Rethinking Best Supporting Actress

When you do "best of" rankings, everything depends on your mood. I think I may have made an error in my own Best Supporting Actress ranking by placing Marion Cotillard in 3rd, behind 2nd place winner Mo'Nique. What's done is done, but if I had to make those rankings again today, Marion would take silver (to first place winner Anna Kendrick!).

I think Marion's is the type of performance that grows over time. I think Mo'Nique's is the complete opposite. Everyone was so blown away by Mo'Nique's "powerhouse" performance the second they saw it. In five years time, I wonder if it will pack the same emotional punch that everybody thought it did.

This is where Marion's strengths lie. There's no way that her performance as Luisa Contini will decay as Mo'Nique's might. It may just be the dynamics of Nine vs. Precious, but I truly believe it's something more. Mo'Nique came out of nowhere with Precious. As soon as people saw the film in Sundance there was buzz. The more people saw it, the more intense the buzz grew. It was a comedienne/talk-show host who was giving one hell of a dramatic performance. Marion, on the other hand, was set to be in one of the baitiest Oscar movies of the season: Nine. When Nine failed to take off with audiences and critics, nearly everything connected to it (save Penelope) was left behind in the dust. It was seen as an all-around disappointment because expectations were soooooooooooooooo high.

See the difference? Precious became a surprise hit. Nine became a surprise critical and Oscar failure. Mo'Nique was on the upswing of Precious, and Marion was brought down with Nine. It was expectations that let Mo'Nique soar, and it was expectations that let Marion's chances of a second Oscar nomination plummet. But when we look back in five years and regard Nine as a "total mess," won't Marion's performance seem more impressive? And when we look back in five years and expect the second-coming of Christ from Mo'Nique, won't we all be disappointed? It's the momentum of the season that can help an actress get nominated. Not to defy Mo'Nique's speech, but there is more to winning an Academy Award than just the performance, like it or not. It wasn't about the "politics" so much as the momentum-The Precious momentum carried her, not the other way around.

In 2015, let's all revisit Precious and Nine, and pay close attention to Mo'Nique and Marion. I'd be surprised if people still hailed Mo'Nique as they do now. Marion's lack of an Oscar nomination will probably be on some of those "worst snubs" lists.

What are your thoughts? Which performance do you think will be better in five years' time?

Best Supporting Actress Winner

So, you've all (all 2 of you?) read my nominees for the Rita Moreno Supporting Actress Award!

Time for the winners!

5th place goes to...

Melanie Laurent in Inglourious Basterds

4th place goes to...

Rosamund Pike in An Education

3rd place goes to...

Marion Cotillard in Nine

2nd place goes to...

Mo'Nique in Precious

And the winner is...

Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air

Best Supporting Actress - All That Film Style

Best of 2009 time! One by one, I'll be posting the nominees, followed by the winners. First up we have BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS.

But what good is a category if it doesn't have a name? In honor of one of the best supporting actress performances of all time, I will dub this category the...

Rita Moreno Supporting Actress Award! What a mouthful, eh?

And the nominees are...

Marion Cotillard, Nine

For showing Luisa's heartache with voice, expression, and dance.

Rosamund Pike, An Education

For every little micro-touch and nuance she gives Helen.

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

For humanizing Natalie to unimaginable extents.

Melanie Laurent, Inglourious Basterds

For creating a heroine who could not be more vulnerable.

Mo'Nique, Precious

For creating a monster all too real.