Supporting Actress Smackdown - 2009

The Year is...

2009
And the Smackdowners for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards are...
ALEX of Alex in Movieland/My Latest Oscar Film
ANDREW of Encore Entertainment
BRAD of Criticlasm
KEVIN of AIWWAF
SAM of Brooks For Media
WALTER of The Silver Screening Room
NATHANIEL of The Film Experience
with
yours truly, STINKYLULU.

2009's Supporting Actresses are...
(Each Smackdowner's comments are arranged according to ascending levels of love. Click on the nominee's name/film to see StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sunday review.)

Penélope Cruz in Nine

STINKYLULUA staggering blast of clarity in a hopelessly muddled movie. Cruz is sexy, raw and tragic (while also delivering the only genuine laughs in entire the movie). A pungent reminder of just how much potential greatness Nine squandered.
KEVINThis schtick probably would have gone over better with me if she hadn’t just done it (and better) in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. I also think she blew “Call From the Vatican,” which is a shame.
ALEXLet’s face it, she was almost counting her dance steps, but it still was a sexy moment. Penélope does something with Carla that you don’t notice at first: with a surprising sensibility, she beautifully shapes the real victim of the story!
NATHANIELAll traces of the bad actress we once knew are gone. Arrivederci! Now she can even sell deadpan comedy and heartbreaking lusty emptiness at the same time! What can't she do? Both those things while singing in her second tongue, unfortunately.
BRADI did love her in this, and I wish she had more. Sadly, it was like she kept lobbing great serves that weren't hit back. She's really become a great, assured screen presence. Not sure I'd nominate it, but love her.
WALTERManages to be sexy, funny, and tragic. She’s like the girl who just lost her virginity to the football hero, always needing to be reminded of her desirability, demanding a commitment while avoiding her own. Cruz gets the balance between child and vixen.
SAMCruz is the fireblood in this often pallid film, she grounds her outrageous and somewhat stereotypical character in a dark sadness that her film desperately needs. And an able dancer and belter to boot.
ANDREWHer Carla is a tentative and petulant woman below the initial hilarity she precipitates: not the confident Marie Elena from last year. Her reaction at the hotel is priceless and that dejected walk down the lane changes the tone of the performance for the better.

TOTAL: 25s

Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air

KEVINTo date, this performance still grates on me. It seemed to be a giant cliché of what a “mysterious” woman should be like. It all seemed too perfect, and not in a good way.
ALEXTo her credit, she makes it look so easy. Simple is not for me and as much as I respect her presence in the film, the sudden change in the storyline affects my perspective on the performance. She did ok, but the screenplay not enough.
ANDREWShe is the anomaly of the nominees; not consistently bad or consistently excellent. She tries hard to make some scenes work, yet sometimes it’s just too glib to be authentic. Oftentimes, though, she succeeds in turning a hollow thing into a real person.
WALTERWins and breaks your heart without ever once coming off as phony or contrived. She sells that sexy confidence, and the one time it’s shaken is truly a thing to behold: her eyes tell it all, even as she maintains her poise.
BRADTo match Clooney's charm is no easy feat, and they had great chemistry. She managed the end twist well, illuminating her earlier choices when it could have been tacked on. She's a joy to watch, and that's the best part.
STINKYLULUAlex is a cad – gorgeous and glib, gliding though her myriad deceptions and casual betrayals with blithe effervescence. Yet, Farmiga’s deceptive simplicity neither judges nor punishes Alex for playing the same games that the boys play and thus permits the character’s flawed humanness to show too.
NATHANIELSo self-assured, adult and funny she seems every bit Clooney's kindred charmer..."only with a vagina." But it's her addition of a slyly masked coldness (open with body, not heart) that makes this a compelling turn, and one untarnished but completed by the "twist".
SAMIn a film that actively seems to be working against her by the third act, Farmiga delivers a smart and sharp performance that hovers lightly over a sadness without beating the audience over the head with it.

TOTAL: 27s

Maggie Gyllenhaal in Crazy Heart

ALEXI love surprise nominees, but only when they’re good. Truth be told, Maggie does too little for Crazy Heart; her overplayed modesty just adds to the boringness of the film, creating a flat interpretation of a dull character.
WALTERWoefully miscast. Unable to find the balance between the characters she’s used to playing and the illogic of this character, Maggie herself looks uncertain as to why she’s here. That last scene is awful, too, but that’s not really her fault.
STINKYLULUEven as Gyllenhaal’s distinctive charisma imbues this performance, her actual work in the role lacks a necessary touch. (Clarifying wit perhaps? Or maybe idiosyncratic insight?) The result is a generic stock performance that goes down easy – and is easily forgotten.
NATHANIELHer best work is often electrified by highly specific eroticism and intelligence. This role requires neither, or at best, a barely functioning bit of the former. Robbed of her best assets, she bores...and forgets to sell the backstory.
BRADHer early ambivalence toward him was great. Gyllenhaal's intelligence and caginess worked well. Not sure of nom-worthy, certainly strong, but the least interesting in this field. But in true supporting tradition, made better than what she was given.
SAMThis usually inspired actress turns in a nothing of a performance. She’s never bad in the role, but even worse than that, she’s never interesting. And when playing off such a talented co-star, this performance really should have been better.
ANDREWFor an actress who’s usually so charismatic this performance was bland and artificial. Certainly the script doesn’t give her much help, but it could have worked. She goes through it all on autopilot and I couldn’t care less about the character.
KEVINThis wasn’t a supporting role. Maggie did well with it: even if she was overacting at times, the mall security scene was a great one for her. But it’s a lead role.

TOTAL: 13s

Anna Kendrick in Up in the Air

ANDREWAt first I think perhaps she has the look of the character down, because as superficial as it feels – perhaps that’s the point. However her poor line delivery and cringe worthy line readings give me nothing to applaud despite the ostensible attempts at character development.
NATHANIELHer true gift is comedy, not drama. Chunks of this performance work (the uptight gait, the shaky superiority complex) and while you can excuse how hard she's pushing (so does her character) she often misses the dramedic tone in this uneven breakthrough.
WALTERShe shines in some moments, like her chats with Clooney, or when she actually has to use her own system to fire somebody. But I can’t quite make out the savvy Cornell grad Craig Gregory hired.
ALEXHated it at first, then I learned to appreciate the small elements of generosity! Noticed when she tones it down and lets us see the real good nature of Natalie? It’s a sweet breakthrough performance, but I see why many find it annoying.
BRADShe held her own with Clooney, and was great at being a girl who thought she was much stronger in some ways than she actually was. It's a bravado debut. Great, emotionally rich work.
SAMAcquitting herself well to a pretty staid role, Kendrick proves herself to be a talented comic actress. Sadly, she’s not doing anything new here and she definitely seems out of depth with her more experienced co-stars.
STINKYLULUSteady verve and ready wit anchor Kendrick’s work here, but it’s her handling of Natalie’s nascent empathy that keeps this character from thinning to become Tracy Glick 2.0. A memorable breakthrough performance.
KEVINWe’ll look back in five years and realize how great Anna made this movie. She was perfect as the corporate chipmunk, upstaging her veteran co-stars. Her charm and wit were flawlessly engrossing.

TOTAL: 20s

Mo'Nique in Precious

ANDREWShe is loud and uncouth, garish and scary as demanded. The thing is that sometimes the script seems to be working against her as she tries to make Mary real but she comes out on top in the end – for the most part.
STINKYLULUNot since Carrie has a mother's "love" been so voracious, so vicious, so contradictory, so monstrous – yet, somehow, so real. Might not be the most artfully executed performance (the seams really do show, especially early on) but there’s something extraordinary – even iconic – about Mo’nique’s Mary.
WALTERIt’s incredible how effortless it looks. We see she knows what kindness looks like, but despises it as a weakness. And that last scene, of course, where she tries every tactic she knows to turn the situation in her favor, is sad and scary.
BRADI don't know how to speak of this without cliched superlatives. I don't know that I'll ever forget the horror of that last speech - and her discovering her own terror of who she is while it's happening is masterful. She's riveting.
SAMThe comic does more than offer up the demon the film seems to want, she embodies more difficult and complex character: A pathetic being who skates across the title of monster to embody a truly human darkness.
NATHANIELMary's confession is one of the greatest acting monologues ever recorded. But that same slipperiness of persona and its attendant (and frankly amazing) vocal dexterity are present from the first scene. Her multiple selves just haven't been piggybacked quite so rapidly before.
KEVINNot just the best supporting actress of the year, the best film performance outright in YEARS. Mo’Nique stares you in the face and spits at you, then dares you to fight back. She’s a titan onscreen.
ALEXThis is how you do it, BABY! (read it Mo’Nique style) The math of it: fabulously written character + solid direction + a touch of brilliance = one of the best Oscar’s ever seen! Who-who-who is gonna love you, Mo’Nique? I will!

TOTAL: 39s

We'll have to wait one week
to find out who Oscar chooses...

But the SMACKDOWN
just can't wait &
is compelled to announce that

MO'NIQUE is our
Best Supporting Actress of 2009!
But no need to look so glum, Mo'nique...
you don't have to show up to accept this one.
We'll celebrate on your behalf!

BUT, lovely reader, do tell US.
What do YOU think?
Please share your thoughts in comments.