Who are your favorite supporting actresses of the year?
Monday, November 7, 2016 at 7:00PM By Nathaniel R
Over the weekend Fences had its first screening in Los Angeles and Viola Davis apparently lived up to the prerelease hype so there you have your near-certain winner in the Supporting Actress category this year. (I haven't seen it yet so no comment on that until I do.) But nominations are our favorite part of the Oscar nomination circus anyway so even if the race is wrapped up and Viola becomes a record-breaker as we predicted, it's fun to keep sifting through the options.
Yes, it's that time of year when we begin to take stock and are promptly filled with anxiety about sacrificing favorites as we winnow down to the magic number of 5 for our awardage. Along with the anxiety, though, comes such appreciation for the art of the movies. It's one of the many reasons we cherish awards season...
Awards season gives us the excuse / chance / mandate to reflect on all these fascinating characters we get to meet every year. And marvel at the actresses who bring them to life with such skill and insight.
Here are 10 -- no make that 20 -- supporting performances by actresses I'm quite fond of / still thinking about as the year enters its final stretch... how about you?
NATHANIEL'S CURRENT TOP 20 SUPPORTING ACTRESSES OF 2016
TOTALLY RANDOM ORDER
- Greta Gerwig - 20th Century Women
- Nina Arianda - Florence Foster Jenkins
- Gugu Mbatha-Raw - Miss Sloane
- Molly Shannon - Other People
- Tyne Daly - Hello My Name is Doris
- Paulina García - Little Men
- Toni Collette -Glassland
- Kate Dickie - The Witch
- Rossy de Palma - Julieta
- Naomie Harris - Moonlight
- Michelle Williams - Manchester by the Sea
- Kate McKinnon - Ghostbusters
- Antonia Zegers - The Club
- Elle Fanning - 20th Century Women
- Greta Gerwig - Jackie
- Olivia Colman - The Lobster
- Tilda Swinton - Doctor Strange
- Nicole Kidman -Lion
- Felicity Jones - A Monster Calls
- The Lovely Laura Linney - Nocturnal Animals
[IMPORTANT NOTE: I have not yet seen Queen of Katwe, Fences, Eye in the Sky, Hidden Figures, Certain Women, Collateral Beauty, The Founder, Allied or Indignation all of which feature actresses of note in supporting roles]
Who are your favorite supporting actresses from the year thus far and who, that you haven't seen, are you most looking forward to?
Reader Comments (60)
MY 10 FAVORITES SO FAR (no order)
* Julianne Moore - "Maggie's Plan"
* Naomie Harris - "Moonlight"
* Scarlett Johansson - "Hail, Caesar!"
* Kristen Stewart - "Café Society"
* Michelle Williams - "Manchester by the Sea"
* Rachel Weisz - "The Lobster"
* Kate Dickie - "The Witch"
* Dakota Johnson - "A Bigger Splash"
* Abbey Lee - "The Neon Demon"
* Olivia Colman - "The Lobster"
I still have quite a lot of films to see, but here are my favorites of the year so far:
Sylvia Chang (Mountains May Depart)
Olivia Colman (The Lobster)
Agata Kulesza (The Innocents)
Rachel Weisz (The Lobster)
Antonia Zegers (The Club)
Lucy Boynton - Sing Street
Naomie Harris - Moonlight
Tilda Swinton - ANYTHING. Hail Caesar, Dr. Strange. (LEAD for Bigger Splash too)
Angourie Rice - The Nice Guys
Kate McKinnon - Ghostbusters
Kristen Stewart - Certain Women
Jena Malone - Neon Demon
Blake Lively - Cafe Society
Olivia Colman - The Lobster
Rachel Weisz - The Lobster
Gillian Jacobs - Don't Think Twice
Just asking: couldn't voters overturn Davis' placement?
cal roth: They sure can. They did it with Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider not too long ago. It's just very rare to go against the campaign.
I have a strong feeling that the academy will once again go against whatever scheme Fences/Davis trying to pull and place her as lead where she belongs, just like what they did to Winslet and Castle-Hughes.
And FYI, my friend went to a screening of Fences. I asked her about Davis's role and she said I quote: 'Well I'll put it this way, she's as much of a lead as Halle Berry in Monster's Ball.' Go figure.
Francis6: When some other actresses in the past were bumped from lead to supporting via category fraud, many here on this forum spoke out against the move. But when it comes to performers they admire or actresses they want so badly to win an Oscar, it's fine and dandy. One can't help but feel bemused by all of this hypocrisy.
Jans: Well, on the bright side my above mentioned friend absolutely adored her performance, said it was one of the greatest she had ever seen in films. So if she is rightfully placed as lead that would be a well deserved nomination, or even win.
I have nothing against Ms. Davis personally, just a little disappointed with her lack of faith in her work and herself. She's at the peak of her career right now with such excellent prospects, locked of a nomination even if she goes lead, already breaking all the records for actresses of color, etc. Settling for a sure but downgraded win just seems so beneath her, a frustration I think shared by quite a few commenters here.
From the 25 2016 films I've seen so far:
KATE DICKIE "The Witch"
NATHALIE BAYE "It's Only the End of the World"
LINDA EMOND "Indignation"
LEA SEYDOUX "It's Only the End of the World"
ANN DOWD "Captain Fantastic"
And on the subject of "It's Only the End of the World". He's proved it before and he's proving it again with this film. Xavier Dolan really is a wonderful director of actors. Aside from the marvelous work from the actresses in the movie, there's also a career best turn from Vincent Cassell. Vive Dolan!
Francis6: I have no qualms about Viola Davis. She's an awfully good actress. Even if she does shine in Fences, a category fraud is still a category fraud. She'll be robbing one deserving supporting actress of an award. What I'm saying is people who once railed against that but are now making concessions for those they want to see take home an Oscar seriously need to refrain themselves from ever griping about category fraud in the future.