59: Whoopi Goldberg as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost


Just like Helen Hayes, Whoopi Goldberg single-handedly saved her movie from being a complete disaster. With one of the worst scripts ever (“Oda Mae, where did all these ghosts come from?”) and a laughable performance from Patrick Swayze (when he tries to act more intense, I’m always afraid he might hurt himself), it’s up to Whoopi to make the whole thing bearable.
And Whoopi certainly provides some great comedy moments. The first scene when we meet her is already a highlight (“I see him. He’s wearing a black suite…could be blue.”) and during the run of the movie, she gives a lot of laughs playing a typical rude New Yorker:
“You wanna kiss my butt?”
“Does it look like I’m talking to you? You know when I’m talking to you! You’re supposed to be concentrating, ain’t you?”
“Excuse me, excuse me!”
“I’m not giving the money to a bunch of nuns!”
“Molly, you’re in danger, girl!”
My favorite moment:
Sam: “Write it down!”
Oda Mea: “He wants you to write it down!”
Sam: “YOU write it down!”
Oda Mae: “I’m no damn secretary!”
One of the problems I have with her performance is that she depends too much on slapstick, always making funny faces (especially in her ‘séances scenes’ and with the nuns).
And then there is the scene in the bank: I think, that Whoopi totally fails here because she plays all the laughs for the camera. Seriously, would someone give her 4 Million Dollars if she behaved like this? She should have acted more in the context of the scene but instead made it as comical (and in this way, inappropriate) as possible.
Also, her later dramatic scenes don’t really work. When she offers her body for Sam, she decides to act more serious but the whole scene is so stupid that it doesn’t work.
So, even though it’s not a great performance, Whoopi is a wonderful comic relief with some great moments.


Best performance of the movie: Whoopi Goldberg

My own choice for the win that year: either Annette Bening or Lorraine Bracco

i was thinking from the nominees...

58: Mary Astor as Sandra Kovak in The Great Lie


Miss Astor took home her only Oscar for playing Sandra Kovak, a famous pianist, a temperamental diva – and the secret mother of Pete Van Allen’s (Bette Davis’s husband) baby.
The Great Lie is one of those typical, melodramatic movies from the 40s – but because actors like Bette Davis and Mary Astor are involved it gets a better reputation than it actually deserves.
First, there is this awful performance from George Brent and the fact that the movie makers expect us to believe that both Bette and Mary want him – PLEASE!!!
Then the movie is full of clichés and unbelievable over-the-top moments. And Mary Astor’s performance fits very well in the context of the movie – over the top and unbelievable.
In her first scene we see her in full diva mode – complaining about everything, slapping her servants and acting superior to everyone around her. Sorry, but Mary Astor, you are not the kind of woman to pull that off – there are actresses who are believable as a diva, but Mary Astor simply misses that certain quality – when she acts that way it seems pretentious and somewhat laughable.
She gets better as the movie goes on and there is one thing I won’t deny: her chemistry with Bette Davis is wonderful. The two of them always look at each other as if they are ready to kill any second and especially Mary Actor says all her lines in a wonderful, bitchy and sarcastic ways. In won’t deny that Mary Astor’s performance works extremely well in the context of the whole movie – but that theatrical, over-the-top style is just not for me, especially when that’s all the actress has to do. There is no real character, no real emotion, it’s mostly just being a bitch.
She does have some great moments, like when she looks at the pictures of her child or her final confrontation with Bette Davis, but the script is so banal that even Mary and Bette can’t really improve it.
And Mary Astor is just much too much over-the-top when she is alone with Bette Davis in the wilderness and she wants to leave and house and scream and shouts – this is one of those scenes that’s supposed to be dramatic and intense but always makes me laugh.
So, a good but certainly not great performance in a thankless and undemanding role.


Best performance of the movie: Mary Astor

My own choice for the win that year: undecided...maybe one of the ladies from "The Little Foxes"

So far, Fritz, I am really liking what I'm seeing. Even when I don't necessarily agree with your rankings (and that has been SELDOM thus far), you always provide substantial evidence for your placements that I can't argue with.

NICE work...keep it up! I can't wait to see your other choices!

Thanks, tonorlo!
Just tell me what's your opinon and where you disagree with me!

57: Dorothy Malone a Marylee Hadley in Written on the Wind


Well, that’s a performance I am never sure what to think of. I don’t think it’s a good sign when I have to laugh every time Miss Malone tries to be serious or dramatic.
I have read about people calling this one of the best performances ever and no matter where you read reviews about the film, everybody says that Malone totally deserved the Oscar because she was a lot of fun.
Yes, I agree, she was a lot of fun. But is it really Oscar-worthy?
I mean, yes, this is probably a very good performance and I can imagine that pulling off a role like this convincingly, which she does, is very difficult. But still...’Written on the Wind’ is such a mess, glorious trash from the 50s and Malone’s performance fits perfectly into this.
She flawlessly plays the nymphomaniac who lusts after Rock Hudson for the entire film. Her Mary-Lee is a little bitch who sleeps with every guy and has no morals. As I already said, definitely a lot of fun. She and Robert Stack as her alcoholic, impotent brother totally steal the movie from the wooden Rock Hudson and Lauren-I-can’t-act-to-save-my-life-Bacall. They are a pair from hell, but for the viewer, they are a real treat. A lot of fun, but Oscar-worthy?
We first meet Mary-Lee in some cheap bar with some cheap guy. Later, she drives home with Rock Hudson and tells him “I love you, Mitch. I’m desperate for you.” In this scene, she changes from bitch to desperate girl and back again, but it’s never really convincing. She has that typical, artificial acting style from the 50s. And another thing that makes me crazy about this scene: They are driving down a straight road and Malone moves the wheel of the car like she is re-acting the car chase scene from “To Catch a Thief”.
And personally, I don’t see Malone as a real man-hunter. In some scenes she looks like she could be Lauren Bacall’s mother and when she is with Rock Hudson in a dark room, she looks like a drag-queen. Also, she and Susan Hayward must have had the same acting teacher who always told them: “No matter what you do, move your head! If you are sitting on the floor, looking at a lake, move your head! If you standing next to Rock Hudson, listening to him, always move your head!” Drives me crazy! And it surely doesn’t help to take her seriously when they always play some porn music the moment her character appears on screen.
Okay, but despite all these bad things, I can only repeat myself: She is definitely a lot of fun! Who can’t love a character who says things like “I am filthy. Period.” and “Remind me to send you some of my towels. I believe you’re still wet behind the ears.” Malone also benefits from being a co-lead with a lot of screen time. Her best scene is with Robert Stack, after they saw Lauren Bacall and Rock Hudson leave together and she wants to convince him that there is more going on than just friendship and she says that she “saw the end of a marriage. And the beginning of a love affair.” When her brother asks, why she cares about him, she answers “Only because of Mitch. Because I never had him. And you wife has.” Another very entertaining scene is at dinner, when Kyle returns home, drunk, and says to them “I suppose you’re wondering why I brought you all here tonight” and Malone says “Now, if the lights would only go out!” Yes, these two are pure entertainment! And who can forget her “Mambo of Death” when she dances wildly to loud music in her room while her father is having a heart-attack. Some people say that this scene won her the Oscar which I can’t believe since you only see her legs. The reason for the greatness of the scene is the clever editing but Malone surely knows how to move that legs!
So, as I said before, Dorothy Malone is a lot of fun and a scene-stealer. But she is no great actress. Her big money scene must be at the end in the court room (after one of the most ridiculous trials ever) when she first lies about Mitch and then redeems herself by telling the truth with teary eyes. Sorry, but when she ends her monologue and dramatically bows her head, I can’t help but laugh. Mary-Lee should remain a bitch, that’s where her talents are!
So, for the tenth time, a lot of fun but not acting excellence!


Best performance of the movie: Robert Stack

My own choice for the win that year: Helen Hayes, Anastasia

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Fritz,

56: Gale Sondergaard as Faith Paleologus in Anthony Adverse


Gale Sondergaard secured her place in history when she became the winner of the first Supporting Actress Oscar ever.
In this first year, the Academy nominated five performances that would become favorites in this category: a supporting role from a big epic, a suffering wife, a one-scene-wonder, a comedy performance and a child.
And in that very first year, the Academy went with Gale Sondergaard, the supporting performance from a big epic.
Just as it was with Ruth Gordon and Dorothy Malone, it is a performance that’s a lot of fun, but not necessarily Oscar-worthy.
It seems, that with her performance, Gale Sondergaard wanted to prove that she had the best teeth in Hollywood, giving us a big, cat-like but not to be trusted grin at every possible situation.
Gale Sondergaard plays Faith, the housekeeper of John Bonnyfeather who adopts the little Anthony but turns out to be his actual grandfather.
Faith’s only purpose in life is to make sure that her boss will leave all his money to her after his death, the sooner the better. When Bonnyfeather gets the news that his daughter is dead, she tries to cheer him up by telling him “But you’re a great merchant. You still have your work, your ships” to which he replies “But for whom?”. Another opportunity for an evil smile from Faith…
One thing has to be said. Just like in “Written on the Wind”, the two evil supporting players, Gale Sondergaard and Claude Rains, are the best thing about the movie. “Anthony Adverse” is an overblown epic with a “hero” who leaves his wife for years to become a slave trader. Frederic March and Olivia de Havilland try their best but can’t make any lasting impression or create any believable chemistry between them. No, it’s Claude and Gale who stand out and make you wish that the movie was only about them. But maybe, too much of them would ruin the effect of their appearances. In fact, Gale Sondergaard has very little screen time in this two and a half hour-movie. Maybe fifteen minutes and only one of her scenes lasts longer than two minutes. But as I said, her big, evil smile and her wonderful voice won’t make you forget her. Yes, her voice is another big plus in her performances. I don’t think that anybody can say his or her lines in the same bitchy way as she does it:
“Hurts, doesn’t it? Makes you cringe!”
“Anyone who could help Mr. Adverse prove his identity would be very welcome, I’m sure. I know how eager he is.”
“The coach was rather handy, too.”
And the best one: when she sees Olivia de Havilland as the great primadonna on a theater
stage in Paris, all she says is: ”That girl used to wash my clothes.”
Also, Gale Sondergaard fits perfectly into the whole cast, having a wonderful love-hate-chemistry with Claude Rains and an amazing chemistry of open hate with Frederic March. The best scene between them is when he returns from Africa after years. Faith, hoping that Anthony would be dead, shows her shock about his return with an evil look and a shocked “You?”.
Gale’s best scene is a scene without words: when Bonnyfeather writes his will and leaves everything to Anthony, she watches him with hate, but when he writes, that in case Anthony should die before him, the money will go to Faith, she again gives us her big smile.
It’s easy to see that Gale Sondergaard was the physical role-model for the evil witch from Disney’s “Snow White”. Despite her being a housekeeper, there is something royal about her, you see, that she expects more from life. A wonderfully entertaining performance.
So, Gale Sondergaard definitely plays the evil bitch to perfection. My reason for not giving her a better position is that, apart from evil bitch, her Faith is nothing. She has no depth, there is no scene where she is showing any emotion. The character is just too one-dimensional.
But it’s an entertaining, scene-stealing turn that stays in your mind for a long time.


Best performance of the movie: Claude Rains and Gale Sondergaard

My own choice for the win that year: Alice Brady, My Man Godfrey

55: Teresa Wright as Carol Beldon in Mrs. Miniver


Teresa Wright gives a simple and lovely performance as the ill-fated Carol, Mrs. Miniver’s daughter-in-law, who lives in an idealized England, full of lovely and nice people who have nothing more to say than “May I?”, “How kind”, “Thank you” and “Oh please!”
In 1943, Teresa Wright achieved something that surely won’t be repeated ever: she was Oscar-nominated for each of her first three movie appearances and became the second double-nominee in Oscar history. So, a win for “Mrs. Minver” seemed logical and was also deserved (of course I am not looking at her competition).
Teresa Wright is a very natural actress with a lot of personal charm and so she makes Carol a totally loveable character. With her first appearance, she lays the ground for her storyline: she asks Mrs. Miniver to make the man who works at the station to withdraw his rose from a flower contest because Carol’s grandmother also takes part in this contest and isn’t used to competition. Vin Miniver, the son of the Minivers who is just back from Oxford, reacts angry and accused Carol of manipulating the contest because she is a member of a better social class. But Teresa Wright shows Carol as a woman who is able to defend herself without losing her charm:
Carol: “I spend most of my summers doing charity work in the slums of London. What have you been doing?”
Vin: “I?”
Carol: “Oh, I see. Just talk…Oh, don’t apologize! I see how easy this is, reading a book full of big words and think you’re going to solve all the problems of the universe. But you’re not, you know. A bit of action is required now and then.”
Vin: “Action? If that’s what you and your class are asking for, maybe you get it one of these days”
Carol: “Maybe. But not from the talkers.”
Teresa shows Carol as a strong woman, but she also shows first sights of love for the man who just was so rude to her. And of course, later, the two of them fall in love. Again, it’s not hard to believe: Carol is just an irresistible sweet woman, always fresh and bright.
I also love the scene when Vin comes to her house and she shows the exact moment that Carol falls in love with him: before, she has her doubts about him, but when they hear sirens that might announce an attack by German planes, he takes over the situation and even gives orders to Lady Beldon, Carol’s royal grandmother (played the wonderful Dame Whitty). You can see how Carol suddenly sees him with different eyes, surprised by his behavior.
Her best scene is with her mother-in-law: after she and Vin return from their honeymoon, she tells Mrs. Miniver that she wants to have the right to enjoy every moment with Vin because “I know he maybe killed. Any day, any hour…every moment is precious. We mustn’t waste time in fear…I will be very happy. Every moment that I have him. Every moment. If I must lose him, there will be time enough for tears. There will be a lifetime for tears.” This is just a wonderful moment and Teresa Wright can show all her acting talent.
So, Teresa Wright won a deserved Oscar for playing the “war-bride”, the young woman full of hopes but also fears.


Best performance of the movie: Greer Garson

My own choice for the win that year: Agnes Moorehead, The Magnificent Ambersons

54: Marisa Tomei as Mona-Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny


If anyone looks in the dictionary under the word “upset”, you will find a picture of Marisa Tomei. Biggest shock in Academy history? Maybe. Most undeserved win ever? No way!
To be honest, there was a time when Marisa Tomei was actually in my Top 10 of Supporting Actress winners. Well, now she has slipped down “a little”, but I still love her performance. The reason why she went down is that, even though she is hilarious and a total scene-stealer, when all is said and done, this is simply no amazing acting. I describe this as “It’s a performance I love, but don’t respect”. With “Don’t respect” I mean that I don’t think it’s Oscar-worthy acting, but I just love it!
From her first moment on-screen (“What?”, “How’s your Chinese food?”, “What are you? A f**king world traveler?”) she gets all of the viewers attention and she is so funny that you almost fall off your chair. Sure, Mona Lisa is not a very complex character and Marisa doesn’t have any emotional scenes but who needs those when you have “Imagine you’re a deer. You’re thirsty. You put you little nose in the cool water…BAM! A F**KING BULLET BLOWS OFF PART OF YOUR HEAD!” or “My biological clock is ticking like this!”
And then there is her scene in the witness stand…simply wonderful!
Of course she also has wonderful chemistry with Joe Pesci (“Did you turn it off?” “I’m positive.”). And then she also a nice scene where she tries to cheer him up: “When you go in that court, you’re gonna be great…if you don’t **** up!”)
So, there is not a lot to say about Marisa Tomei except that it’s a great comedy turn that gets unfairly bashed a lot. And even though I don’t think that this is the most amazing acting ever I have no problem with her Oscar win.


Best performance of the movie: Marisa Tomei

My own choice for the win that year: Marisa Tomei (I just can't resist...)

53: Ethel Barrymore as Ma Mott in None but the lonely Heart


After years of doing theatre, Ethel Barrymore returned to the screen to play the strong, bitter but ultimately loving mother of good-for-nothing Cary Grant.
We first meet her when her son comes home again and you immediately realize that there is not much love between them. Ma Mott says to her son (after slapping him): “I don’t get more respect from you than from that father of yours” and then she tells him “Stay or go!”
Later, we find out that Ma Mott is seriously ill and that there may not be much more time – but she is too proud to tell her son. But he does find out anyway and decides to stay with her and help her. Now we can see how the two of them start to like each other and begin getting along. (And Ma Mott seems determined to spend the rest of her time on earth wearing a stupid hat…)
Most of the time, Ethel Barrymore plays her character in a bitter and cold way, but sometimes she lightens up which makes her later scenes with Cary Grant even better. She is also very impressive when she quietly tries to hide her pain from her son or when she is worried that she will not leave enough money for him to get along. He best scene is her final scene with Cary Grant, both holding each other and crying.
Miss Barrymore makes Ma Mott an exhausted woman, who never had an easy life and who is always worried about the things around her. So she ended up as this bitter, no-nonsense woman who doesn’t know what the future will bring.
From today’s point of view, “None but the lonely Heart” has aged badly. In the 40s, it was probably supposed to be realistic and grim, but today it all seems rather fake. But what hasn’t aged badly is the performance by Ethel Barrymore that is more than deserving of an Oscar.


Best performance of the movie: Ethel Barrymore

My own choice for the win that year: Ethel Barrymore

52: Anne Revere as Mrs. Araminity Brown in National Velvet


Anne Revere is the specialist when it comes to playing understanding and supportive mothers. She received acting nominations for three variations of that character and (unfortunately) won for her least impressive nominated performance. But that doesn’t mean a lot: Anne Revere was such a wonderful actress (actually, my favorite supporting actress from that time) and even when she is not so impressive, she is still wonderful!
Anne Revere plays Mrs. Brown, the mother of young Velvet who wants her horse to take part in the Grand National, the most challenging horse race on Earth.
Mrs. Brown is a very quiet, no-nonsense and strong-faced woman. She doesn’t show a lot of emotion, but despite this, Anne Revere is still able to make her one of the most warm and caring women in the world. Nobody probably thought that the characters of the parents would matter much next to Mickey Rooney and Elizabeth Taylor, but Anne Revere and Donald Crisp are beyond magnificent and create parents every child can only dream of.
Mickey Rooney plays Mike who comes to visit the Browns because he found Mrs. Brown’s name in his dead father’s address book. He actually only wants some money, but Mrs. Brown easily sees through him and Mike ends up working in Mr. Browns butcher shop. Mrs. Brown also doesn’t tell Mike how she knew his father – because, as she says it “It wasn’t the time for it. There’s a right time for everything.” Later, we find out that Mike’s father was her trainer – as a young woman, Mrs. Brown was a swimmer who actually swam through the English channel.
Anne Revere has a wonderful chemistry with Donald Crisp – both refer to each other as “Mr. Brown” and “Mrs. Brown”, but they are a wonderful loving couple.
The best scene by Anne Revere is when she talking to Velvet in the attic – she gives her money to enter the horse race and tells her: “Win or lose, it’s all the same. It’s about knowing when to let go and go on the next thing. Things come suitable to the time, Velvet. Enjoy each thing and go on the next.” Anne Revere is just wonderful in this scene. Again, she show little emotion on her face, but there is so much underneath that face and her voice is so warm and caring – you just have to love this woman!
And when Velvet returns from the race, she asks “Were we the best in the world, mother?” and Mrs. Brown answers “Yes, dear. The best in the world.” Here, she is almost close to tears and her answer is so special because you just know that Mrs. Brown would never say that if she didn’t really meant it.
My only complaints about her performance are that sometimes she is just too emotionless. Yes, Mrs. Brown is a strong, controlled woman, but even when her daughter faints she looks as if she couldn’t care less. No matter what happens, she always remains the same and at some point you begin to wonder if this woman spends every minute of her life being like a saint, always quick to give some wise comments to her family.
But still, a well-deserved win for Anne Revere!


Best performance of the movie: Donald Crisp

My own choice for the win that year: Anne Revere

BTW, everyone is more than welcomed to leave a comment!

51: Mary Steenburgen as Lynda Dummar in Melvin and Howard


I was certainly looking forward to see Mary Steenburgen who swept all the Supporting Actress Awards in the world for her performance. To be honest…I was a little underwhelmed at first. But that’s not really the fault of Mary Steenburghen. “Melvin and Howard” is one of the weirdest movies I ever saw. It’s not bad, but I just don’t get what this movie wants. I always ask myself “Why was this movie made?” It’s hard to describe but the movie goes from one moment to another without any real context. You have the feeling that nothing happens and at the same time everything happens too quick. The whole movie simply has no point (for me) and Mary Steenburgen’s performance somehow feels the same.
She plays Lynda Dummar, the wife of eternal loser Melvin Dummar. Right at the beginning, we see how she leaves him, then they meet again a few times, get married again and divorced again. Mary plays Lynda like a somewhat naïve, but not dumb woman. She is rather quirky and a little odd, just like the rest of the movie.
The movie also never really takes time to get us to know the characters that’s why it all leaves one strangely cold.
But Mary Steenburgen surely has some great moments and gives us some wonderful comedy moments. After she leaves Melvin she works in a strip club because “I love to dance!” and the ways she dances and talks to an angry Melvin at the same time is priceless. Later, she has a great dramatic scene when Melvin tells her that he got custody of their child (but again, the movie jumps from scene to scene that you just don’t care about the child or who gets it) and seconds later, she is hilarious again when she quits her job, takes off her clothes and walks out naked.
Her best (and most famous) scene is when she takes part in a game show where she has to perform for the audience and they decide if the she wins. Lynda shows us a tap dance while we hear “I can’t get no Satisfaction”. That scene probably won her the Oscar and she is even better moments later when she wins the Jackpot and jumps around and screams with joy.
When things go bad with Melvin (again), she is also quite touching when she leaves him for being a ‘loser’ and tells him “C’est la vie.”
Melvin: “What does that mean?”
Lynda: “It’s French. I always dreamed of being a French interpreter.”
Melvin: “You don’t speak any French.”
Lynda: “I told you, it was a dream.”
So, Mary Steenburgen is very funny and deserved the Oscar but it’s remains a mystery to me how the Academy (and all the critics) were so fascinated by that movie.


Best performance of the movie: Mary Steenburghen

My own choice for the win that year: Mary Steenburgen

50: Angelina Jolie as Lisa Rowe in Girl, Interrupted


Today, people tend to forget that before Angelina Jolie became a world-wide-known celebrity she was actually an actress. And even won an Oscar (most people I talk to never know that Jolie is an Academy-Award-winner.)
Angelina Jolie won the Oscar for the kind of showy role the Academy loves to honor: as the wild and rebellious patient of a mental institution. Rage, anger, wild hysterics, going crazy – Angelina can offer anything in this role. My problem is that she does it in a very obvious way – with every little gesture, every look, every line-delivery Angelina screams to the audience “Look at me, I’m crazy!” It seems to be a very calculated performance and the script, that makes Lisa into some kind of crazy queen in the hospital (she moves her head with a cigarette in her mouth and immediately a hand with fire appears out of nowhere) doesn’t help.
But despite all this, Angelina is still a force of nature on the screen. Yes, her hysterics are very predictable but she still commands the screen and terrifies everyone around her in a very intense, scary way. When she and Winona visit a girl they used to know and Lisa slowly terrorizes her with her talking (“Everyone knows that your father f**ks you. The only thing they don’t know is…that you like it.”). Angelina Jolie is amazing in this scene and also later when she chases Winona in the cellar, screaming and yelling until she finally breaks down, crying. And then there is that great scene when she shouts at a woman “Hey, here’s some advice. Don’t point your finger at crazy people!!!”.
It’s a great performance that has everything the Academy is looking for – screaming, crying, shouting etc., and Angelina Jolie pulls it off in a way that certainly few actresses could.


Best performance of the movie: Angelina Jolie

My own choice for the win that year: Toni Colletteor Cloe Sevigny

49: Jennifer Connelly as Alicia Nash in A Beautiful Mind


Jennifer Connelly’s performance as Alicia Nash has two parts for me: the boring one and the great one.
In the first part of the movie, Jennifer Connelly is so boring and lifeless that I could fall asleep watching her. Also the way she is always whispering instead of talking is so annoying. The problem is that these first scenes are very important because they show us how she and John fall in love. But from the way Jennifer is acting you are rather wondering why he would even go out with her, let alone marry her. Especially on their first date, her performance is very frustrating. She is supposed to be charming and loveable, but she is just…blah…that’s the only word I can think of. She’s a bit better when he proposes to her and she says “Just give me some time to redefine my girlish notions of romance.”
Thank God she soon ends being the love interest and starts being the suffering wife because her performance improves vastly now. If she screams “John! Open this door!” or asks scared “What is wrong with you?”, she is much better and makes you actually feel for her character.
It’s a great scene when she visits John in the hospital and says “It’s in your mind! You understand? Baby? You’re sick!” From that moment, her chemistry with Russell Crowe also improves.
Even though she still has some scenes where the blah-factor comes again, she overshadows them with some great scenes: First, her break-down in the bathroom (even if it’s a little over-the-top) and then when she discovers that John became sick again and she runs to save her baby (“Get away from her!”) and later, when she tells him “You wanna know what’s real?…I need to believe that something extraordinary is possible.”
So, it’s a performance of mixed quality and it could have been much better, but Jennifer Connelly was so great in the second part of the movie that I can forgive the first part.


Best performance of the movie: Russell Crowe

My own choice for the win that year: Marisa Tomei,In the Bedroom

48: Beatrice Straight as Louis Schumacher in Network


A very famous performance, mostly because it’s the shortest to ever win an Oscar. I don’t know how many minutes exactly, must be around five or so. I also have to say, when I watch this performance, I don’t count her first two scenes as I am very sure that also Academy member didn’t think about them when they voted for her. Yes, her first scene, when she gets out of bed and walks around the house, and her second scene, when we see the back of her head, a surely acting excellence (please note the irony), but let’s face it: It’s all about her big breakdown.
“Then get out! Go anywhere you want, go to a hotel, go live with her, but don’t come back. Because after 25 years of building a home and raising a family and all the senseless pain that we have inflicted on each other, I’m damned if I’m gonna stand here and have you tell me you’re in love with somebody else. Because this isn’t some convention weekend with your secretary or some broad that you picked up after three belts of booze, this is your great winter romance, isn’t it? Your last roar of passion before you settle into your emeritus years. Is that what’s left for me? She gets the winter passion and I get the dotage. What am I supposed to do, am I supposed to sit home knitting and purling while you slink back like some penitent drunk? I’m your wife, damn it! And it you can’t work up a winter passion for me than the least I require is respect and allegiance! I hurt, don’t you understand that? I hurt badly!”
Well, that is, without a doubt, one of the best acted scenes ever.
It was very hard for me to rank her, because, despite all her greatness, how fair is it to compare a performance that basically consists only of a 2-minute breakdown with a performance of maybe 30 or 40 minutes? But in the end, I was able to compare it because what Beatrice Straight does is that she is able to touch me with her two minutes more than other actresses could in 2 hours. Her suffering wife is much more touching than that of Jennifer Connelly despite the fac