The Field:
An above average year for Oscar in general, 1999 showcased some of the finest films and performances ever to grace the silver screen. This year Oscar picked a mute woman (disability alert), a concerned parent, a devoted/confused lover, a sexy office worker, and Oscar's favorite a showy, rebellious mental patient (paging Mr. Nicholson). For a year to be strong, for me, there have to be at least three solid nominees in the batch. 1999 is one of those cases, and has held up nicely over the decade. Of course with some exceptions.
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My Pick:
Chloë Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry - FIVE HEARTS -
In Sevigny, director Kimberly Pierce has found an angelic gateway into a world of dreams, desires, and raw passion. From her first appearence - as an off-putting representation of a cliched gangster moll at a cheap bar - to her last - as a young woman who has seen a world beyond Falls City, Nebraska, and has experienced something she never had before: love. While Hilary Swank sets this story in motion, it is Sevigny who picks it up and carries it into our souls. She provides the film with its rich emotional resonance, and offers a luminous, gentle characterization in contrast to the brutality the film leads up to. Sevingy has a disarming ability to make the audience fall in love with Lana, just as quickly as Brandon does. This is done through the wise choice of giving us a little bit of who Lana is one at a time. The subtle nuances that grace her performance are astounding, and further add to the mysterious enigma of who this woman really is and why Brandon wants her. But while giving in to her desires, Sevigny always makes sure that Lana is determined and never gives into any kind of cheap, sappy sentimentality that the outcome of the story would suggest. An emotionally true, touching, radiant, luminous, and imaginitive performance that is truly one for the ages.
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From There:
Toni Collette, The Sixth Sense - FIVE STARS -
For a film that is actually pretty overrated, and praised maybe too often, the performance given by Collette is seriously overlooked most of the time. While most viewers just look out for the great Haley Joel Osment and that plot twist, Toni Collette is just as essential to The Sixth Sense, as Osment is, and perhaps even more so. Her Lynn Sear acts as a level headed anchor for the film, and keeps the humane side of the story in contact with the supernatural events taking place. She puts on a Philly accent, and is reduced to the cliche's of the worried/emotionally disturbed single mother who must deal with her child's issues (i.e. Burtsyn in The Exorcist). However, instead on playing it safe and just wallowing in these tired old themes, Collette never falls into these pitfalls and shows a woman who at all costs just wants to protect her son and find to despertley discover what he has been hiding from her. To put it simply, this was originally seen as a "tag-along" nomination but once you view the actual performance I guarantee that that is not the case. And that scene in the car -- one of the best acted scenes in freakin' film history. Her reactions and acting choices in that one scene elevate her performance and the entire film, and it's one of those rare moments in film that actually bring me to tears.
Catherine Keener, Being John Malkovich - FOUR HEARTS -
It's easy to dismiss Keener's performance and nomination as nothing because of what a head trip Being John Malkovich is. The charcacter Maxine is written as a blank state; not much of anything going on that we know of. From what we can tell, however, is that she is a total mystery and is somewhat of a bitch. With another actress this role would be a completley useless, dull plot device for the story. But with this creative control, Keener seizes the opportunity to create the charcter herself. She does this by adding layers to the character and always keeping a distance from those around her. What's so cool about this performance is how although Keener keeps feeding us more of who Maxine is, she never completley lets us see the whole, and she always remains a compelling mystery. There is also the sadness that Keener comunicates through Maxine's protective shell that speaks true to the character. A worthy nomination, indeed.
Angelina Jolie, Girl, Interrupted - ONE HEART -
Jolie has become the biggest movie star within the past ten years, has adopted more children than she can count, has had three husbands, and is in possesion of an Oscar. Her role as the rebellious, disturbed mental patient has Oscar written all over it. And all though she in no way deserved the Oscar, I am not at all shocked that she won. How couldn't she win?! She's loud, she screams, she cries, she's dramatic, and she steals every scene! All of the sad ingrediants that get Academy voters and audiences hot and bothered. What all of those people don't/didn't notice is that all of that absurd showy-ness goes nowhere. It doesn't deepen the story. It's not great acting. Jolie's performance is the polar opposite of what a supporting performance should be all about; actually SUPPORTING the lead actor. To many (for some odd reason) scene-stealing = great acting or deserving of an Oscar. No way in hell is this any kind of logical reasoning for a great performance. Even if Winona Ryder wasn't at the top of her game, you have to back her up until she reaches that point. Jolie, in every scene, wants the attention on her. Her crude show-boating, full of empty emotion and devoid of any depth, at time edges into camp. So ridiculously over-the-top, that it feels as if it is intentional. A sad decline from her brave work from 1998's Gia where she could have been a contender.
Samantha Morton, Sweet and Lowdown - ONE HEART -
It's not entirely Morton's fault that she's given little to do, and considering this was a Woody Allen film, that's shocking. In fact there's not much to write here at all; fair playing, supportive screen partener, but not nom-worthy.
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My Favorites From 1999:
My Pick: Chloë Sevigny, Boys Don't Cry Toni Collette, The Sixth Sense
Cameron Diaz, Being John Malkovich
Catherine Keener, Being John Malkovich
Mena Survari, American Beauty
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