Hello, Gorgeous: Best Actress of 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2024 at 3:00PM A series by Juan Carlos Ojano
Deception, isolation, and desperation are just some of the common threads that connect the characters of this year's Best Actress nominees and the narratives in which they are situated. The curious element of the lineup is that, aside from one (Gravity), all of the nominees are featured in films from the comedic genre, whether it be a crime comedy (American Hustle), a cynically humorous character study (Blue Jasmine), a heartwarming dramedy (Philomena), or an acerbic, tragicomic family portrait (August: Osage County). That must be a rarity in any acting category, right?
Are you ready? The year is 2013...
Amy Adams as Sydney Prosser/Lady Edith Greensly in AMERICAN HUSTLE
Directed by David O. Russell / Written by Eric Warren Singer and David O. Russell
After Irving (Christian Bale) enters a room in what seems to be a covert recording session, Sydney (Adams) makes her entrance. He turns as she slowly walks towards him. Intense stares at each other, no dialogue at all. And then boom: Richie (Bradley Cooper) comes in and starts throwing questions at the other man while Sydney attempts to mediate between the two.
In Russell’s swirling take on a true crime saga, Adams is positioned as a quiet force, taken for granted a lot of times (even by both men sharing the scene with her), but perhaps the most cunning one. While the clash of masculine ego is forefronted,Sydney’s tacit negotiation speaks to the gender dynamics of the time while also telling of how she navigates a world that doesn’t always see her as a powerful presence. Her vision for herself is clear and the fight within her is formidable. Perhaps Sydney does not always call attention, but Adams, through her introduction, makes you look closer. There are indecipherable layers to this woman that will reveal themselves as the story progresses.
Cate Blanchett as Jeanette “Jasmine” French in BLUE JASMINE
Written and Directed by Woody Allen
First scene of the film. Jasmine (Blanchett) talks to an old woman who is her seatmate on a flight, recalling the details of meeting her husband. After landing, she rambles about her sex life. While descending the escalator, she discusses her medications. While waiting for her baggage at the carousel, she shifts to talking about her sister. The old woman leaves confinding to her husband that Jasime "couldn’t stop babbling about her life”.
With Allen’s rhythmic writing and understated direction, Blanchett’s embodiment of Jasmine is immediately on full swing. Economically stringed scenes of her just talking to a reluctant listener already inform us of her self-centeredness and her need to tell her own narrative. But one also gets a hint that this is not just a mere calculation. In fact, Blanchett’s neurotically hurried talking suggests one who is lacking control and is perhaps one or two steps away from breaking apart. Her first story will come full circle in the film’s final sequence, with the bookending sequences mirroring each other. What we see in both instances is a woman speaking to herself, regardless of whether she has company or not.
Sandra Bullock as Ryan Stone in GRAVITY
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón / Written by Alfonso Cuarón and Jonas Cuarón
Opening sequence. The face of the Earth. Slowly, a space vehicle emerges. We hear a crew member calling Dr. Stone’s (Bullock) attention about her ECG readings. She says she’s fine (she repeats this assertion quite a number of times). Stone proceeds to discuss the work she’s doing with the hardware upgrades. As we get closer, we see an astronaut (George Clooney) flying around while conversing with the other members of the crew. As she continues her work, the hardware upgrades continue to not yield favorable results.
Cuarón’s vision already puts Man’s seeming insignificance and its chances for survival on a colossal disadvantage to the vastness of space. This is even further magnified by the choice to introduce Bullock’s Dr. Stone through a gradual unveiling. A voice, then an unnoticeable presence, only to reveal her face. This puts the size of the character (literally and figuratively) at odds with her environment, and yet, this further accentuates the against-all-odds journey that she will face in the film’s narrative. Her opening line also shows her determination in her work despite her personal issues, hinting at where the text will take her.
Judi Dench as Philomena Lee in PHILOMENA
Directed by Stephen Frears / Written by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope
Philomena (Dench) lights a votive candle inside a church. Later, while sitting, it is revealed that she is the only person inside. She sits quietly and with a pensive look on her face.
A simple character introduction that speaks a lot. Firstly, this scene comes after the film’s other protagonist, Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) walks out of mass and says “I don’t believe in God”. Meanwhile, Philomena professes her faith in solitude. The contrast puts these two characters at odds, demarcating what will become a quasi-antagonistic banter between the two once they band together in their quest. Moreover, despite what the church authorities did to her life (separated her from her child), she is a woman of faith. Despite everything that has happened to her, Philomena's faith and devotion persist.
Meryl Streep as Violet Weston in AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY
Directed by John Wells / Written by Tracy Letts
Bev (Sam Shepard) talks to someone off-screen about his wife and the nature of their marriage. A photo of her in her youth is seen on the table. Intercut with this is Violet (Streep), hair loss accrued from cancer treatments, getting up the bed and struggling to make her way downstairs. As she looks for her husband, she shouts with weary rage until he sees the person Bev is talking to: Johnna (Misty Upham), a Cheyenne woman applying for a position as househelp.
Three things are established right away. First, Violet has a fractured relationship with her husband. As he says, both have their own demons to deal with. It’s a marriage less of convenience and more of compromise. Second, Violet’s domineering presence is countered by her physical frailty. A contrast that will prove to be vital once the matriarchal role in the house is shaken by her own daughter (Julia Roberts' Barbara, not in the scene). Third, despite stumbling as she moves, Violet spits venom with every step like it is second nature, making her a repellant force that foreshadows her isolation by the film’s denouement.
Reader Comments (15)
This lineup might have benifitted from a Julia Louis Dreyfus but on the whole it's actresses I love being all actressy.
I like all their intros bar Streep,I think she goes too far here and becomes unbelievable but I like the rest of her performance,just the 2 scenes without her wig ring very false,I can see the click clack of her acting.
Blanchett starts hire wire and never really comes down,i've actually grown less fond of this performance and now think Carol is the film she should have won for,still fantastic though.
Adams is the only person in the cast I like from a film I didn't respond to,the less said about Lawrence the better.
Dench and Bullock are such likeable performers keying us in straight away and making us sympathise with them.
The opening of Gravity is stunning, but for purposes of character introduction I like Adams in American Hustle the best. I think that ensemble is wildly uneven, but I think it's one of her best performances.
Blanchett's entrance in "Blue Jasmine" is, as is the performance as a whole, immaculate. I would have never thought she'd be able to surpass this gargantuan feat had I not seen "Tár."
Amy Adams is so freaking great in American Hustle!
This is a good field, except for Streep, but who knows how I'd feel after a re-viewing (I'm in no hurry). Philomena is a little too tailor-made for Judi Dench, there seems to be little challenging for her in the role. I'd have substituted Julie Delpy for Before Midnight and Emma Thompson for Saving Mr. Banks. My first choice is Amy Adams, then Delpy, Blanchett, Thompson, Bullock, with all 5 being deserving.
I agree with MrRipley79 about adding Julia Louis-Dreyfus to the list - I would replace Amy Adams as she had no business being nominated for American Hustle (the movie should have no nominations in my opinion haha). Blanchett is exquisite, as always, and Streep is fantastic, especially the dinner scenes - on a side note, I wish Margo Martindale was given more so as to get a nomination - just love her! Dench is Dench being great of course, and Gravity… uh well I just don’t see the love for Sandra Bullock’s performance - but she did anchor the film being the only one onscreen for most of it, so I guess there is that.
Boring, boring nominees. I hated Blanchett's performance and still do.
My nominees would be
Cate Blanchett - Blue Jasmine
Julie Delpy - Before Midnight
Greta Gerwig - Frances Ha
Adele Exarchopoulos - Blue Is the Warmest Color
Meryl Streep - August: Osage County
Never got the love for Amy Adams or Sandra Bullock.
i was not a fan of this lineup at all and only 2 on of them even made my top ten (blanchett & adams). My nominees from that year
BLANCHETT - blue jasmine
GARCIA - gloria
GERWIG - frances ha
LARSON - short term 12
LOUIS-DREYFUS - enough said
But as far as their introductory scenes go, Gravity was stunning from the jump (though I was never enamored of Bullock's work there) . That's the only one of these scenes I could recall in detail without your review, aside from Blue Jasmine (for which Blanchett deservedly won)
...and since a lot of my favs that year didn't have much of a shot, it was particularly disappointing that Emma Thompson missed (it's been so long) since she'd be my second favourite in Oscar's lineup had she made it.
Sorry to be this shallow but Amy Adams looks so insanely hot in American Hustle.
<I can see the click clack of her acting> This is what Katharine Hepburn said about Streep. She didn't like her.
When Streep learned that Emma Thompson was not nominated for Mr. Banks, she said <It should have been Emma!> Then, when Thomson tearned about what Streep had said, she quipped <She is right> Streep and Thompson are good friends.!
Amy Adam's introduction is really fun, and probably the best of the bunch. I suspect it's because she's the lead actress here with the least screentime/share of her ensemble film, so a lot has to be communicated quickly.
I've always thought it would have been nice if Sandra Bullock had won for this performance. Though Cate Blanchett is undeniable, this would have made a much better win the Blind Side. Though, I do wonder if she would have even contended for the part without her win.
I did not like Blue Jasmine as a film but Blanchett killed that performance. I wish the voters found room for Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha this year, but I think we wound up in the better timeline with Gerwig shifting to writing/directing instead of writing/acting.
Bullock’s 2009 campaign was dripping with humility—"I’m not the kind of actress who wins these big awards!”—and followed by the humiliation of her very messy, public divorce.
I always felt like her shoo-in nomination for Gravity was the Academy’s way of saying (to borrow a phrase), “We really like you.” It helped rubber stamp a previous win that wouldn’t have aged well. It rewarded a big hit with audiences and critics.
Basically, it put a little meat on the bone of Bullock’s (otherwise nonexistent) profile as a prestige actress at the right moment.