Jan 27 2009
Oscars 2009: Best Supporting Actress
This is probably one of, if not the most, unpredictable races. The Golden Globes and the SAG awards both gave this one to Kate Winslet for The Reader. But Winslet got bumped up to the leading category for the Oscars and now we are left with a real question of who could it be?
THE NOMINEES
Amy Adams, Doubt - I think Amy Adams, like everyone else, knows that she’s playing second fiddle to Ms. Davis in this category. She may have had more screen time in the film, but her co-star had a much more potent couple of scenes. Adams was really great in this film as the naïve and hopeful young nun that has her innocence shattered. She may not get an award this year, but I think it’s very likely that she’ll find herself here again. Adams has been doing wonderfully consistent work (hence her mention further down in this entry) and as long as she keeps doing what she’s been doing, she will get her due eventually.
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Everyone has actors that they just don’t like and for me, Penelope Cruz is one of them. Actually, it’s even more specific than that. I don’t like Penelope Cruz in American movies (I really liked her in All About My Mother and Volver). A lot of people are predicting that she’s going to take this award and I just can’t get excited about it. I thought she was fine in the film, but she wasn’t my favorite part. I think there are more deserving women in this category.
Viola Davis, Doubt - I remember a few years ago seeing Viola Davis on an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, now here she is holding her own with a screen legend like Meryl Streep. She’s only on screen for a few minutes, but she’s leave an indelible impression. Could she come from nowhere and take this one home? Maybe, but I don’t think she’s the most likely of the dark horse candidates.
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – The amazing amount of warmth that Ms. Henson brings to this role is remarkable. It’s something I’ve seen from her before as I remember feeling very endeared to her sweetness in Hustle and Flow. As the adoptive mother of an abandoned child that ages backwards, Henson is subtle and glowing. She is my sentimental favorite in this category, especially after hearing that despite all of the praise she’s gotten for this performance, the poor thing is out of work right now.
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler – Maybe it’s all the critics awards she’s been picking up, but I think Tomei could be the favorable dark horse in this category. She has one major handicap: she’s the only person in this category that already has an Oscar, not to mention the fact that it’s one of those Oscars that the Academy probably wishes they could rewind the clock and take back (My Cousin Vinney, really?!?). If it weren’t for that, I’d be willing to bet on her more, but this category’s kind of dicey and may be the only one where we get a really big surprise on Oscar night, so it’s a tough one to call.
THE FORGOTTEN
Amy Adams, Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day – An actress is not allowed to be nominated more than once in the same category and I definitely agree that Adams’s performance in Doubt is much more awards-worthy. However, I seem to be the only one that remembers that Miss Pettigrew came out in 2008 and possibly the only one that thinks that it deserved some awards attention. The fun and whimsical film was driven largely by the performances of its two leading ladies and so I’m going to take this opportunity to give a little shout out to the other role Adams played to perfection this year.
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married – I was really happy to see DeWitt on a few of the critics awards lists for this role, and not just because I enjoyed her on Mad Men. It really seems like all anyone remembers about this movie is that Anne Hathaway’s in it and there were several other great performances in the film. As the titular bride, DeWitt balanced the joy of the occasion with the anger, frustration resentment and every once and a while, love that she felt towards her train wreck of a little sister.
