Smackdown '05: Amy, Catherine, Frances, Michelle, and Rachel Weisz
Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 10:31AM The Supporting Actress Smackdown series picks an Oscar vintage -- 2005 this time -- and explores.
THE NOMINEES
A pregnant meercat obsessive, a gaslit housewife, a reckless activist, a tough union rep, and the perceptive companion to a famous writer. For the Best Supporting Actress slate of 2005, the Academy went with two then fresh faces (Amy Adams in Junebug, Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain), and one mid-career actress stepping up her game (Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener). They filled out the remainder of the field with familiar players, an Oscar regular (Frances McDormand in North Country) and a previous nominee (Catherine Keener in Capote)
THE PANEL
Here to discuss these actresses and films of 2005 are from left to right: cinephile and actress obsessive Ali Benzekri, Los Angeles Times' Justin Chang, Awards Daily's Joey Moser, the actress Kerry O'Malley (Snowpiercer, Boardwalk Empire, Strange Angel) and your host at the The Film Experience, Nathaniel R. Let's begin...
2005
SUPPORTING ACTRESS SMACKDOWN + PODCAST
The companion podcast can be downloaded at the bottom of this article or by visiting the iTunes page...
Amy Adams as "Ashley" in Junebug
Synopsis: A very pregnant child-like housewife becomes fascinated with her new sister-in-law visiting from New York City.
Stats: Then 31 yrs old, 8th film, 1st billed (but it's alphabetical as an ensemble picture). First nomination (of an eventual six). 31 minutes of screen time (or 29% of the running time)
Ali Benzekri: I have so many problems with Junebug but none of them involve Amy Adams’ work. She can do so many things. In Junebug, she is different and it goes without saying that she delivers, once again, an ideal performance in a far from ideal film. ♥♥♥
Justin Chang: Any actor who’s racked up six Oscar nominations in 13 years is bound to seem overdue. But Adams has seemed overdue since she received her first nomination for this early breakthrough that still stands, remarkably, among her finest work. She’s sublime in her subtle vacillations between hilarity and heartache, never more affectingly than in that killer of a final scene. And she makes beautiful sense of a character who might have seemed, in other hands, like a bundle of irreconcilable contradictions: Ashley is insecure and big-hearted, impulsive and wise, the orphan who married into this family and becomes the glue that holds it together. I remember seeing this movie for the first time and thinking I’d never encountered a character quite like Ashley; years later, I still can’t shake that feeling. ♥♥♥♥♥
Joey Moser: Protect Ashley at all costs! I want to be her friend so badly--if only to tell her that Johnny needs to talk to someone about his boyish lack of patience. Ashley is eager for knowledge and love and I was so happy to be reminded that Embeth Davidtz's Madeleine is never annoyed or put off by Ashley's loquaciousness. If that hospital scene doesn't break your heart and make you feel helpless, you're a monster. If this movie had been made 10 or 12 years later, you know Ashley would have a meerkat YouTube channel, and I would watch it every week. ♥♥♥♥♥
Kerry O'Malley: A role that would have been a caricature or a joke in other, less-skilled hands. She never condescends to the character, but leads with vulnerability and guilelessness and true charm. It's such a winning performance and I frequently thought how annoying this character could have been in the hands of someone else. You really care for Ashley and want the best for her! ♥♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: This breakthrough turn has so many unforgettable details that it was a shock to revisit it and realize just how said flourishes are. Ashley's much beloved meercat fascination, for example, is over in a split second, Adams ending the funny impression of the animal before it's even really formed. That's how train-of-thought spontaneous and rich the performance is. Ashley can't edit herself -- she's too full of life and curiousity and desperation to connect in a house full of grumpy silent types. But Adams doesn't have the same problem. She gives Ashley crucial silent moments, both contemplative (the baby shower ) and born of the same racing spirit as her motor mouth (those awkward pauses to smile and giggle). "What makes you tick?" she asks her new sister-in-law in one of the film's most endearing line readings. We needn't ask it of Ashley herself. Amy Adams tells us everything. ♥♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Yes, I love how wide-eyed, bubbly, and pure-of-thought Adams makes Ashley, but I love even more how she starts to slowly show us palpable layers of sadness and disappointment hidden underneath. You start to wonder if the former explains the latter. Subsequent viewings have only driven home the point that Ashley is the glue holding this quietly broken family together." - Braulio (Reader average: ♥♥♥♥)
Actress earns 27 ❤s
Catherine Keener as "Nelle Harper Lee" in Capote
Synopsis: A writer, on the verge of publishing her bestseller, takes a trip south with her far more famous friend for research on his own novel. His narcissism starts to get to her.
Stats: Then 46 yrs old, 27th film, 2nd billed. Her second nomination. 19 minutes of screentime (or 16% of the running time)
Ali Benzekri: It’s almost impossible to take your eyes off of Keener. Whenever she’s on screen, she’s commanding and present through the whole film. Coattail or not, this is a masterclass in understated acting. Loved her in this. ♥♥♥♥
Justin Chang: Beautifully restrained work in what you might call a classic supporting role: It’s a part that serves entirely to inform and illuminate our perceptions of the lead character, and which therefore remains firmly within designated emotional boundaries. Her rapport with Philip Seymour Hoffman feels tender and true, as does the lopsidedness of their relationship. And I love that there’s a performance here whose quiet, graceful, steady virtues stand in opposition to the noise and bombast that typically gets awards attention, and those virtues are very much those of Nelle Harper Lee herself. Even still, it doesn’t feel anywhere close to Keener’s most fully realized work; it’s effective, in part, because it feels like a negation of everything that we know she can do. ♥♥♥
Joey Moser: People only talk about Philip Seymour Hoffman's brilliant performance, but there is a brilliance in being able to hold one's own in the shadow of a giant personality. She is Truman's confidante but she challenges him more than he might realize. I loved watching Keener's eyes observing every scene as if she was writing a literary commentary in her head. ♥♥♥♥
Kerry O'Malley: Catherine Keener has very little screen time, but once again turns in a performance with wit, humor, grace, steel and backbone. Oh, for a movie with her and Frances McDormand playing opposite each other. She has true moral authority and one of the most centered and hard-hitting moments in the movie, delivered with such directness and quiet force that it took my breath away. There simply isn’t enough of her in this film, and when she isn’t there, you really feel her absence. ♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: Hugely successful performances that never draw attention to themselves, aren't that common in Oscar history. But it's worth truly considering them with an open mind when they do show up. Theory: Hoffman still would have won the Oscar with a more generic take on Harper beside him, but the performance might not have been considered an instant classic without her. Why? Well, Keener let's us track Capote's emotional state beneath Hoffman's flamboyant recreation, down to a microscopic level, by way of her ultra-precise reactive performance. It's a gorgeously quiet study of a perpetually frustrating but intimate friendship. Would happily watch a movie all about her. ♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Too often derided as a coattail nominee, Keener more than holds her own against Hoffman. All of her scenes bring a warm, almost lilting presence that nicely balances the drab tone of the film. I only wish there were more of it to savor." - Jordan W. (Reader average: ♥♥¾)
Actress earns 20¾ ❤s
Frances McDormand as "Glory" in North Country
Synopsis: A tough union delegate mentors a new hire through a sexually toxic work environment before falling ill from Lou Gehrig's disease.
Stats: Then 48 yrs old, 27th film, 2nd billed. Fourth nomination (of an eventual five). 15 minutes of screen time (or 12% of the running time).
Ali Benzekri: Frances is a tremendous actress but this is a convenient role at best. Enjoyable but easily forgettable. She gives Glory a certain gravitas that is becoming her own trademark by now. Sometimes this touch works perfectly but in North Country, it is not distinctive or exciting. ♥♥
Justin Chang: The least distinctive of McDormand’s Oscar-nominated performances, despite some subliminal callbacks to the wintry Minnesota setting of “Fargo” and some attempts to inject some of her signature take-no-bull humor. Part of me wants to applaud the uncharacteristic lack of showiness, but the characterization too often feels vague and muffled — right down to the debilitating illness that surfaces in the third act, which feels introduced mainly to secure that courtroom-climax turnaround. ♥♥
Joey Moser: She could play Glory in her sleep, but I wanted more of her. She feels removed from the story, especially once she stops working at the mine. Since Glory is a bit older than Charlize Theron's character, I would've loved to have seen them interact more since Glory can stand up to everyone. The small moments of vulnerability are great, but her character sometimes feels like she's in another movie. ♥♥
Kerry O'Malley: Frances McDormand turns in another stunning turn as a blue collar, no-nonsense, hard-headed woman with a heart of gold. As always, a strong, centered, incisive performance from an actress whose presence always brings gravitas and moral strength. I can’t take my eyes off her, and her one scene in the courtroom has such force and power that she can change the course of the action with one look. ♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: The nomination is surely the byproduct of two things the first of which is that she's Frances McDormand, an Oscar favourite. Second, the character has a fatal disease, and thus collects enormous sympathy. If this sounds cynical and reductive, well, this particular Social Justice movie invites reductions. McDormand does solid work (it's hard to throw this actress off her game) but the movie asks very little of her. Curiously she comes closest to deserving the nominations in the 'light' scenes that ask her to do even less. McDormand's casual confidence, innate toughness, and cutting wit, all greatly enliven the movie's most atypically enjoyable scene where the characters are just being and talking whilst having fun at a local bar. ♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: " She gets an extra star for being all that Francis McDormandy extra, but it's nothing she ain't done before." - Drew C. (Reader average: ♥♥¼)
Actress earns 14¼ ❤s
Rachel Weisz as "Tessa Quayle" in The Constant Gardener
Synopsis: An impassioned activist falls for a British diplomat and uses their quick marriage as shield for her investigations into Big Pharma crimes in Africa.
Stats: Then 35 yrs old, 21st film, 2nd billed. First nomination (of an eventual two). 32 minutes of screentime (or 25% of the running time.)
Ali Benzekri: It was exciting to watch this for the first time this week especially after my newfound love for Weisz in The Favourite. Despite my hate for this film, I can’t say that Weisz left me indifferent. Her win though is still puzzling. She is emotive, intriguing and effective but all of this engaging work feels like it belongs to a better character/film. ♥♥♥
Justin Chang: Weisz’s best work (The Deep Blue Sea, The Favourite) is often intensely stylized in ways that push against the limits of realism. Her work here takes place in a more prosaic register, but it’s still vivid and energizing. What’s refreshing about it — and makes this a respectable win, despite superior competition — is how boldly it rejects the standard supporting-actress mold of the quietly long-suffering wife. Tessa is an adventurer and a crusader for justice who boldly forges her own path, pisses off powerful men and leaves her husband reeling rather than the other way around. She’s a memorable character, not least for the way she haunts the movie from beyond the grave. But these are qualities that exist as much on the page as on the screen; you don’t leave thinking that Weisz alone could have played her. ♥♥♥
Joey Moser: A beautifully natural performance. I sometimes wonder if Tessa has to calibrate her own charm and use it as a weapon with all the men around her. Her presence is felt throughout the film as if she is just to the side of the camera. How nice to see men obsess over a woman for a change, right? ♥♥♥♥
Kerry O'Malley: Weisz makes you think, “Of course! I would take you to Africa, too!" She is gorgeous and smart and passionate and feisty, and a real force of nature. You can easily see how she could get wrapped up in such a dangerous situation, and why Fiennes’ character would be so smitten by her. This is one of those displays of charisma that can’t be taught -- you either have it, or you don’t. She grabs a hold of the viewer and lets you fall in love with her and never lets go, so you believe that her husband would do anything to get to the bottom of what happened to her. ♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: It's still hard for me to watch this role and not see Kate Winslet all over it. She was originally cast and the role fits Winslet's early recklessly fiery screen persona to a "t". She would have also won the Oscar for it. Which is not to say that Weisz wastes this gift of a career-changing role. Still, for all of Weisz's skill and charisma in terms of shading the ambiguities of love and calculation from this danger-courting do-gooder, this is a true leading role and doesn't belong in this category. The entire movie is about Tessa; even when she's offscreen, she haunts the proceedings as a siren-like ghost, luring us all towards her death while exposing the crimes and fragility of men. ♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "This performance is the reason I became an awards follower. You can't take your eyes off her. The film is hers, top to bottom, driving not just the narrative but the emotional substance, too; I could go on and on, but this is actressing at its finest, its Weiszest" - Manuel M. (Reader average: ♥♥♥¾)
Actress earns 21¾ ❤s
Michelle Williams as "Alma" in Brokeback Mountain
Synopsis: A frequently abandoned housewife is shocked to realize her husband is in love with another man.
Stats: Then 25 yrs old, 17th film, 4th billed. First nomination (of an eventual four). 15 minutes of screentime (or 11% of the running time.)
Ali Benzekri: 10 years ago, I watched Brokeback Mountain for the first time and weirdly I’ve never had the chance to revisit it again until now. I forgot how wonderful it is and how sensual the cinematography, the music and the acting are. But there’s one thing I never forgot and that is how powerful Michelle Williams’ work was. Her rage and confusion work wonders here and her big scene feels earned and opportune. A very soulful performance. ♥♥♥♥
Justin Chang: A devastating slow burn of a performance from someone who has made them a career specialty. The scene in which Alma sees Ennis and Jack embrace is still astonishing in its emotional force; you see the utter shock on her face, the incomprehension — and then, suddenly, the opposite of incomprehension as everything about her distracted, distant husband snaps into place. What makes the performance so piercing is that Williams shows you a woman who, like most of the characters in this movie, has no dreamy expectations of perfection in life; long after Alma learns the truth, you see her struggling to accept and make peace with it, to cling to what happiness she can. That final, justly bitter eruption is well earned, and yet I wish we saw her one more time, even if only for a moment’s consolation. Brokeback Mountain is Ennis and Jack’s tragedy, but as Williams makes heartbreakingly clear, it’s Alma’s, too. ♥♥♥♥
Joey Moser: A performance full of immense pain and confusion. It's all on Alma's face and it intensifies after she sees Ennis and Jack passionately embracing. This is something that she doesn't understand and will never accept. Williams' part was smaller than I remembered, but that kitchen confrontation remains powerful. Alma is so angry but she can't separate it from the fear of her ex-husband's anger nor does she properly know how to articulate it or bring it up. ♥♥♥♥
Kerry O'Malley: A truly heartbreaking performance as the wife of doomed Ennis. Michelle shows you the terrible collateral damage, the cost of Ennis and Jack’s secret. She is so open and vulnerable and what she is able to achieve with a look or a breath or a glance is heart-stopping. Your heart is broken for Ennis and for her -- that is such an achievement, that you feel not only for the heroes of the movie but for the people who are harmed by them. She needs very little dialogue to tell you a story, her face reveals so much, so deeply, so quickly. ♥♥♥♥♥
Nathaniel R: Brokeback Mountain is so majestically great in so many ways, and its tragic love story so potent, that it's easy to undervalue the contributions of anyone beyond the central trio: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, and director Ang Lee. In fact, even though it's my personal favourite of Williams Oscar-nominated performances (by a hair over Blue Valentine), I'd forgotten just how finely calibrated her performance is. We get precious little time with her and her dialogue is rarely related to what she's actually feeling. That's an acting challenge but Williams has burrowed inside this emotionally inarticulate woman (in this particular way she's not so unlike her screen husband), and we understand nearly everything about her plight. Williams is illuminating it all from deep within. ♥♥♥♥♥
Reader Write-Ins: "Heartbreaking. She nails the sadness as much as the growing embers of rage." - Ryan St. (Reader average: ♥♥♥⅔)
Actress earns 25⅔ ❤s
Result: Rachel Weisz took the Oscar with apparent ease but the Smackdown is a more difficult feat. Michelle Williams pulls ahead. Still, Junebug's Amy Adams defeats them both amongst the panel and in reader balloting.
giggling
THE PODCAST CONVERSATION
Download at the bottom of this post 👇 or on iTunes to hear the in-depth discussion. [All Previous Smackdowns]
Next up: We'll discuss 1938 on September 14th so get to watching You Can't Take It With You, Jezebel, The Great Waltz, Merrily We Live, and Of Human Hearts before then.
Reader Comments (73)
Amy - Michelle - Rachel - Catherine - Frances is indeed the correct order. Great work, all!
So glad Amy won here. Part of me feels her next two nominations we’re still the afterglow from this one. She truly is brilliant here, and I’m glad that unlike other supporting actress nominees from small films, she was able to become a big deal after this.
I’m always surprised that Weisz was only in 25% of the film. She’s so haunting and towering, but I’ve always felt like she was in at least 40-50% of it.
What a great year!
While I hoped for a Williams win, I cannot be mad at Adams taking it. Two amazing performances - it's a pity only one could win.
This is a vintage year. Thanks for the thoughtful smackdown, everyone!
"Curiously she comes closest to deserving the nominations in the 'light' scenes that ask her to do even less. McDormand's casual confidence, innate toughness, and cutting wit, all greatly enliven the movie's most atypically enjoyable scene where the characters are just being and talking whilst having fun at a local bar." Such good writing and critical observation. You hit the nail on the head here, Nathaniel.
if you watch the acceptance speech ideo you see that Nicole Holofcener was Keener's date.
I keep saying it but this is such a strong lineup that I couldn’t be too mad at any choice made. I agree with Amy as the winner.i have to mention that O’Malley discussing NC in the pod had made me think differentsly of the film which while I’m still not a fan of, I have to admit it does contain a great list of names ensemble. I really hope Keener joins everyone else and returns as an Oscar nominee because she’s the only one who hasn’t.
Amy and Michelle beginning their Oscar careers together and both not having one so far feels slightly odd. They both are in the arena as the most due a win of actresses of their generation.
My 2005 lineup would’ve been:
Amy Adams, Junebug
Maria Bello, A History of Violence
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Happy Endings
Anne Hathaway, Brokeback Mountain
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain
I wish there had been time to mention Hathaway in Brokeback because she always gets overlooked from the four actors but to me she’s just as great as Williams giving a completely different turn. This really was the year of BM in every sense for me.
I look forward to 38 cause I’ve did deep dive into the year and it’s a good lineup of classic Hollywood character actresses (plus one awful opera acting? turn).
Team Keener, though I'm not a fan at all of this lineup.
This would've been my order, too, so yay!
Another great panel.
Re: Weisz, since that's the performance I've seen most recently, it's interesting to me that both Nathaniel and Justin suggest another actress could have played the role (Winslet being the obvious candidate) and that the role in many ways feels like a lead rather than supporting.
To the first point, I remember thinking on this watch that while Weisz is terrific, the movie might have benefited from casting a black actress in the part. As it is, the African characters feel uncomfortably marginalized in favor of the wannabe white saviors and villains.
To the second, I think it's a close call that could go either way. The character of Tessa is so vivid she does feel like a lead. And yet, she's almost more important to the narrative in her impact on Fiennes' character than on her own terms. In that respect, she reminded me a little of Viola Davis in FENCES. In both cases, the combo of acting and writing makes the supposedly supporting role just as memorable as the male lead.
An embarrassment of riches, both in those top FOUR performances and in this great panel.
What a great field of performances, tho! Ya'll think Amy would have six noms now if she had one for her first?
Joe G - I'm less tolerant than most when it comes to "Supporting Role Qualification" but I've never considered Weisz Leading for a second and am always baffled when others do... she has minimal screentime and never dominates the narrative like, say, Michael Douglas in Wall Street or Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada... instead, she's a ghost, a myth, a might-have-been - "the idea of Tessa" is what dominates, not Tessa herself...
I think that the Leading nomination at BAFTA is what sways people - she was chucked in that longlist because they had so few submissions (Sophie Okonedo in Hotel Rwanda suffered the same fate and missed a nomination in her case)... other than that, I don't think that it would be questioned as much...
My preference -
1) Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
2) Michelle Williams - Brokeback Mountain
3) Catherine Keener - Capote
4) Amy Adams - Junebug
5) Frances McDormand - North Country
And my own Top 5 -
1) Emily Watson - The Proposition
2) Marisa Tomei - Factotum
3) Avaz Latif - Turtles Can Fly
4) Roberta Maxwell - Brokeback Mountain
5) Rachel Weisz - The Constant Gardener
mikenewq -- the obvious answer to that is "NO"... but I also dont think she'd have this many nods by now if she hadn't been this great in JUNEBUG.
tom -- thanks. It's hard work (but rewarding work) to assemble the panels so we appreciate when people notice their contributions.
dan -- thank you!
It remains extraordinary that <I>Brokeback</I> lost the SAG ensemble award that season as well. Hathaway, Faris, Cardelinni, and Harbour (who was not even sag nominated) all gave performances that I still vividly remember 15 years later.
Weisz has 25% of screentime. She is not Lead, but clearly an argument that will fall on deaf ears.
To each their own! For my money, I don’t think Winslet would’ve had the same sensuality in the intimate scenes nor be as believably tender AND fiery (at the same time, mind) in many of the flashbacks.
Hehe, you will always be the winner, Ms. Weisz! :)
Except for the Weisz/Williams placements which were always in flux depending on the panel, highly predictable, so it's a credit it was still an enjoyable read.
I doubt i'll find the 38 films, but I do love me some Fay Bainter.
(We see you oh host of hours, upgrading your photo to try not to be the booger of a stunning bunch. Give us our homely representation next Smackdown and have your effort mean something lol)
Watching all 5 films again left me feeling that this was one of the strongest line up's in the past 20 years.
Anyone know why Winslet dropped out,I think she'd have won to.
I was an ardent fan of Weisz in that year, but if I knew she would top herself so many times, I'd like her to lose the Oscar so she could get a nomination for The Deep Blue Sea or My Blueberry Nights, or a win for The Favourite (she's clearly the MVP).
I think a leading nomination would do better for career than a supporting win. As I said before,, she's still getting the roles Winslet turns down, like Sarah Churchill.
I still have to see the movie again to say leading or supporting, but I'd give this Oscar to Maria Bello.
Happy 46th birthday to Amy Adams!!!
Love so much this 5s. And I loved so much North Country at the time. Here my votes:
Keener 3
Adams 3
McDormand 3.5
Weisz 4
Williams 5
Geri -- YAASSS. Giving her the win on her birthday was a happy coincidence. NOT PLANNED!
It'a too bad there was so much category confusion over Laura Linney and Maria Bello. Both were outstanding, but their chances were precarious anyway, and the mixed signals as to which category they should be placed in probably finished off what remote chance they had anyway. Either would have been a hell of a lot better than McDormand. Otherwise, the other four are deserving with my preference Williams>Keener>Weisz>Adams.
I'm a ride and die "Michelle Williams shoud've won here" guy EVEN MORE SO with how under-rewarded BROKEBACK actually became and the fact that Williams still doesn't have an Oscar even now. But this was an excellent read/panel/discussion!
Can't mind Adams winning even if she wasn't my first choice. Thanks for creating another one of these for us. And it was great to hear from Kerry O'Malley. I've enjoyed her work in Snowpiercer.
@ Kerry O'Malley
There is a movie with Frances McDormand and Catherine Keener playing opposite each other. It's called Friends with Money and it came out just a year after Capote and North Country.
My votes for the 2005 Smackdown:
Frances McDormand- North Country
On paper, Glory seems like a perfect fit for McDormand. Glory is the brash, but with a heart of gold, tough but still soft, feminine but about to command the respect of her masculine coworkers, miner who Charlize Theron's Josey befriends. Soon however, Glory becomes sick and is unable to properly assist Josey with her harassment lawsuit. On paper, seems like a perfect combination. But why on film does it seem so dull? To be fair, almost everything in the film seems so dour. Perhaps McDormand just went with the feeling of how the movie was turning out to be. Perhaps a more interesting pick would have been Linda Emond, who plays the unfortunate defender of the mine in the lawsuit. Everytime she has to speak to defend them, it seems like her soul is leaving her body a little bit. No one else has this excuse to be looking the same. 2.5 hearts
Catherine Keener- Capote
One wonders what would have happened if the other Capote biopic, Infamous came out first. Would we be talking about Sandra Bullock's first nomination instead of Keener's second? Both actresses do a commendable job. Bullock is given more to do and more agency in the story itself, but Keener gives us more insight into Harper Lee. We get the sense that she is genuine friends with Capote, but that she also is well aware of his flaws and at times barely tolerates him and his attitude. Capote may be the center of attention but Keener's Harper is the smartest person in the room and Keener lets us know that she knows it too. 3 hearts
Amy Adams- Junebug
The adorable pregnant waddle that launched a thousand nominations (kidding) Adams is Ashley, the very friendly and VERY pregnant sister-in-law of Alessandro Nivola. She bonds with his wife Embeth Davidtz over beauty regimens and meerkats. Ashley is often characterized as naive and "simple"- it's what country people are normally called. Adams refuses to let Ashley be simply a country bumpkin. Ashley knows exactly what is going on. Ashley talks about her beauty retines and how she is watching her weight and then Adams glances at her husband, knowing that maybe he wishes he wasn't married. She endlessly chats up Davidtz, while Adams hints that maybe Ashley wants to be taken away to a bigger city. She is happy when he says he wants to try again, confirming that he wants to stay with her. And most importantly, she wishes her brother-in-law was something else. Adams lets us know in that hospital scene, that she is not only sad because her baby dies, but because the man comforting her picked another lucky girl instead. Ashley still gets to be part of the family and close to George, just not in the way she wanted. Adams conveys so much in a subtle way. 5 hearts
Rachel Weisz- The Constant Gardener
One of Weisz's best assets as an actor is her ability to change the tone of her performance to the director's vision. This performance is nothing like the campiness of The Mummy franchise or the stylized comedy of The Favourite. Here, Meirelles wants to make a documentary like film, so Weisz gives a performance that is so naturalistic it's like there was no script and no Weisz- just Tessa talking. Giving a performance like this is so difficult. But gosh does she pull it off. It's almost like Meirelles just went to Africa and happened to find a woman who looked like Weisz and just started filming. 5 hearts
Michelle Williams- Brokeback Mountain
You could view Williams's Alma as a villain in the movie. Alma's marriage to Ennis is yet another obstacle to their love. But Williams refuses to play her that way. Instead Alma is a woman who is constantly and increasingly disappointed and disillusioned with life. She loves Ennis, but he confides that marriage is just what was expected of him. Alma sees Ennis as the love of her life, but their sex life isn't great, she struggles to pay bills, and then discovers that Ennis has feelings for a man. Each revelation that her marriage is not perfect seems to slowly crush Alma. Williams allows us to see the sadness and depression while trying to conceal it from her children. We root for Jack and Ennis but can't help feeling sympathy for Alma as well. When she tells Ennis she doesn't want anymore children and especially in the "You don't go up there to fish" scene, you simultaneously feel sick and like cheering. Alma has pain too and it should be recognized. When Williams takes all those buried disappointments and finally unleashes them it is a staggering display of righteous anger and deep sadness. I give Williams all the credit in the world for turning out a well rounded character and not a simple villain that a lesser actor would turn out. 5 hearts
I can't wait to hear the podcast to hear how Rachel could won the award if she got such a middling vote out of the panel.
I remember Amy Adams fondly in Junebug but it's not towering to me like Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain. Shoot, now I'll have to watch all three movies again, which I guess is sort of the point of these smackdowns!
I was expecting Michelle Williams's amazing performance to win. I love Rachel Weisz and thought she gave the best female performance of the year but she's a lead. She should have won there.
Ugh! A performance I detested in a film I loathed. I know my opinion is a minority one but I truly saw nothing in the least special about Adams performance. I can say the same for any of her work, she's a performer I don't get.
My ballot:
Michelle Williams-Brokeback Mountain-By all rights you should hate Alma as the thorn that is part of what keeps Ennis and Jack apart, though of course there is so much more. That you don’t is entirely to Michelle Williams credit. She's just a simple woman who loves her husband and until that fateful glimpse thinks he loves her. From that point on you have sympathy for her and can’t begrudge her the bitterness that festers until the kitchen confrontation. There are a million different emotions that play across her face and communicate themselves through her physicality throughout the film. 5 hearts.
Rachel Weisz-The Constant Gardner-Sharp, deep and insightful work. She’s always very alive on screen showing the many colors of her character even when she’s holding them back from those around her. She gives the best female performance of the year….my only problem is that she’s the lead. Her story is the engine that makes the film run no matter how fine a performance Ralph Fiennes is giving. So a slight reduction in her score for category fraud. 4 ¾ hearts.
Catherine Keener-Capote-Her measured, calm and studious approach to Harper Lee is just the right take on the role. Lee balanced Capote’s more extreme flights of fancy and obstreperousness with a level-headed neutrality and Keener does the same for Hoffman. Even when he backhandedly demeans To Kill a Mockingbird you see that it stings her but she keeps her control which is just what the character would do. A marvelous performance that in another year would move higher. 4 ½ hearts.
Frances McDormand-North Country-This was the hardest performance to grade. She’s Frances McDormand so it goes without question that the work is good but the movie is so derivative of a better film (it’s basically Norma Rae Goes to the Coal Mine) that I took very little away from it. Since it gave the characters little new to deal with and felt very cliché I honestly wasn’t that moved by anyone’s plight. Their protestations felt programmed and planned. 2 ½ hearts.
Amy Adams-Junebug-I walked into this film with praise for its quirkiness ringing in my ears and rhapsodies about Adams miraculous performance. But I walked out of it full of bile at the awful sourness of it. And Adams “performance” was just that a series of tics and golly gee wilikers cutesy poo affectations. Within two minutes of her appearance I wanted to reach through the screen and tape her mouth shut. I wish a half heart was a viable option but since it’s not she gets-1 heart.
My personal lineup would have gone this way:
Maria Bello-A History of Violence
Brenda Blethyn-Pride & Prejudice
Scarlett Johansson-Match Point
Catherine Keener-Capote
Michelle Williams-Brokeback Mountain-Winner
Amy Adams, Junebug 3 stars/5. Actually suffered a bit on second viewing. It was really nice to see Alessando Nivola in horny mode though.
Catherine Keener, Capote 4 stars/5. I enjoyed her understatedness. Maybe she has an advantage b/c she is usually so similar in her contemporary roles and here seems so muted and different.
Frances McDormand, North Country 4 stars/5. I thought she nailed this predictable role and gave it what was asked. Maybe she does this so well and so often that people take it for granted. But she is so much more believable in this role than Theron. I like Carlize fine, but felt she was really mis-cast in this. Not in the least bit believable.
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener abstain. Didn’t have time to re-watch. We she really supporting in this?
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain 3 stars/5.
Adams was only third in my ranking, but can't get mad at her win.
I hope that Justin will be back - such insightful, spot on comments. His take on Amy Adams made me quite emotional, actually.
Thank you to all panelists!
Replace McDormand with ScarJo in "Match Point" and this would've been one of the best lineups of the decade. All in all a pretty good set of nominees (my vote would've gone to Keener.. but maybe in "40-Year-Old Virgin" instead?!?!?)
Adams gave one of the great supporting actress performances of the '00s in Junebug and then followed that up with one of the great supporting actress performances of the '10s in The Fighter - playing characters who are almost diametrically opposed. I love that she got a well-deserved near-perfect score here.
What a truly good year this was in this category: not a dud performance in the bunch and all five movies were at least good, with one being downright great. And the right person won the smackdown, icing on the cake! Looking forward to listening to the podcast.
Really enjoyed hearing all the love. I'd love to split an Oscar down the center for Adams and Williams here, but Weisz is a great choice too. These nominees hold up well overall.
I wonder if Maria Bello or Scarlett Johansson might have been the runner up in 6th place. In fact I believe both of their films should have joined Brokeback Mountain and Capote in the Best Picture category. Not a fan of the other 3 Best Picture nominees, though.
This was a great smackdown to follow along with! Lots of really interesting thoughts and comments from an excellent panel. Exceptionally pleased that Adams got the win here, but also that Keener was not written off as a coattails nom.
Weisz > Winslet
Honestly, I can't vote against a line-up like that. I would've personally gone for Michelle Williams though I do wish the competition was much more fierce with Scar-Jo 3:16 for Match Point, Maria Bello for A History of Violence, and Maggie Gyllenhaal for Happy Endings.
Four hearts - Rachel Weisz/The Constant Gardener. She plays a complex role and competing loyalties handily. The smackdown is on a role with the deserving actress winning the oscar.
Four hearts - Amy Adams/Junebug. I am shocked that I didn't remember, but this movie has some very problematic elements! Luckily those were of little concern to the Amy Adams scenes, which were the highlight of this film.
Three hearts - Michelle Williams/Brokeback Mountain. She proves that she is much more than Dawson's Creek, and shows the future potential that she delivers on in Wendy and Lucy and Fosse/Verdon.
Three hearts - Francis McDormand/North Country. She gets an extra star for being all that Francis McDormondy extra, but it's nothing she ain't done before.
Two hearts - Catherine Keener/Capote. The script didn't give her as many opportunities, as I remembered, but I don't think Keener ever went beyond Keener. Controversial opinion: Do we think of her as better than she is because she chose better movies to be in?
Being that it's 15 years later, and Adams and Williams are still without trophies, I thought that I'd be fine with one of them winning here, and Weisz winning for The Favourite. But, I'm not willing to sacrifice Regina King, so hopefully Adams and Williams will get their gold soon.
Capote slipped off my original top ten list and Brokeback Mountain cracked my top 25 on rewatches. Agree that North Country held up surprising well.
My 2005 top ten:
1. Walk on Water
2. Mysterious Skin
3. Layer Cake
4. Constant Gardner
5. Forty Year Old Virgin
6. Murderball
7. Assault on Precinct 13
8. Best of Youth
9. Paradise Now
10. Kung Fu Hustle
So glad Amy won the smackdown! My favorite performance in a sterling field. My own personal ballot would be:
Amy Adams, Junebug
Maria Bello, A History of Violence
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Happy Endings
Taraji P. Henson, Hustle & Flow
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Amy my winner.
Owen
No.
Does Ali think he's rating the movies
Adita -- yeah, i was pleased how well Keener did... especially because when i rewatched it i appreciated her SO much more 15 years later.
Joel6 - WHOA. strong reaction to Amy there. sorry about it!
Amory -- OOH good recall. I wish I'd thought of that while we weere talking. We will alert Kerry!
Mark -- totally agree that it's a very strong lineup as a whole. Even McDormand is good. It's jsut that the role is not asking much.
What a lovely treat, I expected Amy Adams to do well, but that score is one of the highest ever for a smackdown. Bravo to Adams, who should have an Oscar by now.
However, I would have stuck to Rachel Weisz as the winner, I love Amy Adams as an actress, but "Junebug" is boring when she is not on screen. I found it a hard movie to sit through.
I disagree that Weisz is a lead performance, her screen time is much less than many actresses nominated for this category.
Still a very interesting discussion and I do find the quality of the top 3 performances to be wonderful. Thanks for all your hard work.
I abstained from voting in this Smackdown (too much work in my job that pays the bills in the past month to re-watch the movies). But I do recall at the time that McDormand would've got my vote (in a very strong field). I can't articulate now why, because it has been 15 years since I have seen four of the films (I actually only watched JUNEBUG about a year or two ago for the first time, on an old video cassette where I had recorded it off of a television broadcast!), but the comments reminded me of part of my argument: just because we've seen an actor "do it all before" doesn't necessarily mean they are the worst of the bunch.
I am also glad of all the appreciation of Keener here. Back in 2005, I was a very lonely voice proclaiming that it was actually her best performance (I stand by it for now), and how people just don't appreciate subtlety in acting (interesting that her co-star is one of the classic over-the-top celebrity imitations that Oscar likes so much, one that IMO robbed Joaquin Phoenix of his first Oscar in a playing-a-celebrity role that actually went beyond mimicry and tics, but I will save that debate for when we start the Best Actor Smackdown series in 2043...)
A superb category of actresses and I truly admire all their performances. Their longevity and the great work they have all done in the past 15 years since is so inspiring to see.
Thanks Nathaniel and panelists, this was a fun read... I suspected Amy would run away with this, even though Michelle was preferred winner. Michelle, Amy and Rachel would have all been worthy winners! I was hard on Keener on my reader vote, largely because I wanted more of her character in the movie, but reading the panelists blurbs it makes more sense now that she was nominated. Surprise to see that Keener has more screen time than McDormand (as a %)!
i was tense reading this as i feared ali's parsimonious rating of "an ideal performance" was going to cost amy the win
I think a leading nomination would do better for career than a supporting win. As I said before,, she's still getting the roles Winslet turns down
You should be grateful the Academy didn't anoint her in the last name starts with W sisterhood of Winters and Weist. Two supporting wins apiece for those legends.