1994's Unsatisfying Best Actress Race
Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 5:09PM 1994 was our year of the month for June so before the month closes, a couple of more forays into that year. Here's Nathaniel R responding to a reader request during the Supporting Actress Smackdown to discuss the actual leading nominees.
It's an age old question and the answer is (nearly) always the same.
Q: What happens when all the best stuff in a film year is within genres Oscar doesn't care for?
A: The Academy sticks to their traditional loves even if it means providing history with a weak shortlist that they'll judge harshly!
Some recent years have suggested that Oscar is loosening up in this regard. The swell of new members might be helping along with the increased visibility of critical passion (the plethora of precursor awards constantly saying "but this is great! won't you please look at it?" seems to have shifted Oscar voters a bit more towards critical passion and away from "Oscar Bait"). But overall they stick to what they love (dramas, message movies, epics, biopics, etcetera). This is especially true of the Acting branch which rarely met a teary face it didn't fall for and continually sticks up its nose at laughing or screaming or unusual faces given their aversion to comic genius, horror films, and auteur experimental or sci-fi/fantasy work. Which brings us to 1994's BEST ACTRESS LIST...
They got the nominee right but nominated her for the wrong film!
This is not meant to disparage any of the actresses nominated but just that it was an absolutely frustrating year wherein the Academy refused to look at the wide variety of work that was out there and just stuck to traditional fare. As a result the media called it a "weak" year for female leads.
As we've long argued at The Film Experience there really aren't "weak" years when it comes to acting. There are, it's true, weaker years but that's a huge semantic difference. Given the amount of films released in a given year it's virtually impossible to not find five outstanding performances in any given category if you're willing to look for them. It just depends on how many films you're willing to watch and whether you're willing to leave your comfort zone and think about acting accomplishments outside of traditional drama or outside of your home country.
FOR 1994 THE ACADEMY CHOSE
- Jodie Foster in Nell
- Jessica Lange in Blue Sky
- Miranda Richardson in Tom & Viv
- Winona Ryder in Little Women
- Susan Sarandon in The Client
It's not that there was much wrong with the individual performances but collectively they inspired a lot of 'ho-hum' proclamations. It's certainly not a year, like the year's sandwiching it that Best Actress aficiandos regularly fawn over.
But who could they have chosen that they didn't... and why didn't they? Here were several other options. Your mileage will vary on each performance but the general "weak" field didn't need to be at all had they gone for a risky performance or three.
OTHER OPTIONS (AND OUR PRESUMPTIONS ABOUT WHY OSCAR VOTERS PASSED)
Golden Globe Nominees Oscar Passed On
- Jamie Lee Curtis - True Lies (EWWW. COMEDY AND ACTION? NO!)
- Geena Davis - Speechless (MEH. AND WE ALREADY GAVE HER ONE)
- Jennifer Jason Leigh - Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (SHE'S WEIRD. WHAT'S WITH THE VOICE?)
- Andie MacDowell - Four Weddings and a Funeral (WE WOULDN'T EVEN NOMINATE HUGH GRANT, FOR THIS, WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?)
- Emma Thompson - Junior (COMEDY. NO)
- Shirley Maclaine - Guarding Tess (WE KINDA DON'T LIKE HER. YES A LOT OF NOMINATIONS BUT WE PASS HER OVER JUST AS OFTEN)
- Meryl Streep - The River Wild (ACTION. NOPE. NOT EVEN FOR HER)
It's shocking in the 21st Century to realize that there was once a time -- even in a "weak" year where they'd pass Streep by but they did! That one time. But there were two real missed opportunities among the Globe nominees: Jennifer Jason Leigh's divisive but memorable take on the caustic wit Dorothy Parker and Jamie Lee Curtis's wondrously deft physical comedy and character arc in True Lies. Alas it was an action comedy and Oscar voters don't think about acting within either of those genres, let alone both of them at once! Still, she ran circles around most of the nomniees they chose that year, and she did it in bra and panties with her hair impromptu slicked back by a water vase!
Indie Spirit Nominees Oscar Passed On
The Last Seduction
- Linda Fiorentino - The Last Seduction (RULED INELIGIBLE ON A TECHNICALITY. ALSO NOIR. WE CAN'T HAVE THAT I MEAN WE WERE WILLING TO IGNORE KATHLEEN TURNER IN 'BODY HEAT' WHAT DO YOU EXPECT FROM US!)
- Karen Sillas - What Happened Was (WHO IS THAT?)
- Luna Lauren Velez - I Like It Like That (WHO IS THAT?)
- Chien-Lien Wu - Eat Drink Man Woman (YOU SHOULD KNOW BY NOW THAT WE DON'T NOMINATE ASIAN ACTRESSES)
Other Interesting Options
The Ref featured one of Judy Davis's funniest performances. She's amazing in it. Not even a Globe nod. Ugh.
- Isabelle Adjani - Queen Margot (SUBTITLED. WE CAN'T READ!)
- Sandra Bullock - SPEED (ACTION FILM. WE CAN'T HAVE THAT!)
- Judy Davis - The New Age (INDIE COMEDY. TOO SMALL WEIRD. I'M NOT WATCHING THAT!)
- Judy Davis - The Ref (COMEDY. YUCK!)
- Whoopi Goldberg - Corrina Corrina (WE ALREADY GAVE HER AN OSCAR)
- Irene Jacob - Three Colors Red (SUBTITLED. WE CAN'T READ!)
- Juliette Lewis - Natural Born Killers (OUTRE EXPERIMENTAL. WTF IS THAT?)
- Gong Li - To Live (SUBTITLED. WE CAN'T READ!)
- Rena Owen - Once Were Warriors (FOREIGN INDIE. WE DIDN'T WATCH IT)
- Natalie Portman - Leon: The Professional (ACTION FILM. CHILD PSYCHOPATH. WHAT? NO!)
- Meg Ryan - When a Man Loves a Woman (WE DON'T TAKE HER SERIOUSLY. OUR LOSS)
- Winona Ryder - Reality Bites (YOUTH COMEDY. NO WAY!)
- Kathleen Turner - Serial Mom (OUTRE COMEDY. GROSS. ALSO WE DON'T LIKE HER LIKE THE AUDIENCE LIKES HER! WE'VE MORE THAN PROVEN THAT. SHUT UP)
- Kate Winslet and/or Melanie Lynskey (WHO ARE THEY? ALSO: WEIRD VIOLENT YOUTH INDIE. NO WAY!)
Contrary to popular belief the Oscar voters could not have chosen Toni Collette in Muriel's Wedding that year (people always bring her up as a 1994 snub) because the film was not released anywhere but in its home country and a few festivals in 1994.
Our longwinded point is this. There were a LOT of female leads to choose from, many of them quite interesting. Oscar just chose poorly because most of their strong options were in genres they don't much care for or by actresses that they either were unfamiliar with or have weird histories with.
The Best Actress list didn't have to be weak. The trophy didn't have to go to someone who'd already won in a role she could do in her sleep for a film that was delayed for years because no one was excited to release it.
Nathaniel's Ballot.
I would have to watch a few of these again to settle on just five but I consider ALL 10 of the following performances superior to ALL of the nominees but for Jodie Foster. I know her work in Nell is divisive but i'm on the side of it being a very risky and earnest out-of-the-box performance by her that earned the nomination. I think Richardson's "Viv!" performance (you'll get that title joke if you listened to the podcast) is admirable and easily the second best of the Oscar nominees but I prefer the following ten if we're talking "best". It's probably no accident that it's a very young list. Though Oscar doesn't have the same reservations about young actresses that they do about young actors, it still can make a difference with how seriously they take you when you have a lot of competition.
Juliette Lewis was touched by the gods... or demons I guess... while inhabiting Mallory Knox in "Natural Born Killers"
- Jamie Lee Curtis - True Lies
- Judy Davis - The Ref
- Jennifer Jason Leigh -Mrs Parker and...
- Juliette Lewis - Natural Born Killers (utterly inspired. she might even be my winner)
- Gong Li - To Live
- Melanie Lynskey - Heavenly Creatures
- Natalie Portman - Leon The Professional
- Winona Ryder - Reality Bites (far superior to her Little Women work - but then she was always best at contemporary or just barely period work despite her two nominations being for traditional period pieces.)
- Kathleen Turner -Serial Mom
- Kate Winslet - Heavenly Creatures
WHO WOULD YOU HAVE SELECTED FOR 1994? Do you agree that there's no such thing as a weak year?
Reader Comments (83)
Ack! Actually, I have an edit. I completely forgot about Meg, even though they were mentioned above. Natalie Portman was incredible, but I'd actually put her in the Supporting Category.
So my actual list:
Irene Jacob: Three Colors- Red
Melanie Lynsky: Heavenly Creatures
Meg Ryan: When a Man Loves a Woman
Winona Ryder: Little Women or Reality Bites
Kate Winslet: Heavenly Creatures
I'm late to this party, but I'm going to stick up for the minority opinions.
I'm a big Kathleen Turner fan and she should have won for Body Heat and/or The War of the Roses, but not Serial Mom. I'm not into the camp of that performance. (sorry)
I will stick up for Susan Sarandon's performance in The Client. I thought she really elevated this film and made it interesting and watchable for me. (Believe me her political stance in the last election appalled me, but she was riveting in this film)
I would have loved to have seen either or both Jamie Lee Curtis or Sandra Bullock nominated.
It was Bullock's first try, so she wouldn't have won, but that performance really stands up.
At the time I thought the win by Jessica Lange was unfair, she already had an Oscar.
I wanted Sarandon to win because she was owed one.
I'd probably go with Curtis, Davis, Lynskey Owen, Ryder (for BITES) from what I have seen, which is not enough. However, my #1 of the year is Fiorentino albeit technically ineligible.
Jennifer Jason Leigh most definitely should have been nominated for "Mrs Parker..." and then Jennifer Jason Leigh most definitely should have won it....
I can't think of another actress in the history of movie making that has been wrongfully snubbed on so many occasions for excellent acting.
Hateful 8, Mrs Parker, Georgia, Dolores Claiborne, Single White Female,
Washington Square and omg Last Exit To Brooklyn....
JJL is an actress Inever respond to in anything,she's always the worst thing about a movie.
Love this post! Maybe it’s because I’m a sucker for 1994 nostalgia trips, but almost all the performances you cite in your long list are exciting and memorable. I’d also struggle to narrow it down to five nominees without a rewatch, but if any combination of these had made the cut I’d be thinking of the 1994 race as a vintage year for best actress:
Judy Davis (The Ref)
Irene Jacob
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Juliette Lewis
Melanie Lynskey
Natalie Portman
Winona Ryder (Reality Bites)
Kathleen Turner
Kate Winslet
Faye Wong (Chungking Express - a completely iconic performance!)
Thanks to those who mentioned Judy Davis in The Ref and K SIlas for What Happened Was - both so great. But Winslet and Lynskey in Heavenly Creatures were both unbelievably good.
I'd have to rewatch some other films but Natalie Portman, Melanie Lynskey, and Kate Winslet would be on my ballot for sure.
Nathaniel and Film Experience readers, I will ask something and I hope not being get wrong, but...
Do you all think that some poor choices on leading and supporting actress are made ONLY because the male have more voters than the female at the Oscars?
Because, I think, sometimes if we let only the female actors voting for Leading / Supporting Actress, the Academy choices would be a lot different and much more compelling.
Actress KNOW how to look for a character and understand what is really strong than for what is "crowd pleaser".
I still think that, in 1994, we will definitely had TWO LEADING LADIES FOR THE SAME FILM (Heavenly Creatures) + Action / Comedy Performance (Sandra Bullock or Jamie Lee Curtis)
Like we would had
Charlize Théron for Mad Max: Fury Road
Tilda Swinton for Julia
Daniela Vega for A Fantastic Woman
Gong Li for anything
Amira Casar for Call Me By Your Name
Vicky Krispie for Phantom Thread
Almodóvar Ladies for Almodóvar Movies
More Isabelle Huppert
More Juliette Binoche
More Non-white Actresses
The Native Girl for Certain Women (I forgot her name)
Tell me what you all think
Linda Fiorentino in THE LAST SEDUCTION is a level of crazy/alluring/maneating that I can but dream to be. One of the sexiest femmes in a movie, ever! So annoying she was ruled out on a technicality.
A random bit of movie trivia: the actor who she famously nails against a fence, Peter Berg, is now a director. He directed PATRIOT'S DAY.
Two words only: LADYBIRD LADYBIRD
'94 reminds me a bit of the blah lineup the Academy chose in 2011 (although '94 was much worse, as '11 at least had Viola Davis). That year they could have easily thought outside the box and nominated Charlize Theron, Kristen Wiig or Kiki Dunst. But alas, we got stuck with Albert Nobbs, Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and My Week With Marilyn. Blech. (I hated The Iron Lady but I'm not going to fight the anti-Meryl fight).
The Academy really missed a chance to honor Jamie Lee Curtis for True Lies. What a cool nomination that would have been. I still think about that performance, something I can't say for the women who were actually nominated.
1. Winona Ryder - Little Women & Reality Bites
2. Kathleen Turner - Serial Mom
3. Meg Ryan - When A Man Loves A Woman
4. Sigourney Weaver - Death & The Maiden
5. Jodie Foster - Nell
Ideally...
1. Kathleen Turner
2. Jamie Lee Curtis
3. Meg Ryan
4. Bridget Fonda (IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU)
5. Annette Bening (LOVE AFFAIR)
1994 may be my least favorite Best Actress line-up since I started following the Oscars (1987). And I think Jessica Lange for Blue Sky is the worst winner of the '90s, which is otherwise quite a good decade for Best Actress winners.
1. Ryder (Reality Bites) - WINNER
2. Jacob
3. Portman
4. Moore
5. Davis or Goldberg
I've never seen True Lies (Schwarzeneggar is so not my thing), but all of these comments have made me want to see it. And I've never seen The Client, either - I've been trying to rent it throughout the past couple months, since we've been focusing on 1994, but of course Netflix doesn't seem to have any copies available.
As Meryl fan I always wonder what would happen if The Bridges of Madison County was a 1994 movie instead of 1995. But after 1994 (Jamie Lee Curtis and Linda Fiorentino should have been nominated), the race for best actress in 1995 is still one of the best till now, so I'm happy (for Meryl) as it is.
About Jamie Lee Curtis: Could it be possible that she split her vote between Supporting and Lead? She was nominated and won for Lead at the Golden Globes but she was nominated as a SUPPORTING Actress in SAG (in its inaugural year).
I'd have definitely kept Winona Ryder in for Little Women. I adore her in that film.
JLC'S votes probably did split same with Hugh Grant for Florence Foster Jenkins although both are leads
Jade B, Mia Farrow.
There are no weak years imo, just sometimes weak Oscar line ups, but most People Forget that even then These came hardly out of nowhere. There are at least forgoing Goden Globes and/or SAG nominations. (though the SAG was founded in 1994-it's importance for acting Oscars came a bit later)
Even the top 3 of 2011 have already been settled by television and even critic awards.
It's really easy to say phrases like "she'd never won for that role in any other year". Well, Maybe. Every year is different, even for sweeping Performances. I'd say only Helen mirren had truely won in any other year over anyone else, including Theron, Blanchett or Portman.
My winner is Crissy Rock for Ladybird, Ladybird easily. It's such a heartbreaking performance, but sadly it was nowhere near Oscar Radar.
I'm not posting my five women because someone mentioned Verónica Forqué in Kika and now, even without Fiorentino, I have like 8 names. The voters were sooo lazy that year!
Kika is a terrible movie, and I'm not even considering how bad it has aged (#metoo?) because I don't like revisiting anything using a different perspective. It was just hideous, and people only saw about it because it was Almodovar's.
Kika is a terrible movie, and I'm not even considering how bad it has aged (#metoo?)
Because a rape scene was used as a comedic set piece? I love Kika. Almodovar movies divide people in which ones merit the most praise or scorn.
I don't care who the other four are if we can have Isabelle Adjani for Queen Margot!
But mostly I want to say that I think Nathaniel's quick consideration of the potential nominees is maybe even more than most people give to their choice of who to pick, let alone what to watch.
Kudos to Dave in Hollywood for his observations.
Though Fiorentino was my first choice, I would have ranked Adjani a close second. Sadly, it is likely that very, very few Academy members watched Queen Margot.
Because a rape scene was used as a comedic set piece?
No, it's just a bad movie.
I love Kika.
And I love my Quarter pounders with cheese, but that doesn't make them any good.
In agreement that there is no such thing as a bad year but this was a ... less good year? This would have been my five:
* Linda Fiorentino-The Last Seduction
* Julianne Moore--Vanya on 42nd Street
* Juliette Lewis--Natural Born Killers
* Kate Winslet--Heavenly Creatures
* Jodie Foster--Nell (the film is drippy, but she really is wonderful in it)
If Fiorentino wasn't knocked out on a technicality, I'm sure she'd have had a great shot at winning. Miranda could do no wrong back then and now (IMO). Julianne was a revelation in Vanya. As were, of course, the Heavenly Creatures duo. Gong Li should've had a nomination in previous years, if not 1994.
Two words. Linda Fiorentino. No one else held a candle to her that year. Ineligible, my ass.
My problem with 1994 ladies is not the performances, but the movies. Mostly of the actress vehicles that year weren't near as good as the ladies starring them.
My personal choices would be Isabelle Adjani over Irène Jacob (great movies). Of the Oscar nominees my favorite is Foster, but i wouldn't be ok with a third win. I also think Linda Fiorentino would have a great chance of winning if eligible. Particularly i love Renée Zellweger in Love And A .45 (no one mentioned her yet, although she is technically not eligible).
Two side notes: 1) I hated Serial Mom when i watched, but now watching Kathleen Turner's clips on youtube i maybe give it another chance. 2) Juliette Lewis is an actress I never respond to, as some in TFE, overall i think she is limited as an actress to not say bad... (Sorry!)
Jodie Foster - Nell
Gong Li - Farewell My Concubine
Kate Winslet - Heavenly Creatures
Irene Jacobs - Three Colors: Red
Tilda Swinton - Orlando
Kate Winslet and Melanie Lynskey not being nominated is one of the biggest injustices ever. Toni Collette also.
It's so funny seeing how rampant sexism really is because so many people have such a hard time respecting Susan Sarandon's work now because she exercised her right as an American citizen during election time, yet people still discuss males who are widely known to have raped/assaulted others and I don't hear half the justification I hear when people bring Sarandon up.