant. For the record, I despise Rocky. I just wanted to get that out there. So, hell yes, I’m prejudiced against it. Taxi Driver is pretty straight up, with a twist of course and although I suppose DeNiro does more obviously good acting in Raging Bull, Taxi Driver depends completely on him. That pivotal scene where the audience realises that this guy they’ve been rooting just may not be so worthy of our admiration is chilling. DeNiro commitment to the role is awesome, and no one directs them like Marty can. I can only imagine what the response of the average moviegoer was to that experience. here they were probably thinking this was going to be your typical one man law machine type of flick, only to have that notion completely dashed. Taxi Driver is my #78 and it is one smart movie. You have to give it that.

So, there you have it. GoodFellas ranks at #67, Taxi Driver ranks at #76 and Raging Bull at #90. You may argue that they’re too low. You might be right. Who knows? But which of these greats is your favourite?

The Wings of the Dove

I cannot talk about The Wings of the Dove without revealing what could be some psychological issues of mine. The Wings of the Dove is based on a novel by the talented Henry James. I prefer the film. Surprisingly actually, because I’m quite fond of Henry James as it is. The eponymous Dove of the title is an American heiress Millie, you’d assume that Kate Croy, ostensibly the lead of the film/novel is the dove – but I suppose she’s closer to a hawk or a vulture. Of course, I don’t think she is, it just seems to be public consensus. I don’t like Kate because Helena Bonham Carter plays her. My love and sympathy for Kate Croy’s character has nothing to do with Helena, but with my thoughts on the entire plot of the story.

                                                 

Millie is an heiress and she is dying – quickly. Kate befriends Millie who forms an attraction to Merton Kate’s [secret] boyfriend. Kate, ever the thinker, suggests that Merton pretends to love Millie – she’s dying anyway – and then when she dies he’ll be rich and they can get married. There is a thin line that this film must tread on. Kate does not want Merton with money because she is some sociopath money loving woman. Kate is the type of young lady who realises that nothing can come of poverty, and she knows, more than many that without money oftentimes goodness leaves with it. Perhaps she is just a bit too selfish, but she’s not a villain. At least I’d like to think she isn’t. Reading Henry James, I can’t help but feel that he’s not all too fond of Kate, but looking at Helena’s characterisation in Ian Softley’s underrated piece I feel for Kate, palpably more than I can when her story is told through the eyes of Henry James.

                            

I never realised how small Helena Bonham Carter was until The Wings of the Dove. Physically, her figure is so slight, even in A Room With a View she did not look as delicate. Knowing how big a fan I was, Joe said he’d like to here my criticise her. It’s not the greatest performance of all time; but I can’t recall that there’s anything I found obviously inconsistent in her performance. There was a general enigma surrounding the performance, but I figure that the character is a bit of enigma, so Helena was just doing her job.

                             

But Helena is not the only one responsible for the goodness of the film. In such a weak year for supporting women it is a tragedy that Alison Elliot’s delightful performance as Millie could not be recognised [despite love from the SAG]. She’s the perfect antithesis to Helena and with such a resplendently good character she never gnaws at you or makes you annoyed. I suppose in a way that Linus Roache's  Merton is a bit overshadowed, but he shines in the early and final scenes with Bonham Carter. Though I can’t say I care too much for his role his performance is not at fault – or, it shouldn’t be. Michael Gambon has something of a cameo and he, along all the other bit players are good in their roles.

                                              

I can always assume that the reason that this film wasn’t as well received as it should have been is because it touched on so many deep issues. Even this age of social consciousness and modernised view &etc, money is still a startlingly taboo topic. But in an age where we can regard the importance of the dollar I think we can understand Kate’s plight a little more. However, I err in making this plea. If you have seen this film there’s no telling what your reaction to Kate is. It really is up to you whether or not you think she is a character worthy of our esteem. What are your thoughts on Kate Croy? Or have you not seen this yet? And if you haven't. You should. It's on youtube for christ's sake; and it's my #75, I'm assuming that means something to you...

The Natural

I like to say that despite all the things working against it, I still end up liking The Natural. Because as a film, especially as a sports film, I don’t think that I should really be that drawn to it. It’s about baseball, and that’s something of a non-sport in Guyana. It’s also outrageously long for a film of this genre, and the ending is just a bit too pretty and fantastical for me to really take it seriously. Yet, as I said, I like this. There is just something about The Natural that I find appealing. And it’s that something that lands it at #98 on my list of favourite films.

                      

The story of The Natural is simple, perhaps deceptively so, it’s simply a story about making a comeback. A man much too old makes his debut in the baseball arena and he becomes a hero in the process. With a much more positive ending than the original novel on which it is based, The Natural does come off looking like a fairytale, but it still is a successful film. Approximately 75% of this depends on Robert Redford. As far as directing goes, I’m not here or there when it comes to Redford…but as an actor he’s always impressed. It seems unlawful that despite good performances [Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, The Natural, The Sting etc] he only has one acting nomination at the Oscars. But I digress. Redford’s performance is especially special because in addition to being in the majority of the scenes the role is particularly introverted. He doesn’t have many big speeches, and he doesn’t exist in grand gestures but he’s supposed to play a man that we believe is as good as they get, and Redford definitely accomplishes that. It’s a far cry from his pairings with Paul Newman back in the day.

One reason that I was drawn to watch The Natural the first time was because I know it featured Glenn Close in an Oscar nominated Supporting role. Well, you know my thoughts on Glenn – so I was very curious when I’d heard her nomination referred to was a surprise. It’s easy to see why they thought it was a surprise, and with my prejudice I can’t say. I always thought that the supporting actress line-up that year was rather week. And in such a weak year they still couldn’t nominate Amy Madigan over her dismal costar Lindsay Crouse, but once again I digress. Glenn plays the love of Redford’s life – if you want to put it that way, which I do. It’s the most demure character she’s played, and it’s almost disconcerting. I can honestly say that whether or not she deserved the nomination is debatable, but she makes the best of the role. In fact she comes out as a strong character from a paper thin role, which is just one of the traits of this talented actress.

                               

Robert Duvall and Kim Basinger gives creditable supporting performance, and Barbara Hershey does something special with one of the freakiest roles in eighties cinema – and you can quote me. The Natural is a nice movie. I suppose if you’re a fan of baseball you’ll love it. I have no thoughts on the sport either way, but I find the movie decidedly charming. It’s definitely worth your time.

The Talented Mr. Ripley

I’ve never read the novel on which The Talented Mr. Ripley is based; however it’s one of those rare instances on the internet where I’ve heard fans convinced that the adaptation was better than the original. I’m a prejudicial fan of Anthony Minghella, I’d be hard-pressed to say that each of his films has been a masterpiece; but I’d also be hard-pressed to trash them either. Minghella is just one of the directors [along with Lean, Scorsese, Cukor and a few others] that work for me, and whom I defend regardless. The Talented Mr. Ripley was released three years after Minghella’s amazingly successful The English Patient, and even if preference would entice you more to Ripley, we could hardly have expected lightning to strike twice as far as critics and the Academy were concerned. We could not expect it to be as massively successful as its predecessor, and it wasn’t. After spotty appearances at precursors it earned four Oscar nominations [Screenplay, Art Direction, Supporting Actor and Score]. It won none. But to look at The Talented Mr. Ripley from this excessively superficial stance belies the beauty and the maturity with which the film is made, and though it’s not my favourite Minghella film I do believe it’s his most accessible.

                                      

Tom Ripley is the protagonist of the story, protagonist he may be but not the hero. He is a young man of mean circumstances who upon chance is thrust into a world that begins dangerously enticing to him. It is the world of Dickie Greenleaf – a charismatic youngster – who ranges from Tom’s tyrant, his best friend and perhaps even the object of his affection. We can’t be too sure. It’s up to Matt Damon and Jude Law to promulgate this relationship. Matt must play a variation on a role he continued in the Oceans’ series. He must be a man who is charming enough but fails to make a lasting impression you, a man with his back against the wall who sees the most ridiculous of all means of escape. And Jude is a man who has lived his life in such luxury that he fails to realise just how desperate some are to enter it.

As good as this film is, and it is good, it seems that the scenes with Matt and Jude are just very well done. Two scenes with them come to mind immediately. The first is early on, Ripley takes off his spectacles and Dickie says, without the slightest trace of callousness “You know, without the glasses you’re not even ugly.” It’s a cold moment, and I don’t think even Dickie realises the meanness of this statement. It’s as if it’s already been ordained, Ripley is unattractive and definitely beneath Dickie…that much is certain. The second is later and much more chilling. On a train ride, Dickie lies sleeping as Tom sinisterly watches over him. He motions as if to caress Dickie and almost as if this were some psychological thriller [and who’s to say it’s not] Dickie wakes up right then, oblivious it would seem, though I’m not sure. He looks at Tom weirdly, “Why do you do that thing - with your neck. On trains you always do that thing, it's spooky.” I love Jude’s delivery, but Matt’s reaction too is a gem.

                    

But the way I’m gushing, you’d think that only these two gentlemen lend their talent to the film; and that couldn’t be more inaccurate. One thing Minghella has been known for is his casts of good but not always overly popular actors. In addition to Matt Damon and Jude Law, Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Palthrow, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Jack Davenport lend their services – and each in their own way is effective in their roles. I singled out Cate, a few months back, as a potential candidate for a Supporting Actress Nominee in 1999. Her Meredith should be the thinnest character but her little acting idiosyncrasies make a true character that's better than she's given credit for. Gwyneth Palthrow’s Marge has been unfairly treated as time goes by. She’s taxed with more than just looking pretty. She plays Marge with a bit of gumption that just may have been residual from Viola De Lesseps; and it works. I’m still not convinced that her confrontation with Tom towards the end of the film is the right choice, but whenever I’m tempted to doubt her shrillness I remember that this is exactly how Marge would have behaved, and I acquiesce.

                            

The Talented Mr. Ripley always made me wish that Minghella could have tackled some Hitchockian drama and done his worst with it. It’s not that this film is so frightening, but it’s that final scene that is so unnerving that it always leaves me with my insides a little upset. As we hear Tom kill Peter and listen to his sickening crying you can’t help but sympathise. It’s what makes The Talented Mr. Ripley such an uncharacteristic film. The prototypical villain does not end up dead, but then there is not a single character in the film – save for Meredith, and maybe not even her – who does not act solely for themselves. This movie should be seen for much – Minghella’s superb direction, the astounding technical achievements, the excellent performances of the cast – Hoffman, Blanchett, Palthrow, the amazing Jude Law and Matt Damon in the greatest thing I’ve ever seen him do. This film should not be missed. That’s why it’s my #54.

The Deer Hunter

There are some films in my top 100 that wouldn’t require a long review. Actually, it’s not whether not they require a long review – there are just some films I just can’t wind nostalgic for 800 words on. The Deer Hunter is probably one of those films. I don’t think I ever want to see this film again. This is not a reflection of the film’s quality, because obviously it’s a favourite of mine. But some things just need to be experienced once for us to attain their full power. Cimino’s The Deer Hunter is one of those films.

  

Recently Univarn and The Mad Hatter reflected on war and the cinematic treatments of it, I mentioned this as one of my favourite war films…and it is. Treatment of war and its effects on man are not particularly new to the Academy, but The Deer Hunter is one of the smarter choices they made in terms of the genre. The film is about the Vietnam War, and chronicles the experiences of three friends. I wouldn’t mar this review with something as clumsy as a plot synopsis, because I suppose that as long as this film is, plot is not the major thing. The film is a giant advertisement for the horrors of war.

                   

I’ve always found war as a disgusting issue and I hate to get political in speeches, so only those who know me well know my dissent on topics like war [the death penalty etc.]. However, regardless of your thoughts on war it’s difficult to watch this film without dying a little inside. It’s a film rooted in its performance, particularly those of Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken. From 1974 to 1981 this man was on a roll [The Godfather II, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, New York New York etc] he created character after character – all troubled, each in their own way trying to grapple with the world around them. But it is Walken’s Nick who emerges as the pivotal character in the narrative. This is not by chance, and certainly Walken’s fantastic performance plays a bit in this, but in itself the role is something of a tour-de-force. Nick is the man, more than anyone, who is completely destroyed by the war – both physically and emotionally.

         

Film enthusiasts, some more than others, hold this film dear because it’s one of the earlier film roles of Meryl Streep. It is actually her first Oscar nomination, and don’t blame yourself if you draw a blank as to what propelled the nomination. That being said, along with Ms. Streep the other cast members [including those less important] give good performances.

    

The Deer Hunter is #69 on my list of favourites. It’s a good film; a good and tough film. Perhaps, sometimes before the end of the year I’ll look at it once more, just to experience it. But I need to see it to know that it is indeed a wonderful film and of the better decisions the Academy made in relation to their prestigious Best Picture Award.

The Best Supporting Actress Nominees: Favourites

I’ve been tinkering with this list for a while, so finally I’ve completed it., which marks the final category, Check out the others, if you missed.

Favourite Actor Nominees

Favourite Actress Nominees

Favourite Supporting Actor Nominees

                 

Favourite Actor Winners

Favourite Actress Winners

Favourite Supporting Actor Winners

Favourite Supporting Actress Winners

                 

Here is the list of the thirty supporting nominees that have had the most profound effect on me. These are the women that I think are best, well not quite the best...I'm not sure I understand what that word means anymore. Here are the women that I like the most. Enough.

                 

TIER THREE

30 – Glenn Close in The World According to Garp

29 – Maggie Smith in Othello

28 – Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights

27 – Natalie Portman in Closer

26 – Meg Tilly in Agnes of God

25 – Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate

24 – Kate Winslet in Iris

23 – Ruth Hussey in The Philadelphia Story

                          

TIER TWO

22 – Judi Dench in Chocolat

21 – Margaret Avery in The Color Purple

20 – Marianne Jean-Baptise in Secrets & Lies

19 – Marisa Tomei in In the Bedroom

18 – Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias

17 – Cate Blanchett in Notes On A Scandal

16 – Oliva De Havilland in Gone With the Wind

                 

THE FINALISTS

15 – Shirley Knight in Sweet Bird of Youth

Along with Angela Lansbury above, Knight lost her chance at Oscar to Patty Duke in The Miracle Worker. All three performances were good so I can’t say that Duke’s was underserved. Knight’s performance, though in Tennessee Williams’ play is quite good. As the estranged girl friend of hero [Paul Newman] she plays a young girl Heavenly – as tongue-in-cheek as Tennessee can get, and her role though quite important to the film; is not excessively large; but she plays it well. With a team of future Oscar winners, she holds her own quite nicely. Her ‘big’ scene comes when she faces off with Ed Begley in his Oscar winning role as her father. It’s a nice, strong moment and she does well with what she’s given.

                

14 – Celeste Holm in All About Eve

This performance is often regarded as inferior, especially in comparison to the ostensibly better performances of Davis, Baxter and Sanders. However, I love this performance from Celeste Holm. She’s the first person we see in the narrative, and her expressive face is what leads us back to the memory of Eve Harrington so long ago. Celeste’s part is for the most part reactive. She watches while Margo goes crazy, while Eve changes her behaviour and as her husband dallies with the actress. And it is with that expressive face that she sells it. I love that scene in the bathroom with her and Eve, and it’s exceptionally well played. Never, do we doubt her love for Margo even though her actions could have suggested otherwise.

               

13 – Maggie Smith in Gosford Park

Maggie Smith is exceptional. That much we know. Even with those one-liners in Harry Potter she still excels. In Gosford Park she is given the perfect role for an aging actress. Her performance is hinged into the beginning and the end of the film. At the start, the absurdity of having her maid stand in the rain is sad and humorous at once; and her narcissism in shown again at the end where she laments how trying being a witness at court would be for her. And in between that he spot-on delivery of her lines is enviable; in particular those few scenes with Kristin Scott Thomas [with whom she shared an uncanny chemistry] where she changed the course of the narrative were done well. A beautiful job from her.

                 

12 – Patricia Clarkson in Pieces of April

For an actress that seems to be as ubiquitous as Patty I’m always a little bewildered at times when I realise that this is her only nomination. But then this performance is not as frivolous as it seems. The movie is enjoyable, if a bit trite but Patricia elevates her character to such a height that it’s amazing. There’s a scene that always sticks with me. It’s where she vomits in a bathroom on the road and replaces what we realise is a wig on her head. Then looking at her reflection in her mirror she gives her visage a knowing, deceptive smile. It’s a nice acting moment from her, and it’s little touches like that that make turn this character into a realistic character.

                   

11 – Helen Mirren in The Madness of King George

1994 in retrospect was quite a good year in this category. Although I was not enamoured with all the performances, it was a definite step up for the Academy from 1993. Helen Mirren’s Queen Charlotte is a Cannes’ winning performance and with reason. It is a bit of co-lead I suppose; she and Nigel Hawthorne are the driving force behind the film and she handles her role wonderfully. It’s a pity that this performance is not as remembered as it should me.

                 

10 – Judy Garland in Judgment at Nuremberg

I know that everybody in the world loves Rita Moreno’s vivacious Anita in West Side Story; but as much as I like the film and enjoy her performance I really was not gunning for her to win. I suppose that somewhere hidden there is an irony that when Judy went straight up drama she lost her Oscar to a straight up musical performance. Of course Judy has always and will always be remembered as an omnipresent musical star but this is my favourite acting performance of hers. As a pivotal witness in the Nuremberg trials there is an alarming weakness that she brings to the role which is unlike much we’ve seen her do before. Stanley Kramer handles her scenes very well and it comes off a deservedly nominated performance.

                   

9 – Dianne Wiest in Parenthood

There is something that just charms me about this movie; but more importantly there’s something that just charms me about Diane Wiest in the movie. As a single mother, who may be just a little crazy she imbues the character with so much good nature that she’s wonderful to watch. Never does it seem off, and never does it seem as if she’s trying too hard. Even in those silly moments with her daughter – it’s all done in good taste, so funny and yet so poignant. There’s just, as I said a charm about her that I can’t resist. She is a wonderful actress.

                       

8 – Joan Allen in The Crucible

As a fan of Arthur Miller I can’t say that The Crucible is my favourite play of his; but there is something amazing about the play nonetheless and the adaptation of it is able to capture the beauty of it. As Elizabeth Proctor Joan Allen towers above the cast [yes, even the talented Daniel Day Lewis]. Of course the effusiveness of her performance is owed to Miller’s original work; but there is just something outstanding about her performance that I just cannot put my hand on. It’s a pity that she had to go against my darling Binoche in 1996, a year earlier or later I could have seen her easily winning the populist fare that Oscar rewarded. And it doesn’t look as if he’ll ever get the recognition that she deserves.

                       

7 – Vanessa Redgrave in Howards End

Ruth Wilcox, more than any other character in Howards End, hovers over the film. It’s not the obvious type of hovering where a character’s death must be solved. But eventually we realise what it is, Ruth Wilcox is Howards End. At the end when Meg Schlegel finally gets the house, we can almost see the figure of Ruth smiling in heaven…and seeing that her character disappeared from screen almost two hours earlier, this is no mean feat. And that is because Vanessa Redgrave is so talented. I wonder if Merchant Ivory meant for this character to seem important. Even if he didn’t Vanessa certainly made it seem so. Her rapport with especially Emma Thompson is beautiful to watch and hers few scenes are just so well acted that there’s no doubt that her Oscar nomination was deserved.

                     

6 – Glenn Close in The Big Chill

I know that many are not as fond of this performance as I would like; but then many are not as fond of the film either. Glenn plays Sarah; one of a group of friend who meet for a weekend after the suicide of one of their friends. The group went to college and have met again after a parting of ways. The Big Chill is their story. You can click on the link to see more of what I thought of the performance; but with every thing she’s given and what is an ensemble film Glenn still manages to make Sarah seem more important. It’s a well deserved Oscar nomination.

                   

5 – Kate Winslet in Sense & Sensibility

I always felt that Kate’s first nomination [more than her most recent, obviously] was always the easiest; or should have been the easiest actually. With Jane Austen as her guide Kate played Marianne Dashwood, the eponymous ‘sensibility’ of the film’s title. She is the excitable middle Dashwood girls, who is Elizabeth Bennett of Pride & Prejduice – but with less morals. It’s a sweet performance from Kate, and a thoroughly English one. She plays well alongside Emma Thompson and even seems to make a convincing romantic connection with Alan Rickman, which ostensibly seems strange.

              

INTERNAL STRUGGLING: The Respected Women

4 – Michelle Pfeiffer in Dangerous Liaisons

Mme Tourvelle. Michelle earned her first nomination in Frear’s Dangerous Liaisons, a nomination I wish had substantiated into a win. What I love about this performance is Michelle’s use of body language, but more importantly the use of her face. The internal struggle of Tourvelle is difficult to present cinematically, and wordiness would not be true to the character, but yet we are able to understand. Clichéd perhaps, but goodness is not something that we can hear and believe, it comes from inside and just happens to shine through. Michelle’s Tourvelle lets her goodness shine through.

                   

3 – Helen Mirren in Gosford Park

I watched this movie thrice one day. Just because, I knew on each viewing I’d pick up something new. When you know what’s going on, it’s amazing how everything falls into perspective. There’s a scene early, it’s actually the first time we meet Mrs. Wilson, she’s directing Clive Owen where he should be sleeping. He tells her his name and you see the slightest trace of surprise on her face that is immediately cast off. It’s both the genius of Altman and Mirren that make me love that part. It’s so subtle, and yet so telling. Mrs Wilson’s internal struggle in this role is so palpable, and that last scene where she breaks down her in her sister’s arm is never superfluous, but as tender and poignant as it should be. Only Helen Mirren.

                         

2 – Marcia Gay Harden in Mystic River

When Celeste goes to Jimmy we are to believe that this woman loves her husband. We must think that this is not a betrayal, no soliloquy is written for her to explain, we just have the actor there. And when that actor is Marcia Gay Harden, you can be assured that we’ll understand what she’s feeling – because she’s that talented. I won’t be covetous. Two Oscars in four years might have been too much, but it wouldn’t have been unseemly. No matter how much Clint Eastwood annoys me every now and again, I will forever respect him for directing this wonderful performance. Marcia Gay Harden in what could have been nothing but turned into what’s my favourite performance of her and of the entire film.

                 

1 – Julianne Moore in The Hours

I always find it strange that I love this performance so much. Because I never question that I wanted Catherine Zeta Jones to win her Oscar, I still don’t agree with Sage and Twister when the rail about her. But still, I cannot disagree that Julianne Moore is astounding in this film. It’s the sort of performance that only gets better with age. It’s the type of performance that so many of the supporting women must do – forced to keep their feelings inside. For a film so simple, there’s that one surreal moment where Laura is about to attempt suicide and we see her bed surrounded by a murky swamp. Laura awakes with a start – a newfound intelligence. It’s a moment that shouldn’t work, in the same way that crying in the bathroom or confessing to Clarissa shouldn’t. And yet…it does work. Is it Daldry, is it Julianne? I don’t know, but it is beautiful.

                     

Whew! That was a lot of writing. Thoughts?