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For Your Consideration: 11 Underdog Performances

by Peter Knegt (October 16, 2009)
For Your Consideration: 11 Underdog Performances
Tahar Rahim in "A Prophet," Tilda Swinton in "Julia" and Hal Holbrook in "That Evening Sun."

Last week, in addition to our homepage facelift, indieWIRE quietly launched a revamped section on the site that for the coming months, will be entirely devoted to the internet journalism mammoth that is awards season.  While recent expansions in internet-oriented coverage offer readers dozens upon dozens of options, we’re hoping to stand out from the crowd.  Our attempt to do so involves being the first to bring you breaking awards news, linking to notable awards blogs across the web, offering regular awards-related polls, extensive coverage of Oscar’s smaller (and indie-friendly) siblings like the Spirits and Gothams, and weekly features highlighting awards-related trends, developments, and predictions.  This article falls into that final category, and we figured in keeping with indieWIRE‘s indie spirit, we’d start things off by offering you a list of ten underdog performances from the festival circuit that may or may not stand a chance at sneaking into Oscar’s final fives, but are all certainly worthy of it.

Seemingly every year, a few actors from small films manage to sneak into the race at the last minute.  Last year, it was Richard Jenkins in “The Visitor” and Melissa Leo in “Frozen River,” while in years past there’s a surprisingly impressive little list: Laura Linney in “The Savages,” Ryan Gosling in “Half Nelson,” Catalina Sandino Moreno in “Maria Full of Grace,” Amy Adams in “Junebug.”  While this year some indie films have already securely supplanted themselves in the race, with many of their actors included below (most notably “Precious”‘s Mo’Nique and Gabby Sidibe, and “An Education”‘s Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina, all of whom are looking like very likely fixtures comes nomination morning), there’s many that face a more uphill battle.  Here’s eleven:

Penelope Cruz for “Broken Embraces”

While more likely to get Academy buzz for her supporting work in Rob Marshall’s upcoming “Nine” (though no one has actually seen that film, so perhaps that’s getting ahead of ourselves), Penelope Cruz’s work in Pedro Almodovar’s latest should not be ignored.  Even the film’s more tepid reviews highlight her work as Lena, an aspiring actress fending off the abuse of her wealthy husband. As she did in “Volver” and “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” Cruz makes it impossible for you to look away when she’s on the screen.  And one should not be so naive as to believe that’s simply because of her hyperreal beauty.  She has plenty of pre-“Volver” roles that can prove that.

Roxanne Duran for “The White Ribbon”

Standing out from the massive crowd of a cast in Michael Haneke’s Palme d’Or-winning “The White Ribbon” is no small feat, but young Roxanne Duran does just that in her chilling role as as the doctor’s daughter. Though younger actresses are often a fixture in the supporting actress category, rarely are they recognized in foreign-language fare (a tragic example of such an oversight is Victoire Thivisol’s work in 1996’s “Ponette”), so Duran’s chances probably stand as among the slightest on this list.  However, perhaps a critic’s group or a European award organization will make up for it.

Charlotte Gainsbourg for “Antichrist”

Her best actress award at Cannes was not without reason.  Whatever you think about Lars von Trier’s extremely divisive “Antichrist,” it’s difficult not to admire Gainsbourg’s remarkably intense work in the film.  Yet, it’s not exactly an easy performance to watch.  Genital mutilation doesn’t usually play a memorable role in Oscar-nominated work, so it might be difficult to get most Academy voters to sit through “Antichrist.” They also haven’t been kind to von Trier’s leading ladies in the past.  While Emily Watson got a well-deserved nod for 1996’s “Breaking The Waves,” exceptional work from “Dancer in the Dark”‘s Bjork and “Dogville”‘s Nicole Kidman went unnoticed.

Hal Holbrook for “That Evening Sun”

Eighty-four year old Holbrook gained his first nomination two years ago for Sean Penn’s “Into The Wild” and was unfortunately nominated alongside Javier Bardem’s work in “No Country For Old Men.” Now, with a tiny film that premiered at SXSW, he seems like he’s getting another chance. A festival circuit favorite, “That Evening Sun” is being released via Freestyle this November.  Holbrook plays an aging Tennessee farmer facing family betrayal, and with the right campaign, and a mix of sentimental and critical support, Holbrook could find himself in the mix.

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posted on October 16, 2009
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Comments
1
nross2101 says on November 30, 2009 at 1:29pm

i’m a month late but i just have to say that swinton in julia is ridiculously good. although the movie itself (esp. regarding plot developments) is imperfect, her alcoholic is probably the best i’ve ever seen! so happy to be drunk, so effing pissed to be sober, and oh so very unapologetic about nearly everything she does wrong. her development is subtle, way underplayed, and so much more affecting because of that. i laughed, cried, and held my breath in fear just watching her throughout the two hour experience. i felt manic after what she put me through!

2
jgelb001 says on October 22, 2009 at 2:37pm

That evening sun and Holbrook are both AMAZING, simply AMAZING! FilmHawk is right when saying Holbrook should’ve won for into the wild. he sure will be a strong contenter this year with this movie!. Amazing film…

i recomend seeing the trailer!

http://www.spike.com/blog/that-evening-sun/88197

3
bradzp says on October 20, 2009 at 11:55am

Tom Hardy in Bronson? Most impressive performance I’ve seen since I saw it at LAST YEAR’S London Film Festival. What a complete transformation…

4
Peter Knegt says on October 19, 2009 at 10:59am

Briangod: I completely agree and somehow he slipped my mind… If I had a do-over, he would definitely be included. I’m hoping he gets a Gotham nod later today.

5
briangod says on October 19, 2009 at 10:42am

Souleymane Sy Savane should be nominated for this year - he was excellent in a film that was also uniquely memorable, GOODBYE SOLO.

6
amyt@mindspring.com says on October 18, 2009 at 3:33pm

I am much chagrined. I should not have chastized Indiewire for not having its facts straight when mine are less than airtight, and I should never trust the words of a laid-off employee. My apologies. On the other hand, I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that Harvey would schedule ‘Nine’ to go wide on the day “Avatar’ opens (unless he doesn’t mind that his movie gets buried) or that he wants to runs campaigns for both Colin Firth and Daniel Day Lewis with a staff that’s about half the size it was four years ago. as i already said, worrying about this stuff is bad for the soul. amy taubin

7
ocudarling says on October 17, 2009 at 4:26pm

And we should probably take this with a grain of salt, but Barbara Walters mentioned on THE VIEW that she had seen NINE and did not like it at all.

8
biasedcommmenting says on October 16, 2009 at 8:10pm

Ben Foster should win for everything that he does.  Hal?  eh… too bad the movie was unwatchable.

9
Peter Knegt says on October 16, 2009 at 7:22pm

amyt: “Nine” is actually still firmly slated for a December release as far as I can tell… and I’d question “Single Man” as a sure bet. Firth, yes, but the film itself could really go either way at this point.

filmhawk: that’s a perfect summation of why Renner’s work is so deserving.

ran4553 and anaisrand: agreed in both respects, but I was aiming more for candidates with at least a minimal shot at something, which neither of those actors have.

10
filmhawk says on October 16, 2009 at 5:36pm

Hal Holbrook SHOULD have won for INTO THE WILD.  Consummate film acting of a rare kind that reminded my of the economy (and a veteran’s knowingness) comparable to what Lillian Gish did in WHALES OF AUGUST—and she wasn’t even nominated!

Ever since Bardem won (for a wonderful performance) I’ve been asking—who the hell was he supporting?  He DROVE that film (and was second billed over the title).

By the way, I think Jeremy Renner’s work in HURT LOCKER is an amazing example of being laser-intense yet subtle and complex, all at once.  Bravo!

11
amyt@mindspring.com says on October 16, 2009 at 4:43pm

If you are going to focus on awards, which seems to me a wrong headed idea for Indiewire , at least get your facts straight. Cruz can’t be nominated for “Nine” nor can anyone else in the cast because TWC has pushed it back to 2010, the better to focus its depleted award season funds on “A Single Man,”. a sure bet for about a half dozen Oscar nominations and a likely Best Actor win for Colin Firth. See how easily I got sucked in too, but really it’s bad for the soul. Amy Taubin

12
ram4553 says on October 16, 2009 at 3:07pm

Joaquin Phoenix. TWO LOVERS. Career swan song? ADD when it comes to releases early in the year? Def overlooked and overshadowed.

13
anaisrand says on October 16, 2009 at 2:44pm

what about Patton Oswalt in BIG FAN? That was a terrific performance.

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