Bruce_Lavigne wrote:Page (who I seem to be alone in agreeing with the Oscars belongs in the lead category).
You’re not alone, Bruce. Geraldine Page’s Eve haunts every facet of the film and, in my opinion, is very much a lead. It's a phenomenal performance, etched with nuance, heartbreak and icy distance and longing at every turn.
Sometimes it's not about screentime or who has more scenes or whatever else. If one character so clearly resonates throughout the entire film, they can be considered a lead. I'd support Nicole Kidman's nomination in the lead category in The Hours for much the same reason. There are no hard and fast rules about these things.
It's an unpopular opinion around these parts, but I love Interiors. I don't think it's "lesser" Woody Allen, nor do I think it should be judged as Ingmar Bergman-lite. Its screenplay sounds pretentious because these are pretentious characters. If you don't find something heartfelt and beautiful in Joey's closing monologue to Eve, I suggest you go back and watch it again. That scene, in particular, is a tour-de-force marriage of writing and acting.
Maureen Stapleton gets points for coming to that depressing party of a family so late and injecting much needed life into the proceedings. She is so good during the wedding reception scene.
Penelope who? Milford gives a boring, spastic performance that is pretty forgettable. It's not hard to see why she faded into an oblivion (although I did love her in Heathers).
It sure is easy to take Meryl Streep for granted as I'm going to do here. Her performance in The Deer Hunter is a portent of great things to come. But it's not the best of this lineup.
Dyan Cannon I'll just have to re-watch. I've always found her a pleasure (especially in her later role as a judge on "Ally McBeal"), but I honestly can't throw a vote to her for this pretty pointless remake. Wasn't her last role in that "Old People-palooza movie" that Big Magilla was pushing before it even came out?
My vote goes to Maggie Smith who, as has been stated by quite a few, approaches the tired Simon material with a fresh perspective and transforms it into something so much grander. And how could they pass up the irony of giving an Oscar to a woman playing an actress losing an Oscar (in a performance that's actually good)? The criminally ignored Michael Caine really does match her every step of the way. How exactly was he passed over for the likes of Jack Warden's goofy performance in Heaven Can Wait (which is pretty much a carbon copy of the one he gave in Shampoo)?
Edited By flipp525 on 1283308941