Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1956

The Year is...

1956
And the Smackdowners for the 29th Annual Academy Awards are...
ALEX of Alex in Movieland/My Latest Oscar Film
BRAD of Criticlasm
MATT F of Matt vs. The Academy
MATT LANDIG
VERTIGO'S PSYCHO of And Your Little Blog, Too
with
yours truly, STINKYLULU.

Thanks once again to Smackdowner ALEX,
we can whet our actressexual appetites with this extended clipreel:

click image to be routed to video

1956's Supporting Actresses are...
(Each Smackdowner's comments are arranged according to ascending levels of love. Click on the nominee's name/film to see StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sunday review.)

Mildred Dunnock in Baby Doll

ALEXHow do you rate such a performance? Was it meant to be funny? There are things in the dinner scene I liked, especially her self-consciousness and need for approval, but whiny is not that hard to play. Maybe she went too far.
MATT LAlthough Dunnock has a firm grasp on this batty-old-aunt character, she’s not given enough material, and the moviemakers don’t showcase her well; she’s lit so badly that she blends into the walls, and has hardly any close-ups. A potentially scene-stealing comic creation wasted.
MATT FThe innocent, vacant eyes of a doddering old lady make for an amusing performance, but Dunnock relies too heavily on stereotype. When she is given the chance to step outside the cliché, she doesn't quite cut it, overshadowed by the film's other fearless performances.
BRADI feel like this must have been a career acknowledging nomination. Dunnock's great – funny, sad, complex in the role that wouldn't require it, and her one big scene is heartbreaking. But nomination worthy? Not for me.
STINKYLULUA searing, vivid performance. Aunt Rose is among the most gothic of Williams’s “thrown-away” women, yet Dunnock melds the comedy and tragedy of the character with a clarifying humanity. It’s a strange role in a stranger film, but Dunnock’s excellent.
VERTIGO’S PSYCHOFluttering and flitting about, Dunnock’s Aunt Rose Comfort is an addled-brained, amusing presence. However, when this nervous, frail spinster finally stands up to the bullying Archie Lee with admirable resolve, the actress memorably conveys strength of character heretofore undetected.

TOTAL: 13s

Eileen Heckart in The Bad Seed

MATT LHeckart’s performance must have been galvanizing on Broadway, but director Mervyn LeRoy hasn’t excised the staginess of her acting here. The intensity of her gestures, such as the finger-pointing, seems theatrically overscaled, and the movie exposes the role’s obviousness and repetitiveness.
ALEXA performance to either worship or accuse. First I worshiped, then I doubted: everytime she crashes the film I am bullied by her presence. Slap, slap and her angry alcoholic speeches abuse me and throw the movie off-course. Great energy, but redundant.
VERTIGO’S PSYCHOThe literal finger-pointing is a bit stagy, but otherwise this spellbinding Heckart turn is perfectly pitched. When she stares down Nancy Kelly and wails, “You know something, Christine!” you’re viewing one of the screen’s most tragic, electrifying supporting actress exits.
MATT FFrom the moment she drunkenly staggers into her first scene, Heckart is a force demanding attention. Her powerhouse performance, though brief, captures perfectly the sadness and desperation of a parent dealing with the loss of a child. But what was with all the pointing?
BRADA performance borne of the stage. Being drunk the whole time, it feels like a bigger challenge than the rest of the field, and she does superb work. When she hugs Kelly and says "you know something, Christine" – it’s the most powerful and surprising moment in the film for me. Haunting stuff.
STINKYLULUHeckart blows in like the trashy, drunken tornado that she is and, with astonishing vocal dexterity, crafts an indelible portrait of who Hortense Daigle was and is. Each startling jagged arm flail and emotional quick change electrifies my embarrassment as I watch this woman holler the truth as she falls apart. I love it.

TOTAL: 24s

Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind

ALEXHer orgasmic remembering by the lake is unwillingly funny, but her acting instinct works fine for the rest of it. We are warned that she’s trouble and she doesn’t disappoint, yet never losing the emotional side of the character.
MATT FDespite her horribly fake driving, Malone finds the perfect combination of sensuality and insecurity. The meaty range of the misunderstood slut is Oscar bait, no doubt, and Malone pulls it off with a relaxed yet intense sexual energy, only slipping into showiness very occasionally.
BRADI love this performance. She almost undoes melodrama. The perf is over the top, but so much so it almost defines its genre. The mambo scene is one of my favorite film sequences, and she steals the film from the three big names.
STINKYLULUMalone is so far beyond bad that she’s brilliant. Wearing the incongruously huge (if shallow) emotions with the same flair as she wears her ridiculous outfits, Malone maneuvers this melodrama’s trickiest redemption with clarifying verve. Shouldn’t work, but it does – unforgettably.
VERTIGO’S PSYCHOMalone’s emotional flamboyancy impeccably meshes with the overtly sexual, intense Marylee Hadley in Sirk’s most hyper-kinetic screen achievement. Undulating to the strains of “Temptation” as Marylee’s daddy expires up- no, make that down- stairs, a mesmerizing Malone represents the apex of torrid 1950’s melodrama.
MATT LAs the nympho with a heart of oil, Dorothy Malone enlivens this turgid Texas soap opera with her energy, smartly timed bits of business, bitchy line readings, and sensational sexiness. The performance is a succulent piece of trashy camp yet somehow prestigiously Oscar-worthy. My winner.

TOTAL: 25s

Mercedes McCambridge in Giant

STINKYLULUAn alert, intense performance that mistakes tautness for toughness. (If it weren’t 1956, I’d probably blame it on botox.) McCambridge’s straitjacketed Texas lockjaw suggests a basic misunderstanding of the character, while also doing little to illuminate the ways Luz loves her two main men.
BRADI like McCambridge, and she acquits herself well here, but glowering isn't enough for me to merit a nomination. She milks what she can from what she has, but it's a sickly cow to start off with.
MATT FComparatively speaking, McCambridge is hardly in this lengthy film, and when she is, she mutters one-liners to herself as she watches others leave. Considering the limited range she has on offer, she inhabits the role well, even if she never moves her arms.
ALEXWas half of it left on the editing floor? Undoubtedly a mature performance and just by looking at her I felt the loneliness of this spinster. Intelligent acting and great accent: but not enough scenes to make it more than a solid cameo.
VERTIGO’S PSYCHOMcCambridge is in and out of this lengthy epic in lickety-split fashion, but with her legendary voice and imposing swagger, the force is (as usual) still with her. Hard to believe Bick could be a male chauvinist with the dominant Luz as his sister.
MATT LConveys a panoply of complex, sometimes fascinatingly contradictory character traits and does it simply, often with merely functional dialogue, and in quick reaction shots. In contrast to the movie’s lumbering bovinity (running time: 97 hours), this is a lean, taut, muscular performance, all too brief.

TOTAL: 13s

Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed

MATT FChild actors are prone to pantomime, especially in the 1950s, but McCormack's character is supposed to be phony, so was her plastic performance an insightful portrayal of an emotionless girl or just a child playing pretend? Either way, it was effective…sometimes.
BRADGreat child performance, and supremely skilled when taken in account of her age. Doesn't quite get past staginess until that last walk along the fence, but she's a fantastic monster. Almost a lead, too.
STINKYLULUThough the outcome was never quite as gruesome, I played "Claude" to many a "Rhoda" in my youth, so I tend to read McCormack’s studied artifice in the role as something approaching realism. Yes, it’s a stunt, but it’s an effective one.
VERTIGO’S PSYCHOOccasionally studied theatrical affects creep in- nevertheless, leering and sneering with a mature, impressive panache, McCormick menaces her way to screen immortality as the ultimate in precocious pigtailed predators. She’s especially riveting in her big confession scene.
ALEXWhat Patty manages to bring to the screen is beyond age limits. She controls the character and never hesitates. It takes lots of ambition to carry such role and look at the confrontation scene: no second guessing, only mature calculated acting.
MATT LIt’s a testament to Patty McCormack’s superb performance that the phrase “bad seed” has entered the American cultural lexicon. A camp icon, yet with a remarkably naturalistic acting style, she’s entirely believable, fascinating, and enjoyable. An impeccable, killer portrait of an impeccable killer.

TOTAL: 23s

Oscar chose...
Dorothy Malone
in Written on the Wind

And the SMACKDOWN
is compelled
to agree...
choosing
DOROTHY MALONE as our
Best Supporting Actress of 1956!

but -- sssssshh -- don't tell Patty...It might make her mad.
Especially IF she learns that technical gremlins
prevented MovieMania's zingers from arriving in time
to be factored into the Smackdown's results...

BUT, lovely reader, do tell US.
What do YOU think?
Please share your thoughts in comments.

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1956

Despite things being completely quiet around these parts, we can once again thank ALEX (of Alex in Movieland & My Latest Oscar Film) for keeping the actressexual fires burning and providing this delectable appetizer for this weekend's Supporting Actress Smackdown, featuring the nominated Supporting Actresses for 1956.

click image to be routed to video

The Smackdown's scheduled to post at noon or thereabouts this Sunday (U.S. time). See you there!

Supporting Actress Sundays for OCTOBER '09: 1956

Hear ye, hear ye -- October's month of Supporting Actress Sundays will devote its attention to...

1956

Oscar's Supporting Actresses for 1956 are:

Mildred Dunnock in Baby Doll
Eileen Heckart in The Bad Seed
Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind
Mercedes McCambridge in Giant
Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed

Supporting Actress Smackdown for 1956:
Sunday, November 1.
Featuring a Smackdown panel of 6 or 7 Smackdowners TBA.
(Contact StinkyLulu via email
to express interest/availability for Smackdowner service.)

Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1993

The Year is...

1993
And the Smackdowners for the 66th Annual Academy Awards are...
ALEX of Alex in Movieland/My Latest Oscar Film
ANDREW of Encore Entertainment
BROOKE of The Performance Review
JERKWOD of Reese Reviews
WALTER of The Silver Screening Room
WAYNE of A Cinema Neophyte
with
yours truly, STINKYLULU.

Thanks once again to Smackdowner ALEX,
we can whet our actressexual appetites with this extended clipreel:

click image to be routed to video

1993's Supporting Actresses are...
(Each Smackdowner's comments are arranged according to ascending levels of love. Click on the nominee's name/film to see StinkyLulu's Supporting Actress Sunday review.)

Holly Hunter in The Firm

ANDREWIt’s supposed to be that short and effective role that everyone marvels at…but it doesn’t quite live up. A credible performance ...? Barely. When Tammy leaves the screen we don’t really care… and when she returns we don't care either.
JERKWODAn underwritten character that even Hunter can't get out of. Her performance here lacks all credibility and passes way beyond being a human being and enters the zone of cornball caricature – no humanity, no affliction, no trust. A dull, tiring, and repugnant performance.
ALEXA typical plot device. She’s fresh air in all the stiffness of the film and has one maybe two good moments, but truth is she barely makes an effort. I doubt she believed in the character, plot, movie and it shows.
BROOKEHunter is a breath of fresh air in this film, but that’s about all she is. Always interesting, but her character is just an exposition clotheshorse and lacks necessary depth to warrant a nomination.
STINKYLULUI sorta just love this performance (easily the most believable thing in this overwrought melodrama). The performance probably has no business being nominated (and probably wouldn’t be in any other year) but you gotta give it to Hunter for making that “under the desk” scene work so well.
WAYNEAt first Hunter’s sexy secretary seems like a stereotype but, using her expressive eyes (at some moments warm with humour and others frightened with terror), Hunter cranks up the tension of this predictable thriller. An interesting performance not given enough room to become great.
WALTERThe role itself isn't much, but she's a hoot. From early on, she lets on that she's got as much brains as she does boobs. Her terrified determination to see justice done is fascinating: shaky hands, set jaw. Hell yeah.

TOTAL: 15s

Anna Paquin in The Piano

ANDREWIs she acting well…or she is playing herself? Tough call. But her face is what sells me. The candid expressions make up for the somewhat occasional shrill delivery. And despite the flaws it's believable.
ALEXFor a child performance, it’s very good and sometimes interesting to analyze small nuances. As the most normal character, she’s the bridge connecting us to the film. But even so, no difficulty at times in spotting Anna and not Flora.
WALTERShe is quite good, certainly. It is nice to see a mostly unmannered performance from a young girl. But I just don't believe she would betray her mother the way she does. Maybe I just don’t understand the movie.
STINKYLULUPaquin inhabits the character with alacrity and verve, and her easy spontaneity in the role crafts a peculiarly captivating -- by turns sweet, silly, and serious – performance, one utterly essential to the film. I simply can’t think of The Piano without thinking of Paquin.
JERKWODPaquin manages to keep in touch with that childhood innocence and the disconnection from the horrific complexities of adult life, yet consistently taps a darker, more sinister, undercurrent of human morality that becomes devastatingly authentic. The kind of work that hyperbole can't sing enough praises to.
BROOKEPaquin is naturalistic and raw, which is just what this character, and this film, needs. She goes further by giving a complex performance; those monologues illustrate everything we need to know about the character and she does it without missing a beat.
WAYNEA ferociously precocious performance. There's a strange fire in Paquin's eyes throughout, one that sears her portrait into memory, and the mature emotions that play across her young face are at times breathtaking. A fantastic portrayal of a complex individual inside a child's body.

TOTAL: 28s

Rosie Perez in Fearless

ANDREWI know throughout that I'm supposed to be impressed with the performance…but…that “but” keeps coming up. Certainly not a bad performance…but I just wasn’t won over. But I hardly think it's her fault - the film is just inadequate.
WALTERIt's not that Perez is bad in this. But there's something missing. It isn't organic. Perez gets each scene individually, but as a whole, I don't feel a consistent character.
BROOKEPerez trails along the edges of greatness with this performance, she tends to circle the airport in her quieter scenes. However, she achieves a visceral, shocking level of emotion in her bigger moments; it’s a true display of what this underrated actress is capable of.
JERKWODIn a role that could have easily come off as melodramatic and/or campy, Perez holds onto Carla's soul and brings it forth with the urgency of frustration. We understand Carla because Perez allows us to see exactly why she makes the decisions she does.
WAYNEA surprisingly expressive and memorable performance. Perez does a fine job of portraying grief with her dead eyes and immobile face, but it’s her poignant work with Bridges that brings out the sparks. And those last moments in the hallway made me cry.
ALEXThe role is more than Rosie can carry and she drops it a bit in the stewardess confrontation scene. Other than that: terrific performance – emotional, difficult, well-balanced and so natural and down-to-earth! Way above her competition.
STINKYLULUUsing bold, broad, palpably emotional strokes, Perez roots her performance in the erratic rawness of Carla’s inconsolable grief (and inexpressible shame) and, in so doing, crafts a performance that is devastating for its openness. Extraordinary work from a woefully underutilized actress.

TOTAL: 23s

Winona Ryder in The Age of Innocence

STINKYLULURyder looks great, often sounds right, and maneuvers the intricate plot machinations with quiet intelligence – which all makes sense for May and her gift of perfected, banal artifice. Yet, with Scorsese’s heavy directorial hand especially weighted in Ryder’s scenes, Ryder’s artifice becomes a little too banal.
ALEXUnder the calm & quiet image of her character, I could hear Winona roaring for an Oscar scene. May’s innocence was child-play for her and when the juicy part started, the film was over. However the subtle gestures make it a memorable performance.
BROOKECasting is half the strength of this performance; Ryder’s natural innocence works wonders for this character; but it’s Ryder the actress who nails that last scene; a stab so masterfully delivered that the impact doesn’t land until after the credits.
ANDREWIs the character bland and vapid? Or is it she? It's a thin line… It's not as easy a role as it seems and the performance is unfairly maligned. A capable performance but as the years go by I like it less and less…
JERKWODIt's not easy portraying a woman that feels emotionally trapped in her own environment yet fearful of taking a step out of the prison, but Ryder does so splendidly, and with such ease, that she completely engages and fades away into the role.
WAYNEAt first her work feels like a glass vase: empty and pretty to look at. On second viewing, you notice the nuance she puts into her interactions, the way her eyes dull with each dishonest conversation. A subtly sly portrayal.
WALTERWinona Ryder is perfect in this movie. She is sweet and manipulative, but not in a cruel way. The fact that May knows the whole time and says nothing...that's love, baby. And with Winona, we believe every second of it.

TOTAL: 24s

Emma Thompson in In the Name of the Father

ALEXI admire the energy displayed, the honesty and the simplicity of the performance! Great actress! But does she fit into THIS film? Not really. Her trial scene, though impeccable if singled out, threw the movie off-balance. Overcooked the little she had.
WAYNEEmma Thompson’s cool intelligence and dignity create a barrister that anyone would want on their side. It's easy to see why Thompson got a nomination considering the admirable character Pierce is, but the role doesn't demand much. Still, Thompson gives a typically strong performance.
BROOKEThompson shows us why she is one of Britain’s most well-regarded thespians. She gives a good performance, a scathing portrayal of righteous anger, without any clear character arc provided by the screenplay.
STINKYLULUA defining, peripheral presence throughout, Thompson blasts into the film at the ¾-mark to deliver a clarifying jolt of humor and hope to an otherwise desperate tale of outrageous injustice. Better than she needs to be, Thomspon’s is an utterly plausible, absolutely professional performance.
ANDREWThe selling point is her court scene, and as short as it is she thrives. There isn’t much for her to say, so we must look into her eyes to see what she feels and it is through those sensitive eyes we see her character.
JERKWODA character any other actress could have played blandly, but Thompson kicks the viewer in the gut as a demanding, harsh force of nature without growing overly hysterical. Personal demons lurk beneath Thompson's portrayal, which slowly drift from transparency as the film comes to its conclusion.
WALTERThompson is given a character who could very well be a cliché and instead, goes with bad-ass. Consider her first scene with Gerry, where she sits coolly, allowing him to finish his "hardened prisoner" routine. Awesome, awesome stuff.

TOTAL: 22s

Oscar chose...
Anna Paquin
in The Piano

Click above image for video of the legendary acceptance speech.

And the SMACKDOWN
is compelled
to agree...
choosing
ANNA PAQUIN as our
Best Supporting Actress of 1993!

SO, lovely reader, what do YOU think?
Please share your thoughts in comments.

QUESTION: Supporting Actresses in Fiction, Film & TV?

Today, I was literally stopped in my tracks by a startling realization: I can name a number of film, tv and literary accounts of female performers nominated as "Best Actress," or something similar; yet, I'm hard pressed to name even a handful of such depictions of fictional supporting actressness. I feel like I should have a better list. Can y'all help me out and add your thoughts/suggestions/recommendations in comments?

COMING ATTRACTIONS - Supporting Actress Smackdown - 1993

Thanks once again to ALEX (of Alex in Movieland & My Latest Oscar Film) we can whet our actressexual appetites for this weekend's Supporting Actress Smackdown, featuring the nominated Supporting Actresses for 1992.

click image to be routed to video

The Smackdown's scheduled to post at noon or thereabouts this Sunday (U.S. time). See you there!

Programming Note: SAS Profile Routine

Lovely reader. Due to a variety of factors (mostly an important looming deadline, but also the pressures of other competing writing obligations and the fact that today's my birthday), I have elected NOT to push to publish today's profile. This decision has impelled several other similar decisions. First, the Smackdown for 1993 will continue next week, even though most of the profiles have not been published. Second, we'll proceed into whatever year is finally selected for October. Third, there will be no Smackdown for November, and I will use that time to catch up on profiles from this and next month. The plan for December remains an open question, as is my overall strategy for 2010. Don't mean to disappoint, but that seems to be the direction things are heading. Thanks for your continued attention/support. xo.StinkyLulu

Enjoy That Cake! (Celebrating the Sophia Sisterhood!)

enjoy that cake!

Happy Birthday, Sophia!

From The Sophia Sisterhood

"Moist Moments with Mandy" - Yentl (1983) - Assorted Moments of Random Cinematic Hotness

This post is part of my ir/regular series, featuring screencaps of "Assorted Random Cinematic Hotness" encountered during my home movie adventures...

Moist Moments with Mandy
Yentl (1983)

This single sequence...

...is responsible for an irrational (and sometimes tedious) crush...

...on Mandy Patinkin...

...which -- alas -- survives to this day.

Thanks, Babs.

VOTE: OCTOBER's Supporting Actress Sundays!

Continuing a tradition that began in 2007, when an accident of timing permitted me to profile Judith Anderson's performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca on Halloween week, I'll be devoting October's Supporting Actress Sundays to the variously monstrous, haunting and thrilling performances nominated in the category (they're the ones with the underlines). So, in anticipation of October thrills, I ask...

What year deserves the focus
for OCTOBER'S month of
Supporting Actress Sundays?

1937: Alice Brady in In Old Chicago, Andrea Leeds in Stage Door, Anne Shirley in Stella Dallas, Claire Trevor in Dead End, May Whitty in Night Must Fall.
1946: Ethel Barrymore in The Spiral Staircase, Anne Baxter in The Razor's Edge, Lillian Gish in Duel in the Sun, Flora Robson in Saratoga Trunk, Gale Sondergaard in Anna and the King of Siam.
1956: Mildred Dunnock in Baby Doll, Eileen Heckart in The Bad Seed, Dorothy Malone in Written on the Wind, Mercedes McCambridge in Giant, Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed.
1960: Glynis Johns in The Sundowners, Shirley Jones in Elmer Gantry, Shirley Knight in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Janet Leigh in Psycho, Mary Ure in Sons and Lovers.
1964: Gladys Cooper in My Fair Lady, Edith Evans in The Chalk Garden, Grayson Hall in The Night of the Iguana, Lila Kedrova in Zorba the Greek, Agnes Moorehead in Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte.
1968: Lynn Carlin in Faces, Ruth Gordon in Rosemary's Baby, Sondra Locke in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Kay Medford in Funny Girl, Estelle Parsons in Rachel, Rachel.
1973: Linda Blair in The Exorcist, Candy Clark in American Graffiti, Madeline Kahn in Paper Moon, Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon, Sylvia Sidney in Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams.
1987: Norma Aleandro in Gaby - A True Story, Anne Archer in Fatal Attraction, Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck, Anne Ramsey in Throw Momma From the Train, Ann Sothern in The Whales of August.

Let your voice be heard by voting fairly in the column at right or by clicking HERE.

Anna Paquin in The Piano (1993) - Supporting Actress Sunday

It's suffered some delay (and will likely see something like a marathon in the next ten days or so) but, with this post, Supporting Actress Sundays for 1993 have officially begun. And we begin, as we always do, with the winner -- who just happens to be among Oscar's most precocious. As I noted in a post a while back about "Precocious Supporting Actressness," assessing performances by kid actors can present special challenge. But with this week we happen to have a (still) young actress who has defied all the cliches to develop a career that might just be one of the most distinguished among her fellow nominees, an all the more remarkable accomplishment when we recall that she took home the trophy at age 11 for her film debut. So without further ado: let's consider the abundantly precocious, trophy-snagging work of...

...Anna Paquin in The Piano (1993)
approximately 37 minutes and 35 seconds
61 scenes
roughly 31% of film's total running time

Anna Paquin plays Flora McGrath, the tenaciously devoted daughter of the silent Ada (Holly Hunter, in a stunning performance).
Ada's just been married off to a New Zealand settler and Paquin's Flora is along for the ride, serving as her mother's translator as the two journey from Scotland and arrive in this astonishing "new" land.
Paquin's Flora is a precocious child, to say the least. Her mother's love buoys Flora, even as her mother's dependence fortifies the child's unusual confidence and certitude. Moreover, Flora's a girl as yet unfettered by the stymying self-consciousness of adolescence.
The combination establishes Flora as a significant force to be reckoned with amidst a narrative fraught with charged intimacies.
The construction of the character of Flora is among director Jane Campion's deftest strokes in a film lush with cinematic mastery.
See, the character of Flora, when it comes right down to it, functions as a plot device (a mechanism through which crucial information is conveyed and essential action is impelled).
Yet, Campion -- in Flora -- has crafted an utterly plausible character: a smart, creative and witty person entirely capable of doing everything the narrative requires of her while still behaving as a smallish child.
Moreover, Campion and Paquin permit Flora's conflict to be a simple one: she's used to having her mother all to herself and she's not especially happy when she must share her with not just one but two other people.
This choice on Campion's part -- creating a bold, complicated kid character but anchoring it within a sublimely simple character arc -- permits the kid actor Paquin to do "behave" as Flora rather than "act" each scene.
It's a risky "turn 'em loose" strategy for directing a kid actor but one which, at least here, elicits a captivating -- by turns sweet, silly, and serious -- performance from Paquin. Campion does not ask Paquin's Flora to provide the cutesy commentary for the film, nor does she depend on the char/actor to stir easy sentiment. Rather, as perhaps the most decisive character in the narrative (and the only character implicitly trusted by everyone else, for better or worse), Paquin's Flora becomes an active ingredient in the curious chemistry experiment Campion stages in The Piano, a supporting kid character that both serves the narrative requirements of the film while somehow feeling uncontrived.
Campion's clarity is all the more admirable for the ways she refuses the easy out of letting blame hover over the "blameless child". Campion neither absolves Flora for her actions, nor does she punish Flora for her part in the intimate tragedy.
Paquin's Flora is simply (like all the major characters in this film) complicated and flawed, capable of great kindness and great cruelty -- she's never "just" a kid.
As an actor, Paquin's clearly following a script (and Campion's meticulous direction) at the same that she is improvising Flora's reality in each moment.
Paquin inhabits the character with alacrity and verve, her chattery vocality creating the film's most memorable non-musical soundings. And while I think it would be a mistake to call Paquin's performance "natural" (as this is clearly a sculpted and shaped performance), Paquin's work in the role maintains an ease and spontaneity that remains impressive.
Anna Paquin's performance as Flora is an essential component of Jane Campion's extraordinary, enigmatic and haunting film and it might just be some of -- if not the -- best work by a kid actress "actressing at the edges" of the category in the 70+ years since its inception.

Hurry Up and Wait!

I'm sure Anna Paquin's got something to say about this week's Supporting Actress Sunday profile being delayed, but such is the way of things when StinkyLulu chooses to go to the mountains (instead of to the screening cave) over the long weekend.

In the meantime, witness the precocity.

click image to be routed to video

Supporting Actress Sundays for SEPTEMBER '09: 1993

Hear ye, hear ye -- September's month of Supporting Actress Sundays will devote its attention to...

1993

Oscar's Supporting Actresses for 1993 are:

Holly Hunter in The Firm
Anna Paquin in The Piano
Rosie Perez in Fearless
Winona Ryder in The Age of Innocence
Emma Thompson in In the Name of the Father

Supporting Actress Smackdown for 1993:
Sunday, September 27.
Featuring a Smackdown panel of 6 or 7 Smackdowners TBA.
(Contact StinkyLulu via email
to express interest/availability for Smackdowner service.)

So we've got a brave tart, a precocious tot, a grieving mother, a sweet young thing, and a steely dame. Sounds like a fairly standard roster of Supporting Actressness to me, but we'll see what shakes out as the profiling begins (if not next Sunday, then soon thereafter).