Performance Profile: Tatum O'Neal in "Paper Moon" (1973)

Oscar's Supporting Actress history never ceases to amaze me; new discoveries, overlooked gems, and everything in between continue to enthrall me endlessly, and especially the more prominent ones. There is a rather "unique" category within this broad category of that are the "Kid Actors" -- the young tykes under the age of 18, who nonetheless, never quite get the same level of respect as an adult actor, despite contributing just as much to their craft (sometimes even more) as their elders do. With said Kid Actors, its most of the time considered some odd form of "controversial" because of A) how much is the child actually doing themselves on screen and B) the topic of category placement, because no matter the size or quality, the Academy wouldn't dare put a child in the mix in the Lead category...God forbid, right?! Both of these "issues" arise in a particular performance and performer that made big Oscar history at the tender age of 10 when she became the youngest Academy Award winner in history, and the little lady that to this day holds that title is none other than...

...Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon (1973)

Tatum O'Neal plays Addie Loggins, a nine year old little girl living in the Great Depression who's recently been orphaned after her dear Ma has passed on.

While only a few "neighbor ladies" to loosely look after Addie, the child's still grieving her loss and is told that her only known living relative, her Aunt Billie, lives in Wichita but other than that she just has nowhere else to go.

But luck comes in the unlikely form of Moses Pray, (Ryan O'Neal, in a often stiff but consistently effective performance) a scheming con man, who with a winning smile and charismatic sweet talk, runs a very clever and sneaky scam, and who agrees to take Addie to her aunt's house while he does business along the way.

 Addie, with her stiff, angry stare and wordless stance, slyly observes this man with curiosity as she just knows he's up to no good and only out for himself in the long run when she's got nothing else to hang on too. She behaves like any regular pouty little girl would when stuck in what seems to be a dead-end situation. But, when the unsuspecting Moses cons $200 from a man which remains rightfully Addie's, things get a bit stirred and the real story gets spun into motion.

And as it turns out, Addie's not just some kid, but a smart, savvy, world-weary person in a child's body. She's tough and determined to know if this man really is her father ("You ma' Pa?"), and puts up a strong defense especially when she demands her money ("I want my two hund' dollah'!") be returned back to her.

Addie's firm stance, and mature demeanor become even more visually obvious when we see that the little lady is also a smoker, beyond her years. Like the best of 'em, O'Neal's Addie is a new kind precocious of kid character who knows how to play the game long before it begins.

Tatum handles these scenes with controlled, hard-bitten believability, which not only establishes the set-up to come, but the character's steady foundation which ever so slightly develops.

Quickly picking up on Addie's savvyness, Moze seizes the opportunity to use her for a great advantage which will help them reel in even bigger bucks -- after all -- who couldn't resist the adorable sweetness of this little child's disposition? 

Now the real road trip begins -- as the two begin to sell Bible's to widow's who believed their husband's had purchased before passing away -- which leads to some pretty funny comic situations and the reason for the effectiveness is all thanks to O'Neal's Addie. In a sense, O'Neal is giving a performance within a performance both of which rely solely on the actress herself, and she nails both down flat.

Reading Ms. O'Neal's memoir A Paper Life (a very sad but very interesting read which makes me hate her father all the more) it seems that being a first time actor would be even more of a struggle with all of the adults coaxing what they wanted out of her. It's a famous fact that O'Neal would need numerous takes before landing it perfectly, much to the distress of the grown ups around her, and her work is often dismissed as ridged, phoned in stuff because or that.

But what I have come to notice more and more in the performance is how, even though Bagdonavich is coaching her through it, Tatum seems to be constantly improving and transcending on his suggestions throughout instead of just following directly what he instructs which easily would have resulted in a stiff, mannered outcome. O'Neal not only uses it for the comedic set up, but to show the growing relationship and affection she needs from a father figure like Moze. What's even more impressive is how O'Neal never stays on that one shrilly note, but instead deepens this character beyond a self-infatuated child, while having her father trying to steal the show every single minute from his daughter who's obviously running the show.

Through steady detail, O'Neal crafts a hilarious, nuanced, and multi-facted characterization which projects the character of Addie with uncommon verve and imagination. In fact, the actress' greatest accomplishment in the role derives from her ability to act as a conniving, sneaky, mature player in an adults world, while still never losing sight of the child Addie really is;

the child who maneuvers the world around her because she simply must, the child who cares about those less fortunate, the child who needs more than just a friend, but the loving devotion and protection of a father. 

O'Neal conveys all of this with a warm, luminous, subtle poignancy while slowing building the sturdy emotional architecture which remains essential to the real underlying theme. Not that of wacky con tricks, or funny gags, but of the special bond/connection which can form between two people lost at each end of the road who find each other -- and Tatum gets this, which makes everything fall precisely into the right place and have it click.

With what could have been a cutesy "kiddie" performance, O'Neal goes above and beyond in what is already a great role and transcends and broadens the scope of the character in thoughtful, delightful, and imaginative ways. It's why she not only is one of Oscar's best choices ever made, but she made history as the youngest winner ever -- and very deservedly so...