Near Misses: Emma Thompson in "Saving Mr. Banks"

by Cláudio Alves

As we know, the precursors don't always matter. Many an actor was Oscar-nominated without a SAG, Golden Globe or BAFTA nod to recommend them. Of course, for every surprise inclusion, there's a shocking snub to contend with. There are those performers that seemed like near locks up until nomination morning. When they failed to stick the landing, predictors were surprised and fans thrown into paroxysms of outrage. These near misses can be precious jewels of acting that were unforgivably shortchanged, while, other times, we can count ourselves spared a nomination for mediocre work.

In 2013, Emma Thompson was nominated for the SAG, the Globes, the BAFTA, the Critics Choice Award and even won the National Board of Review prize for her performance as P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks. The Academy, however, ignored her. Compared to some of the actual Oscar nominees, Thompson's work is, at the very least, an impressive achievement and deserving of recognition…

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Over & Overs: Sense & Sensibility (1995)

by Cláudio Alves

Films don't change. It's the viewer who is changed by the passage of time. When you watch the same film over and over again, it's easy to imagine that a transformation has occurred. What one day were negligible details, suddenly become the crux of a drama. Sentimental reactions change and so do the feelings each character brings out in the heart. To watch and rewatch across the years is to become starkly aware of how much you've changed as a person and as a cinephile.

At least, that's the experience I've had with those films that have stayed with me over time, cyclically revisited, especially in times of personal strife, as if they were the sweetest of comfort foods. Ang Lee's masterful Sense & Sensibility is one of those special films…

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Review: Last Christmas

by Chris Feil

A sure signal of the coming holiday season at the movies is the arrival of unpretentious lighter fare like Last Christmas. This year’s offering falls in line with the easy charms of such previous entries as The Holiday and Almost Christmas, but also arrives with a somewhat affably strange lump of ingredients. Inspired by the Wham! song and packed with a slew of George Michael songs, the Paul Feig-directed film is co-written by Emma Thompson (with Bryony Kimmings and Greg Wise) and offers up timely context within a classic romcom structure. It’s a sugar high of a movie that remains grounded in some substance, not exactly tidy but satisfyingly more than meets the eye.

Emilia Clarke plays the disillusioned would-be singer and Yugoslavian immigrant Kate, couch-hopping between friends that she quickly burns out with carelessness and working in a Christmas-themed giftshop. She avoids her family, particularly her domineering mother (also played by Thompson), and is increasingly testing the patience of her demanding but doting boss (Michelle Yeoh). Kate’s self-destructiveness comes after a serious illness has left her not with renewed gratitude, but with a diminished sense of self she has internalized into constant misbehavior. But her main challenger in the struggle comes when a charming man on a bike named Tom (Henry Golding) wanders in and out of her life.

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10th Anniversary: “An Education”

By Cláudio Alves

An Education tells the story of Jenny Mellor, an English schoolgirl who, in 1961, falls into the trap of an older man’s affections. In the process, she almost squanders away her dreams of Oxford, thinking she’s trading a hopelessly boring life for one of excitement. After all, if the years slaving over books are the best of one’s life, why bother? 

One of the loveliest aspects of the film is how it refuses to offer easy answers to its dilemmas. Throughout, we see many women who chose different paths and, thanks to director Lone Scherfig and screenwriter Nick Hornby, all of them are humanized and sympathetic. There are no villains in An Education, no one is wrong or completely right. These are people and not mere plot points or narrative mechanisms. We can imagine all of them living their lives, being the protagonists of their stories.

It’s not surprising that An Education has lived on as an actors’ showcase above all else. Many of its performers would go on to greater fame, though the star has arguably not yet reached these heights again...

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CONSIDER - Actresses of 2019, First Half

Here's our penultimate 'halfway mark, year in review' post for you. The 19 performances by actresses we treasured most at the movies thus far this year. 

We hope you'll sound off on these and share your own favourites in the comments... and we hope this list serves as a reminder to Oscar and Globe and SAG voters to keep lists of things that impress you all year so that at the end of the year you aren't just voting for the 5 things you just saw. Before we begin I should note that I sadly missed the three following female-led films and will catch up with them when given the chance later in the year: Her Smell, Little, and The Souvenir. Okay here we go...

7 LEADING ACTRESSES
(Jan 1st - June 28th releases)  

Jessie Buckley as "Rose-Lynn" in Wild Rose
Yes, the movie basically hands her the "star-making" reviews on a platter. It's ALL about watching her sing and emote. But the performance has lovely nuances, lived-in feeling, and own-worst-enemy fire. And that voice. Good god.  

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