Best Actress: An "Overdue" Narrative or Fresh Blood?
Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 11:15AM The next Best Actress race hasn't remotely started so we're at the "anything goes" stage. Sally Field is the only player thus far who feels like a distinct if long shot possibility. With a Golden Globe Comedy nod highly likely for Hello My Name is Doris she'll be discussed again at year's end reminding people of her endearing star turn in the sleeper hit. But what to make of the Best Actress race. Most or all of the contenders are yet to come and there are no sure things.
Sure, Viola Davis looks good on paper to repeat her Tony win in 2010 for Fences as the long suffering wife of a trash collector who was once a promising ball player. But there are some "what ifs" involved. Denzel Washington hasn't yet proved he's special as a director and when the revival in which they starred on Broadway hit not everyone agreed on her category placement with some theater awards deeming her "featured" (the stage's term for "supporting") rather than lead like the Tonys. And then there's the not small matter of whether the Fences will be ready in time for a release and a big Oscar push. If Viola doesn't dominate, will we have an Overdue Narrative this year or a Fresh Blood moment in Best Actress?
Consider: La Pfeiffer (3 nominations... deserved many more. Waiting to win since 1988); The Bening (4 nominations... waiting to win since 1990); Amy Adams (5 generous nominations. Waiting to win since 2005); Viola Davis (2 nominations... waiting to win since 2008). With Jessica Tandy, Hilary Swank, Rachel Weisz, and Meryl Streep winning their rightful Oscars there's ample opportunity for a "make up" year in Best Actress.
But then again not every leading race sees a "career win" like Julianne Moore's or Leonardo DiCaprio's recently. Do you think 2016 will be an old guard year like that or a new blood situation (Negga? Pike?)? Or will it be somewhere inbetween (Emily Blunt...waiting so long for a first nomination? Jessica Chastain, twice nominated thus far?). Check the Best Actress chart and make a call in the comments.
Reader Comments (79)
Brie Larson was fresh blood last year.
I'd personally root for Amy Adams, but I'd mind seeing another "overdue" actress getting her due. I wouldn't call Davis overdue at all. I doubt she was even 2nd for BSA in 2008, in 2011 she was. It was a close race.
I'm quite certain Meryl's win for TIL was even a surprise for Weinstein. He pushed it hard, yes, but it still was just a movie he bought, wheras A:OC was a production by him. I don't think he has put his greatest effort behind it because he knew she wasn't winning again.
Fences will definitely go the complete opposite.
I'd love to see Meryl jump ON her seat when V.Davis wins next year. It'd be epic.
Sometimes it's not the actual size of the role but the full emotional heft and narrative drive of the performance that ultimately determines an actor's awards category placement. For instance, in the hands of less adept actors Hannibal Lector and Miranda Priestly very well could have been relegated to supporting status without a second thought. My guess is that we won't know what becomes of Davis in Fences until the movie is completed.
Reading some of the not-so-subtly veiled misogyny in these comments reminds me of the atrocity that is Lady Gaga/Britney Spears/Madonna/etc. stan arguments on Twitter. You don't have to bash one woman to praise another.
Cinephiles and actressexuals: we're better than this!
Davis and Steve Carrel insisted on going lead because they wanted to be seen as that by the industry. And it has certainly worked for the both of them. They have been the leads of several projects since their Oscar norms despite not winning. Don't see why Davis would decide differently this time.
And for all we know this adaptation might be all about her character.
Guess I'm one of those who doesn't feel that Viola Davis is 'automatically' overdue. Is it because she has a body of film work that's been consistently overlooked by the AMPAS or because she's black. Yes she's a great Actress - being black is secondary (I thought.) Viewing a list of those nominated the same amount as her (or more times/less) - does she merit immediate cuts-to-the front before Debra Winger, Judy Davis, Kathleen Turner, Stockard Channing, Liv Ullman, Laura Linney, Cicely Tyson, Angela Lansbury, Laura Dern, Joan Allen, Joan Cusack, Sigourney Weaver, Glenn Close, Emily Watson, Miranda Richardson, Gena Rowlands, Mia Farrow, Winona Ryder, Bette Midler, Helena Bonham Carter, Julie Waters, Dyan Cannon, Samatha Morton, Alfre Woodward, Jill Clayburgh, Lily Tomlin/Blythe Danner, Jane Alexander, Ann-Margaret, Chloe Sevingy, Brenda Blethyn, Marsha Mason, Catherine Keener, Talia Shire or Naomi Watts?
Get over your pardon for Streep ... pretend she 's black!
excuse me "hardon"
TOM: Though there may seem to be a heightened urgency to see Davis rewarded by the Academy because of the overall lack of opportunity given to actresses of color whose ascendancy typically isn't given a long shelf life, you can't deny that she currently has much more of a film career than most of the actresses whose names you invoked -- two of whom are dead. This conversation is centered on overlooked actresses who have the best chance of making it into this year's Oscar race, not simply those who are still without Oscars despite a prior history. No one is saying that she's more deserving than they, and the fact that you jump to the race trope reads as disingenuous.
Troy H: *applause*
If I had to put money down: Adams, Bening, Blunt, Davis, Stone.
Though Chastain, Cotillard, and Pfeiffer are very probable too. Looking forward to all these performances!
I am all for a Viola v. Meryl show down. Meryl has a slight advantage since her movie is about to be released in the UK, whereas Fences is a long shot to be finished and marketed by the last week of December 2016. No pressure, Denzel! May the best ladies be nominated.
RobMiles: 1. There are a lot more films than there are plays these days. 2. Viola Davis went lead partially because the actual lead performance in The Help is probably Emma Stone's worst performance to date, showing all of Stone's weaknesses, especially at that point. Denzel might not be the most deserving winner of multiple Oscars ever (In fact I'd say, of those who actually have more than one, only DDL, Hepburn and Streep really make sense), but he's not going to be steamrolled enough that I can see the fraud sticking here.
Isn't there usually this kind of assumed frontrunner though? Amy Adams seems to be in a fairly comparable position save that she's never truly contended the way Viola Davis has, which also seems like it could set up a different but still pretty strong narrative. Pretty much all the names brought up have strong narratives, just more in the Julianne Moore "honor an actress we love in a great part who should arguably have this" instead of "honor this actively working, beloved performer who should arguably have this". Blunt's unnominated string of sixth-spot performances feels like the only narrative as singular as Viola's. And we always talk about potentials for movies we haven't even seen yet that are just starting or in the middle of production (ie - as somebody else threw out, Selma). There's lots of fervor but this isn't a necessarily new awards conversation.
I'll also add that Rose Maxom feels a lot like The Baker's Wife from Into the Woods, maybe Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton, even a lot of the parts that've been brought up in terms of categorization - Marge Gunderson, Alma Brown, Miranda Priestly - in that it's often been thrown in both categories for awards consideration (more so the theatre ones) and I think a lot of it is as much up to the strength of the work as much as personal interpretation. They aren't THE lead, some of it may be brought on by Only Woman In A Male Cast Syndrome, but they're legitimate players and movers & shakers in the story that the film wouldn't work without at all. Lord knows Viola Davis has the dramatic heft to fully realize Rose in such a way that a Lead nomination makes complete sense, or at least feels plausible. And throwing a categorically shifty but fully realized performance in Lead certainly makes a lot more sense and feels a lot better than all the outright leads that've been earning Supporting nominations and winning trophies. This feels a lot more understandably debatable for Rose Maxom than Barbara Weston-Fordham and yet Julia Roberts still passed for supporting. Why can't Viola be a lead?
Maybe it's the Meryl-Viola thing and the high number trophy-less vets fighting with comparable newbies for a slot, but does anyone else have strong 2011 vibes for this category?
TOM...I think only one actress has passed in your list - Jill Clayburgh...all the others are still living.
Oops...that last comment was addressed to Troy H (who was commenting on TOM's post).
Just because Davis' role in Fences may have actually been Supporting on the stage does not mean it will be Supporting on the screen. This is an adaptation that, as many have noted, is not even finished yet. Time will tell.
I hope Pfeiffer could return to the race soon
But Julianne Moore had A Single Man, The Kids are All Right and Game Change right before Still Alice narrative.
So.....
I'm 100% rooting for Viola Davis. First, I thought she deserved to win for both of her other nominations, and after she depressingly lost her last bid after being THIS close, I thought she'd never have another shot considering she is a black actress in Hollywood. I mean, if she gets nominated she'll be the first black actress nominated thrice, and the first black woman nominated twice for best actress.
Also, I've read Fences many times, and I definitely consider Rose to be a lead role. Sure, her part is smaller than Troy's, but she's clearly a pivotal piece to the show.
At this point she's too big of a star to go supporting when the role is borderline. I don't see that happening, but if she does for whatever reason, I don't see her losing.
If Viola shines in Fences, by all means please nominate her. But a nomination/win based on 'overdue' status (she's NOT overdue compared to Blunt) would do her
no favour. I like Viola but perhaps not as much as some in TFE do to insist on blind faith that Fences will turn out fine no matter what.
Blunt has no previous nominations nor is she legendary except in the minds of those here.
Hi Nathaniel, just wanted to point out that Meryl only has 19 noms not 20 yet hehe
"At this point she's too big of a star to go supporting"
A star in your neighborhood maybe. Nobody knows who she is outside USA.
"when the role is borderline. I don't see that happening, but if she does for whatever reason, I don't see her losing."
People said that a lot about Rooney Mara last year.
Should Anette Bening or La Pfeiffer lose to Viola - assuming all three are nominated - just because the Academy wants to make up for her loss in The Help, may all Hell break loose!
Meryl's film is complete and has rave reviews, especially about her performance. I would have placed her higher in nomination predictions. All of the others simply sound good on paper but they have all yet to deliver. She may have sat out for Ricki but not this year!
Come on 20th nomination!
"A star in your neighborhood maybe. Nobody knows who she is outside USA."
And do the Oscars not take place in America...?
If she was able to go lead for The Help, which is really what catapulted her to the level of fame she has now, and almost, then I'd say she could do it for Fences. Especially with the TV success and all around respect she has right now.
I completely forgot that Brie Larson won last year. Is she still in the business?
I dreamed that love would never die
And best actress goes to Bening
Viola Davis is an unbelievable actress. When I was terribly bored once, "Out of Sight" was on. That in my opinion is not the best movie, but a prostitute in the movie caught my attention, a small part and I was mesmerized. I thought she looked familiar and who was it? Viola Davis. She is amazing as she is in most moves she is in. I really like Octavia Spencer, but in The Help, Viola Davis was heartbreaking. The same of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. She had a tiny part in that and she was unforgettable. I don't love her telelvision show, but put her in a movie and she always stands out.