Kieran, here. With this week's wide release of the already heralded Steve Jobs and yesterday's Elizabeth "Lee" Miller biopic casting announcement, it could well be a entering a second era of peak Kate Winslet. Winslet was on a career high with six Oscar nominations, four before her thirtieth birthday. Then things slowed down considerably. Yes, she had that awards run for Mildred Pierce and she was Globe nominated for her turns in Carnage and Labor Day. However, the consensus these past few years is that Winslet has been in a bit of a slump. If her Steve Jobs work does indeed land Winslet a seventh nomination, it'll be thrilling to see her return to the ceremony.
It's been seven years since Winslet last nomination for The Reader (which she won). In honor of one of our favorite actresses/shampoo-bottle-Oscar-speech-rehearsers let's look through her list of nominated performances, and rank them. Heavenly Creatures and Holy Smoke!, two of her best, are missing, but that's another story.
6. Little Children
(Best Actress, 2006--Lost to Helen Mirren in The Queen)
Her turn in Little Children is an excellent example of how Winslet is rarely uninteresting to watch on-screen, even when she happens to be miscast. Todd Field makes good use of her highly-charged eroticism and her gift for conveying inner turmoil. Unfortunately, the screenplay forces her to tell more than show.
5. Titanic
(Best Actress, 1997--Lost to Helen Hunt in As Good as It Gets)
The pendulum swing in terms of regard for this performance and film is very mercurial, either great or terrible depending on who you talk to. I think it's a handsome film and a sturdy performance from Winslet. She was just shy of her twenty-first birthday when she filmed Titanic. Though she would go on to top this performance, it remains a clear marker for her progression as an actress and her ability to project maturity beyond her years.
4. The Reader
(Best Actress, 2008--Won)
There's so much baggage associated with this unfairly-maligned performance. Whether it's gripes about the performances she beat, The Reader's perceived usurping of The Dark Knight and/or WALL-E's spot on the Best Picture roster or that Winslet dared to win an Oscar and be excited about it. This performance and the film that houses it are way more complicated, interesting and worthy of honest discussion than detractors give either credit for. Here's hoping time eventually turns the tide on this one.
3. Iris
(Best Supporting Actress, 2001--Lost to Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind)
Of the six performances on this list, her turn in Iris as the title character's younger self is the one that most people probably think of the least. That's a shame because she's the best thing in the film and the worthiest nominee in her category that year. She manages to play her own read on Iris Murdoch that at once totally tracks with what Judi Dench is doing and is also a creature of her own specific interpretation. Luminous.
2. Sense & Sensibility
(Best Supporting Actress, 1995--Lost to Mira Sorvino in Mighty Aphrodite)
Previously discussed on the Supporting Actress Smackdown. I have to echo the praise she received. I'm not as enamored with Sense & Sensibility as some (I like it, I don't love it), but whenever I do return to it, it's for Winslet's Marianne Dashwood. The scene where she quietly undresses her sister's inability to open up is a masterclass.
1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
(Best Actress, 2004--Lost to Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby)
As it happens, many performers don't have the fortune of even being nominated for their best work. So, mope as some may about the fact that Winslet's win didn't come for this contemporary classic, let's be floored and excited that she was even nominated for such a wonderfully specific, prickly and well-drawn creation as Clementine Kruczynski; a star turn of absolute perfection.
How would you rank Winslet's Oscar-nominated performances? If you've already seen Steve Jobs, where would that performance factor in?
Will Winslet's Turn in STEVE JOBS Be Nomination #7?