Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 3:04 pm
Not a bad year at all.
Maggie Smith gives texturing to another E.M. Forster older lady character, this time the spindly chaperone Charlotte Barlett who ends up being one of the most pivotal in the film. I think the nomination here was award enough, but the performance itself is dependably great from one of the best actresses around.
It's been quite awhile since I saw Children of a Lesser God, but Piper Laurie's performance as the mother ill-equipped to deal with her daughter's deafness was a standout, even when held up against Marlee Matlin's courageous work in the same film.
Tess Harper is shrill and annoying in Crimes of the Heart, but I guess that's the character. Not something I'm especially impressed by. Her spot could've gone to a more deserving female supporting performance for this year.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is an interesting case. Throughout the 80's and early 90's she had a string of high profile performances included Gina in Scarface, Maid Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Lindsey Brigman in The Abyss. She somehow landed an "of-the-moment" nomination for The Color of Money (even though, let's face it, Paul Newman and Tom Cruise brought her along). Then, aside from the lead in 92's Consenting Adults and some sporadic television and stage work, she basically disappeared from the silver screen. The character of Carmen is the stereotypical girlfriend role that often gets swept along for this kind of film. But she was always an interesting, committed presence and managed to make even a cliché role come off better than it probably was on paper.
But Dianne Wiest should (and will) win this poll in a walk. Although she's not even the best female supporting performance in Hannah and Her Sisters (that would be the heartbreaking Barbara Hershey), her work as Mia Farrow's narcissistic, coke fiend, actress sister Holly is an indelible creation that perfectly captured a sort of frenetic, self-involved wanderlust of the mid-80's. Neurotic, yet endearing, she is at her best in the scene sitting in the back of the car before Sam Waterston has dropped her off ahead of Carrie Fisher who he clearly likes better. The line readings for her voice-overs in that section are exquisite.
Others worth considering: Barbara Hershey in Hannah and Her Sisters; Tilda Swinton in Caravaggio; Ellen Greene in Little Shop of Horrors; Meg Ryan in Top Gun; Chloe Webb in Sid and Nancy.
Edited By flipp525 on 1285541027
Maggie Smith gives texturing to another E.M. Forster older lady character, this time the spindly chaperone Charlotte Barlett who ends up being one of the most pivotal in the film. I think the nomination here was award enough, but the performance itself is dependably great from one of the best actresses around.
It's been quite awhile since I saw Children of a Lesser God, but Piper Laurie's performance as the mother ill-equipped to deal with her daughter's deafness was a standout, even when held up against Marlee Matlin's courageous work in the same film.
Tess Harper is shrill and annoying in Crimes of the Heart, but I guess that's the character. Not something I'm especially impressed by. Her spot could've gone to a more deserving female supporting performance for this year.
Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is an interesting case. Throughout the 80's and early 90's she had a string of high profile performances included Gina in Scarface, Maid Marian in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Lindsey Brigman in The Abyss. She somehow landed an "of-the-moment" nomination for The Color of Money (even though, let's face it, Paul Newman and Tom Cruise brought her along). Then, aside from the lead in 92's Consenting Adults and some sporadic television and stage work, she basically disappeared from the silver screen. The character of Carmen is the stereotypical girlfriend role that often gets swept along for this kind of film. But she was always an interesting, committed presence and managed to make even a cliché role come off better than it probably was on paper.
But Dianne Wiest should (and will) win this poll in a walk. Although she's not even the best female supporting performance in Hannah and Her Sisters (that would be the heartbreaking Barbara Hershey), her work as Mia Farrow's narcissistic, coke fiend, actress sister Holly is an indelible creation that perfectly captured a sort of frenetic, self-involved wanderlust of the mid-80's. Neurotic, yet endearing, she is at her best in the scene sitting in the back of the car before Sam Waterston has dropped her off ahead of Carrie Fisher who he clearly likes better. The line readings for her voice-overs in that section are exquisite.
Others worth considering: Barbara Hershey in Hannah and Her Sisters; Tilda Swinton in Caravaggio; Ellen Greene in Little Shop of Horrors; Meg Ryan in Top Gun; Chloe Webb in Sid and Nancy.
Edited By flipp525 on 1285541027