Sally Kirkland's legendary Oscar campaign
Thursday, October 22, 2020 at 10:00PM 
The next Supporting Actress Smackdown will focus on the contenders of 1987. Before that celebration of great acting at the margins, we'll be exploring the cinematic year, its glorious pictures, and memorable Oscar races. Speaking of which, one can't discuss 1987 in the context of awards, without mentioning and paying respect to one of the ballsiest campaigns ever made by an actress. Through her sheer will, impressive determination, and tireless ambition, Sally Kirkland managed to conquer a Best Actress Oscar nomination for Anna, a little-seen American indie about an aging performer.
First things first, before we delve into Kirkland's pursuit of little golden men, we should appreciate the work for which she was recognized. The movie is discussed nowadays to snicker at the thirsty campaign, but it's a masterclass of acting...
It helps, of course, that the drama centers on the labor and the pain of performing, whether for a live audience or a movie camera. The script, written by Agnieszka Holland and Yurek Bogayevicz, was inspired by the Polish actress Elżbieta Czyżewska and it depicts the constant disappointments of its titular character.
Anna was once a promising star in Czechoslovakia, earning raves for her work in film and on stage. However, a whirlwind of political schisms, doomed romance, and traumatic oppression ended with her exiled in America. There, we find her middle-aged and destitute, desperately looking for a job as a theatre actress in New York. If the movie were just an observational character study, it would probably be more well-regarded since its deranged flourishes of melodrama prove to be the picture's undoing. By the end, we have a soap-opera-ish spin on the All About Eve model - the downfall of a consummate diva reflected in the rise of a lying ingenue (played by 80s supermodel Paulina Porizkova).
Whatever one's misgivings about Anna may be, the power of its central performance is undeniable. Kirkland is majestic as the Czech ex-pat, moving through the melodrama like a hurricane that leaves no survivors behind. As long as the camera's focused on her, the film is brilliant. Even its opening minutes reflect this by intercutting between the older and the younger woman of the story. The footage centered on Anna is amazing, a spectacle of flailing limbs and hurried panic as the actress tries to ready herself for an audition she's already late for. In contrast, there's something comparatively listless and clichéd about the other, younger woman.
Kirkland is never small or subdued in this part, choosing to go big or go home. Her accent is thick, her emotion shines and burns like hot lava, her movements expressionistic, and her face a sculpture of ever-changing plasticity. It's simply impossible to take our eyes off of Kirkland, even if Anna's story proves to be little more than a procession of humiliation and martyrized suffering. Witnessing the performance is akin to watching a woman be weighed down by disillusion after disillusion, each sliver of hope existing only as a prelude to more misery. When it all becomes too much to bear, she cracks and the result is something worth seeing.
That's not to say that Kirkland's performance is one-note or monotonal. While there's a constant undercurrent of delicate sorrow, the actress finds variation in Anna's plight. She isn't afraid to add twists of humor or even grotesquerie to the drama. Her audition is mortifying and full of sullen rage, but it's also funny. On the other hand, a meeting with an old teacher blossoms with surprising tenderness. In another scene, one can't help but be charmed by the giddiness that Kirkland brings to a frisky phone call. When she looks at old pictures of herself, it's as if she's looking at a ghost, with the actress projecting horrified awe and a hint of curiosity. Then there's a calm moment in bed, a trip down memory lane that's as tragic as it is biting. I could go on describing genius moments like these, for there are plenty.
What a performance!
Still, the film's not very good as a whole, and, being an independent production, it feels like one of those flicks that are bound to be forgotten by awards and audiences alike. That's what would have happened to Anna if it weren't for Sally Kirkland who, realizing she had delivered the performance of a lifetime, did her damned best to enshrine her achievement in golden accolades.
The actress' efforts were almost militant in their unabashed fervor, starting a grassroots campaign for the Oscar. First, she wrote letters to everyone she knew who was an Academy member, enlisting the help of friends in the promotion of her work. Some even say she wrote to every single member of AMPAS.
Furthermore, Kirkland would talk to any journalist that was willing to shine the spotlight on her, doing more for her little movie than many big-shot promoters ever did for studio blockbusters. She hired two press agents and paid for ads out of her own pocket in a similar fashion to Melissa Leo in 2010, called in favors from Andy Warhol and Joan Rivers, and attended every event she was invited to. Hell, she might have even appeared in some she wasn't invited to. Dale Olson, an experienced publicist, threw a dinner party for Sally Kirkland which was so successful and talked about, he later made sure to remark that it wasn't his chicken cordon bleu that won Kirkland her accolades. It probably helped, though.
For an actress in her forties with only minor fame, Anna was both a godsend and a challenge. Most of the movie's reviews focused on Kirkland's show-stopping work, but the micro-indie was not the sort of picture AMPAS was honoring in the 80s. That was a decade where the ballots were always full of stuffy epics and musty costume dramas, showy biopics, inspirational tripe, sentimental triumphs, and big-budget romance. Anna doesn't fit in any of those boxes. It still feels surreal, 33 years later, that the movie is an Oscar nominee.
It might have felt surreal for Kirkland, too. In 2012, when interviewed about her campaign, the actress talked about what was going on in her head during the hours before the ceremony. She said: "At the Oscars, there were all these movie stars emerging from their limos, and then there was me. I felt like Cinderella. The greatest part was the feeling to be in the same Oscar category of these women that I was a huge fan of." Kirkland got the Globe win from the HFPA, and a Spirit Award too, but Hollywood's most coveted trophy went to Cher instead, for her work in Moonstruck.
All this to say that we shouldn't laugh or deride Sally Kirkland's Oscar campaign. It's easy to be scornful at her naked hunger for the award, but that feels disrespectful as it obfuscates the legacy of a truly great performance. Campaign or no campaign, I'd vote for Kirkland out of the five Best Actress nominees of 1987. That's saying quite a lot, considering that's one of the greatest lineups in the category's history, one where every nominee could have been a winner for the ages. Cher's victory is wonderful in its own way, but let's not forget that Sally Kirkland's fight for the Oscar was an actress' valiant struggle to get the recognition she deserved.
Reader Comments (44)
Love Sally Kirkland. She guest starred in season 4 of Charlie’s Angels.
I finally watched this movie 3 months ago and I didn't like it, but Kirkland is good, but not enought to get a nomination, other good options to repleace her:
-Stephane Audran (Babette's feat)
-Faye Dunaway (Barfly)
-Julie Walters (Personal services)
-Emily Lloyd (Wish you were here)
-Joanne Woodward (The glass menagerie)
I don't have a problem with Cher winning the Oscar, but I prefer Close or Hunter
Claudio -- was so happy you wrote this. I remember seeing ANNA in a theater because of all the hoopla and was gobsmacked by her performance. She melts the screen (at one point literally ;) one of the happiest oscar nominations ever (for both the audience who checked out the movie and the actress, i'm sure)
absolutely deserved her place there. If i had to boot one of them, it wouldn't be Kirkland and the lineup is phenomenal.
Always had a soft spot in my heart for Sally Kirkland. Met her many years ago at a telethon and she was so friendly and down to earth. She is a genuine and caring individual with real talent. Glad she got that well deserved nomination for Anna.
However, I heard that a few years ago she took a very bad fall while stepping up to the stage somewhere in the San Fernando Valley (I think).
Does anyone have an update on how she might be doing these days. Hope she is doing well. Sally is a kind spirit and fine actress.
Thanks
Gay Senior -- i met her a few years ago in Los Angeles and she was very sweet to me, too . She is very active on facebook and very into spirital stuff. sanskrit prayers and so on. though i get the sense that her health is not great given that she's always looking for healing.
I do like Sally Kirkland but I didn't think the film was that great. I hate these kinds of Oscar campaigning as Melissa Leo's campaigning was a real turn-off and honestly, I hated her performance in The Fighter. It was fucking loud and one-dimensional.
I finally was able to watch Anna a few months ago and was thankfully not disappointed by the greatness that is Sally Kirkland. Personally I'd award Hunter of the nominees but Sally is my clear runner up. I for one don't mind an actor going hard at campaigning especially if an actor is as great as Kirkland and Ladd who three years later fought hard for her nomination.
I hope more can people can seek the film and appreciate the performance separate from the politics because both are excellent moments in academy history.
I liked the film and the performance and frankly, if you don't have a big publicity machine behind you during Oscar season, who's to fault you for a DIY campaign? I have a hard time believing she was any more hungry for it than Cher or whoever else was up. She just didn't have the studio support.
I'm Polish, but have to admit that I found Anna's screenplay (written by 2 Poles) very messy. Great ideas mixed with some very questionable choices. Kirkland almost overcame that obstacle, but I'd rank her 4th that year, ahead of Streep only.
It was always Cher's Oscar.
Cafg -- Thanks for those recommendations. Of those you mentioned that I've seen, I love Dunaway's performance in BARFLY, misery made flesh with a splash of ever-present booze. As for WISH YOU WERE HERE, it wasn't on my radar, but it certainly is now.
NATHANIEL R -- I'm glad you liked this write-up. It's very difficult to decide who I'd boot off the lineup, even though I'd love to nominate Hunter for ARIZONA RISING and the aforementioned Dunaway. They're all so good!
Gay Senior -- I can't answer your question, but thank you for the lovely story. It's good to know she's as kind a person as she's a great performer.
thevoid99 -- I'm not a fan of the film, but she's amazing to me. Sometimes, great performances appear in less than stellar packages. I'd say the same about Close in THE WIFE, for example.
Eoin Daily -- The only reason I ever found this film and majestic performance was that Oscar nomination. Considering that, I can't begrudge Kirkland's campaigning, without which it's likely ANNA wouldn't be part of Oscar history and forever remain forgotten - more than it already is. She fought for what she deserved.
Dan Humphrey -- I wholeheartedly agree.
Pawel -- Thanks for your comment. I do wonder why they made Anna Czech in the end, instead of Polish. Even the real person the main character's based upon is Polish. Was it just so they could cast Paulina Porizkova? Regarding other matters, I don't dislike Cher's win since, like all of that year's Best Actress nominees, she's superb.
Thank you all for the feedback. As always, it's greatly appreciated. I love that more people are discussing this performance and Kirkland's achievement.
Perhaps the stories behind those self funded Oscar campaigns would be an interesting series for TFE.
There’s Chill Wills for The Alamo, Candy Clark for American Graffiti, and Nick Adams for Twilight of Honor to name a few that have fascinating stories to reveal.
All I remember from the time I caught Anna on TV is Sally Kirkland performing Humpty Dumpty with that thick Eastern European accent. 1987 was a year when over-the-top was heavily recognized and rewarded and one my favorite movies, Broadcast News, got completely overlooked, not to mention decent imports like Hope and Glory and and My Life as a Dog. And I believe Kirkland and her campaign nudged Lillian Gish out of the lineup that year, who I believe, at 94, just expressed relief that she wouldn't have to lose to Cher. What a wacky year!
Great write-up on a great performance. Totally on board with that last sentence "Sally Korkland's fight for the Oscar was an actress' valiant strugglet to get the recognition she deserved."
Kirkland should have won that trophy. But I've always been annoyed that Lillian Gish didn't net a richly earned nomination for "The Whales of August". She was wonderful in it. And the Academy had already done her wrong by not recognizing what I'd consider one of the greatest supporting performances ever (in 1955's "The Night of the Hunter"). I don't feel that Kirkland's the one who edged Gish out of a nomination. That would be Holly Hunter in "Broadcast News", a forgettable performance (and film)
Another Sally that deserved some Oscar attention (but didn't get it) in '87 was Sally Kellerman, never better than in her ruefully funny supporting turn in Henry Jaglom's warmly observed "Someone to Love". My 1987 awards would have been a double Sally K event, with Kirkland and Kellerman both taking home trophies.
C O N S I D E R
I liked the analysis of the performance but I have seen it twice and never respond to the role or Sally in it.
For my money she kept out more deserving performers
Emily Lloyd,Bette Davis,Maggie Smith,Lillian Gish,Barbra Streisand and Faye Dunaway
It's been MANY years since I last saw Anna. Whilst Kirkland is great it was Paulina Porizkova that stole the show for me. But them I am partial to a legendary supermodel in an incarnations.
Claudio see Wish You Were Here it's very british very funny and Lloyd is amazing in it.
I second the thoughts on Gish and I don't know why Bette Davis didn't get traction as she was great too and in poor health,she could've had 11 noms.
Watch the scene with Davis and the lock of her husbands hair and see if you aren't moved when she strokes her face with it,I am huge Davis fan and this is one of her best acted clips.
Her reaction to Cher winning the Oscar is too funny.
ANNA is a strange movie but I agree that Kirkland is great in it. I discovered it only because I loved Holly Hunter in BROADCAST NEWS, thought Cher was mediocre at best in MOONSTRUCK and wanted to find out if Cher was the worst of the nominees, a la 1967. I still have yet to see IRONWEED, but something tells me I'm not missing out on much.
Thanks for the write-up. Looking forward to the Smackdown!
While I probably would have put Close and Hunter ahead of Kirkland, I love her in Anna and think it was a fully deserving nomination amongst a formidable line-up (Cher is the closest thing to a "weak" link and she's delightful in Moonstruck).
And the comparison to Melissa Leo in one of the comments is missing one thing. The Fighter was an Oscar Frontrunner and the award was always Leo's to lose. Her campaigning, though I don't personally read anything in her motives besides wanting to win, was by and large pointless. Kirkland would not have gotten anything like the traction she got if not for her own hard work and drive. I think it stands to reason she might have been in second or third place. It was too soon for Hunter, Streep had two, and I don't think Close was ever going to actually win for Fatal Attraction.
George-Ironweed is not a great movie, but not a bad one either, and it is IMO the best of Streep's "forgotten" Oscar noms. I think she's amazing. And Carroll Baker is also great in a small role. So I'd say worth checking it out.
Not sure who I would have nominated, my ballot might just be the ladies the Oscar's nominated. I don't Smith in Judith Hearne was eligible until the following year, otherwise she would be right up there.
Not really getting the Whales of August praise. Davis can barely speak or move and while Gish is incapable of failing to be less than a magical presence (I think the scene where she toasts her dead husband is beautifully played moment) those are not rich enough roles to warrant a nod. Beyond that Davis trashed the film in print because she felt Gish was getting all the attention, thereby completely negating any chance of an Oscar nomination as well much in the way of goodwill towards her.
I don't know about this piece. Excessive Oscar campaigning is still excessive campaigning and shouldn't be applauded. I'm not sure the actress in 6th place this year would be happy to know that they would have had to schmooze every person in Hollywood literally to get the same results. I do empathize with the fact that she had far less studio support. Tough call
#89 on my list of all-time greatest Oscar nominated performances :)
And don't forget the best part of Kirkland's campaign - her godmother Shelley Winters' screenings at her home for all of her Old Hollywood pals!
Campaigning may be distasteful to some, but she worked her butt off to get people to know her name, and here we are 30+ years later still talking about her. Gotta respect the hustle.
On the flip side, remember the flack that Monique caught for *not* campaigning for Precious? Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
I want to chime in on how great Emily Lloyd was in Wish You Were Here. She won the National Society of Film Critics Award in a landslide, so she may have actually had a (slim) chance. I've read that she had major health problems that derailed what could have been a major career Sally Kirkland is ok (they've nominated plenty worse) but I rank her 5th of the 5. I really love Holly Hunter in Broadcast News. And the more the talk turns to campaigns and the less it turns to actual quality of the performances, the less interested I am in the Oscar races.
*off topic*
Eagerly awaiting for some "Borat 2" reaction, including Maria Bakalova's breakthrough and scene-stealing performance. I loved the film as much as the first one.
For Your Consideration has already been made, but honestly I would love to see the movie version of Sally Kirkland's campaign to win the Oscar. Claudio needs to write that screenplay for Cate Blanchett.
And if I'm going to watch a great Oscary performance in a mediocre movie, I'd rather watch Anna than, say, The Accused for example.
To me Broadcast News is the best encapsulation of all Hunter's gifts. She's amazing in Raising Arizona but it's a very broad comedic turn by comparison. I'd give her the win for her Jane Craig, and lol to whoever described it as "forgettable." I don't think I've ever encountered...that take.
At least all this heavy campaigning was for a worthy performance, not like Cliff Robertson for Charly.
Love Kirkland in ANNA and many congrats for her efforts which at last found a good answer from Ampas...yep, I also admire Gish in Whales, thinking that she and Prince deserved to be contenders just like Sothern, but the Best Actress line-up was so strong it’s very difficult to imagine an alternative (blasphemy: I don’t think that Cher is at her best in Moonstruck but it was definitely her moment)
Nathaniel B --- wait how was Broadcast News overlooked? It was up for Best Picture (when there were only 5 nominees!) and had the second most nominations of any movie.
Ten-year-old me says leave Charly alone! (And, unlike Kirkland, Robertson actually won.)
i'm surprised how many Cher agnostics we have here. She is beyond fabulous in MOONSTRUCK. I've seen it several times and i swear she gets better with each viewing.
Claudio -- i can also vouch for Emily Lloyd. I didn't yet have a website (what is the web?, 1987 people would have sked) but i was still making lists and at the time i had Lloyd in my best actress lineup instead of Holly Hunter.
Early in her career she had a run of showy small parts in good films: The Way We Were, Cinderella Liberty and The Sting. She played Streisand's co-activist friend in The Way We Were. Who would have thought that, years later, she'd be one of the actresses nominated instead of her in Nuts!
This sounds right up my alley! You've definitely inspired me to check it out after only really knowing of it from watching that clip of Cher winning (I had heard the campaigning stories, too, obviously).
Nathaniel-I love Cher in moonstruck, she just would be my least favorite of the five nominees AND it's actually a distant third in terms of my favorite Cher performances. I think she's even better in Moonstruck and would have absolutely been a contender in 1985 for Mask. But I have no qualms about her actually winning the Oscar.
NATHANIEL R, I was talking in terms of awards show wins. BN was critically acclaimed, but somehow shut out at both the Globes and the Oscars.
Sally Kirkland walked so Melissa Leo could run.
haha.
I don't see something wrong with this. Meg Tilly recently mentioned how she mounted her own Oscar campaign for Bullets Over Broadway. Obviously I don't think she went to this length, the movie was being pushed for awards already, but it was highlighting only Diane Weist and not her, so she made her nom happen.
If an actor believes they gave that performance they'll be remembered for but aren't visible enough, I don't see what's wrong with going for the gold. An Oscar nod made people of younger generations knowing her name/the movie, and we're all still talking about it all these years later.
Melissa Leo was a little thirsty but also hilarious. I think she just saw it as her one shot to grab that little guy and went full steam ahead.
It's up to the Academy to either take the bait or not, and they did. At least Sally gave a worthy performance. I'd rather this scenario than the studio paying for an expensive campaign and scoring nods in every category for a standard Oscar bait flick.
Philip H. - I think you mean Jennifer Tilly, Meg's sister :)
It should have been closes’ in a cake walk but how many times have we sent that 😂
Ian - I forgot to change that--whoops. But yes that's what I meant! :)
James -- That's certainly an interesting topic to think about. Thank you for the suggestion.
Ken -- I'll have to check out Kellerman before the Smackdown. I've never seen her film, but your comment left me intrigued.
markgordonuk -- I'm no fan of THE WHALES OF AUGUST. As much as I love Davis and, occasionally, Gish, I don't think they're Oscar-worthy in the picture. Of the main cast, only Vincent Price made me consider including the movie in my personal awards. That being said, I'm glad Ann Sothern got a nomination in her lifetime. She deserved to be nominated back in '49 as far as I'm concerned.
George -- IRONWEED's full of stupendous acting, even though it's a very depressing watch.
Andrew Carden -- I forgot to mention that in the write-up. Thanks for reminding me of that :)
Dave in Hollywood -- You're very kind. That being said, the role of Kirkland belongs to Kirsten Wiig.
ajnrules -- He's my most disliked Best Actor champion. I can't stand CHARLY.
Glenn Dunks -- If you do end up watching ANNA, I hope you enjoy Kirkland as much as I do. She's fabulous and more people should check out her work.
I need to revisit Anna, though Sally Kirkland definitely earned her spot in the lineup (unlike Streep, who's not bad but borderline supporting anyway).
Close absolutely should've won the Oscar that year. No film performance of the '80s was as galvanizing, seismic (pop culturally-speaking), <I>and</I> genuinely great as hers — even more so than in Dangerous Liaisons (also great).
I love/adore Hunter in Broadcast News, so she'd be a very close second. Cher, who's winning in Moonstruck, and Kirkland alternate between third and fourth for me. (Bye Mary Louise Streep.)
Love this trip down memory lane, Cláudio! Well done.
Anna is a wonderful character driven film. It is a must see for Sally Kirkland’s brilliant performance.