1998: The women of "Beloved"
Saturday, July 10, 2021 at 2:38PM We're revisiting the 1998 film year in the lead up to the next Supporting Actress Smackdown. As always Nick Taylor will suggest a few alternates to Oscar's ballot.
Another week, another lone Costume Design nominee that deserved far better attention than it got. Yes, Jonathan Demme’s Beloved is visibly uneven in several passages, to include the entire last hour. Yes, there’s a whole lot of discourse around Oprah as producer/actress/cultural icon at the time that I completely missed. Broadly speaking, it’s so disappointing that Toni Morrison’s works have had so few adaptations for screen, even as the author herself was a constant source of insightful interviews and the focus of several documentaries. But even on its own terms, Beloved is a genuinely risky, textured piece of filmmaking, honoring Morrison’s astounding novel without softening its most difficult themes. It’s also filled to the brim with fiercely etched performances from its supporting actresses. Kimberly Elise, Thandiwe Newton, LisaGay Hamilton, Beah Richards, all approach tremendously difficult roles with ferocity and candor...