In Lieu of the Supporting Actress Smackdown...
Thursday, February 6, 2020 at 1:08PM by Eric Blume
This too-short Oscar season has all of us firing on all cylinders here at The Film Experience, so sadly we can't engage in a full Supporting Actress Smackdown this week. (The series will return soon though) In its absence, and to encourage hearing from all of you, Nathaniel has asked me to submit my personal Smackdown ballot and let the chips fall where they may...
Kathy Bates, Richard Jewell
❤️❤️ (out of 5)
In Bates’ favor, her acting very much reflects Richard Jewell itself: broad and messy. Her style here is indeed in lock-step with the overall style of the film: both feel out of a 1990s network television movie…a “Sunday night event” type thing. While overall this is not the strongest field, her nomination is still a mystery. Perhaps we’re to give Bates points for appearing and behaving like a “regular” person (?) which she does effortlessly, but to reward her for a role that asks practically nothing of her feels excessive. She shows none of the wild flavors she had in her great performance in Primary Colors or even the pockets of surprising humor and humanity she found in her small role in About Schmidt. It’s always nice to see Bates get a big screen role, but here it’s a bit depressing watching Bates frump around the kitchen and have crying jags, with nothing else to play.
Laura Dern, Marriage Story
❤️❤️❤️❤️ (out of 5)
On one hand, it’s a bummer that Laura Dern will finally win an Oscar for this smallish role in a film that is never about her character in any way, and twenty years from now it may look like an odd win. On the other hand, Laura Dern is one of the greats and should have an Oscar, and her acting here is fully alive and inventive. She’s not slouching in this glorious movie and creates a very specific character from the page. She deftly moves in and out with Charlie where she’s saying the most appalling things to him one moment, then turns casually warm to him the next. Dern’s Nora is someone who takes great pride in the designer cookies and specialized tea she offers her clients, and she gets off on how open and inviting she projects herself to be. She’s not fully the cyclone of Renata Klein: Dern modulates her Nora, but she’s playing on multiple levels: you sense that Nora’s divorce was painful and brutal, and she thinks she’s now a crusader. Everything she gets in a client’s favor serves as balm for what she maybe didn’t get. She’s forceful, and she’s aggressive, but she’s human…in fact, Dern shows you moments where Nora actively reminds herself to be human. Dern seizes on this character’s feverish intelligence and drive to win, but you feel that’s part of her armor, too. The role couldn’t be bettered, and Dern turns in a fully-realized character at the fringes.
Scarlett Johansson, JoJo Rabbit
❤️❤️❤️ (out of 5)
Bravo to Scarlett for tackling a completely different role from what we’ve seen her do, and for jumping so joyfully into Taika Waititi’s super specific stylization with aplomb. It’s easy to underestimate Johansson’s contribution to the film: she’s really the spirit of humanity in the movie, but only slowly reveals the layers of that over the course of the film. She keeps surprising us with the character throughout. Her rapport with young Roman Griffin Davis feels true and uncliched: you sense their history and unique bond. She also feels like a genuinely German mom. Her performance feels period yet immediate. She’s wonderful.
Florence Pugh, Little Women
❤️❤️❤️ (out of 5)
Pugh’s marvelous work here stems from her clarity: you always know where Amy is emotionally at every moment. Pugh and Gerwig charted Amy’s journey very specifically, and Pugh’s tight understanding of the character pulls her front and center of every scene she’s in, appropriately for dramatic impact. In acting class, you learn early about action, intention and obstacles, and Pugh’s acting here is locked into those basic concepts. Everything is kept very simple: Amy is uncomplicated, and acts impulsively and manipulatively. Pugh doesn’t apologize for her and barrels full steam ahead. Pugh’s Amy is funny, charming, selfish, awful, and one hundred percent real. As an actress, Pugh lets us understand where Amy is coming from at every moment, and she’s got flair and passion to burn. It’s an exciting and inspired performance.
Margot Robbie, Bombshell
❤️❤️❤️½ (out of 5)
Usually when a movie of a real-life story has a “composite character” who plays against other actual identified humans, the role is a disaster. It’s part of the beauty of Robbie’s performance that her “Kayla” feels as specific and “real” as Megyn Kelly and Gretchen Carlson surrounding her. Robbie locks in the details: the brash cluelessness of a self-proclaimed “influencer” with the steely resolve to get the job, dig in, and get ahead. Robbie isn’t playing “at” the qualities of a young Republican girl who feels the world is hers…she’s just in it, with no knowing wink. She even makes you believe the biggest stretch in the character (when this straight girl has sex with Kate McKinnon, you buy it…Robbie shows you Kayla’s “bad girl” streak, that there’s more curiosity in there than you might think). Robbie’s sensuality is sometimes almost too much for the camera, and she puts that powerful quality of hers to great advantage in the big scene with Lithgow: one of the most beautiful, sexualized women in the cinema today is reduced to a tearful little girl in front of us. The processing of her shame in this scene is palpably sweaty, horribly disgusting, and intensely sad. Robbie thrusts you right into that moment, playing multiple shades of confusion, power, loss of power, anger, fear, and grief. I hope we’re not already taking for granted what this fiercely talented actress brings to the table.
We're missing the chance to get into a big discussion on these five performances, so share your thoughts and heart ratings with us in the comments. Do we all feel this isn't the strongest category we've had compared to years past? Do any of these performances tower above the others? Sound off and share!
Reader Comments (47)
It's a weak category but i'll chime in
Bates 3 - I think she got this for the press conference scene and maybe to keep J Lo out,,she feels real as his mother,the chemistry is there,it's a bit one note but she's always a warm prescence .
Robbie 3 - better in OUATIH but the shamed phone call scene eis very powerful.
Dern 2.5 - more 1 note than Bates,I never believed this was a real person but a scripters idea of a ballsy lawyer,the famous scne is just too on the nose.
Pugh 3 - better in the older scenes,this is her warming up for her future,she's saying take note.
Johansson 3.5 - accents off in places but she's warm great with all her sene partners and gets right into the stylised film but leaves too early.
Johansson wins for me. She was based on Waikiti's admiration for his single mother so she probably has a specific reference to go for and her part feels very specific and very much a character. She handles an arduous job of being a single mother to a difficult kid with inspiring joy and playfulness. I loved the monologue between two parents, her dancing, nearly everything about her
Even if this year's actress categories aren't as strong as years past, could we consider it a nice break from Meryl Streep? Don't get me wrong, I love her, but Bates is a welcome alternative regardless of the lackluster role. I always enjoy the lightheartedness younger actresses bring to this category during award season, like a Abigail Breslin and Quvenzhané Wallis, but this year doesn't strike me as odd or wrong more than any other years past.
Remember when Tilda Swinton won for Michael Clayton? That was another weird win in this category.
I love Margot Robbie, she's a natural talent, and even with all the movies she's done, never feels overexposed to me. I hope she gets her lock with an Oscar win someday soon. There's a role wating for her to kill in soon, there just has to be.
Bates - 2/5
Dern - 3.5/5
Johansson - 4/5
Pugh - 3/5
Robbie - 3/5
Johansson would get my vote. This would also rank as one of my favourite performances of hers. It, for me, was a complete departure from what I have come to expect from her. Her charm, warmth & humanity came from so deep within. I completely forgot it was Scarlett I was watching. It was the only performance I found myself thinking about weeks later. Often randomly smiling as I thought of it. I didn't know just how much it had seeped into me. While I won't begrudge Dern winning - if there is one shocker in the acting categories, my hope would be that it is Scarlett's name that is called on Oscar night.
I vote for Scarlett, too. She was the heart of that movie. It wouldn't have worked nearly as well as it did without that pitch perfect performance.
Bates - 3/5
Pugh - 3/5
ScarJo - 4/5
Dern - 4/5
Robbie - 3/5
JLo - 3.5/5
Shuzhen - 3/5
Kidman - 3.5/5
My Line up
Jennifer Lopez - Hustlers
Zhao Shuzhen -The Farewell
Taylor Russell - Waves
Kathy Bates - Richard Jewell
Nicole Kidman - Bombshelll
Laura Dern- Marriage Story
I have gone back and forth with this performance a few times. Dern has great physical presence in this movie. It frames her well and you have to pay attention to her when she is on screen. But I never believed she actually cared for Nicole. She just wanted to win. in the first scene, she starts shedding clothing, almost like she is seducing Nicole, trapping the poor fly in her web. There is no warmth or compassion in her voice. And during her scenes with Charlie and his first lawyer, her voice goes into a condescending baby voice. Only her scenes with Ray Liotta, as her equal and only challenge, do we get a peek at the real Nora. In another clothing removal, this time not to seduce but as a game on gesture, she spares with her opponent, her voice not high but grounded and firm. Dern tries to put a hint of playfulness in the courtroom, like Nora is having a little fun. She only reverts to the baby talk when addressing Charlie. But while Dern tries to but little gems in, overly big gestures come to the front and sometimes the entire performance seems over exaggerated. I love Laura Dern. She should have won in 2014 and I will go to my grave defending a Jurassic Park nomination that she should have gotten. But Marriage Story is not her best performance. I will be happy if she wins, but I would prefer it be for a different performance. 2.5 hearts
Scarlett Johansson- JoJo Rabbit
I have conflicting thoughts on this movie. But I firmly believe that Scarlett Johansson is the best part of it. She plays Rosie, the mother of a boy in the Hitler youth and who is also hiding a Jewish girl in her house. The tone of the movie is uneven at times, but Scarlett seems to know what is needed each scene, bringing a spirited or somber energy when required. She has believable motherly chemistry with both child actors. Her scene telling Elsa to not give up is stirring but I particularly like the scene at the dinner table with her son. The table is Switzerland. When her son lashes out at her, Rosie responds by dressing up as her husband to discipline the boy but regrets it and then does a quick one person dialogue. Somehow the whole thing seems spontaneous like Scarlett never rehearsed and just decided to do this on the fly and the director just kept the cameras rolling. That is a very difficult thing to do and I was very impressed with her. Bonus points for having the most convincing and consistent accent. 4 hearts
Florence Pugh- Little Women
The fact that we are changing our opinions of a character that first appeared over 100 years ago shows how much of an impact Pugh made with this performance. Amy is still kind of bratty and babyish at the beginning, and to her credit Pugh never tries to make Amy likable during these scenes, just presents her as a young girl who is immature and still trying to make her way, even though she has very strong ideas about the world and who she wants to be in it. When Amy is older, Pugh still lets these childish impulses come through but Amy is more still, much more in control of her body and presence. Her voice has grown into a deeper and calmer one. Pugh also knows Amy can play the part of an "ornament" in public and we can tell when Amy is performing and when Amy is herself. I must also give credit to Gerwig, whose writings and reinterpretation of Amy have guided Pugh to give a great performance. Right after the movie I immediately knew I needed to watch that marriage proposition scene with Timothee Chalamet again. "I'm not a poet, I'm just a woman" will surly be her Oscar clip as I don't think anyone in my theater was breathing during it. We were all enthralled by Florence Pugh giving the best performance by an actress in a supporting role this year. 5 hearts
2½ for Dern
0 for the rest
I wish I was trolling, but geez, Oscar nominations are a mess and really weak in all acting categories.
I feel like you give yourself unreasonable arbitrary deadlines for a lot of things. Smackdown will still be great after Dern wins. As pointed out by others, Zellweger is the riskiest and you don’t do a Best Actress Smackdown. Relax buddy and enjoy the ride. You’ve had quality content coming out the wazoo lately! (Cláudio being the heavy hitter it must be said)
Obviously directed at Nathaniel and his timeline. From what I’ve read from yourself Eric and many others, this is going to prove not a particularly good or memorable year for supporting actress at the Oscars.
Could imagine if JLO were in this? She'd get all 5/5 votes lol
What would I expect my personal supporting actress ballot to be? Almost certainly some combination of these seven performances:
Idina Menzel, Uncut Gems (lock)
Julia Fox, Uncut Gems (lock)
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell (probable)
ScarJo, JoJo Rabbit (Not Seen Yet)
Florence Pugh, Little Women (Not Seen Yet)
Laura Dern, Little Women (Yeah, really like Laura Dern, and I won't resent the idea of Laura Dern, Oscar winner, but I'll wait to see her OTHER supporting role this year before deciding HOW bad her Marriage Story performance being her winner is.) (Not Seen Yet)
Julia Butters, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Maybe)
(J. Lo? Really liked that performance, but...I don't think that's supporting. Sorry, personally, that's a lead role.)
Peter -- we do give out arbitrary deadlines but i wish i was better at sticking to them. this year was just too fast-paced to get everything done.
everyone -- my ballot would have been like so
BATES - 1 heart (I really got nothing from this performance that any competent actor could have done and great ones could have *perhaps* given more depth)
DERN - 3/4? hearts (weirdly underrated for a steamroller performance)
PUGH - 4 hearts (i dont mind the stylization of her young scenes - 3 but the older scenes are just awesome - 5.
JOHANSSON - 3 hearts (loved her in this. don't think it's a heavy lift per se but her warmth and humor are great)
ROBBIE -2 hearts (strong in some scenes but have difficulty squaring this as a character than a narrative device.)
My votes:
Bates - didn't see it (not an Eastwood fan, to put it mildly)
Dern - 3
Johansson - 4/5
Pugh - 4/5
Robbie - 3/5
Laura Dern is way overdue. She has a great Oscar moment in Marriage Story. This is her time. 5/5
I've only seen three of them, but I'm totally in love with all three performances (Dern, Johansson and Pugh.) Between them and Pacino, Pesci, Hanks on the other side, I think it's a pretty strong year in the supporting categories.
Dern gets my vote. A very good actress playing a very well-written character. Love her 'thing' with Liotta, who is also excellent. Again, why isn't Marriage Story the front-runner for everything?
Pugh is fantastic as Amy. Steals the movie. I also love Letts, the best supporting actor of the year, and Meryl Streep. Strangely enough, I find Dern too contemporary for the movie. Maybe that's what Greta was looking for.
I won't comment about the others. I respect them too much to say anything about their performances. What a weak lineup. Ramona, you won't be forgotten!
I'll just rank them from best to worst:
Scarlett Johansson *****
Florence Pugh ****
Laura Dern ***
Margot Robbie **
Kathy Bates *
Okay, clearly I need to finally watch JoJo Rabbit given all the love for Scarlett (who'd I'd vote for if I had a Best Actress ballot) here. But not having seen her/JoJo, I'm all in for Florence Pugh, who I think is marvelous. The scenes of Pugh when Amy's older are fantastic, but I think she's also surprisingly effective as the younger Amy, no small feat considering how much younger she's supposed to be playing.
Baffled by the ScarJo/Jojo love. Having not yet seen Richard Jewell, ScarJo's nomination seems the laziest / most disposable of the bunch. The category itself is horribly uninspiring.
I'm team Dern all the way!
Bates: 3 hearts
Dern: 2 hearts
Johansson: 2 hearts
Pugh: 5 hearts
Robbie: 3 hearts
My personal ballot:
Cho Yeo-jeong, Parastie
Deirdre O’Connell, Diane
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Florence Pugh, Little Women
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewell
My winner would probably be Lopez with Pugh not that far behind
I have only seen Laura Dern in Marriage Story, and I would give her one heart. Rarely subtle and never deep, her Nora demands attention but is not believable as a real person, and the recasting possibilities are endless. To be fair, I think it's a poorly written role that needed to be modulated directorially to have some chance of not being a total cartoon.
This is my least favorite kind of sweep--a combination of an obviously showy and completely expected turn by a well-liked veteran who the industry has decided it's "her time."
Lawyers have egos the size of Texas, Mike, Glad you haven't met many
Bates- .5 hearts
La Dern- 4 hearts
Johansson- 4.5 hearts
Pugh- 5 hearts
Robbie- 3/2.5 hearts
Pugh obviously gets my vote, but I'm thoroughly on board with Dern's win on Sunday. Unlike a lot of people I don't think this is as dire as they've said! Would I have liked to see Lopez here over Bates? Of course! But the fact that 3.5 (I would've preferred Robbie be nominated for OUATIH, but hey) performances are that good is amazing.
Kathy Bates is a binary performer. You're either team her or would prefer to be elsewhere watching someone else. Jesus. She's better in Richard Jewell than being given credit for by most here. I hope she has another opportunity to work with Eastwood. His directorial style benefits her as an actress.
Laura Dern is the weakest of the front runners this year.
@Mike: I think all the characters in Marriage Story come off as stagy (I find that more accurate than cartoonish). But I guess that's just the director's choice. I think Dern did a fine job with what she had and stood out against very strong lead performances in the film. I think a lot of people think Dern is the best of the 5 nominated this year, so I hardly think it can all be chalked up to overdue/bait.
We all have our favorites but I believe we can be objective about them. Bates and Johansson are way way below they're level. Haven't seen Bombshell.
I tallied up the hearts in the comments and from Eric. I used the average since not everyone had seen the movies and this is the results:
Bates- 1.6
Robbie- 2.6
Dern- 3.2
Johansson- 3.4
Pugh- 3.7
Florence wins although Laura and Scarlett were right behind.
If it is by total hearts then the results are as follows:
Bates- 13.5
Robbie- 23.5
Johansoon- 34
Dern- 36
Pugh- 37
Florence still wins in a close race with Laura and Scarlett.
My ballot would go
1. Pugh
2. Johansson
3. Dern
4. Robbie
5. Bates
I think Pugh is quite ahead of the competition, a supernova of charisma and challenging our expectations of a much maligned character. Johansson delivers lots of warmth and humour, and felt like the most necessary player in the film. Dern is lots of a fun in a limited role, but nails her character's hard edges. If we had to nominate Robbie here, I'd have preferred it for Tarantino. Apart from her phone call scene, this performance feels far too self aware and borderline caricature.
My issue with Robbie as an actress is that I constantly feel her characters know the camera is present, consistently transmitting to us what she is thinking rather than inhabiting the scene she's in. This is why her performances in I,Tonya and The Wolf of Wall Street are very successful, but in other roles, it creates an artifice between character and performer. I think she's a very winning presence though and I love her business sensibility.
Let's not talk about Richard Jewell. Justice for JLo.
scarjojo gets my vote
Haven’t seen Bates but, in a toss up between Pugh and ScarJo, I’ll go with ScarJo. Much of it is surprise at how effective she was at radiating a potentially transformative warmth and care to her son. This was a film I was honestly prepared to loathe but emerged quite taken with her performance in this. I won’t be mad if Dern wins: in terms of size, it’s what I wish “supporting” could always be (like Dench, Davis, or W Hurt)
Fuck this category. It could have been tolerable sans a Bates inclusion. I love Kathy Bates but this is 'Robert Duvall in The Judge' waste of a nomination.
Rebecca Ferguson, Doctor Sleep
Jennifer Lopez, Hustlers
Da'Vine Joy Randolph, Dolemite is My Name
Zhao Shuzhen, The Farewel
Octavia Spencer, Luce
Bates - 2 / 5
Dern - 3,5 / 5
Johansson - 4 / 5
Pugh - 5 / 5
Robbie - 2,5 / 5
I thought Johansson's performnace in JOJO RABBIT would be my favorite from the nominees shortlist (the actress has never been this luminous and far away from the sexy persona) but then I watched LITTLE WOMEN and I just couldn't take my eyes off Pugh. She's magnetic even when she's just present without saying a word or walking by - it's a full character embodiment and she be praised for such work, no matter she's the youngest of the bunch.
No matter what, I'm just happy for a Dern win. I like her.
Dern's my clear win among the nominees, though I think Florence Pugh stole Little Women from the rest of that cast.
I do prefer a few performances not nominated to any of the nominees. Jennifer Lopez is my personal win for Hustlers. Shao Shuzhen for The Farewell, Jeong-eun Lee for Parasite, and Billie Lourd for Booksmart all make my lineup over Scarlett Johannson, Margot Robbie, and Kathy Bates. I went six-wide for all my categories this year because I can.
Stupidly reductive statement /3rtful. Bates is never really bad, but she does phone in occasionally or cannot overcome a meh script role. Similar to Emma Thompson in that she’s never near to dire and has fantastic highs which cloud people to their mediocre or simply fine performances.
I would be interested in the screen time/percentage of this category of true supporting roles.
Kathy Bates - 3 out of 5
Laura Dern - 1 out of 5
Scarlett Johansson - 4 out of 5
Florence Pugh - N/A
Margot Robbie - 2 out of 5
Bates is better than people who think she knocked out JLo think. Here's what Bates does: she has a great, emotional scene at the press conference. She really sells it. But look at her filmography and find when she has done this before. At least compare it to Bates' previous nominations. This is NOTHING like her previous 3 nominations. She is a true supporting role that shows us something we rarely see from her. That is why this nomination makes sense. She showed us something new, and we should appreciate that.
Dern is not great in this film. I defy people to thoughtfully articulate why this nomination and eventual win are deserved without mentioning once that it is for her career body of work. Look at this performance in a vacuum and judge it. There is little to support an Academy Award for being the BEST supporting actress performance. We have seen this role from her before. She is not showing us anything new.
Johansson is the most sympathetic performance of this group. She is moving in how she loves her son, will entertain him with a cute dance and basically acts as his closest friend. She stands up for him and is probably a more supportive mother than Bates, but it's close. And speaking of Bates, this role is more well-rounded than Bates. I think this performance has everything needed to justify a win.
Pugh - Haven't seen Little Women, so I can't comment.
Robbie's nomination here is strange because the film uses her a lot but I felt like her character was not worthy of so much screen time. She is kind of just a dumb blonde but we feel for her in that horrifying scene when she is asked to keep raising her skirt. What makes this performance not work is that Robbie is rarely asked to show us acting range. She seems to have one note: dumb victim.
OVERALL: The weakest lineup in this category that I've ever seen. Sure, JLo would definitely have raised it up but there are at least two people that shouldn't be here.
WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Octavia Spencer (showing us something new), Jennifer Lopez (showing us something new), & maybe Nicole Kidman.
WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN NOMINATED: Laura Dern, Margot Robbie, & maybe Florence Pugh (only because I haven't seen Little Women yet to judge Pugh).
Pugh is the best here, but I have no issue with Laura Dern's win.
My fantasy Supporting Actress noms:
-Cho Yeo-jeong, Parasite
-Park So-dam, Parasite
-Lee Jung-eun, Parasite
-Florence Pugh, Little Women
-Laura Dern, Marriage Story
Yeah, thats right, three women from Parasite. Surely the Academy could've rallied around one of them.
Kathy Bates = 2 hearts (I actually like the movie - sorry - but there isn't much to her role; I kept hoping for her big "how DARE you do that to my son" scene, but really she's just reduced to fidgeting in the background)
Florence Pugh = 3 hearts (I love her, and she does a good job; but I wasn't as impressed the second time I watched it; honestly a vote for her would be a vote for her body of work the last two years rather than an honest assessment of her "Little Women" performance)
Laura Dern = 2.5 hearts (I hated her character as written and realized; I fully understand that is the point, but I don't think Dern really elevated the character beyond "man's worst nightmare divorce attorney")
Scarlett Johansson = 2.5 hearts (a nice, warm role with a questionable accent; but I didn't really think she had much to do; it's more a nomination for what her character represents rather than what's there in the acting)
(didn't see Bombshell - don't really want to, either)
For the record, I would've given Yo-Jeong Jo 4 hearts (really perfect as the dim rich housewife), Jennifer Lopez 3 hearts (does well with what she's given, but the role doesn't have as much depth as I'd hoped), Thom McKenzie 4 hearts (she's the only one who successfully navigated the tricky shift in tones of the film), DaVine Joy Randolph 3.5 hearts (great job - maybe one great scene away from a surefire nomination), and Zhao Shuzhen 4 hearts (what a heartbreaking role and delicate performance). It would've been nice to see Caitriona Balfe in the running too (really elevates the "supportive wife" role we've seen a hundred times).
Bates - 4
Johansson - 3
Pugh - 3
Robbie - 2
Dern - 2
Bates- 3. Underrated performance. I like the little bits of suspicion she has of her son.
Dern- 4 Excellent though imperfect. A post BLL Dern performance, very self-aware but hilarious.
Johansson- 1 Wooden, bad accent, cheap slapstick. Represents the film's worst tendencies.
Pugh- 3 Couldn't buy her as the younger Amy but Pugh's beauty and passion is still a thing to behold.
Robbie- 2 This characterization fell a little flat for me. Robbie's better at over the top (I, Tonya, Suicide Squad) though the phone call scene of course, is a highlight.
That's JLo's Oscar.
Can Johansson actually WIN on Sunday? I know she's splitting her own vote but it's possible...
@Michael R - I WISH. She's by far the best performance here. And it seems most pundits have her a close second to Dern. I like the argument they make, that Jojo Rabbit is stronger than we think, combined with the love for that performance + her double noms could equal a surprise victory.
BUT...
What just occurred to me is that she literally hasn't won a single thing, not even some obscure regional critics prize. NOTHING. Even on Wikipedia in her awards stats page, there is not a single win for Jojo Rabbit. So the question is: would she really become the first actor in our modern age to win an Oscar and literally nothing else? Literally NOTHING ELSE.
Laura must win.
Scarlett deserved this nomination so much.
I wonder what your scores are for Zhao Shuzhen’s effortless nuanced acting and J-Lo’s brash complicated performance.
Scarlett Johansson *****
Florence Pugh ****
Laura Dern ***1/2
Margot Robbie ***
Kathy Bates *
Scarjo is so warm & loveable!! She serves as the moral compass & maternal selfless luv in Jojo Rabbit! Her ending really shatters me to pieces!!
I so wish Scajo will win BSA for this, but I guess I can't begrudge Dern overdue Oscar & her Nora is certainly a scene stealer!