His & Hers Oscars? Happy 10th to June & Johnny
Friday, November 20, 2015 at 1:16PM 
Ten years ago right about now Reese & Joaquin took the stage in movie theaters with a full sung duet as June and Johnny Cash. Both were Oscar-nominated for their ringed fire as tempestuous country superstar marrieds with Reese going on to win in a strangely non competitive Best Actress year. His & Hers Oscar nominations for lively onscreen marriages aren't anything new of course but they also aren't dependable since one of the partners is often foregrounded while the other is window dressing or is equally brilliant but just not nominated.
But of the ten double nominees who did it best in the intervening years? (I included the divorced couples just to up the numbers). You decide. To make this more exciting, judge the performances FUSED. Who wins your vote then? These are your ten options
Lead unless otherwise noted
2005 Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon*, Walk the Line
2005 Heath Ledger & Michelle Williams (supporting), Brokeback Mountain
2010 Helen Mirren & Christopher Plummer (supporting), The Last Station
2011 Colin Firth* & Helena Bonham Carter (supporting), The King's Speech
2012 Daniel Day Lewis* & Sally Field (supporting), Lincoln
2012 Amy Adams & Phillip Seymour Hoffman (both supporting), The Master
2013 Bruce Dern & June Squibb (supporting), Nebraska
2013 Christian Bale & Jennifer Lawrence (supporting), American Hustle
2014 Eddie Redmayne* & Felicity Jones, Theory of Everything
2014 Patricia Arquette* & Ethan Hawke (both supporting), Boyhood
*won the Oscar
What of 2015?
The "His & Hers" teams of married possibilities this year are Eddie Redmayne & Alicia Vikander in The Danish Girl (Hers & Hers in that case, though she's pretending to be supporting), and Charlotte Rampling with Tom Courtenay in 45 Years. Neither of those pairs are locked up for nominations just yet. As befits this year with blessed multiple female-centric films, Vikander and Rampling both have more nomination heat than their male actor screen spouses.
Reader Comments (34)
It's really funny how each of those films has one member of the couple who is clearly more of the focus, while the other is window dressing. The only ones who don't really adhere to that is Ethan Hawke & Patricia Arquette, but that's hard to count since they only share minutes together (although both are fantastic).
If we are grading on chemistry and the actual pair as a whole, I have to go with Johnny and June. Whatever the faults of the movie are, these two light up the screen together. Even as the film follows Johnny more, June perfectly compliments his life while also getting an arc and personality all her own. They are great separate and together. Reese deserved her Oscar (in the noncompetitive year).
Honorable mention goes to Bruce Dern and June Squibb, who create a real lived in marriage with all the wear and tear
Why do you ignore Heath and Michelle in Brokeback Mountain? They're by far my favorite!
ELI -- eek. Cant believe i forgot that.
Jackie Weaver & Robert De Niro in Silver Linings Playbook.
2005 was a weird year for Actresses. Rachel Weisz won supporting and she was clearly a lead (in some ways, more than Ralph Fiennes even), and Reese won Lead and she sort of had a supporting role.
Joan Allen, the deserving winner, got no traction at all, and Ziyi Zhang who is wonderful is almost anything she does, almost got in for by far her worse performance ever, in Memoirs of a Geisha. She even hit SAG! O.o
Then Keira Knightley, of all people, popped up at the last second and snatched her wig on nominations morning. Bizarrely enough, of the five ladies nominated, she would likely have been my choice. I liked Felicity Huffman a lot too in Transamerica, but I don't revisit that movie as often as Pride & Prejudice, so not so fresh in my mind.
Of Oscar nominated screen couples, the two very best are:
Liz Taylor and Richard Burton - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Kate Hepburn and Peter O'Toole - The Lion in Winter
And the of the last decade, I would vote for DDL and Sally Field in Lincoln. I am probably more of a fan of the movie than the average non-American, and I would have both winning their respective categories + Tommy Lee Jones winning supporting that year. I also would have given it Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay over Argo.
Patricia and Ethan are easily my favorites.
For me, the answer is unquestionably Hoffman and Adams, with Ledger and Williams a distant second and everyone else an even more distant third.
My sentimental pick is Dern and Squibb.
I love the intense relationships between Heath Ledger & Michelle Williams and DDL & Sally Field in their films that are so fraught with conflict so they're my favorites.
The easy comfort between Colin Firth and HBC is also great and while I didn't think Reese deserved the Oscar for that particular performance she and Joaquin shared a great connection in Walk the Line.
Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams, no question, full stop. (It still pains me to see no proverbial asterisk next to Ledger's name.) Those two blew the doors off its hinges and without the benefit of real people on whom they could base their characterization, which always scores extra-credit points for me (see also: Bruce Dern-June Squibb, Patricia Arquette-Ethan Hawke, etc.).
Anyway, I'd say the pinnacle of these pairings has got to be Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, but an argument could be made (in my mind, at least) for William Holden and Beatrice Straight in Network, Patricia Neal and Jack Albertson in The Subject Was Roses, and Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon ('memba them?!) in Mrs. Miniver.
Definitely Amy and Phillip for me. Their chemistry together as an acting pair was unquestionable in every endeavor they took on. It's sad to think what could have been between the two of them.
In first place I would put Colin Firth & Helena Bonham Carter because I could easily believe them to be in a relationship. Charm and empathy may not be as Oscar winning as confrontation but they felt real.
I will admit that Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon have great chemistry, but somehow they don't interact with one another very much.
I look back on 2005 and wish that Oscar had gone to Keira Knightley. Witherspoon won because of her previous films, no way was her performance as June Carter as worthy as Elizabeth Bennett. I don't begrudge Witherspoon too much because she is a gifted actress but comparing just the 2 parts - I do wish Keira had one. Pride & Prejudice is a very re-watchable film.
Interesting question. I'm going with Joaquin and Reese. My runners-up would be DDL/Sally Field and Ledger/Williams.
Brokeback, followed by Boyhood and Lincoln.
Worst is The Last Station, followed by Nebraska and The King's Speech.
Johnny and June!
Well, if we have exes on the list, how about sperm donor (Ruffalo, supporting) and sperm donee (Bening, lead)?
And yeah, De Niro/Weaver would be at the bottom of the list.
Can't wait for there to be Hers & Hers for Cate and Rooney :)
I'm with Joey, hers and hers for Cate & Rooney would be fab :)
My vote goes to Michelle and Heath. Geez I miss Heath.
Mareko, yes! Greer and Walter in Miniver just might be my all time fave married couple on screen. That or her teaming w Robert Donat in Goodbye Mr Chips. Perfection.
Of the above choices gotta go with Reese and Joaquin. She really coasted that year to Oscar, but of the nominees she's the clear winner. And they got the goods chemistry-wise.
Also love Dern and Squibb. I just rewatched Nebraska and it really holds up. Beautiful.
@ Mareko and Brookesboy- yes to Greer Garson and Walter Pideon. I just watched Madame Curie (the only other time they were both nominated together) and I think they are both better in that movie (Pideon for sure) The scene at the jeweler when he describes his wife is so lovely. Greer had great chemistry with most of her leading men. She was great with Ronald Colman in Random Harvest.
DiCaprio and Winslet in Revolutionary Road FOR THE WIN...oh wait.
I'll go with Joaquin and Reese for the top spot, followed by Arquette and Hawke.
Walk the Line is the movie where I fall in love with Joaquin Phoenix, so obviously my pick is Johnny and June.
Runner up is Adams and Hoffman in The Master (Joaquin again! and he deserved that Oscar way more than DDL)
I wish that Rampling wins the Oscar this year, because first, homegirl deserves it, and second, no one wants to see Blanchett or Lawrence winning another one this soon (and I worship both of them)
1. Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Witherspoon
2. Patricia Arquette & Ethan Hawke
3. Heath Ledger & Michelle Williams
4. Daniel Day Lewis & Sally Field
Heath and Michelle undoubtedly.
Although not a great fan of The Theory Of Everything, I thought Eddie and Felicity were great together and I got their love story.
Hepburn and Fonda for On Golden Pond, but of the choices, I guess Arquette and Hawke.
Imagine if we would have gotten Daniels and Linney (for "The Squid and the Whale") in 2005! That would've been my choice. But, alas! It wasn't meant to be.
Of the nominated, I'm going with Phoenix and Witherspoon. I HATE that Witherspoon stole Joan Allen's Oscar, but I have to agree that Witherspoon and Phoenix had beautiful chemistry and they lit up the screen. So, that's my answer.
Also, it's heartbreaking that Ryan Gosling didn't make it 2010. He and Michelle Williams were exquisite in "Blue Valentine."
no one wants to see Blanchett or Lawrence winning another one this soon
If someone repeats in Best Actress this year I hope it's Blanchett. I want the Academy to wait until Lawrence is in her 30's before giving her another one. Or better yet Joy floundering and the more senior candidates vying for a slot in Best Actress make the final five instead.
Tom, Random Harvest is in my all time Top Ten. The best example of romantic melodrama. She did this and Miniver in the same year. She was a huge box office star. A classic. Kinda like Julie Christie in 65.
Ooh great topic.
Heath and Michelle for me. Oh god, the heartbreak.
My favourites : Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams/ Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams.
And who deserved the Oscar for Walk the line was Joaquin Phoenix, not Reese Whiterspoon. Among the nominees that year, Felicity Huffman was brilliant in Transamerica. (and Joan Allen wasn´t even nominated!)
Heath and Michelle for sure!
Runnerup: Patricia and Ethan
Then DDL/ Field. For a weird reason I like Bale/ Lawrence as well
Haven't seen 45 Years yet, but I am really looking forward to seeing Rampling. I just watched her in Farewell My Lovely, circa 1975 and boy was she ever stunning and perfectly cast in that noir. Little seen, also featuring the Oscar nominated performance by Sylvia Miles, this finally has been released on DVD after years of obscurity. Grab it before it disappears again. Mitchum also the perfect Marlowe.
@ brooksboy- I am just discovering Greer Garson. I saw Mrs Miniver a long time ago because it wa one of my grandmother's favorite movies. I think the word "lovely" just describes her perfectly, not only in appearance but her attitude and demeanor as well. Random Harvest is a wonderful movie, and so is Madame Curie. I wasn't expecting them to be so good.