Most people seem to be going along with the assumption Kate Winslet has this year’s lead actress Oscar in the bag for “The Reader.” But if anyone is nipping at her heels, it has to be Meryl Streep, whose performance in “Doubt” (however off the rails it went) has been right there, waiting to upset the whole year.
In my daily Variety visit this afternoon, I came across the following Spartan advertisement for Streep’s performance. No words, no pomp, no circumstance. Just the face. Pretty brave in the face of what so many are chalking up as a sure thing. Maybe this kind of modesty is the right idea, the right level of, “Hey, that’s unique.” Or maybe not.
Comments
46 responses to “Pretty brave”
Agree that Meryl is 2nd place, but it’s just that – 2nd place (which I believe is where she has ended up with all 3 of her nominations this decade)… when will she finally WIN the damn thing? Sure, Kate has lost 5 times, but Meryl has lost 12 times (13 once she loses for Doubt) – does that count for nothing?
She may be Oscar’s most-nominated actor, but that also makes her its biggest loser :(
(For what it’s worth, while I’d be overjoyed at a Meryl win this year, Kate is a deserving winner and I’m fine with that, and my personal vote would have gone to Melissa Leo.)
Meryl has already won twice so that counts out the “loser” from the argument. Just because she has more ‘un-won’ nominations does not make her overdue. Again, she has already won twice.
If Kate doesn’t win this year, it will only make it harder to do so in the future as all the precursors that she has won this year will be less likely to award her again for sometime. Without the precursor support, it will inevitably end in another loss.
Kate has won the Critics Choice, SAG, Golden Globe(s), Bafta – all for The Reader.
It is her turn.
It’s Kate’s turn. She’ll be getting it for the wrong movie but it’s still her turn. Meryl had a win by 30. Kate’s 34 and hasn’t won yet despite years of phenomenal performances. I loved the ad on Variety today and don’t think it’s brave actually – you have meryl streep and that’s all you need. it was a beautiful ad but I think in the end, it’s Kate’s year.
That’s a terrific ad, I have to say. (If only the performance were that subtle!)
Genius ad. But I still believe Kate’s gonna take home the Oscar.
I agree with Lodge and Andrew. Great, great advertisement. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? In this case, I would argue it’s worth ten times that amount.
I can’t believe I’m being this over-analytical…
but if you take the logo out of the bottom left hand corner, the picture isn’t complete somehow.
It is a brilliant advert.
I know what you mean Bill, but I think the reason that is is because Meryl is looking at it and if you take away the object (even if she isn’t supposed to be) it does make it seem a bit empty.
Smart advert. Meryl could win it, after all, she is the best. Don’t count this lady out yet.
It’s better than the actual poster.
Someone needs to write a caption in all that white. Get on it, Joker.
I’m sorry, but who the hell has been talking about Kate Winslet’s performance in THE READER as Best Actress Oscar-worthy? Agreed, she is an Oscar-worthy actress who probably deserved the Best Actress Oscar this year for REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, but find me one person who thought her turn in THE READER was the best performance of the year, lead or supporting. Everyone keeps talking about how this is KATE’S YEAR and I can’t really argue with that line of thinking, but I have a really hard time believing that she’ll win her first Oscar for THE READER. Look for Meryl to win in an upset. Best Actress is always a mindfuck. How quickly we forget last year. And the BAFTA award means nothing for Winslet’s chances because The Reader was really a British film. I’m telling you, MERYL STREEP IS GOING TO WIN. Kate would’ve won if she’d been nommed for Revolutionary Road but she wasn’t and voters are not going to just give it to her for what amounts to her second-best performance of the year. Personally, I thought she WAS better in The Reader but I don’t think most people follow that line of thinking. And for the record, I thought Streep did give the best female perf of the year, along with the rest of the Doubt femmes and the Buchman sisters.
InSneider, you obviously haven’t read any reviews for the film. Even in the negative reviews, they rave about her performance. She has won nearly all of the major awards for this performance, so clearly, many people (who matter) consider it an oscar worthy performance.
Furthermore, they obviously consider this performance more oscar-worthy than Revolutionary Road as nothing stood in the way of the Academy Members voting for her in that.
Incredible ad — wow…
As what I’ve always posted, Meryl used her face in Doubt to convey the depth of her character’s emotions. It was very exceptional to see her use her face and she nailed it big time! If you get noticed because of her face, that speaks highly of you as an actress.
Kate was naked in The Reader almost 2/3 of the movie. Nothing new. She is a good actress but I really think she should have been nominated for Rev Road which is a more solide performance than The Reader.
Since Kate won the BAFTA in her native land, it is time for MERYL to win on her native land— THE OSCARS!
I still place my bet on MERYL STREEP.
Sneider: The BAFTA membership, for starters…
Shame to see arguably the two most undeserving performances of the five lead the pack.
I miss when Anne Hathaway was the frontrunner.
‘Arguably’ being the operative word.
The brilliant thing about the Oscars isn’t necessarily who wins, but the debate it inspires among the followers. I personally think, the two front runners (perhaps not Leo) out act the others by a substantial margin.
I love how subjective art is.
There really is no such thing as the ‘best actress’.
I actually agree with InSneider. I thought The Reader was lame all around and I was unimpressed by Kate. in fact Ralph Fiennes and Lena Olin were the only redeeming qualities the movie had. I think most people are just saying Kate was so great in The Reader because it’s her year (Rev Road far superior) and The Reader was the film with the strongest campaign
Pauley, Just had to correct you…
Kate Winslet did NOT win Best Actress at the Critics Choice Awards. She wasn’t even NOMINATED. Meryl Streep won, along with Anne Hathaway.
I don’t put a lot on the BAFTA’s, it was expected for Winslet to win there.
Streep will prevail at the Academy Awards to win her 3rd, (and much overdue) statue.
I love me some Kate, but the third act with all that makeup ruined her performance for me. She did not convince me of her age at all. That is why I am for Streep or Leo to win. Meryl will take it.
Who was looking for subtlety in THAT performance? Wrong place, wrong role.
Zak, Just to clarify…
She won the Critics Choice for The Reader, only in the supporting category (just like the SAG).
Why is it that Meryl is the only one from the movie that is getting any push from Miramax? The only ads and commericals I see are for her. I mean get why they are not waisting money on PSH and Adams, who have no chance at winning, but Davis has a REAL chance and yet she doest seem to be getting any love.
I agree with “Speaking English.”
I don’t think “Doubt” is a great film but it is a worthy attempt at compelling us to examine the perils of certainty and dogmatism.
Hence, the “over the top” nature of the character Sister Aloysius serves a larger narrative purpose. She is set up as a caricature in the first minutes of the film but we end up thinking that this character whom we so dislike may well be right in her suspicions.
A great performance does not exist in a vacuum. It is only truly great when it serves the story the film is trying to tell.
In that sense, “subtlety” is not the right criteria by which to judge this performance. Many great and memorable performances in the history of film is not at all subtle. But nonetheless, they are riveting, compelling and indelible.
If only the academy got it right the first time then there would be no need to talk about ‘Kate’s year’ etc… :)
She should have won for ‘Iris’ (against Jennifer Connelly and the insipid ‘Beautiful Mind’) and/or ‘Eternal Sunshine’ (harder call against Hilary Swank and ‘Million Dollar Baby’ but I still think she should have got it). Meryl should have won supporting for ‘Adaptation’ (Catherine Zeta-Jones – please…) and arguably ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (not even nommed).
Then we could just argue about the performances :) (I go for Kate and ‘The Reader’ of the 5)
I think it’s a very close race right now and Winslet and Streep have both got about the same chance of winning IMO.
Jesus, just give them both the Oscar. They both deserve it.
But I’m rooting for Winslet. You know Meryl is getting nominated AGAIN next year anyways.
Guys, I liked The Reader. It was a good movie. And Kate was VERY GOOD in it. And I didn’t say that her performance didn’t earn raves, because it did. Believe me, it was my job to read every review of every Oscar contender so I know what the critical consensus is. What I said was, who has been saying that Kate Winslet deserved to win Best Actress for The Reader. Sure people have been saying SUPPORTING Actress for quite some time, but that’s a completely different field of competition. Judged against the Supporting Actress nominees, I’d say that yes, Winslet would deserve an Oscar, but up against Streep and Hathaway (she won’t win but she’s a legitimate dark horse, more so than Leo and definitely Jolie), there’s no question to me at least that they’re more deserving. It is not a career achievement award. Kate’s o-fer past shouldn’t play into it, nor should the fact that’s it’s been 20+ years since Meryl last won. Judging the two side by side, I’d vote for Streep without hesitation, same as I’d vote for Rourke over Penn. If you think Penn and Winslet have the lead acting Oscars sewn up, I think you’ll be proved wrong Feb. 22. They could both TOTALLY CONCEIVABLY win, but call it a gut feeling, the names in the envelope will be Mickey and Meryl..
And Kate has a whole career ahead of her. How many performances like this one does Meryl have left? How many Oscar-worthy roles are written for women over 60? Winslet has been so much better. I loved her in Little Children. I know there was some dissent against Streep in Doubt but I thought her work was masterful. Seeing her and Hoffman go toe to toe… the acting in that scene is why I go to the movies. It’s a fire-breathing performance. The horny, illiterate Nazi Winslet played in The Reader did not stay with me like Streep’s Sister Aloysius Beauvier. Let’s not crown Kate the Queen of Hollywood just yet…
This could shape up to be an interesting Weinstein vs. Miramax fight that we won’t be seeing in Best Picture. Harvey should focus his efforts here.
Considering how often Meryl gets nominated these days I’d hazard a guess and say she still has quite a few of these left in her bag of tricks.
I should think that Streep and Winslet would get nominated many, many more times in the future, hence why I’m rooting for Leo.
She’s gonna win! Kate is going to lose again [I love her, but that’s the truth]. Streep deserves it!
Even if Meryl Streep farts, she gets nominated…
Nice ad. They could have taken the logo out. It would have probably been more stunning that way. There needs to be one for Viola Davis, asap.
I’ve seen ‘Doubt’ and I don’t know how to feel about Streep’s performance. On one hand, she did the character justice–if you’ll notice, all the four major characters were caricatures and were set up in such a way as that the viewer could identify with them but allow them to discover their depth through their involvement with the plot. But she could have used better direction–the ‘…or you will mistake me’ line and a few bits from the movie were a little too theatrical.
Then again, maybe the character was meant to be theatrical.
Streep’s done better work and I hope a studio comes up with a more deserving film for her to win an Oscar for. I’d actually argue that she was better in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ than ‘Doubt’, if only on account of direction.
How many Oscar-worthy roles are written for women over 60? –The InSneider
Well, there are a few, but the fact is they’re still around. I’ll point you to the direction of ‘Notes on a Scandal’ and ‘Driving Miss Daisy’. Besides, we’re talking about Meryl Streep. If she gets to star in a movie musical (albeit of a questionable quality, but still a high-grossing movie musical) and have steady work at 59, then I don’t think there’s anything stopping her. In fact, it’s her advantage now, knowing she can do both box office hit and critically acclaimed work.
I’d love the Academy if they’d shock us all and give Melissa Leo the Oscar come the 22nd. Kate Winslet winning is giving her her ‘due’ and Meryl Streep winning might not be such a good idea (in terms of the performance we’re giving it to her for)… at least, not yet.
And if anyone asks, yes, I’m a Streep fan.
Streep is going to be nominated next year for playing Julia Child and win. Kate has no new movies on the horizon. Time to award Kate.
Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVE Meryl Streep!
Look at that picture! AMAZING!
Her performance was AMAZING! I had chills going down my back at the end of “Doubt.”
I haven’t seen any of Kate’s recent movies…but I love her also, so I’m truthfully going to be quite happy if either of them win.
But I would jump out of my chair if Meryl wins!
Yahoo! hehe
Streep was brilliant in Doubt. She’s more than deserving of an Oscar. 26 years is long enough.
Streep should win for one reason only: her performance in Doubt was the best of 2008. I am sick of hearing about this “being Kate’s year.” Unfortunately, who should win and who actually wins can be messed up. Winslet and the others are good..for sure but Streep is the best, even is Winslet gets it.
I agree with InSneider and I don’t agree that Streep’s performance was over the top. As usual, I thought she made interesting, creative and sincere choices that only enhanced the theme and style of the film.
I absolutely LOVE Winslet – I will watch any movie she is in, but I was really left cold by her performance in “The Reader.” In all the courtroom scenes, she mainly just acted shocked. I wanted to see the numerous emotions that her character must have been going through…that anyone would feel in that situation and, for me, it wasn’t there.
Her performance is not over-the-top! Jeeeeesus! Go and read more about the original play! That character is supposed to be theatrical and almighty, the role was written for Streep, she did a fantastic job and deserves to win.
Mike V. – and I think you see her understanding of the play and this character in her choices. This character doesn’t do subtle and she really represents “certainty” and certaintly is not subtle – it’s big and it must be heard, just like her character.
This might be a minor thought, but I’m wondering if AMPAS is keen on giving a non-American actress the Best Actress Oscar for a second year in a row, especially considering when Meryl is at the top of her game and over 20 years due for another golden boy.
when it comes down to it, none of us actually know whats going to happen. For all we know, Hathaway or Jolie could take it.
Everyone seems to have a gut feeling about this one. I would say Kate, others say Meryl. The point is none of us have any say and we could all be wrong.
It’s Meryl’s time!!