When Naomi Watts was nominated by the Screen Actors Guild the pundits kind of giggled and twittered about it being a major coup by the Weinstein Co. to bring an out of nowhere performance onto the Oscar stage. But really, that was just an example of dropping the ball, of being too locked into the consensus to consider other options. Watts steals the show in St. Vincent, which is one of the most entertaining films I saw this year. I know it isn’t going to light the critics on fire but it’s making money at the box office and who knows, maybe it might turn up here or there despite it being dismissed in the “conversation.”
Watts is joined by co-star Melissa McCarthy, whose tender and vulnerable turn is a sharp contrast to the slapstick comedy she did in Tammy, one of the biggest hits for women of the year.
Watts is also a standout in Birdman, along with co-star Andrea Riseborough. Emma Stone is getting all of the attention, of course, because she’s the younger, hotter of the bunch. She’s great, no doubt, and has the bigger part. But the other two women are fantastic, especially Watts.
Another unsung contender (though I’ve heard In Contention’s Kris Tapley writing about her) is Renee Russo in Nightcrawler. She takes what could have been a standard cliche, borrowed straight out of Faye Dunaway’s Network and turns it into something more human. She isn’t a success crazed automaton but is a woman being driven out by a business that needs a continual stream of fresh blood. Though I don’t think Nightcrawler is a metaphor for our news media so much (no metaphor needed – it’s straight up how our news media is) but the way we all devour and deliver news online now, how the beast is endlessly hungry, all ethics secondary, is what Nightcrawler is about to me.
Two actresses have knocked it out of the park in a variety of ways, though because they have so many performances that are hard to categorize it’s not easy squeezing them into the Oscar race. Also, judging by the work of Tilda Swinton and Jessica Chastain it’s more clear than ever how much these nominations are tied to Best Picture contenders. But for the odd standout here or there, the supporting actress not only must back up the male protagonist now and for all time, they also must appear in a film deemed worthy by the critics and the industry. Not an easy cup to fill.
Tilda Swinton once again delivers a delicious array of diverse work with Only Lovers Left Alive, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Snowpiercer. She is brilliant in all three though how to categorize her? She’s like Scarlett Johansson, breaking the mold as she goes but there is no place in the Oscar race where she can fit. Swinton is the best thing about Snowpiercer but she must pay the price for the film not being “Academy friendly.”
Ditto Jessica Chastain in Interstellar, and in lead for the Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, lead in Miss Julie and Supporting again for A Most Violent Year. The JC Chandor Lumet-inspired drama features Chastain as a firecracker of a wife, with the nails and the cleavage. The categorization of her and her work this year feels too small to me and yet we all know that is exactly how it’s all going to turn out.
I’m not saying the five in line for the nomination right now don’t deserve it. They absolutely do. The industry is bursting with supporting work for women – men do the hard jobs but they need women to help them figure it all out.
Laura Dern is not getting any love, it doesn’t look like, for Wild. That film was not one of my favorites because I am uncomfortable with movies about women where empowerment is all there is to it. If seeking out personal happiness and empowerment isn’t good enough for a male lead, it shouldn’t be good enough for a woman. But looking at Wild a different way and a better movie emerges for me and that’s the one where Reese Witherspoon must recover from the agony of losing her beloved mother, embodied so beautifully by the unsung Dern.
Meryl Streep is always great no matter what she’s in but to me the real standout in Into the Woods is Anna Kendrick as Cinderella. What’s a sister gotta do to get recognition? I love Ms. Streep and I’m all for her nomination this time around but I feel like Kendrick’s work is going unrecognized.
Kristen Stewart’s work has been singled out for the chances she took this year with three films, only two that came out. But her best work that I saw was as the daughter in Still Alice. Stewart brings so much honesty to the part, as she tries to deal more directly with her mother getting Alzheimer’s than her two other siblings. She might have had a better shot with the Clouds of Sils Maria, where she was getting the most heat. But that’s been pushed to next year.
Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King in Selma is another unsung performance, though admittedly that isn’t the kind of showy role that often gets recognition. But it’s worth noting, Keira Knightley’s in Imitation Game is one the same level yet for some reason she’s an instant contender where Ejogo isn’t – that’s probably to do with star power. Selma will end the year the more popular film, I think, yet Ejogo probably won’t crack the top five.
Finally, it’s been an inexplicable fact of Oscar season that somehow Gone Girl’s Carrie Coon hasn’t flipped he switch on anyone’s radar. Coon has all of the great lines in Gone Girl and delivers them like she’s shooting an automatic rifle. She is the antithesis of Amy, who glides smoothly through the film like a sharp knife cutting through frosting. Coon is the opposite – sloppy, honest, raw and trapped. Great performance, the year’s most underrated.
We all know that the Oscar race is about buzz. We know it has little to do with really finding the best. Sometimes they manage to flail around and reward the best. Time confirms it. But most of the time, the popularity contest is just about the right now, not necessarily the right.
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I have to admit that I stopped reading the article when you suggested that Emma Stone was getting the attention mainly due to her looks over Naomi Watts. I have seen both Birdman and St Vincent and neither one of her performances merited a nomination, especially St. Vincent. She was absolutely horrible in that role. How many times did she lose the Russian accent? As for the movie Birdman, I didn’t think it was the best movie of the year, by far. I have a feeling that the Academy will nominate the usual suspects but bypass the majority of the awards like they did to Inarritu and Babel in 06′ (still one of the 10 worst movies I ever seen in a movie theater)
I am in 100% agreement with you about Rene Russo. I would looooooove to see her nominated (though I know she doesn’t have a chance in hell). I’m also rooting for Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer as she was the only fantastic element in that film. I wasn’t a Gone Girl fan, but I did love Kim Dickens’ and Carrie Coon’s perfs. I’d like to see them in more movies for sure. I’m not usually a fan of Minnie Driver, but she really killed it in Beyond the Lights, a movie I wish would get move love from the Awards Boards. There are a lot of fantastic perfs by supporting actresses, but the current lineup doesn’t reflect it (save for Patricia Arquette and Jessica Chastain, whom I’m sure is amazing, though I haven’t seen A Most Violent Year).
Saw “Into The Woods” last night. Anna Kendrick and Emily Blunt were outstanding but the two best performances in the movie IMO were Meryl Streep and Chris Pine. Arquette will win the category with an overrated turn in the most overrated movie of the year. And what the hell is all the noise about Emma Stone? Sasha’s right about that one. Katherine Hepburn, however enjoyable to watch, was great at playing Katherine Hepburn and not much else. Streep, Cate Blanchett, and Marion Cotillard are the three finest actresses working today. No one else is in their league. Unfortunately, Cotillard may not be recognized for the incredible work she did this year. My top five supporting would be:
Tilda Swinton
Meryl Streep
Agata Kuleza
Carrie Coon
Renee Russo
It’s funny when people say that the Academy should stop nominating Streep. Why deny an actress for a recognition she worked so hard for just because she delivers brilliant performance after brilliant performance? And this Katharine Hepburn comparisons just got to stop. That’s just so immature.
Knightley will be a very much deserving nominee with all these names that Sasha and commenters mentioned. She was underrated in Anna Karenina and more deservingly should have been nominated over Lawrence that year, maybe because she’s not as hot and young as the J.Law? And the “Atonement” snub still hurts everytime I re-watch that film.
The line up for Supporting Actress this year jam-packed and I also hope the Academy to consider
Elisabeth Moss in Listen Up Phillip
Imelda Staunton in Pride
Mia Wasikowska in Only Lovers Left Alive
Agata Kuleza in Ida
Well, two things.
1) Carrie Coon IS the best thing in Gone Girl, even better than Pike. Amazing Amy is a candy role, in which an actress has everything going for her, while Coon’s slow descent into the nightmare Amy is played flawlessly. I also think Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris were great and being overlooked in the reviews. Affleck’s best also with Hollywoodland. I think Pike could pull off a surprise win, in the Hannibal Lecter style… but I still it’s Moore’s to lose.
2) Tilda is NOT the best performance in Snowpiercer. She gives the showiest, most histrionic, more daring… and a key one. But the movie wouldn’t work without Chris Evans’ tour de force and the final acting duel with Ed Harris. And above them all, it’s a magnificent screenplay, and the fact, that the ensemble is superb… from Octavia Spencer to Ewen Bremner, from John Hurt to both korean stars. I have bigger trouble with Chris Evans, still going completely unrewarded even with noms (seriously, isn’t this man growing and growing as an actor, as years go by?) than with Academy Award winner Swinton, not getting another nom. And I love Tilda. A lot. But her nomination would be soooo nice, but not my highest Snowpiercer priority.
Once we get into the thick of Oscar season, it happens every year that I realize people have different ideas than I about what a great acting performance is. There are names popping up, and I’m not going to say who, but I don’t really think that person did any “acting” at all. To me acting is being, at the very least, different than yourself. Creating a character. So the number one thing I would ask myself about someone’s performance would be, ‘Do I believe this character is a different person than the last characters I saw said actor portray in a film?” Granted actors don’t have to do complete make-overs role to role. It helps. But what I’m saying is even if an actor looks the same film to film, do they act differently than the last time I saw them? Do they behave differently than this person does in real life? If I see an actor who I’ve seen in multiple films and that person is basically just saying new words but with the same look and mannerisms that they’ve had every time, I don’t consider that a great performance or award worthy. I mean there is one actor who is considered one of the greatest working actors today, and he can and has been great, but most of his roles over his career have had the same look, the same voice, the same non-accent, the same gait, the same mannerisms, the same everything film to film. And it’s basically who he is in real life. But he’s almost always in the conversation. Now in the case of supporting actress there is someone who is always in the conversation and that is Meryl Streep. However, she does the work. Her characters are mostly completely different people who aren’t like Meryl Streep, the person. I can believe that her characters are completely different people despite the fact that Mrs. Streep has one of the most distinct looks going. If she can change it up every time and get me to believe her then in my opinion everyone else who wants to be considered a great or award worthy actor should at least try to do it. Showing up and saying your lines convincingly shouldn’t be enough to get you an award or even Oscar buzz in my opinion. I haven’t seen INTO THE WOODS yet but I know that she worked on her singing. You can tell from the clips. So the fact that she still puts the work in when other people in the conversation seem to be just running lines, kind of pisses me off, on behalf of all the actors who actually act.
Having said all that, of the movies I’ve seen, I can only come up with one great performance in the Supporting Actress category, and that’s the infallible Tilda Swinton for SNOWPIECER. I’m sure there are some others in the foreign films and other films that haven’t played in my neighborhood. It seemed like Agata Kulesza might be a candidate but I don’t have anything to compare her performance to since I haven’t seen her before or what else she’s done. I could say the same about Carrie Coon actually. For someone just starting out I think Mackenzie Foy could be recognized unless she’s considered Lead or there are four better performances that I haven’t seen.
Saw ‘Into The Woods’ last night, and I have to agree with Sasha that Anna Kendrick is better in the film than Meryl Streep (and IMHO, is best in show). Although I think Streep is still quite good, I’m hoping now that she ends up being the Oprah (‘The Butler’) of this year when it comes to the Oscars.
If there’s any performance in Gone Girl that improves on the second viewing, it was Kim Dicken’s. She was really good the first time, but on the second viewing I saw the layers of her character. It was an understated performance but managed to be BRILLIANT the more you watch it. Carrie Coon is getting all the praise because she played good and sympathetic sister. For me, people are praising more of Coon’s character values rather than the performance itself. Coon was also good though.
In short, I agree with some of the posters here. Kim Dickens gave the best supporting performance in Gone Girl. She made it layered for the sake of the character and not for the performance.
One supporting performance no one is talking about because it was a small independent movie in limited release is Najarra Townsend “The Toy Soldiers”
Joyeux Noël à tous! Que la paix soit avec vous!
ScottD, I don’t disagree. The academy certainly has pulled stuff like that in the past. But 1) Sasha’s using focusing on the wrong actress to make a pretty thin point that can’t ever truly be proven and 2) I merely pointed out a contradiction in her following paragraph. I haven’t seen Into the Woods to make any call about who is the more deserving actress. But I was more impressed by Emma Stone than by most supporting turns I have seen this year.
I think another comment of mine didn’t make it on here.
I too think Kim Dickens was the standout in Gone Girl (besides Rosamund Pike, of course). I see NO WAY Streep will be overlooked for Into the Woods. I believe she’ll earn her 19th nomination. And good for her.
What happened to all the love for Dern in TFIOS? Was her portrayal of the mom who dies that much better than her portrayal of the mom who (will) survive?
BTW, why isn’t Wild in the discussion for Best Picture? It has incredibly high Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic scores, below Boyhood, but on par with Birdman, better than Nightcrawler, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, etc. If it’s such a good movie, shouldn’t it be in contention?
Dickens, Coon GONE GIRL
Swinton ALL 3 MENTIONED
Gyllenhaal FRANK
But seriously – the win for Arquette is totally justified and I’d be happy with it. It’s a superb performance and she has easily one of the best scenes of the year. Not that many people are saying otherwise – but all the actresses listed above have put in stellar work.
I would like to see Coons, Dickens, and Russo get in!
It also sounds like Stewart has had a helluva year. I can’t wait for Clouds!
Considering the brillant turn of Julianne Moore in “Maps to the Stars”, and considering that the film will be oficially released only in 2015, I ask you: Is it possible a Julianne Moore Supporting Actress Oscar Campaing for this film in 2015? That would be amazing!
LOL’ing at everyone taking issue with Sasha’s “younger and hotter” comment. It’s not a secret that the Academy tends to nominate youthful, attractive actresses in their breakout dramatic roles, often dismissing older women, (and on the flip side, not regularly nominating young men in breakout roles).
Because she’s younger and hotter?!
Was that absolutely necessary? Why, to appreciate other performances, do you have to knock an extraordinarily powerhoused one by a exceptionally talented actress? You spend so much time lamenting the role of women in Hollywood, but truth be told, you’re a different part of the problem. Can you learn to express your opinion without being so negative and flat out mean? Or do really only care for women over the age of 35 you don’t consider to be traditionally hott?
I agree with many of your mentions Sasha as well as quite a few great ones in the comments (someone mentioned Elisabeth Moss – yaay).
But can I add one scene-stealing performance? Imelda Staunton – PRIDE.
How is this category weak I mean looking at all these actresses that are being mentioned here? I say best supporting actor is the weaker of the lot this year.
@ John – I agree, Kim Dickens is the supporting turn I was impressed by. Carrie Coon is wonderful and a supporting nod would be justified, but Dickens is just as deserving. Her sheriff is no dummy, acknowledging the men in her life, Nick Dunne and officer Gilpin, without being swayed by their emotions or knuckleheadedness. She is an upstanding law enforcer, the kind you wish you encountered more often in the real world. She also gets some zingers of her own.
I would love to see Kristen Stewart nominated, and Suzanne Clement. But ultimately, if there is one category that Boyhood has all sewn up it is Supporting Actress. I don;t think anyone can derail Arquette. But some wild card inclusions will make for some fiery discussion when noms are finally out. Happy Xmas to Sasha and Ryan and all the gang. Dave
Come to think of it, supporting actresses in movie musicals have the surest bet, statistically, of winning. Zeta-Jones, Jennifer Hudson, Hathaway… could Meryl edge out Arquette? Never in a million years, but it’s funny to think about.
So much great work by great actresses in Supporting this year or any year in film, and do you realize that Awardsdaily is one of the VERY few places that give them the credit they are more than do. Nobody reports on them, ergo, they don’t exist. And Paramount is missing a BIG opportunity in not campaigning Carmen Ejogo more forcefully for “Selma”. They certainly are doing right by Ava DuVernay, but hey, Ejogo’s work is beautifully realized too! And she’d be the ONLY woman of color in the race this year BTW. In this category. I mean, c’mon, Academy! If only they listened to Sasha! Go, Ejogo, GO!
No more Streep, please.
She’s good, but please, stop. Stop! What a overrated woman!
Not in a million years Streep would be half the actress Katharine Hepburn was.
Sorry, I dont see the big deal with Carrie Coon. I loved the movie, but Rosamund Pike was the only stand out. When Meryl Streep (not if) gets her 19th nomination, I dont see the reason to roll your eyes. I find it as an astonishing accomplishment. But im sure some people thought the same thing with Katharine Hepburn.
Also very sad is think about “Mommy” being snubbed and the heartbreaking performance given by Suzanne Clément out with her movie.
my sporting ladies
Naomi Watts
Rene Russo
Patricia Arquette
Tilda Swinton
Emma Stone
and please Academy please God!!!!! we really need “fresh” names. please nooooo meryl streep. please nooo !!!
Completely agree about Carrie Coon in Gone Girl. She’s brilliant.
Russo is great in Nightcrawler, but it’a a small role, she doesn’t have great scenes, unfortunately.
I didn’t watch Snowpiercer, but I completely believe in Swinton’s supremacy. She was snubbed two years, for I Am Love and WNTTAK. It’s still a shame for me.
Great callouts, but Naomi Watts in Birman to me was the one false note of that film (it doesn’t help that they gave her an unnecessary subplot that feels tacked on since it goes nowhere after). All of her scenes felt like she was ACTING, similar to Egojo in *Sparkle*.
Emma Stone, Anna Kendrick (can she be, so many years after *Camp*, our great musical star?), Jessica Chastain (for *A Most Violent Year*), Patricia Arquette, and Meryl Streep would be my picks, though I think Egojo, Dern, Coon, Stewart, and Swinton were all caps FANTASTIC.
I’m hoping Agata Kulesza gets in for “Ida,” as well as Tilda Swinton for “Snowpiercer.” For the other 3 I’d go with Rene Russo, Emma Stone and Patricia Arquette (who belongs in lead, imo). Knightley and Streep should not even be in the discussion this year. Streep getting nominated here will only fuel future articles about how she is nominated every other year. And this is one I am hoping will be snubbed.
Arquette is poised to be the year’s biggest landslide. She seems like an even bigger lock than JK Simmons at this point, and rightfully so. What a performance.
That said, I don’t think anybody is really safe aside from her. Chastain is in a little-seen film and her votes could be split between it and Interstellar; Knightley is a “default” choice who won’t get a lot of passionate support and could get the shaft should voters try to be more adventurous; Streep wasn’t nominated for any non-industry awards yet, and is more-or-less “expendable” due to having been nominated so many times in the past. Even Stone, who is safe on paper, is a relative newcomer, which will make it harder than it seems for her to break through, I’ve got a feeling she and Cumberbatch are the two most likely “skocking snubs,” ie the ones whose nominations seem so secured that voters actually could forget about them. There are those every year.
In the second tier, I think Laura Dern shouldn’t be ruled out yet, and neither should Carrie Coon. Both are in films with Best Actress frontrunners and some Best Picture potential, which really helped Sally Hawkins and Jacki Weaver in the past (as well as Janet McTeer aside from the Best Picture possibility). There has definitely a been pattern of Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress double deals in recent years, and Dern and Coon are the only two candidates who could uphold it at this point (Kristen Stewart seems like a VERY long shot). I also think Rene Russo is a bigger threat than she looks — Nightcrawler has been picking up A LOT of steam, so she’s definitely gonna be on voters’ minds.
Unfortunately, a nomination for Tilda Swinton would imply that the Academy is aware of Snowpiercer’s existence, and I’m pretty sure it isn’t.
“Is Keira Knightley’s turn in ‘The Imitation Game’ a lead that is masquerading for awards consideration as supporting or what some pundits call category fraud?”
Not at all, she is definitely a supporting part. Keira gives a great performance but I wouldn’t say she is in my top five supporting actresses of the year. I am actually a huge fan of Keira. She is always completely present and to me she is just full of life and energy so it always looks like it comes easy. If she gets the nomination it’s not as if she doesn’t deserve it but if she doesn’t it won’t be a crime.
Another one? Miranda Richardson was great as the bitchy step-mother in “Belle”. She should have won for “Damaged” (the year Marisa Tomei won her Oscar). She’s one of my favorite actresses (and like all the other actresses you mentioned, isn’t working nearly enough as she should be).
Merry Christmas to Sasha and Ryan and all you good people at Awards Daily. You keep us entertained, informed, and enlightened “DAILY”.
Regards, Keifer
It would be nice if they could throwa nomination toward Rene russo way. Even to tilda Swinton. .. that would open up more roles for them.i love streep but I’m sure she will be nominated again next year and the year after that. Anyway I think nightcrawler may be a best pic nominee so I think russo chances of sneaking in are higher than many think.
Meryl for the win!
Naomi Watts in Birdman? Honestly, she barely registered. Beyond the obvious Patricia Arquette, the best supporting performance I saw was Mackenzie Foy in Interstellar. Amazing kid and her work with McConaughey was beautiful.
Keira Knightley slays it in The Imitation Game. Her last scene when she goes to Alan’s house after the war is beautifully played. She’s a very deserving nominee.
As for unsung actresses, I agree with Naomi Watts in Birdman who I actually preferred to Emma Stone. Haven’t seen St Vincent yet, but I love her hoovering in the trailer. Also Rene Russo is breathtaking in Nightcrawler, which is one of my favourite films of the year. I would love to see them both in at the expense of Streep, who gets nominated too much, although I do like her as an actress.
Carrie Coon’s turn in GG was amazing, her snub would and certainly will be be unfair ……. 17th, 18th or 19th nom for Ms Streep, who cares ? , nobody counts anymore, she won’t feel robbed if they overlook her no ? , let’s make some room for new talents like Ms Coon !
Did my comment not show up?
Meryl Streep’s name was in the top 3 for Supporting Actress everywhere across the internet long before anyone had seen the film. Of course she’s great in it. I’ll probably see it and agree she “deserves” to be nominated. But it’s also obviously a case of laziness. Voters should look to the less obvious places where there are so many other brilliant performances, as this article by Sasha puts it so well. Rene Russo is a perfect case in point.
Rolling eyes at Streep AGAIN, but you haven’t seen the film?! Haters gonna hate! Merry Christmas!
“Emma Stone is getting all of the attention, of course, because she’s the younger, hotter of the bunch.”
Not even close. Stone deserves all the attention she’s getting because she’s an incredible actress who gave one of the best monologues of the entire year. But then…
“I love Ms. Streep and I’m all for her nomination this time around but I feel like Kendrick’s work is going unrecognized.”
So if Kendrick got the love over Streep you’d be saying she’s getting the love because she’s younger and hotter, correct?
I completely agree about Carrie Coon, and I think we just might be in for a surprise with the nominations. I am leaning a bit more toward Russo,but we shall see. When you say everything is about buzz and so many performances fall off the radar because the focus turns on the artist of the moment, how much do you think a site like this influences “the buzz?” Perhaps we, as bloggers should be more pressing in our efforts to support all of those great performances so when it comes to nomination time, it’s far less predictable. I watch your contenders list religiously, and sometimes wonder why the support for certain performances vanishes.
The five best supporting actresses of the year:
1. Uma Thurman – Nymphomaniac
2. Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer
3. Emma Stone – Birdman
4. Kristen Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria
5. Clotilde Hesme – Le dernier coup de marteau
Though all the women were wonderful in Birdman, my favourite was Amy Ryan. Wanted more of her.
Jessica Gunning in Pride. A lovely acting turn in a lesser know film.
Just had a conversation with a friend last night about Rene Russo, and why isn’t she part of the conversation. She was outstanding in Nightcrawler.
LOVED Elisabeth Moss in Listen Up, Philip, although it was almost a lead role — secondary to Jason Schwartzman, but still substantial enough to be considered lead, especially the way the plot focuses on her for a significant portion.
I thought Naomi Watts’s was mildly fun in St. Vincent, but it was essentially a silly role.
Maggie Gyllenhaal in FRANK*
Elisabeth Moss in LISTEN UP PHILIP, Naomi Watts in BIRDMAN, Scarlett Johansson in THE WINTER SOLDIER, Minnie Driver in BEYOND THE LIGHTS, Renee Russo in NIGHTCRAWLER, Emma Roberts in PALO ALTO, Kelly Reilly in CALVARY, Anne Hathaway in INTERSTELLAR, Tilda Swinton in SNOWPIERCER, Rose Byrne in NEIGHBORS, Mia Wasikowska in ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE, Marion Bailey in MR. TURNER, Carrie Coon in GONE GIRL, Marisa Tomei in LOVE IS STRANGE, Emily Blunt in EDGE OF TOMORROW, Julianne Moore in MAPS TO THE STARS, Maika Monroe in THE GUEST, Uma Thurman in NYMPHOMANIAC, Robin Wright in A MOST WANTED MAN, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and if I may say so myself, Kaya Scodelario in THE MAZE RUNNER are just some of the memorable Supporting performances that come to mind and who will live in memory whether they receive Academy recognition or not — and I haven’t mentioned foreign language films! There’re only five spots, sadly. I even liked Dakota Fanning for the very first time since WAR OF THE WORLDS in NIGHT MOVES.
I won’t be surprised if Naomi Watts finds her way into Oscar nominations too (possibly for Birdman). Recently, we have seen a trend where two actresses get nominated from one film for Supporting (the film must be on Best Picture radar). At this point of time, I would say that last spot is a fight between Chastain (might suffer because of vote split b/w Interstellar and Most Violent Year), Dern (Wild isn’t on Academy’s radar), and Watts.
Until you mentioned them, I had somehow forgotten about the fantastic performances by Naomi Watts and Andrea Riseborough. I think that’s because Emma Stone’s character stole the movie. She was making us notice her because she was stirring the pot, pissing of her father, and calling him out. But thank you for bringing up Watts and Riseborough. All their scenes start coming back to me. Lesley (Watts) embarassing herself when she didn’t realize that Sam (Stone) was in the room. Oops!
Tilda Swinton!! Tilda, Tilda, Tilda. My God! First she’s the elderly rich woman in The Grand Budapest Hotel, and then she’s the tool in Snowpiercer. How could you not love both!? Hard to chose between them.
Go (Carrie Coon) absolutely was the antithesis to Amy (Rosamund Pike). It’s almost too bad we didn’t get to see them in a scene together. Just imagine how that could’ve gone down.
Right now, I’d like to see these 5:
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Carrie Coon – Gone Girl
Emma Stone – Birdman
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer
Naomi Watts – Birdman
BUT, I’d love to see a surprise nomination for Lorelei Linklater for Boyhood
An amazing article on these women in Supporting roles. I agree with just about everything written. Love it. I concur mostly with Naomi Watts (Birdman) and Rene Russo (Nightcrawler), but would also add Minnie Driver in Beyond the Lights.
One thing on Carrie Coon in Gone Girl. As much as I loved her and as much as I enjoyed her humor, I was more impressed with Kim Dickens in the same film. I just thought that there was so much going on behind her eyes in every scene she was in; so much not being said when she WAS saying something. There was a lot going on beneath the surface that I thought was very intentional and very well executed.
Carrie Coon definitely should be more in the conversation.