The LAMB Devours the Oscars - Best Supporting Actress

Editor's note: Welcome to the second of a 33-part series dissecting the 83rd Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every day leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category of the Oscars. To read any other posts regarding this event, please click the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!

 

by Phil of  Phil on Film

When is a supporting actress not a supporting actress? The selection of women up for this year's Oscar in that field offers four fine and worthy contenders, and one interloper who has no business being in direct competition with them. I am not questioning the validity of that performance's Oscar claims for one moment, but instead I'm questioning the blatant flouting of – if not the law – then at least the spirit of the awards. Even if Hailee Steinfeld doesn't win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar this year, her very presence in the category casts a pall over the contest.

Here's my take on the five ladies in contention for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award

Amy Adams as Charlene Fleming in The Fighter
Adams brings an unexpected steeliness to her performance as the woman who helps Mark Wahlberg stand up to his family and focus on his career. It's a strong turn that gives Adams a good teary-eyed scene while also giving her the rare opportunity to break another woman's nose (there's more than one fighter in this movie). After two Oscar-nominated turns playing meek, innocent, optimistic characters, the Academy may well look kindly on her generally successful attempt to broaden her range, although it's hard to see her overcoming her co-star.

Helena Bonham Carter as Queen Elizabeth in The King's Speech

After spending most of the decade in the lands of Harry Potter and Tim Burton, what a relief it is to see this wonderful actress playing a living, breathing human being again. Her sympathetic turn as the stammering king's supportive wife is a near-perfect supporting performance, in which she takes a small role and quietly ensures she makes an impact whenever she appears on screen. Bonham Carter should have an Oscar already for 1997's The Wings of the Dove, and while this is not the best work of her career, Oscar-winning performances rarely are.

Melissa Leo as Alice Ward in The Fighter

Leo gives the showiest performance in this category, but in a movie precariously balanced between abrasive characters and strong-willed silent types, her display fits the role well. She's capable of playing it broad while keeping it real, and she also has the advantage of being a much-respected veteran character actress, with a general feeling growing that this may be her time. Leo has her nose just about in front right now thanks to the number of awards she has collected during the precursors. Voters all over really seem to be responding to The Fighter as an actors' movie.

Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross in True Grit

Hailee Steinfeld is magnificent in True Grit. The 14 year-old commands the screen and holds her own confidently alongside Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin. She can be strong and bullish while also appearing childlike and vulnerable. It's a fantastic piece of acting – but it doesn't belong here. Mattie Ross is the film's main protagonist, appearing in every scene and even providing the narration, and as Steinfeld plays her for all but the last few moments, how can she be considered a supporting player? Now that she's involved at this level she must be considered a real contender, but a victory would be tainted.

Jacki Weaver as Janine Cody in Animal Kingdom

This is a great supporting performance because of the way it sneaks up on you. Jacki Weaver's matriarch grows in prominence as the film progresses, gradually unveiling her dark, manipulative tendencies as she steps in to protect "her boys." Weaver plays her with an icy conviction and intelligence, and while it's not the standout performance in the film as far as I'm concerned – I wish Ben Mendelsohn's chilling performance had received half as much awards attention – it's an attention-grabbing turn nonetheless, and it deserves a nomination, even if it won't come close to winning.

My Prediction – Stick a pin in Leo, Bonham Carter or Steinfeld. It's a tight race. My gut feeling is for Bonham Carter.

My Choice – My favourite performance is Steinfeld's, but as I'm discounting that on moral grounds, I'll go for Bonham Carter here too. She is long overdue.

An alternate 5: Alice de Lencquesaing (The Father of My Children); Dale Dickey (Winter's Bone); Mila Kunis (Black Swan); Dianne Wiest (Rabbit Hole); Olivia Williams (The Ghost Writer)