Best Supporting Actress 2008

Best Supporting Actress 2008

Amy Adams - Doubt
8
17%
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
7
15%
Viola Davis - Doubt
14
29%
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
1
2%
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
18
38%
 
Total votes: 48

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Eric
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Post by Eric »

Davis and Tomei are the good ones in this category. I voted for Tomei in '01, so it's Davis this time around.

It was this performance (and, admittedly, nomination) which began my loathe affair with Amy Adams. The verdict's still out on whether The Fighter will reverse the trend.

Béatrice Dalle, Inside
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Ann Savage, My Winnipeg
Tilda Swinton, Benjamin Button
Debra Winger, Rachel Getting Married
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Post by mlrg »

Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler
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Post by ITALIANO »

Considering Kate Winslet as Supporting in The Reader, like some still do here (and only here), is like considering Meryl Streep as Supporting in Sophie's Choice (her story was also seen from another character's point of view) - it simply makes no sense at all.

Doubt gave this year's race not one but two fetishes that this board - and the Academy itself - seem they can't resist to: a nun and an overweight black. The nun didn't have much to do, the overweight black had too much to do maybe in that one, badly written scene she was given; it wasn't Viola Davis's fault if it didn't really work, so I can't say that she's a bad actress, but certainly she didn't deserve all the praise she got two years ago.

Taraji P. Henson was good, and gave her role and her movie much-need warmth. Not Oscar-worthy, but I like that she was nominated.

I smile when I see people here calling Penelope Cruz's character a cliche. It's the same people who justify, say, Venice as a cliche in Summertime because it's seen from American eyes, Dianne Wiest as a cliche in Bullets over Broadway because God knows why, etc. I love these people, but if ever a cliche was intentional that's Penelope Cruz's role in Vicky Christina Barcelona. She's the typical, unpredictable, dangerous, crazy LATIN woman as seen from the American characters' point of view - and let's face it, Americans haven't still recovered from the Lorena Bobbitt trauma. Emotional, sexy, jealous, possessive - the way Woody Allen treats her is an interesting mix between attraction and fear - an exotic and erotic dream which turns into a nightmare. And it works. It may not be very sophisticated, and I have personally met much more unbalanced Americans - but I like a good spoof when I see one, and Penelope Cruz was quite funny I think.

But an Oscar for that was admittedly a bit too much. It should have gone to Marisa Tomei - the best thing about The Wrestler (yes, better than Mickey Rourke even).
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Post by Sabin »

Marisa Tomei, followed by Amy Adams who needed more to do in Doubt but makes a lovely impression. I want to like Davis' performance more than I do but it's just so...actor-y. And it comes from out of the blue. Cruz is fun but her role is ridiculous. Henson has nothing to do and her presence in the film is put to little Earthy good use. But for a movie that essentially revolves around one central performance, Tomei is gracious support.

1. Viktoria Winge, Reprise
2. Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
3. Hiam Abbass, The Visitor
4. Tilda Swinton, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
5. Alexis Zegerman, Happy-Go-Lucky
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Best Supporting Actress 2008

Post by Reza »

My picks for 2008:

Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Elsa Zylberstein, I've Loved You So Long
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Last edited by Reza on Sat Nov 24, 2012 2:33 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Damien »

I think Amy Adams -- an actress I hadn't much cared for previously -- creates the most complex and interesting character of these nominees. And she's a nun.

I have loved Penelope Cruz's work but never understood the acclaim for this crass, screechy performance (And I seem to like this Woody Allwn picture more than most people).

The other three are good, solid standard Supporting Actress type performances.

My Own Top 5:

1. Hannah Schygulla in Edge Of Heaven
2. Ahney Her in Gran Torino
3. Amy Adams in Doubt
4. Haim Abbass in The Visitor
5. Natalie Portman in My Blueberry Nights




Edited By Damien on 1292919040
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Post by Uri »

This is what I wrote in real time. In retrospect I'd upgrade Tomei's grading to an A and downgrade Cruz to F.

1. Marisa Tomei– B. A humane, natural presence. It's nice to see a mature and relaxed actress at work.
2. Viola Davis – C. Good, commanding preformance.
3. Taraji P. Henson – D. Servicable.
4. Amy Adams– D. Apart from the quintessentially Protestant Ingrid Bergman, I'm immune to sweet, innocent nuns.
5. Penelope Cruz – D. A noisy cliché.

Should've been: Tilda Swinton {her short turn in TCCoBB is really a true master class}, Rosemarie DeWitt {RGM was a major letdown for me, but she, as well as Hathaway, was quit a revelation}, Frances McDormand {wickedly funny in Burn After Reading. Not a shred of subtlety in sight}.




Edited By Uri on 1292915150
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Post by Precious Doll »

It's a shame that the Academy went for the worst possible choice in this category: Penelope Cruz.

I have never been a fan of Cruz's work in either English language or Spanish films with the sole exception of Volver. Her performance is little more then a collection of cliches.

Poor Viola Davis tries in vain but was saddled with a ridiculous scene to play (I didn't believe a word dialogue spoken by her) whilst Amy Adams who very little do and was an annoying presence in the film.

I liked Taraji P. Henson who some ways in the heart and soul of Benjamin Button. It's a shame that she didn't have a 'big' scene to really make Academy members stand up and note.

However my choice is Marisa Tomei, who is excellent in The Wrestler, giving us a very much lived in performance.

My choices:

1. Ann Savage for My Winnipeg
2. Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
3. Samantha Morton for Synecdoche, New York
4. Elsa Zylberstein for I've Loved You So Long
5. Jane Liao for Help Me Eros

Also of note were Vera Farmiga in Nothing But the Truth, Arsinee Khanjian in Adoration, Emily Watson in Synedoche, Yew York and Kirin Kiki, Yui Natsukawa & You in Still Walking.




Edited By Precious Doll on 1292911009
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Post by The Original BJ »

My choice this year was easily Rosemarie DeWitt in Rachel Getting Married, and I was surprised she made so little impact throughout that year's awards season. (Then again, I'd expected her film to do better than it did as well.)

As it stands, these nominees probably would have been my #2 through #6 choices, so I wasn't unhappy with the field.

Taraji P. Henson was a joy in Benjamin Button -- this is a great example of an actor taking a nothing role and making it memorable. I remember what was said about her on Oscar night -- that when Benjamin returned home after a long while, we realized that we'd missed Henson's character too. Still, as warm and charming as she was, I'm not sure there's enough here to vote for her.

Penélope Cruz was pretty funny in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. ("No, no, no. Not talent. Gee-nee-us.") But I have the same reservation about voting for her that I do with Mira Sorvino, the last Woody Allen winner in this category. Her film spends the entire first portion building up her character, then when she enters the film, the entire movie is virtually handed to her without providing her all that much of a serious acting challenge. Frankly, I was shocked she dominated the critics' awards the way she did. She was fun enough, but I liked her much more in Volver.

Amy Adams and especially Marisa Tomei were both strong in roles for which they were very well-suited. (Who ELSE would you cast as a naive Catholic nun and a Jersey stripper?) But I picked both earlier this decade for performances that really surprised me -- I don't feel the need to choose either again so soon for work that's well within their established personae.

So, Viola Davis. Yes, Doubt hands her a great sequence, but she makes a striking impact nonetheless. In only a few moments, she creates a complex character and lets us see the heavy backstory that weighs on this woman. Her feelings toward what may or may not be happening to her son at school, what definitely is happening to her son at home, and the restricted opportunities she has as a mother (and a black one at that) to make life better for her child, all simmer to the surface during her tete-a-tete with Streep. When I saw Doubt on stage, I'd found this moment the most notable in the whole play -- when I saw the film, I went in awaiting big things from Davis here, and my expectations weren't disappointed. She gets my vote.

I liked Winslet a lot more than many this year, but to me, she was pretty clearly a lead in The Reader, and I doubt people would have even discussed the possibility of her as a supporting actress had the Weinsteins not campaigned her that way.
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Post by Big Magilla »

I've been back and forth on this one so many times it feels like I first considered it twenty-four years ago instead of just twenty-four months ago.

For me, everything hinged on whether Kate Winslet was a lead or supporting player in The Reader. Yes, she was the film's female star and yes, her role was larger than the two actors who played the leading male character, but the film was told from the standpoint of that male character so a case could be made for her in support even if on the face of it, it seems like category fraud. Ultimately, though, as much as I liked four of the supporting actress nominees, I didn't think any of them really possessed that something extra that merited a win as opposed to just a nomination. At the same time, giving the Best Actress award to Winslet, whose performance I considered the year's best in any category, meant denying Meryl Streep in Doubt, so in the end I gave my personal Best Actress award to Streep and my Supporting Actress award to Winslet.

I obviously can't do that here, but I can dismiss the winner from consideration.

Penelope Cruz has given some wonderful performances in Spanish films, most notably under Pedrom Almodovar's direction, but I have yet to see her in anything in Hollywood films that remotely merits an Oscar nomination, let alone a win. Her petulant, screaming woman in Vicky Cristina Barcelona looks and sounds like amateur night in both languages she uses.

Viola Davis absolutely nails her one scene as the mother of the boy in Doubt, and Amy Adams is just right as the young nun in the same film, but Davis isn't on screen long enough and Adams doesn't have one really strong moment.

Taraji P. Henson is an absolute joy to watch whenever she's on screen in as Brad Pitt's adoptive mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but like Davis, she isn't on screen long enough and like Adams she doesn't have one really strong moment.

Marisa Tomei, however, is a strong presence in The Wrestler and has several memorable scenes. In the absence of a nod for Streep in this category, she is the strongest candidate and gets my vote.

Others worthy of mention include Hanna Schygulla in The Edge of Heaven; Hiam Abbass in The Visitor; Vera Farmiga in Nothing But the Truth and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Emma Thompson in Brideshead Revisited.




Edited By Big Magilla on 1292908512
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