In the other three categories there are fillers - I will admit that. I have only seen 42 films, so there have been performances that probably should have been put aside for greater achievements. I don't think that is the case for Best Actress, in fact I could have easily done a top ten with tremendous performances.
1. Maria Heiskanen - Maria Larssons Eviga Ogonblick(Everlasting Moments). By far the most moving performance I saw this year was by a little known Swedish actress in a art-house release that I almost missed at the cinemas. Playing an abused wife, who falls in love with another man but does nothing about it, she ripped my heart in two. 
2. Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married. We may have seen Anne's boobs in the past but this was the film where she truly performed as an adult. Playing the destrutive sister of the titular bride, Anne was a torrent of self-pity and rage with an undercurrent of pure guilt. Excellent.
3. Sasha Grey - The Girlfriend Experience. A deeply unsettling and naturalistic performance where all we see are the layers a professional hooker places around herself. Throughout the film we see them falling apart, and the impact that has on the understanding of your own identity.
4. Michelle Pfeiffer - Cheri. The second courtesan of the list, with Pfeiffer playing someone who knows her best days are behind her and enters into her final doomed love affair. No-one does brittle like Michelle, and the look into the mirror at the close of the film tells us everything we need to know about her future.
5. Abbie Cornish - Bright Star. We end with more doomed love affairs - this time separated by society and by death. Abbie's Fanny Brawne is unafraid to announce her passions to the world (and to do some first class sulking) and this confidence is striking in the final performance.
The Oscar Shortlists for the 97th Academy Awards
13 hours ago
4 comments:
I guess you're referring to the British Academy Awards? Anne hathaway was nominated for an Oscar last year.
I enjoy your predictions, and opinions on performers celebrating their birthdays.
Just saw "Nine", and put up a review last night. I liked it...the film is getting very mixed reviews. Is it released there yet?
you mixing the years is so confusing :P i haven't seen Bright Star yet... talk about bad timing for that film; its release date affected its whole awards thing (as in: not existing any awards).
I'll probably post my 2009 favorites around March. I still have lots of stuff to see.
TomS, of course our lovely host knows Anne was already Oscar nominated :) he is just creating his personalized awards, with a slightly different criterion of selecting what's eligible and when
Sasha Grey I thought was brilliant in the Girlfriend Experience. I completely was engrossed in the film and had forgotten that she was an adult actress, something that I can't say when I watch Zack and Miri or Superbad.
Hi all,
I will confess to being an Oscar obsessive, and I very much enjoy reading other peoples predictions for the awards, but I try not to do that around here for two reasons.
1. I'm not very good at it. (Last year I entered Nathaniel Rogers' best actress prediction competition over at thefilmexperinece.net and came last!)
2. I think it's easy when making predictions to lose sight of what we should be doing - celebrating what we think is good and not what we think the Academy will enjoy.
I know that Maria Heiskanen isn't eligible for consideration, that Anne Hathaway was nommed last year, Sasha Grey is in the wrong sort of film and Michelle Pfeiffer hasn't had a campaign. (My fingers are still crossed for Abbie)
This is why I also use the UK release dates - these are the films and performances that most inspired me this year. The ones that made me glad I bought the cinema ticket.
Tom - I really enjoyed your Nine review, I especially loved the way you balanced your clear enthusiasm for the film with a seasoned intellectual discussion of the themes (I wish I could do that).
Alex - Bright Star is lovely to look at but it suffers from a lack of pace. I'd seriously recommend it mind. Can't wait to see your picks in the Spring.
Speak soon
Ben x
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