Saturday, February 6, 2010
BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE (OSCAR 2010)
For the category of BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE, my personal favorite category in any award-giving bodies, two veterans, two novices and one "underdog" will compete for the golden statue. Helen Mirren got chosen for her sizzling performance in The Last Station as an aged but still passionate wife of Leo Tolstoy. And of course, the Oscar favorite with her 16th Academy Awards nomination, Meryl Streep for bringing luminous humor in Julie and Julia as the very charming Julia Child. However, these two have been proven to be two of the most pre-eminent actors of our generation and it’s kind of dreary of having them as the winner for this year’s Oscar.
On the other hand, we have other three actresses who are new in this class and this what makes this category really exciting. We have two neophytes who come from very different cases. First, it is Carey Mulligan, as the smart and sprightly, yet naïve and wide-eyed 16 year old teenage girl Jenny who is a target of a sophisticated seduction in this very stylish drama An Education. She is now hailed as the next “Audrey Hepburn” though I think the main reason of resembling her to Hepburn is that at one point in the film, she sported a Hepburn-style hairdo which doubtless most of the young women did in the 60’s. The film by the way is set in 1960’s London. Nonetheless, her performance in this movie blooms before our eyes and proves to be highly promising making the character luminous when it could end up being sad and awkward. She never failed to exude variation of emotions especially her character highly demands it; she has to play an exceptionally quick-witted 16 year old teenage girl yet remains to appear naïve and fragile. She maybe is not the next Hepburn for me, but perhaps the next Keira Knightley.
On the other hand, we got Gabourey Sidibe who broke the audiences’ heart with her powerful performance as an obese and illiterate, abused black teenage girl in the riveting movie Precious. Based on a novel called Push by Sapphire, the movie is about this teenage girl of while being in the most utterly disturbing and terrible CRAP life situation learns how to hold her head up high, dust off herself and continue walking forward. The film is a relentless one in radiating pain; but this is not a problem movie. Despite of the entire landscape of despair, this one actually delivers the message of optimism and it redeems this work of art from beginning so bleak yet ending so inspiring. And Gabourey Sidibe, being the centre, gives an incredibly striking performance, so realistic one would feel so useless of just sitting there and unable to help this girl in struggling in a very harrowing harsh life condition.
And lastly, we have SANDRA BULLOCK as the underdog, who appears to be leading the pack as the very feisty Leigh Anne Touhy in this highly lovable, feel good real life fairy tale The Blind Side. It is no doubt that the film is mostly carried by the tough love performance of Bullock, the wild card and backbone igniting every scenes she was in. Sandra Bullock delivers a performance that is millions of miles away from her typical portrayals in such films like Miss Congeniality and with it; this has positioned her as an Oscar favorite. The film evokes a roller-coaster ride which started seemingly as a trite one but after a few minutes of prologue, amazingly turns 360 degrees and has become one the great movies I have seen at the start of this year and probably the entire 2010. Bullock here was at her absolute finest scorching with an exceptionally shrewd piece.
THE BLIND SIDE
So that is what the Blind Side is, the opposite side obstructed by the attacked person’s view. In football, the blind side refers to the side opposite the direction a player (usually the quarterback) is facing; it’s up to the tackle to protect the quarterback’s blind side. However, I was thinking more deeply why this is the title of Sandra Bullock’s latest flick and I come to think of this after watching the movie: the blind side in this film is actually the point of view of Sandra Bullock’s character that is blindsided by the harsh judgmental standpoint of our society. And when everyone in our world has this kind of blindside, I think it will be more a peaceful place to live in.
The beauty of this movie lies in the fact that the story is actually a real-life one. It is a true-to-life depiction of an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick, Michael Oher, who was blessed to be warmly accommodate by a loving Christian Family, the Tuohy’s, after going a rough childhood, being homeless and badly traumatized by his separation from her mom. It’s actually a huge thanks to Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), the unstoppable force, who took notice to poor Michael one chilly night who was wandering around looking for a warm place to stay in. From that night, Michael Oher’s life has never been the same again.
Though I am huge admirer of Sandra Bullock since I first saw her in Speed, I was kind of apprehensive to see this film when I watched initially the trailer; it’s simply because I was thinking it’s going to be a hardcore football sports movie who tries to show off instead of inspiring. However, after learning that Sandra Bullock actually won a Golden Globe for being the outstanding lead actress in a drama and later on bagging the SAG Best Actress award, I finally came to decide and watch it. And thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised as this one unfolds beautifully. It’s been quite awhile since I experienced of something you get out of the movie house feeling good about yourself and the world you live in.
The Blind Side is a charming and heart-warming family drama; a tear-jerker not because of sadness but simply by being good and wonderful to everyone. It may not end up as one of the greatest drama movies or an epic one; but at least it does not trying to be. It simply tells you about how love can be given at any time of the day of anyone in this world to anyone beyond colors, shapes and sizes; no more, no less. The movie has the right amount of drama with a pacing enough to let you not to drift away. All performances from the supporting are greatly conveyed with no sense of gaudiness. And with the humor sprinkled evenly all around the movie, this is a delightful one to see and highly recommended for the entire family.
But the real heroine of this film is SANDRA BULLOCK. She has charmed me in Speed co-starred with Keanu Reeves and I have already seen her in many romantic comedies where she rightfully belongs such as While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice and the latest cute one, The Proposal. Three years ago, I was mesmerized by her acting in Paul Haggis’ CRASH, the best picture for Oscar in year 2007, as a racist wife of a business tycoon who finds herself always angry especially with her Mexican maid. The movie contains a powerhouse cast so I was thinking she was kind of overlooked.
And now, the right time finally came for Sandra Bullock of showing everyone that she can really act (like Cameron Diaz in Vanilla Sky). One of the touching scenes here is where her character Leigh Anne introduces the new bed room especially prepared for Michael. Michael was gratified and told Leigh Anne that he had never had one. Out of her humor and wittiness, Leigh Anne said “What, a room to yourself?” and Michael replied, “…a bed.” It was dead on silence and notice how Sandra Bullock taking it all in, with every pin in this world you know pricking her heart, still delicately managed her calm demeanor. With this one, tears flowing from my eyes; not because of the tragic lives Michael has in his past; but the present goodness that equates the hardship in his life. And Sandra Bullock triumphantly delivers that goodness with no tawdriness.
The movie could have ended up with full of emotional garishness; however, it is Bullock’s levelheaded acting of Leigh Anne Tuohy that primarily helped it to sidestep that spot. She’s hardly delicate; however, she’s not showy either. She was dead on throughout the entire movie and it never fails to make you smile when the last word is always hers. Sandra Bullock’s Leigh Anne is part Erin Brokovich who knows accurately where to stand that is pitch-perfect to voice out of what she believes in. Her performance genuinely shines and it makes you wanting of knowing more about this woman named Leigh Anne Tuohy. Bullock is the real relentless force delivering Leigh Anne into big screen with the precise amount of composure, humor and poignancy.
Since she has bagged two of the prestigious awards in Hollywood, it is no doubt that everyone is expecting that Bullock will scored a nomination from Oscar. As for Best Actress, Oscar favorite Meryl Streep was probably in the lead for “Julie and Julia.” But now Bullock has the heat, and since Streep has been nominated 15 times and won twice, Bullock takes the lead. (Also for sure: Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious” and Carey Mulligan for “An Education.” If Zoe Saldana is nominated for “Avatar,” it would be the first nomination for a character presented entirely in CGI.)
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