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)

Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting

Minnie Driver received her first and only Oscar nomination for her performance as Skylar in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting. 1997 is not considered to be a very good year for this category, and it's easy to see why. The performances were across the board underwhelming, with only Julianne Moore's role being something interesting or even Oscar-y. Driver's role as Skylar is Good Will Hunting is a perfect example. It's a terribly generic role of Matt Damon's girlfriend, who is essentially an ordinary college girl. It doesn't help that Driver looks about five years older than she is supposed to be, and she towers over Damon who looks so young in the film. Good Will Hunting lost a lot of its luster for me this time around, though I still appreciate Damon and Williams' performances more than most. As for Driver, her performance really is all over the place and generic but she has some really strong scenes that work for me.

Minnie Driver is at her best in the film when she is portraying the beginning of the romance between Skylar and Will. The two of them have a good, natural chemistry (apparently they were very briefly an item after the movie) and you can see the attraction Will might have to this girl. The two are vastly different from one another, and Driver makes her so dorky and average in an appealing way. She's got the looks but not the ego. Just like Kim Basinger, a lot of Driver's natural gifts come in handy. She's got a deep voice mixed with that British accent that makes her sound very unique, and her height allows her to tower over even Ben Affleck. All of her charm and appeal comes from how normal Skylar is. She's appealing because she's the type of person you feel you've know you're entire life. This section of the performance is really strong, because Driver convinced me of Will's attraction to her, and was so lovable.

Then comes the scenes where Driver actual has to start displaying some of the tougher emotions, and build an even strong connection with Damon to elevate her character to someone that he falls in love with. It all comes to a head with a huge confrontation scene where Damon ends up screaming at her as she sobs in the most dramatic way possible. It's here that Skylar disappears and the performance becomes Minnie Driver ACTING. The level of her hysteria is horribly awkward and comes out of nowhere, with none of the emotions that Driver is portraying carrying any weight and her awful hand motions looking very self-conscious and fake. It doesn't work because you don't feel like these two love each other. They seem like a fun, casual couple that would go on a few dates and have fun together. The relationship never goes to a place where either of these two would act like this, or at least the screenplay never allows them to get there. Driver's shrill overcompensation doesn't help.

Once again I find myself with a performance of extremes. The script of Good Will Hunting lets Driver down in a lot of ways, and this role is not an Oscar role in a lot of ways. She takes advantage of her natural affability and a warm chemistry with Damon in those early scenes, but quickly becomes shrill and awkward with him with the drama begins to unfold. Minnie Driver isn't a bad actress, but her inexperience at creating a full character comes through here. Not the worst nominee ever, but this performance shouldn't have earned her a seat at the Kodak Theater. 2.5/5 Thelmas.

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.