2011 Oscars: Actress

One would think that the lead actress role would be locked up by now, but some people in the industry are seeing a late surge that could change some voters’ minds late in the game. Before that let’s look at the supporting actress category.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, "The Fighter"
Helena Bonham Carter, "The King's Speech"
Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
Hailee Steinfeld, "True Grit"
Jacki Weaver, "Animal Kingdom"

First let’s get a couple of these out of the way. The King's Speech is as patriarchal as you can get. This movie is all about the men, and while The Queen Mum has an important place in history, she had little or nothing to do in this film, so she's out. Not everyone takes their role of Academy voter as seriously as Sir Elton John so if there is a movie people are going to sit out it will probably be the Australian import Animal Kingdom. If you haven't had a chance this movie is definitely worth a spot on your Netflix queue. Then it comes down to two movies The Fighter and True Grit. Melissa Leo did fantastic in the movie and I thought her performance would go unnoticed behind that of Christian Bale but boy was I proven wrong with that. Melissa Leo has already won Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe gold for her performance as the selfish mother. She has been acting since the eighties and has paid her dues. But then comes along this little 14-year old girl to muck the whole thing up. Hailee Steinfeld not only held her own in True Grit but at times outshines two past Academy winners. One could argue that she isn't really a supporting actress but rather the lead with Jeff Bridges. I doubt she had much say in the whole thing as this is only her FIRST MOVIE (I think at 14 I was growing a mullet). Compound the fact that Melissa Leo took out ads for herself just as people were starting to talk about the kid. Put the performances next to each other and I think Hailee Steinfeld did more to help Jeff Bridges grow as a character than Melissa Leo did for Wahlberg. All the big blogs out there go with an upset pick. So I'm going with Hailee Steinfeld to upset the veteran actress.

BEST ACTRESS
Annette Bening, "The Kids Are All Right"
Nicole Kidman, "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence, "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
Michelle Williams, "Blue Valentine"

This was supposed to be a lock, no one has been hotter than Natalie Portman and frankly that helps. Usually the Academy will deal out Oscar to the next big PYT (read: Hallie Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Charlize Theron). Natalie Portman has been steaming up the scene ever since The Professional (that's a joke people). She has gone from child actress, to blockbuster starlet, to indie queen and this Sunday she seems poised to grab the statuette. And rightfully so, the performance is frightening and the movie will stay with you long after you have left the theater. But recently there has been an upswing in support for Annette Bening in The Kids Are All Right. Now I personally thought that Julianne Moore had the better performance in this movie, but this time Bening won't be competing against her co star because Moore was not nominated. While the Academy tends to not support comedy movies they do love gay movies, as one Hollywood observer noted "If you play gay or retarded you get an Oscar. I'd take in the ass for an Oscar." The now four-time nominated actress will eventually win the award, but this is not her night. Portman's performance is too captivating to go unrewarded plus Oscar also loves to break up marriages (read Hallie Berry, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock). The recently engaged and knocked up Portman may walk away a winner Sunday, but the tabloids will make sure to bring her back down within a couple of years.

Tomorrow we'll look at the men. Who do you think will win for Best Actor (hint: it rhymes with Colin Mirth). What about this category, do you smell upset? Let me know what you think.

The Fighter

Recently it seems like a lot of movies are moving Northeast. The cities here seem to have split personalities from hoity-toity, ivy league elitism to gritty drug filled cesspools. Seeing this movie in Boston added a little something special to the screening. Boston often gets depicted as a tough place to live with a lot of characters who tend to be rough around the edges. The Boston accent is one of the most notorious out there and often gets butchered as actors try to pick up the nuances of Boston, but really just turn into a caricature of the city. The accent even trips up people who previously lived here, looking at you Affleck. It has been tough for Boston to shed this image even though Lowell, where the story takes place, is actually 30 miles north of Boston.

Cut to inside the theater where a man in his 60s is smoking the same unfiltered camels he has clearly been smoking for the past 40 years. A fight almost breaks out on the left side of the auditorium over the incident. Sorry Menino, the caricature is hear to stay, time to embrace it. That is exactly what director David Russell does with The Fighter, he allows the city of Lowell to breathe and really come into its own. Whether it's them walking down the street, talking with everyone they pass, or its the training they do in preparation for the fight. Lowell is heavily featured in this movie, for better or worse.

In fact one of the most subtle performances in the movie comes from the man who has tried to get this movie made for four years. Mark Wahlberg (here to be known as Marky Mark) stars and produces in this movie about the Irish boxer Mickey Ward looking to keep his career going as long as possible. He trained everyday for four years in preparation for this film to look and understand the part. He also shopped the film around to as many people as possible including Martin Scorsese. It wasn't until Russell came along, whom he previously worked with on Three Kings and I Heart Huckabees that all his efforts came to fruition. For all the effort Marky Mark puts into his film he chooses to stand aside as the lead character and let his co-stars do the heavy hitting. It is to his credit as his understated performance really helps the movie excel.

The hardest hitting performance in the movie is hands down Christina Bale as Mickey's half-brother and trainer Dickie. Just as Dickie stole the spotlight off Mickey in the family, Bale steals it away from Marky Mark. He is infectious, loyal and tragic all rolled into one as Dickie is cursed with addictions to both the lime light and crack that nearly destroy him. In his past life he was able to knock down Sugar Ray Leonard and it seems to be in that life that Dickie wants to live, and almost everyone is willing to cater to that. There is no one out there in Hollywood who would be better suited to take on this character. His method tendencies, which have gotten him in trouble in the past is what makes him perfect for this role in what is sure to finally get him a Oscar Nomination, and most likely be the heavy favorite to win among the Academy. Seriously how has Bale never even been nominated for the award?

Although it may be tough to see past Christian Bale, Melissa Leo also pulls out a fantastic performance as the mother of the boxing duo. She is trying to manage Mickey's career but it is never clear whose interests she really has at heart. It would be silly to try to cast her singularly as the monstrous mother as she is so much more than that. She is strong and determined to make sure the family stays together and has an army of daughters to ensure she achieves her goal at whatever expense. Opposing his mother is Amy Adams as the underachieving girlfriend, she proves her versatility as an actor branching out from her typical sweet demeanor. In this movie she shines as a character hardened by strife and the only one strong enough to pull Mickey away from the talons of his mother.

It is the relationships in Mickey's life that drives the heart of the movie. All the characters seem to know what is best as they battle over Mickey's soul. Marky Mark understands the talent he has surrounded himself with and it is to his credit that he decides to step back and allow the chemistry of the project to take over.

Inside the ring the cinematography differs from other boxing movie. In Rocky, for example, every hit seems to be a haymaker and for the most part that is what the audience wants to see, but not how a real boxing match takes place. To capture the feel of the fights Russell chose to use Beta Cameras, which is what would have been used to capture the fights in the early nineties. They also received help from the HBO film crews whose years of experience around the ring helped the fight scenes feel more plausible than previous boxing movies.

Boxing as a sport seems to be headed to the wayside with the emergence of mixed martial arts. Leaving most of us to only admire times and stories gone by. Wahlberg proves that he cares about this project and his passion is projected off the screen to the viewers. A-