Michelle Williams' Oscar Moment might be in Manchester
Thursday, October 6, 2016 at 12:29PM by Murtada
Williams this week at NYFF
There was a time - say early 2012 - when Michelle Williams could do no wrong with Oscar. Basking in her third overall nomination for My Week with Marilyn (2011), the second in as many years as she was nominated the year before for Blue Valentine (2010), she had the heat, she had the momentum. She also had the critical and cinephile love with acclaimed performances behind her in Take this Waltz (2011), Meek’s Cutoff (2010) and Wendy and Lucy (2008).
The win was definitely coming and soon. How times change.
Blue Valentine is still fondly remembered particularly for her performance which remains a favorite for some in that stacked best actress list that included Nicole Kidman, Annette Bening, Jennifer Lawrence and the winner Natalie Portman. My Week with Marilyn though, has not aged well, deservedly so since it is mostly another mediocre biopic. Williams’ performance as Marilyn Monroe while carefully modulated and technically accomplished is all surface with no depth. At least she has her Golden Globe and Indie Spirit award to console her.
Follow up choices didn’t work as well. Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) was a disaster despite the box office. Williams wasn’t even fun to watch in it. Suite Francaise (2014) was never released in the US. Remember when many thought that would be her Oscar winning vehicle? She tried to course correct with a move to the theater that was not entirely successful. While she was the first actress cast in the latest Cabaret revival, the two who replaced her - Emma Stone and Sienna Miller - got better reviews. Blackbird, for which she was Tony nominated, didn't get her the unanimous raves you’d think she’d get with such a visceral part.
with Affleck in Manchester
However she's back this year with two movies at NYFF, collaborating again with Kelly Reichardt in Certain Women and with Kenneth Lonergan in Manchester by the Sea. The latter is a performance that lives up to the hype that started in January at Sundance. She's got the bad wig, she's nailed the Boston accent, she's ready. It's a small part in a devastating story that hinges on a single scene but what a whopper of a scene. Williams and Casey Affleck play a couple who are trying to break through to each other despite years of living with deep hurt. In the scene they break hearts as they clearly telegraph with their faces what it feels to have your heart broken and to live with that for years. It is a well written scene that is elevated by the performances. Affleck has other moments in the film but none as powerful as this, because he is matched so well with Williams. Lonergan has recently said that the only direction he gave them was to “try and make it easy on each other”. They certainly make the audience feel their characters’ bond.
at the Oscars as a nominee
Williams is definitely a supporting actress contender this year. A nomination seems given unless some category fraud shenanigans happen within the stacked best actress race. But is Oscar interested enough for her to contend for the win? Other actresses in her age group seem to court more favor nowadays. Jessica Chastain had the momentum for a few years and since Carol, Rooney Mara seems to have gotten the cachet as best American actress in her 30s. All of this won’t matter if people fall in love with the performance. And there will be lots of love. But is it too short? The best asset she has is that most of the performance can be capsuled in a clip that is easily shared. That might be enough. As it was for Anne Hathaway.
Are you looking forward to Williams' return to Oscar favor?
Reader Comments (38)
BSA is not as dead as anticipated. Look out for Harris and a category fraud Negga. Or possibly Bening becoming a double nominee and winning for her husband's movie.
I have an immense dislike for her I think because she's a part of a group of white actors (because of course - can't actually promote PoCs, just the requisite catch-all post that happens when we're shut out of nominations again) that white critics insist are the greatest actors we will ever know and all their work is exceedingly bland and boring.
See also Fassbender, Cumberbatch, Rachel Weisz, Felicity Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Ryan Gosling.
Having seen Williams on stage and screen (most recently in Certain Women), I think she works best in smaller, more intimate settings and drama. She was terrific in The Station Agent, Brokeback Mountain, Wendy & Lucy, and Take This Waltz; it's a key that suits her especially well.
Speaking of Hathaway, who'da thunk that she, post-B.M., would be the one to snag an Oscar ahead of Williams?
P.S. Her mustard yellow dress from 2006 is one of my favorite Oscar looks ever. Well done, 'chelle.
Framing her career as falling into some kind of slump is ridiculous. I'm not even a Michelle Williams fan but she's always done the kind of movies she wants to do, for (presumably) very little money. Sometimes it connects with mainstream Hollywood and sometimes it doesn't. I don't think Williams feels aggrieved that Wendy and Lucy didn't blow up into an iconic blockbuster Best Picture contender.
And on that subject, who doesn't have a big-budget misfire on her resume...literally every major actress I can think of does. Unless reviews are dismal (Julia Roberts comes to mind) actors always earn points for doing Broadway. Your weird dig about Miller and Stone is petty as hell. And it's hardly Williams' personal fault that Suite Francaise got bad distribution. I suspect you know more about this alleged "course correction" than Williams herself does.
Again, I don't race to the theater to see a new Michelle Williams performance (I find her pretty "meh") but way to mischaracterize the entire object of her career.
I've missed Michelle onscreen. I know she's not participating lively or exciting to many people, but I've always thought she's a great actress.
Particularly•
Also the interpretation of her stage work...didn't get raves and a Tony nomination for Cabaret because she wasn't good enough. Got a Tony nomination for Blackbird despite...not being good enough? This is like a long list of imaginary, melodramatic Michelle Williams disses.
Rahul I agree with some of your choices esp the men bar Gosling whom I feel is way more talented than any of the men you mention,i like Williams in 2 of her Oscar roles but she is all kinds of wrong as MM,no actress has or will ever do her justice,i'd add Chastain to your list also
I don't agree she is in a slump,her career is like many actresses inc Hathaway who is far more successful BO wise than Lawrence & Williams and every other actress bar Bullock,Diaz and Roberts at their peaks.
She is an actress not a movie star if that's how you meant it.
Her people are probably crossing their fingers that Davis doesn't go supporting. Right now, I think she's the frontrunner.
Michelle Willims has never and will never be a box office draw. She's not that kind of actress. I don't see why it matters that her movies don't make bank. To her credit, besides Oz the Great and Powerful, she also has Shutter Island on her resume which was a box office hit and is still pretty popular today.
Williams•
I really like Williams. I disagree with Rahul that she is bland and boring but celebrated because she's white.. I find her generally an earnest and unfussy performer. i also share Hayden's criticism of this article. I don't think someone survives 90's teen stardom (or teen stardom in any decade I guess!) without pushing themselves and having a good eye for interesting parts and directors. I didn't like her Marilyn but I think she gave great performances in Suite Francaise (luckily a cinematic release in uk), Blue Valentine, Take This Waltz & Wendy & Lucy. Her role in Brokeback Mountain is my favourite of hers, and of that year's BSA nominees. I hope there is a little gold man in her future.
Williams vs. Stewart for the win, I think.
Lol at the comments saying this article is not positive. The title actually says Michelle might win an Oscar and there's a whole paragraph about how great she is in this new movie.
Michelle Williams shut out both Charlize for Young Adult and Tilda for We Need to Talk About Kevin, and for that I will never forgive her.
I had no idea people were so polarized about Michelle Williams! You'd think this was an article about Amy Adams.
I'm with Hayden, but I generally cringe at articles like these that seem to paint successful actors with enviable careers as some kind of at-risk cases returning from a slump.
Michelle Williams always gives intellectual performance that works in a very cerebral way. I'm glad that she gives that emotional scene a visceral punch so the average moviegoer can finally see the subtle wit and brilliant restrain of her persona
I love Michelle Williams. And I do hope she wins the Oscar someday. If it's this year, for a great performance, then all the more to celebrate.
Ryan: it was Glenn Close's ridiculous performance in Albert Nobbs that shut out the much better work of Charlize Theron (who should have won!) and Tilda Swinton (and Keira Knightley and Juliette Binoche and Elizabeth Olsen and Anna Paquin, but who's counting?). Michelle Williams had won a Golden Globe, an Indie Spirit, and was nominated by every Oscar-wannabe group (SAG, "Critics" Choice, etc.), so her nomination was pretty much expected.
I'm ALL HERE for Michelle Williams Oscar domination this year!!!
Ryan - but was it really Michelle Willams getting in that denied Charlize Theron and Tilda
Swinton of nominations? If anyone can actually be blamed for that, is it not more likely Rooney Mara and/or Glenn Close who received far less precursor support, and therefore their slots more in contention in that year?
Wow. This post does a great job of erasing Michelle's remarkable dedication to independent cinema this century and her important role as muse to one of our most underappreciated (female) directors working today.
I hope she does win an Oscar some day because I know it will benefit her future projects securing financing.
IMO, Williams captured the unique childlike sexiness and vulnerability o Monroe v well. She is smart that she din try to imitate the most sex symbol in the world, but rather she embodies Monroe's essence in her own way. Her performance is IMO, the best performance of 2011. (Runner-up is Theron in Young Adult)
If there is anyone who robbed Tilda of her nom, it is Mara or Close, & definitely not Williams who was nom in all the pre-cursor awards & won GG & Indie & also the runner-up in New York Film Critics.
I hope she get her Oscar due soon!
Michelle back in the awards race? Yes, please.
I do think Nicole and Naomie will give her a run for her money barring Viola or Annette's category move.
Aside from Viola you could take the rest of the 2011 Best Actress lineup out for me. Replace with Charlize, Kiki Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Juliette Binoche, and Mia Wasikowskia.
Um girl, about Cabaret, Emma might get better reviews, but Sienna definitely didn't. That's a weird way to be petty. And she actually got a Tony nom for Blackbird; isn't that good enough?
She's my lock for the win BSA now YAY! unless Davis downgrades to supporting of course.
Drew C: I'd replace the entire 2011 Actress lineup with Olivia Colman, Adepero Oduye, Elizabeth Olsen, Charlize Theron, and Kristen Wiig.
LOL at Rahul.
I find Williams to have a really bland and vanilla persona, but her talent as an actress is undeniable. She was just fantastic in Blue Valentine and I also really liked her in Take this walk, a movie which I think is sadly underseen.
She's super talented. I've noticed that she seems divisive on these boards, which surprises me.
I agree with others that the "her career was in a free-fall!" tone of this article felt a bit inaccurate, but her career HAD hit a slow patch. Everyone's does at times, and there are actresses that are beloved in these parts that have had much longer slow patches. Manchester seems like it is going to remind people that she's a major talent, and she seems a lock for a nomination at least. I can't imagine that Viola will go supporting--she won in the lead category at the Tonys not that long ago!
Williams is one of my favorite actors of her generation--when she's on, she's sublime. She's incredible in Wendy and Lucy, Brokeback. and Blue Valentine--and I actually really liked her in Marilyn even if the film itself was mediocre. She was a lock for a nomination that year, so it's definitely revisionist history that she took away Tilda's or anyone else's spot. Given precursor awards, she seemed third in line for the win (Meryl and Viola being the frontrunners). Glenn Close seemed to be occupying that fifth slot for a passion project that she didn't even get particularly good reviews for and that very few people saw.
While I think Williams is great, I do think she's given some uneven performances. When she's *not* on, she can be terribly mannered. See: I'm Not There. Also, I've seen both of her recent Broadway turns. I disagreed with the reviews and I actually liked her in Cabaret. Blackbird on the other hand--I found her to be really spotty and mannered. Very effective in spots, but ringing false in others. I noticed that some of her reviews WERE mixed, but that was also actually the case for Jessica Lange (who won). Maybe it was just a weird year for Best Actress at the Tonys, but she's a Tony nominee regardless.
Matt St. Clair - that's a good line-up. It's weird to me that Williams beat Olsen and Oduye at the Indie Spirits, since "My Week with Marilyn" doesn't scream "indie" to me (and wasn't it a British production? Normally a film has to be American to qualify), but because of their open voting process, they typically just award the best-known/most profitable film among their nominees.
For what it's worth, Kris Tapley recently posted on Twitter that Annette Bening may be campaigned in Supporting. If she is, I'd imagine she'd be the frontrunner.
I was a big fan of hers after Brokeback and Valentine. I had low expectations for her Marilyn but was pleasantly surprised, although she clearly should have gained more weight to really sell it. But 2011 was such a great year for Best Actress that I'm not totally convinced she should've gotten in (although Close would easily be my first choice to remove, replacing her with either Binoche or Olsen).
I sort of lost my enthusiasm for her after Oz - I mean, her part wasn't exactly "fun," but damn girl, this is a big, stupid, colorful blockbuster. Lighten up! She was such a dour charisma void.
Mara took Swinton's slot. But the Blanchett curse was still in effect. The Blanchett curse was no actress who beat her could be nominated subsequently until she won her 2nd in BA. After her Blue Jasmine victory Cotillard received her 2nd nod. Now Hudson (unlikely), Paltrow (likely) and Swinton (?) are still waiting for what fate has in store for them.
Cut with the curses and the waiting line ... it is getting boring
All this 2011 Oscar talk and everyone has forgotten Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia ;(((
lol
http://variety.com/2016/film/news/michelle-williams-janis-joplin-biopic-sean-durkin-1201881910/
She's chasing a lead actress victory. So she might wanna lose on this possible 4th nomination.
I agree with Hayden, Paul Outlaw, and Roger, this piece reeks of disconnect and misogyny.
Why is a woman who headlines two Broadway shows, earns a Tony nomination, stars in two movies, while being a single mother at 36, being characterized as having a career that is in a slump or in need of revitalization? It is patronizing and disingenuous that you should frame her career this way.
What is this imaginary momentum you refer to that seems incapable of being applicable to women for more than two years that you elude Jessica Chastain and Rooney Mara as having taken (and already lost in Chastain's case)? Why do you write about it like only one woman can possess it at a time?
These are the sort of thoughtless and false notions that people default to when discussing women's careers in particular. I expect better from a blog that prides itself on respecting and valuing female actors.
Disappointed -- i didn't write this piece but as the editor / ringleader i feel i should respond. As much as we respect and value female actors here it is actually true that Oscar goes in waves of loving actresses -- they're very similar to the general Hollywood machine in terms of their fickleness. When they're into an actress she might be nominated constantly for lesser work and then once they tire of her she might be ignored even if the performances get better.
we actually see this all the time with actress careers, and the notion of being the "it girl" for a short spell. So i'd argue that pointing out that her oscar time may have passed says more about that celebrity machine and Oscar than it does about her.
just my two cents. I haven't yet seen the movie so i cannot comment on her performance but I think it's clear that Murtada loved her work in the film.