Awards Page Index * OSCAR coverage here
'07 FiLM BiTCH Awards
by Nathaniel R

Traditional Oscar categories: Majors / Acting / Technicals / Technicals 2 (Tally of Noms)
Special Categories: Extras / Extras 2 / Scenes 1 / Scenes 2 (Tally of Noms) / Movie Mixers (Poll Games)



Best Individual Line Reading
phraseology that sticks in the head

James Marsden
Enchanted
Julie Christie
Away From Her
Daniel Day-Lewis
There Will Be Blood
Romola Garai
Atonement
Julia Stiles
The Bourne Ultimatum
"Giselle!"
[bites fist]

Hilarious overkill! (this was basically a tie with "116th and Broadway!") --he somehow mixes inappropriate self regard (look what I've discovered!) into his romantic enthusiasm.
"Don't they remember Vietnam?"

The external and internal horrors of memory and forgetting. Gah. she's so good in this film
"I can't keep doing this on my own with these ... people"

I love how this is a simultaneous reaching out and pushing away... and that he makes you wait for it, twisting it into sick comedy
"I am very very sorry for the distress that I have caused"

I love how this apology comes out teeny-tiny and pathetic, as if its been impotently rehearsed for years. And yet she still chokes on it
"It was difficult for me... with you"

What economy both in scripting and performance (thanks to Nick for the reminder. He typed this line up and I instantly heard her voice, the whole character conjured
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Finalists: Practically anything out of the mouths of Amy Adams in Enchanted (my favorite is probably "... a nearby meadow or hollow tree") and Sigourney Weaver in The TV Set. Deftly handled.

Semi-Finalists: Unknown actress "Beer's what's coming" No Country For Old Men -Michelle Pfeiffer "Tracy" --the way the name sours her tongue and she has to spit it out. Hilarious. Hairspray * Ashley Judd "I am the super mother bug" in Bug -hey, you try getting that line out * Tommy Lee Jones "I'll be a part of this world" that opening monologue/narration in No Country For Old Men is beautifully played*

 

 

Best Actress in a Limited or Cameo Role
there are no small parts

Maggie Gyllenhaal
"Liz"
Paris Je T'Aime
Kathy Lamkin
"Desert Aire Manager"
No Country For Old Men
Margo Martindale
"Carol"
Paris Je T'Aime
Mary Louise Parker
"Zee"
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Vanessa Redgrave
"Briony"
Atonement
Short vignettes are wise to delicately suggest rather than tell. I was imagining a whole movie with Liz, gracefully inhabited by this always riveting actress
Did. you. not. hear. her? She aint at no liberty to give out information. I love that you feel like she feels like she could maybe take Anton Chigurh on. Large and in charge... rowr
Forget Paris. How about we gather 20 auteurs together for an omnibus devoted to vignettes starring beloved character actresses. Actrices que nous aimons
A woman this talented so far in the background? sheesh. This dutiful wife looks like she's seen (or imagined) too much... and she's rightfully wary about her husband's friends
An obvious choice but she closes out the triple-actressed character with her usual command of subtext, intonation and portraiture. 49 years into her film career and still ever watchable
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Finalists: Cate Blanchet, quite droll as "Jeanine", gave me one of the heartiest laughs of the year (I'd recognize that voice anywhere) in Hot Fuzz.
Semi-Finalists: Carla Gugino plays "Janet" in The Lookout and everytime she's on screen in any movie, I wish she were on screen more * Helena Bonham-Carter does her preferred weird & wild work as "Bellatrix Lestrange" in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix * Zooey Deschanel arrives late in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford but her "Dorothy" sings (someone put her in a musical) and prods for hurtful information delicately * Julianne "hey, that's my chair" Moore in I'm Not There

 

 

Best Actor in a Limited or Cameo Role
there are no small parts

Russell Harvard
"H.W. Plainview -older"
There Will Be Blood
Bill Hodnett
"guy's dad"
Once
Gene Jones
"Gas Station Proprietor"
No Country For Old Men
Joel McNichol (?)
"Express Messenger"?
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Brian F. O'Byrne
"Dr. Sweet"
Bug
Holds the screen very well in part 1 of that tricky final act. With smart symmetry his H.W. is played as still and observant as the child actor who precedes him
The 'Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy''s dad lingers sweetly in a haze of working class smoke in Once. "Make your mom proud.... and play it again"
Two everyday men confronted by evil men (or myths?). Jones marvelously plays a bewildered old man unable to quite grasp the rules of a game he didn't choose to play. McNichol (I think I have the right name / character?) isn't as lucky in the end. But his foolish defiance and proud fear are fully felt before Jesse James does him in
Ably handles the daunting task of taking the psycho temperature of the room with a contradictory hint of curious menace and eery calm. Is this guy for real?
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Finalists: Nicky Katt as "Joe" in Grindhouse: Planet Terror having a spot of fun as usual. Oozing bloody tongue popping fun this time. Gross. * Barry Corbin as "Ellis " in No Country For Old Men
Semi-Finalists: Daniel Mays as "Tommy Nettle" in Atonement * Sergio Castellito as "The Husband" in Paris Je T'aime * Gaspard Ulliel in Paris Je T'Aime * and because I am fond...Michiel Huisman in Black Book *

Breakthrough Award
actors who "arrived" this year, whether through a fine debut, or
graduation from tiny roles to the big leagues. Please note: People who are nominated
in one of the four traditional acting categories are ineligible for this award.

Nikki Blonsky
Hairspray
Michael Cera
Juno
(and Superbad)
Saoirse Ronan
Atonement
(and I Could Never Be Your Woman --soon on DVD)
The Swell Season
Once
Carice Van Houten
Blackbook
Third time and Tracy Turnblad is still a charm(er). She made for a loveable bundle of fun and entitled high spirits
next project
In Hollywood she'll be hard to cast but wish her the best. Next: a TV movie Queen Sized and the comedy Harold
What a comedic training ground Arrested Development must have been. Two blockbusters in his first real movie year. Not bad for a crossover
next project
Currently filming a biblical Harold Ramis comedy Year One
Atonement is but one of three films she's made but it functioned as her debut. We hope she joins the ranks of people who were Oscar nominated on their first try.
next project:
the murdered girl (lead role and that's no spoiler) in The Lovely Bones
I don't know a lot about the genesis of Once (I prefer to think of it as a gift from above, rather than a laborious man made effort) but what a swell way to boost your musical careers: make a great movie
next project:
Performing at the Oscars? We hope.
The best performance in a Verhoeven film outside of Gina Gershon in Showgirls. Fire, personality, mystery & beauty.
next project
You'll be seeing a lot of her. Four films in the can already. In talks for more.
 
Finalists: Sam Riley (pictured, left) and Anamaria Marinca did riveting lead work in Control and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days respectively * Zoe Bell on that car top in Death Proof was quite a sight. Her other scenes were neat, too.

Semi-Finalists: Charlie Cox cut a pretty good romantic hero figure in Stardust. Too bad the film wasn't good enough to capitalize on it. And finally, let's hear it for Young Hollywood. OK, very Young Hollywood: Dakota Blue Richards was Lyra just as you'd imagined her to be while reading The Golden Compass, Ed Sanders was one of the most memorable Tobys ever (in the film version of Sweeney Todd) And Dillon Freasier was a memorable part of the family business as HW (the younger) in There Will Be Blood. May they all grow into better actors than they are already and may none of them throw it all away like so many do...

 

Body of Work
Last year I only gave a gold medal. This year I've decided to go back to
the nominee pool. Please note: People who are nominated in one of the
four traditional acting categories are ineligible for this award.

Josh Brolin
American Gangster, Planet Terror and No Country For Old Men
Ben Foster
3:10 to Yuma and 30 Days of Night
James Marsden
Hairspray and Enchanted
Michelle Pfeiffer
Stardust and Hairspray
Paul Schneider
Assassination of Jesse James... and Lars and the Real Girl
Best in show in American Gangster opposite two heavyweights no less, sleazy fun in Grindhouse and a wonderfully strong and silent force in 07's most acclaimed film. This year is going to be hard to top.
Showboating? Probably. But he understood the movies he was in and went out there to make them pop. I hope he doesn't get typecast as the freaky #2 villain but I thank him for waking me up in middling films.
This fading B-lister (a rep reinforced by 'stick up his ass' Cyclops in X-Men films) turned the charisma way up with two gleeful enchanted star turns in 07 (and saved his career no doubt) "116th and Broadway!"
You have no idea how good it feels to include her in a "body of work" prize. She returned not once but twice (yes!) making films sparkle and thrill by way of her incomparable star mojo. WELCOME BACK!
Believable brotherly concern underneath the irritation in Lars and a hoot as the smooth talking ladykiller in Jesse James gang. Here's hoping this year puts him on the collective casting director's shortlist.
 
Finalist: none

Semi-Finalists: Christian Bale was fine in I'm Not There, Rescue Dawn and 3:10 to Yuma but none of the three were impressive enough to be part of future retrospectives of his work so I thought I'd let this one go * Phillip Seymour Hoffman's best work this year was in The Savages (where he did a rare thing: he let another great actor have the scenes. Bravo for newfound generosity). He also had his moments in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. But I didn't care for his Charlie Wilson's War performance so he doesn't make the nominee pool here * Rose Byrne, I can never make up my mind about you! Late last year you surprised me in The Dead Girl and this year you ably carried 28 Weeks Later and had a couple strong moments in scary sci-fi punching bag Sunshine (as well as on television's Damages) but I'm still not sure about your range. What's next?

Best Ensemble Work
they are family

Atonement
Knightley, McAvoy, Ronan, Garai,
Redgrave, Walter, Temple, Blethyn, etc...
Three Brionys pass the baton in fascinating ways, the Tallis family reads authentic and the romantic chemistry? Divine
Hairspray
Blonsky, Travolta, Pfeiffer, Walken, Marsden, Latifah, Bynes, Kelley, Janney, Parks, etc...
Another great Tracy. Infectious energy and joy in all the performances. You can't stop their (collective) beat
Jindabyne
Linney, Byrne, Furness, Yiakmis, Stone,
Purcell, Haywood, Lazzaro, etc...
Explicitly drawn marital relationships and group friendships, detailed with riveting hairpin shifts of moods and backstory
Juno
Page, Cera, Simmons, Thirlby, Garner,
Bateman, Pedde, Janney, etc...
As clever as the screenplay is needed an expert committed cast to make it fly. Early trip ups aside this cast provides real wings.
A Mighty Heart
Jolie, Futterman, Panjabi, Khan, Afzal, Khan, O'Hare, Armenante, etc...
Winterbottom's approach, a jagged mosaic of a terrible tragedy and the (many) lives orbiting it, serves this cast well. And vice versa
Finalists: Knocked Up There's something to be said for the casting of a regular comic troupe: consistency in chemistry and casual hilarity * Zodiac not all of the peripheral players truly register but the central men (Edwards, Ruffalo, Downey Jr, and Gyllenhaal) are stunningly in synch * I love most of the performances in No Country For Old Men but I'm throwing attention elsewhere since they were acting in essentially parallel films as opposed to together -- my take at least *
Semi Finalists: Love the concept of I'm Not There but some Dylans were more consistently pleasureable to consider than others * The top notch maze of players really lifts the proceedings within The Bourne Ultimatum -- third time in a row. Most improved: Julia Stiles *A not so merry band of thieves grace The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford *

 

Best Casting
Had a winning hand before filming began

Atonement
Jina Jay
Hairspray
Tina Gerussi, Richard Hicks and David Rubin
The Golden Compass
Lucy Bevan and Fiona Weir
No Country For Old Men
Ellen Chenoweth
Zodiac
Laray Mayfield
Believeable siblings, sharp supporting players and two rising glittery stars, well matched
It shouldn't be shocking to see a movie musical which casts only actors who can sing and dance. It is
The script awkwardly gives no one enough to do but the right people are in place. Dakota is a great find
Aside from the three masculine leads even most of the bit players seem perfectly dropped in place
Love the casting of four 'soft' male stars (i.e. emotionally open) which amps up the closing off of their lives
 
Finalists: Michael Clayton -Ellen Chenoweth * A Mighty Heart -Wendy Brazington and Ellen Lewis
Semi-Finalists: Year of the Dog -Meredith Tucker, Sunshine -Donna Isaacson and Gail Stevens * Lust Caution -Rosanna Ng * Juno -Kara Lipson and Mindy Marin

 

 

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