The Verdict -- Best Supporting Actress 1997

#5. Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting: A performance of highs and lows so distant from one another that it hurls the performance into near-awful territory. The problem is that Minnie Driver and Matt Damon don't quite have enough chemistry to make their relationship believable, but at the same time have enough to make the attraction work. Driver is luminous in her early scenes, and cacophonous in her later scenes making for a wholly discordant affair. The script doesn't help, and neither does five years too old for the character appearance. She's the weak link of the movie, and this field.

#4. Joan Cusack in In & Out: Cusack was lucky to receive a nomination for her affable work as Emily Montgomery. It's a broad comedic performance that usual goes unnoticed, and she does a great job making her role funny and lovable. Let off of her leash, Cusack storms through this movie flinging out one-liners and hilarious physical comedy at the viewers, most of which are really funny. But it's that same lack of direction or a real narrative journey that holds back this performance from being one of the great comedic Oscar nominations. She's funny but not hilarious, and too crazy to make any real strong impact.

#3. Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential: I like this one more than most, and that's because Kim Basinger is just so damn right for this role. She looks, sounds, and moves just like this woman is supposed to, and even though this isn't a huge feat in terms of acting, Basinger never makes a false move. Lynn Bracken is supposed to be sexy, mysterious, and not a good actor and Kim Basinger is all of those things. She creates a real atmosphere around the character, one that just rings true to me. It may be more great casting that acting, but I give Basinger more credit than that. She did what she needed to do, and succeeded in my book.

#2. Gloria Stuart in Titanic: Anchoring the weakest section of her film, Gloria Stuart's performance somehow comes out unharmed. Her screentime is very limited, but in that screentime you feel a real connection with this older woman. Every action that Stuart takes is filled with nostalgic power and I felt a real connection between her and Kate Winslet, playing the younger Rose. It is always hard having two actors play the same characters at different ages, but the two of them do it wonderfully. Yes, she may just be a narrator and often her parts interrupt the flow of the main story, but none of this is because of Gloria Stuart. She's just lovely throughout.

#1. Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights: Amber Waves is the most interesting and multi-facted character nominated this year, and thus quite easily walks away as my choice. Julianne Moore's performance is simply one of her greatest, masterfully balancing the motherly and porn star nature of her character in away that quite shockingly works. All of the most emotionally resonant scenes in the film feature her, and whether she is having sex, doing drugs, or taking care of Burt Reynolds you feel the deep sadness that surrounds this poor woman. Moore makes every scene count, and pulls off a miraculous and beautiful feat of acting.

The Year in Review: This year was as weak as every says, but I still managed to find some strengths in each of these performances, and the movies were across the board enjoyable for sure. Driver's performance is the only one I outright dislike, while Cusack, Basinger, and Stuart have varying levels of admiration and distaste. As I said in her review, I'm not usually a huge Julianne Moore fan but here she was just irresistible. What I don't understand is how in this weak of a field the Academy could not find room for Sigourney Weaver's performance in The Ice Storm. This is not just the Siggy fanboy in me speaking, because Weaver won the BAFTA and had many other nominations that season. It's upsetting, because she could have had a shot against Basinger and Stuart for the win. Oh, well. The next year will be up in a matter of days, hopefully less.

All Supporting Actress Nominees Ranking:

1. Patty Duke in "The Miracle Worker" (1962)
2. Dorothy Malone in "Written on the Wind" (1956)
3. Linda Hunt in "The Year of Living Dangerously" (1983)
4. Anna Paquin in "The Piano" (1993)
5. Cher in "Silkwood" (1983)
6. Eileen Heckart in "The Bad Seed" (1956)
7. Emma Thompson in "In the Name of the Father" (1993)
8. Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights" (1997)
9. Patty McCormack in "The Bad Seed"(1956)
10. Claire Trevor in "Dead End" (1937)
11. May Whitty in "Night Must Fall" (1937)
12. Mildred Dunnock in "Baby Doll"(1956)
13. Angela Lansbury in "The Manchurian Candidate"(1962)
14. Gloria Stuart in "Titanic" (1997)
15. Alfre Woodard in "Cross Creek" (1983)
    
16. Anne Shirley in "Stella Dallas" (1937)
17. Amy Irving in "Yentl"(1983)
18. Kim Basinger in "L.A. Confidential" (1997)
19. Shirley Knight in "Sweet Bird of Youth" (1962)
    
20. Rosie Perez in "Fearless" (1993)
21. Joan Cusack in "In & Out" (1997)
22. Glenn Close in "The Big Chill"(1983)
23. Barbara Harris in "Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?" (1971)
24. Alice Brady in "In Old Chicago" (1937)
25. Mary Badham in "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962)
    
26. Holly Hunter in "The Firm" (1993)
27. Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting" (1997)
28. Thelma Ritter in "Birdman of Alcatraz" (1962)
    
29. Winona Ryder in "The Age of Innocence" (1993)
30. Mercedes McCambridge in "Giant"(1956)
31. Andrea Leeds in  "Stage Door"(1937)

Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential

Kim Basinger won an Oscar for her performance as Lynn Bracken in Curtis Hansen's L.A. Confidential. I'm sure that before L.A. Confidential came out, nobody ever would have ever that thought that Kim Basinger could have even come close to being an Oscar nominee --much less a winner! That just proves what the right role in the right movie (and a weak year for nominees) can do for any actor and actress so--keep hope alive Taylor Lautner and Megan Fox! All kidding aside, Basinger's win is one that isn't very popular but on paper she has the most academy friendly role besides Gloria Stuart. She's in a film that was a huge hit with the Academy, she looks stunning throughout the film (don't think that doesn't play a role in voting), and she is startling better than she ever had been at this time. Oh yeah, and she's a prostitute! The stars just aligned right for her to become an Academy Award winner. I happen to think she's actually somewhat good in this movie, and far from the worst Oscar winner.

The role of Lynn Bracken is a very limited part, she doesn't do much in way of plot besides sleep with a couple of men, and her whole purpose is to be mysterious and sexy. All of these things play perfectly to Basinger's strengths, and that's why she handles herself to capably. Her stiff acting style and unique, sultry voice helps to give Lynn an unorthodox mystique. For the beginning portion of her performance her character is supposed to be simply an ethereal enigma that attracts Russell Crowe's Bud White. In two short scenes she is meant to be nothing more than appealing, and she does that well. Her physical resemblance to Veronica Lake also helps out a lot obviously, because that is the whole conceit of the character. She doesn't really do much deep acting in these scenes, because that is not what is asked of her. Instead she gives her character a real presence that works.

Eventually we finally get to see some more sides of Lynn Bracken as her relationship with Bud White develops into a romance. Basinger and Crowe don't have much chemistry, but their relationship works on the most basic level. Her character ends up being exactly what you would expect--a stripper with a heart of gold, and where Basinger struggles is making Lynn anything beyond a  trite plot device. When she is asked to show some real acting she isn't bad (far better than anything I've seen her in), but she never really succeeds either. Her performance works better on a physical and atmospheric level. She is so well cast and never makes any real missteps that I find this performance hard to really criticize. More to blame is the script and the fact that her character has no real arc or growth. Lynn Bracken doesn't do anything worthwhile in the film, and Basinger doesn't even really get an 'Oscar scene'.

Should this performance have won an Academy Award? The answer is a resounding no. Is it deserving of a nomination? Well, not particularly but it's far from the worst performance that has ever been nominated, and actually is something of a unique performance. Basinger needed to be rewarded for her performance, but not with film awards. Maybe it's my adoration for L.A. Confidential that allows me to excuse this performance so much, but I just don't get all the negative criticism. Ambivalence seems more appropriate.  3.5/5 Thelmas.

Oh, and Happy Holidays to everyone! :)

Best Supporting Actress 1997

And the nominees were....

• Kim Basinger as Lynn Bracken in L.A. Confidential (winner)
• Joan Cusack as Emily Montgomery in In & Out
• Minnie Driver as Skylar in Good Will Hunting
• Julianne Moore as Amber Waves in Boogie Nights
• Gloria Stuart as Rose Calvert in Titanic

The Field: Probably the perfect year to get me back in the groove of things, because it's one where I'm truly excited to see/revisit all of these performances. Titanic and L.A. Confidential are two of my absolute favorite movies, I admire Good Will Hunting a lot, Boogie Nights was a movie I was a little tentative on the first time around and am excited to give another try, and I haven't seen In & Out. It's nice to be doing a semi-recent year because I've been on quite an older year streak with 1956 and 1953 back-to-back, the latter sucking the reviewing energy right out of me. Julianne Moore's up first this year, and I'd love to hear some overall thoughts if anyone's still hanging around here.