It wasn’t by coincidence that the three photos decorating the season’s introductory installment of this column two weeks ago represented lead actress contenders in the 2010 Oscar race. After all the talk of 2009 being “the year of the woman,” owing much to the number of female directors who found themselves in the mix (and inevitably leading to Kathryn Bigelow’s history-making moment at the Kodak), I’m sensing an even better argument for 2010 as a singular season for the fairer sex.
Let’s start with the performances. By my count, there are already eight nominatable offerings from lead actresses this year (which contrasts drastically with a dearth of supporting hopefuls). This is just going by what I’ve seen, mind you.
For starters, Natalie Portman has dazzled the early festival season with her work in “Black Swan.” Lesley Manville, meanwhile (should she remain a lead focus), sets a high bar in “Another Year.” Despite my feelings on the film, Carey Mulligan really settles into a next-level groove in “Never Let Me Go,” and Jennifer Lawrence, of course (like Mulligan last year), has already become the year’s star-in-the-making story in “Winter’s Bone.”
Dovetailing with the performances themselves, there are also films that seem to reflect the theme in narrative. In “Secretariat,” for instance, Diane Lane capably (if a bit histrionically) portrays headstrong Penny Chenery, a woman of virtue in an era when she was expected to keep her head down and clean house. Similarly, Sally Hawkins absolutely kills as the Norma Rae-ish Rita O’Grady in “Made in Dagenham,” fighting for equal pay in a similar time (and she’s likely to be joined in the hunt by co-star Miranda Richardson for a fiery supporting turn). And we can’t forget the palpable feminism apparent in summer indie “The Kids Are All Right,” where Annette Bening and Julianne Moore both bring their “A” game.
Segueing to the nine possible contenders from films I haven’t yet seen, Hilary Swank keeps the theme going as a woman putting herself through law school to help her wrongfully accused brother get out of jail in “Conviction.” Helen Mirren, meanwhile, tries on Shakespeare in Julie Taymor’s “The Tempest,” flipping the theatre’s Prospero into Prospera.
Then just generally speaking to round things out, Naomi Watts and Michelle Williams have been spotlighted for their work on the festival circuit so far in “Fair Game” and “Blue Valentine” respectively. We’re all waiting to see what Anne Hathaway and Angelina Jolie have to offer in “Love & Other Drugs” and “The Tourist.” (We’ll know more about the latter when the trailer launches Wednesday morning.) And there are still fringe considerations that include Freida Pinto in Julian Schnabel’s “Miral” (which, like Taymor’s film, received a few jabs in Venice), Robin Wright Penn in the distributorless (for now) “The Conspirator,” Gwyneth Paltrow in the familiar “Country Strong” and Emma Stone in the considerably lighter “Easy A” (which could just be an HFPA play along with Paltrow).
And there are still a handful of possibilities lingering beyond that, as well as some that I imagine may not even be on the radar quite yet. But 18 examples is a deep enough field to state the obvious: this is the strongest lead actress race for years. And that a feminine strength dynamic has carried over into the stories unfolding on screen makes all the more intriguing.
This was all nicely laid bare in Venice over the weekend where Sofia Coppola took down the Golden Lion for her latest film “Somewhere” and Helen Mirren had the following to say regarding her role in Taymor’s debuting film:
Women have been punished for being in power, for being powerful for many centuries and I thought that was the remarkable thing about making Prospero into Prospera…You can bring in that history of female struggle, and certainly in Shakespeare’s day and for many centuries before and after women of knowledge were punished for that knowledge…We can see now in the extreme fundamentalist states, whatever religion they are, that they want to exclude women from education…because an educated woman is a dangerous thing.
And a well-written female character is as powerful as ever on the big screen. It’ll be interesting to see how the class of 2010 represents this field.
On to the updates. I was going to hold off on polishing up the predictions until later this afternoon, as I’m seeing a pair of films that may tip the scales this way or that. (One of those films, by the way, will see web reviews hit throughout the day, and I can only hope, given the outlets planning to run, that it’s not “Inception” all over again, leaving traditional media types sharpening their knives and irritated at the inevitable wave of praise.) But I figured I’d just get everything off my plate sooner rather than later. So I’ve run a comb through the Contenders section and once again updated the predictions. Toronto will inevitably lead to more changes next week.
In the meantime, feel free to discuss the exceptionally strong year for female leads in the comments section below.
[Photos: Focus Features, Sony Pictures Classics, Associated Press]
Comments
65 responses to “OFF THE CARPET: The year of the woman, take two?”
Kidman!?
I think Kris is holding off on Kidman for now because “Rabbit Hole” does not yet have distribution.
However, I would bet big bucks that that will change before TIFF is over…
Correct.
As much as a long shot as it probably is: Greta Gerwig in ‘Greenberg’? I imagined it probably wouldn’t show up in any of the slots numbered 1 – 15, but not even in the ‘rest of the field’?
This is like the fifth time I’ve heard people talking about Easy A and awards for Emma Stone. Why? I mean, yes the movie does look better than your average High School comedy and it might be to Stone what Mean Girls was to Lindsay Lohan (but let’s hope they don’t follow the same paths), but I can’t even see the Golden Globes going for it even in a weak year for comedy. But then again, John C. Reilly was nominated for Walk Hard at the Globes.
But if her performance is indeed among the best of the year, then why shouldn’t she be nominated.
I loved Winter’s Bone, but I am still having my doubts about Lawrence’s nomination. I think it may have come out too early and she may get lost. I’m sure we will have a “Blind Side” type nomination, but there seems to be a couple of them with Lane, Swank and Hawkins and I think only one of them will get in. I’m still holding out hope for Williams for Blue Valentine…it’s a pipe dream, but I won’t give up hope until nominations are announced. ha.
Kris can I ask why you pick Leo over Adams for the Fighter? just wondering what you have heard.
I’ve heard she’s the stand-out of the two.
Kris you still don’t believe that traditional media journalists and critics just genuinely did not like Inception?
Regardless I don’t think that will happen again with Social Network. Inception comes off as the type of film to have a generational divide but not Social Network regardless of its main story.
The traditional outlets and the academy for that matter has already taken a liking to Fincher where as they have obviously not to Nolan.
Matt: I think, as I have said, that whatever opinion they were going to have was merely intensified by that early wave of reactions. So if someone wasn’t going to like the film, I think they REALLY didn’t like it after that. It wasn’t enough to shift from a positive to a negative but it might have been enough to effect the hue.
It’s a game publicists (and in this case, Fincher) play, deciding where and when to let the buzz unfold. But it can backfire, and we all know it.
Boo to you forgetting Kidman, and I don’t think The Tourist is going to be anything Oscar worthy at all. I think it was only moved up because they thought it would do better at the box office around XMas time.
Also, I doubt Emma Stone in Easy A is better than Rachel McAdams was in Mean Girls and yet she didn’t get a nomination so I’m not sure why the heck anyone even mentions Stone when discussing awards consideration
Also, Golden Globes are so different from Oscars. Globes will probably look like this:
Actress Comedy/Musical:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are Alright
Julianne Moore, The Kids Are Alright
Anne Hathaway, Love & Other Drugs
Sally Hawkins, Made In Dangeham
Reese Witherspoon, How Do You Know or Emma Stone Easy A (really doubt Stone though)
Actress Drama:
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Julia Roberts, Eat Pray Love
Diane Lane, Secretariat
Hilary Swank, Conviction
Carey Mulligan, Never Let Me Go
If Social Network takes off Trent Reznor could be in the mix for score. I would love to see Zimmer, Reznor Mansell and Daft Punk in there.
Michelle Williams in Meek’s Cutoff shouldn’t be forgotten either, even if she probably stands a better chance with the higher profiled Blue Valentine.
I’d love to see Greta Gerwig get some supporting actress notice for Greenberg. I haven’t seen much of anything yet this year in terms of awards-worthy stuff, but she’s my favourite female performance so far this year.
Lindsay: I didn’t “forget” Kidman. See further up. If it doesn’t have a distributor, I’m not really considering it just yet. And if her film hits and she is indeed formidable, well then that only adds to the point made in this piece, right? Also, sorry you’re so breathlessly bewildered about Stone.
Graysmith: I’m not expecting Meek’s to be picked up for a 2010 release, actually. But if it is, then she certainly gets a major leg up.
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on The Social Network Kris.
Oh right, I keep forgetting there are so many films these days that still have no distributor despite acclaim. You always kind of think that these films that got such good reviews have a distributor because why wouldn’t they.. But that’s not automatically the case these days.
Well, at least that means Williams won’t be canceling herself out.
Yeah, I definitely can’t wait to hear what you think of Social Network. Hitfix has a mini-review (in that, I guess, it’s not as long as usual reviews? Weird phrasing, but it’s theirs, not mine), and it just compounds how excited I am.
Can we assume, based on your opinion, that Secretariat may be good, but not this year’s Blind Side, nominations-wise?
What about Rachel McAdams in Morning Glory?
I wonder if Hailee Steinfeld in True Grit might get pushed for lead. I remember the Coens saying their intention was to make the film in accordance with the novel, where she is the main character, unlike in the John Wayne film.
Younger actors tend to get pushed into supporting no matter what, but the film doesn’t seem to have any other major female roles so there really wouldn’t be any reason to push her into supporting, especially if she is obviously the main character.
Josh: I don’t think you can assume anything about Secretariat based on what I’ve written.
Graysmith: That seems to be what many are thinking could happen with her, but I imagine it may be a Paper Moon-like scenario at the end of the day.
Funny, I was actually thinking of that.. For every Whale Rider there’s gonna be ten Paper Moons.
Then again, maybe it won’t be such a bad thing to be in supporting for her, since the lead race looks far more crowded.
I can assume that Lane delivers a “capable” (which, to me, equals solid but not special) performance, and that the movie is not on your radar as one of the current frontrunners. Right? I’m not jumping to any conclusions, I think (though I imagine Blind Side was on nobody’s radar this time last year).
Graysmith: How is Gerwig a supporting actress in Greenberg?
Black Swan not even in the top fifteen for Best Picture?
Even if Secretariat turns out to be a totally decent film (the kind the Academy might appreciate more than Kris), it’ll still have to compete with The King’s Speech as well for that “inspirational feelgood movie” slot. Even if there are ten slots it might be tough to get two of these kind of films in there, and right now The King’s Speech is killing it.
Danny: You’ll understand when you see the film, terrific as it is. Not in their wheelhouse by any stretch of the imagination.
Guy: It’s been a while since I saw it, but I don’t remember thinking of her as a lead character. It’s a large role, no doubt, but did the film follow her character except for a few brief scenes? To me it felt like she was a supporting character in a film about Stiller’s character anyway, not like they were equal leads. You could say that even the title of the film suggests that it’s a one lead kind of film.
But regardless of that, I can’t imagine they’d campaign her as lead.
With so many women roles (particularly in lead), I’m hoping beyond all hope that we see diverse wins/line-ups in all the precursors. There’s nothing more deadening (for me) to an Oscar race (3-4 months long) than seeing the same names and movies coming up constantly.
If her oscar campaign has any sense, they will move Lesley Manville to the supporting actress category. She has a huge chance to win without being surround by Portman and Benning.
I agree with Dooby.
Josh: I suppose you can assume that if you like. I was referring to my “opinion” of the film.
Graysmith: I think King’s Speech is in a league of its own. Secretariat will likely be competing with the likes of Made in Dagenham and Hereafter.
Danny: What Guy said.
Dooby: I don’t disagree.
Yes, thank you, I get that you were referring to your opinion. I suppose I’m under the impression that sometimes, your opinion may inform the predictions you make. Also, I guess I figured that if the movie was getting major heat from its screenings, you might have mentioned that. Silly me.
I´m with you JJ.
BFCA
Annette Bening/The Kids Are Alright
Anne Hathaway/Love & Other Drugs
Nicole Kidman/Rabbit Hole
Lesley Manville/Another Year
Natalie Portman/Black Swan
NYFC
Jennifer Lawrence/Winter´s Bone
LAFC
Lesley Manville/Another Year
BAFTA
Annette Bening/The Kids Are Alright
Nicole Kidman/Rabbit Hole
Lesley Manville/Another Year
Carey Mulligan/Never Let Me Go
Natalie Portman/Black Swan
GG DRAMA
Maria Bello/Beautiful Boy
Nicole Kidman/Rabbit Hole
Lesley Manville/Another Year
Natalie Portman/Black Swan
Michelle Williams/Blue Valentine
GG COMEDY
Annette Bening/The Kids Are Alright
Anne Hathaway/Love & Other Drugs
Sally Hawkins/Made in Dagenham
Julianne Moore/The Kids Are Alright
Julia Roberts/Eat Pray Love
SAG
Annette Bening/The Kids Are Alright
Jennifer Lawrence/Winter´s Bone
Nicole Kidman/Rabbit Hole
Lesley Manville/Another Year
Natalie Portman/Black Swan
OSCAR
Annette Bening/The Kids Are Alright
Nicole Kidman/Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence/Winter´s Bone
Lesley Manville/Another Year
Natalie Portman/Black Swan
Josh: My opinion informs decisions, sure, but I can’t talk about what I think about Secretariat at length so that’s what I’m getting at. I don’t think it’s out of bounds for me to say I think it could be in the running, though. I’m just swaying with the breeze until things begin to settle a bit more in a few weeks’ time.
I’m really hoping Julianne Moore and Lesley Manville will get pushed for Supporting and bump out people like Stanfield. I’m also in doubt of Jennifer Lawrence. She is losing significant buzz to be considered this year’s Mulligan. Known actresses that are going up to different levels like Mulligan herself, and Hathaway, deserve to be recognized more. And uh, our prediction of Sally Hawnkins comes out of no where to me.
I read someone’s opinion on another board concerning NLMG and found this very interesting:
Brit-period piece, good actors, good director, good cinematography, good musical score, based on popular novel, getting some raves (as well as pans), and reportedly emotionally cold.
Umm, The Reader, anybody?
And that made it in with 5! That said, NLMG doesn’t have Weinstein or Winslet.
Eric: http://incontention.com/?p=28391
I really can’t wait to hear what people thought of The Social Network.
It’s nice to see that most pundits are confident about Portman for the nod. Of course, nothing is set in stone so I continue to cross my fingers.
I honestly don’t see Nolan getting snubbed again, but if the directing field is as strong as it’s looking to be (Boyle, Fincher, Leigh & Hooper) he could be left out.
Would really have liked for DiCaprio to be in the running for Best Actor for Shutter Island. So many great things can be said of that performance, but in the end the twist is what gains attention. Good to hear Portman could snag a nod though.
Greta is great and should be campaigned for Supporting by Focus
Kris, Last Night(Knightley, Worthington, Mendes) is receiving good-to-great reviews at TIFF. Have you heard about that movie’s future and awards chances?
Also, what about Beginners, with Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer? This one’s also gotten raves.
Inception does not deserve a BP nod. Inception does not deserve a BP nod. Inception does not deserve a BP nod.
That is all.
Certainly a fair point, Kris, regarding Secretariat. Honest question, because I’ve managed to apparently avoid this info: when does the film come out? I kept thinking it’s coming out within the next few weeks, if not next week. That, in itself, is kind of why I’m so surprised we’ve not heard lots of opinions about the film.
m1, to quote the should-be-if-not-already-immortal line, Deserve’s got nothing to do with it.
(And I would also respectfully disagree, but that doesn’t matter.)
I would be ecstatic if Sally Hawkins and Helena Bonham Carter picked up nominations this year. Two of the best actresses working.
I’ve been thinking the whole year that Nicole Kidman is the actress that is bubbling beneath the surface. I think if the film is done right, this could be the performance to beat in the awards season. I’m so excited for it to screen tonight, and am crossing my fingers that Ms. Kidman and Mr. Mitchell can pull it off…
I love Kidman so much.