Weisz and Adams at their first Oscars as nominees
This year marks the second time Rachel Weisz & Amy Adams have been nominated together in the supporting actress category: Weisz for The Favourite, Adams for Vice. The first time they did so was for their first nominations, thirteen years ago for The Constant Gardener and Junebug respectively. They are linked together in my mind -and possibly for some of you - because of that. Adams’ performance in Junebug is my favorite of her nominated performances and I've always said that if she had won that year we wouldn’t be talking about overdue status for years on end.
Since that time their Oscar careers have diverged...
Weisz only really had awards heat once in the interim years. In 2012 she won the New York Film Critics Circle award and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in Terence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea. Alas she didn’t make Oscar’s final shortlist.
Adams arriving at the Oscars as a nominee
Adams meanwhile had better luck with the Academy raking up six nominations in thirteen years. That is nearly a nomination every other year. Wow. She has been brilliant many times but has also been lucky to be in movies that the Academy's acting branch went crazy for. Junebug remains the last time she was her movie’s sole acting nominee. In fact she has always been one of either three nominees (The Fighter, The Master, Vice) or four (Doubt, American Hustle) from her film, while being unsuccessful in her bids to be the sole acting nominee (Enchanted, Big Eyes, Arrival -- three films for which she received precursor recognition but no Oscar love).
Adams has been consistent since that Junebug breakout and has endeared herself to fans with several great performances. My favorite remains Enchanted, a star turn that's pure joy as she embodies goodness and kindness. Her work in Vice is arguably a retread of her previously honored performance in The Master, though it was fun to watch her deliver faux Shakespeare.
Weisz has had more ebbs and flows to her career, but she always delivers. However for a while her films didn’t connect with audiences or critics despite her stellar work. Since The Lobster -her first collaboration with Yorgos Lanthimos - she’s been on a tear. I heard her in an interview earlier this year stating that for her to take on a project it has to be “transgressive.” She certainly showed us exactly that in 2018 with Disobedience and The Favourite. I still can't get over her performance in the latter. She gets Lanthimos’ sensibility like no other actor, and her facility with the cadence of delivering those cutting line is delicious. And have we talked about her determined walking? I’m so happy to see her get Oscars’ recognition this year and can't wait for next transgressive film.
Adams and Weisz by the numbers
Oscar Nominations
Adams: 6 (Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter, The Master, American Hustle, Vice)
Weisz: 2 (The Constant Gardener, The Favourite)
Golden Globe Nominations
Adams: 7 (Doubt, Enchanted, The Master, American Hustle, Big Eyes, Arrival, Vice)
Weisz: 3 (The Constant Gardener, The Deep Blue Sea, The Favourite)
Major Critics Awards
Adams: LAFCA for The Master, National Society of Film Critics for Junebug and The Master.
Weisz: NYFCC for The Deep Blue Sea
Metacritic Average
Adams: 59
Weisz: 57
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