The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1992

1992

So the much anticipated ranking is:

5. Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field

I'm a bit clueless about how I felt about this performance. I mean, I really liked it and it was surely very entertaining as I was watching it but it was not something that really blew my socks off. Michelle is very good as Lurene, making her a very likeable person despite the fact that we shouldn't really like her. I appreciate the effort, it just didn't blow me away. But there's something about her that makes me really like her.

4. Susan Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil

Just like her whole performance, as Susan Sarandon is really memorable and moving as Michaela Odone, a woman who refuses to give up on her son's life. Although she's nothing truly mindblowing, she works extremely well with the characters and shows her emotions exceptionally. Really great work.

3. Catherine Deneuve in Indochine

Sorry haters, I'm not one of you as I was totally taken by Catherine Deneuve's wonderful performance in Indochine. Catherine put on an incredibly subtle but extremely haunting performance that is unforgettable for me. She got everything right and despite the screentime issues she really amazed me.

2. Emma Thompson in Howards End

Although Margaret Schlegel is a sort of unspectacular character, the performance of Emma Thompson in Howards End is nothing short of spectacular. Despite the little bit slow beginning, I found this work of hers fantastic and I was totally taken by her. It's a true testament to her greatness that the performance is still growing on me and I think so much about it.

1. Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish

This is a wonderful performance that I loved from the beginning to the end. Although it's not a mindblowing piece of work, it's still exceptional and should be much more often talked about. Mary McDonnell created a very memorable and much more layered character than one would expect. She excellently shows this character's pain plus she's a real treat to watch.

So I can proudly announce

the winner is...

Mary McDonnell

in

Passion Fish

This one was very close.

Final thoughts: This year was way better than I expected. Surprising outcome, even for me. I thought Emma would be a shoo-in (and I thought only Catherine could upset). Although none of these performances was an amazing achievement, they were all impressive. Ranking the Deneuve-McDonnell-Sarandon-Thompson qurtett was incredibly difficult. Then it came down to Catherine vs. Mary and it was even harder. I really did not know how to decide but I hope I made the right decision. In the end, I went with Mary's adorably bitchy and heartbreaking performance as the daytime actress. Somehow she stayed in my mind the longest. Michelle was really good though I found her a bit lacking, many are criticising Catherine in Indochine but I loved her. The other ladies were all wonderful.

Omissions:

• Whoopi Goldberg in Sister Act 
• Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns
• Tilda Swinton in Orlando
• Alfre Woodard in Passion Fish  *My Pick*

About the next year: It's no secret that it will be 1962. :)

What do you think?

Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field

Michelle Pfeiffer received her third Oscar nomination for playing Lurene Hallett, a bored housewife who idolizes Jackie Kennedy in Love Field. Michelle, Michelle. After becoming the victim of one of the biggest Oscar injustices in history with her brilliant performance in The Fabulous Baker Boys, one would expect the Academy to make up for their stupid mistake. I think she might have been second in the end but a third place is more likely. Although this performance is far from her brilliant turn in The Fabulous Baker Boys, I wouldn't be pissed about a make-up award for her.

Love Field is a very small but entertaining movie which is a little bit clichéd and predictable despite the brilliant idea. I think with Lurene's character, this could have been an even more interesting story (the Jackie Kennedy storyline becomes secondary in the end, unfortunately). This way, it's just a very decent flick which is watchable once or twice but you wouldn't want to see it often. Although Denzel Washington was intended to play the lead, Dennis Haysbert was a fine choice, in my opinion. He gives a performance that's really similar to his work in Far from Heaven.

I so love Michelle Pfeiffer. Although I don't consider myself a real fan of hers, I do admire her a lot. She's so damn talented and beautiful and that combination makes her the perfect movie star. I really wish that she got a role really worthy of her talent and greatness (one that could win her the Oscar). Because of that, I would have had big expectations from her performance in Love Field but after the mixed reviews, I decided to just watch her.

This is a pretty divisive work. Some go crazy for it, some not so much and some don't like it at all. First, I'd say that I liked her in this movie but I wasn't really blown away. If you have a knockout performance (like Michelle had with The Fabulous Baker Boys) that could be the worst curse on you. While I was watching Love Field, I always thought "Oh, she's pretty good but she was SO much better in Baker Boys." I so wanted to focus exclusively on this performance but somehow I never totally managed to do so.

First, I cannot really decide if her role was really difficult. Sure, the Texan accent is difficult to pull off (I guess, I never tried it to tell the truth :P) and some are criticsing her for her accent. For me, it was absolutely no problem. In fact, I felt that Michelle meant to exaggerate it in order to make Lurene more annoying. I liked that Michelle was able to make me relate to the character despite the fact that she was quite annoying sometimes. Lurene doesn't have a goal in her life, except for making it to JFK's funeral so that she could comfort Jackie. On the road she meets a black man and her daughter. Eventually, she fails, she's searched for, arrested and so on.

Michelle's chemistry with Dennis Haysbert is quite good (don't expect like the one with Jeff Bridges, Baker Boys again, shut up). I really believed the tension between them and they seemed like an odd but somehow realistic couple. I was surprised by the love scene between them but it worked for me, really.

I liked how Michelle showed that something became really important for Lurene. She handles the big emotional scenes very well and I really felt for her character. She didn't even overdo the quite sentimental ending. In fact, she made it quite touching. Despite the illogical things in the screenplay (I mean his couch potato husband turns out to be an aggressive bastard), Michelle was able to keep the story very realistic.

In the end, I'm a bit clueless about how I felt about this performance. I mean, I really liked it and it was surely very entertaining as I was watching it but it was not something that really blew my socks off. Michelle is very good as Lurene, making her a very likeable person despite the fact that we shouldn't really like her. I appreciate the effort, it just didn't blow me away. But there's something about her that makes me really like her.

The rating was not easy at all. This 4 has a lot to do with my generousity and the fact that I gave a 4 to Judi in Iris and Michelle was better.

What do you think?

The Next Year

1992

So the nominees were:

• Catherine Deneuve in Indochine
• Mary McDonnell in Passion Fish
• Michelle Pfeiffer in Love Field
• Susan Sarandon in Lorenzo's Oil
• Emma Thompson in Howards End

This one is said to be a weak year but to me all fields are interesting, so let's see how these great ladies will do.

What do you think? What's your ranking? What's your prediction for my ranking?

The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1989

About the year: I really-really enjoyed doing this year and to tell the truth this was the one in which I had the most pleasure, so it was the best (though 1974 has 0.5 more Meryls). I have ended a long fight in myself and I finally joined one of the camps. #1 was quite easy for me (I soooo wanted to resist her, but I just couldn't as she was so utterly great), and placing the others was very-very easy too. I'm quite happy with the ranking. I love #2 and #3 too and in weaker years they would get my vote (especially #2, who was just brilliant), but the others were not that bad either. So the ranking:

5. Isabelle Adjani in Camille Claudel

After all, I can say that I saw a very confusing and uneven, but strangely effective, which might have weaknesses, but there are such electrifying, brilliant and unforgettable scenes, that you forget your complaints while watching them. It is not a perfect job, but there is some greatness in it. Good work.

4. Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy

It's very subtle and nice work, which may not go that deep, but is able to entertain, please and move the viewer and she makes it very sure that you never forget her. She's like a good book that you love to read even for the twentieth time. Nice, charming work.

3. Jessica Lange in Music Box

This is a very good performance, which is extremely subtle, but there is some silent strength in it. It could have been more emotional as this way it's a bit underplayed, but I cannot argue that Lange was able to show the emotions and the guilt of this confused character, who wants nothing, but the truth.

2. Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine

This is a delightful and funny work by an actress who should be much more famous and well-known. Collins' Shirley Valentine is a loveable, life-like, beautiful character and Collins gives probably the most enjoyable performance I've reviewed so far. Beautiful, moving and amazing all around, a real threat for Michelle.

1. Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys

I can understand what people see in this performance: it's brilliant, strong, powerful, sexy, charming, vibrant, sad and loveable. She shows so many emotions and faces of this exciting character and created something very memorable, which continues to impress the viewers. She could have done it more easily, but it was brilliant the way it was.

So I can proudly announce

that my winner is...

Michelle Pfeiffer 
in 
The Fabulous Baker Boys

How will you thank me, Michelle? :)

Omissions:

• Sally Field in Steel Magnolias

So my next year: it's a very rarely talked about year, since most people seem to agree on the winner, whose performance has become iconic or at least extremely popular. I don't waste time but say the one clue, from which you will INSTANTLY find out.

• Who is whose #1 fan?

So what do you think? Do you have any questions requests or any thoughts on your mind?

Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys

Michelle Pfeiffer received her second Oscar nomination for playing Susie Diamond, a former call-girl and a singer with the Baker brothers in the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys. It's almost 100% sure that the race in 1989 was between Tandy and Pfeiffer, they were pretty much neck and neck. Tandy had the sentimentality on her side and Pfeiffer was a huge star back then. I think she did not get much less votes than Tandy after all, but a lot of people are quite devastated because of this loss.

The Fabulous Baker Boys is quite an average, but quite entertaining movie. I think that it's pretty overrated, though I still liked it. I am very fond of Jeff Bridges in general, so he was an important draw for me. Although he was quite good here, I often felt that his acting was a bit forced and yet undercooked. His brother Beau was equally good, but he did not blow my socks off, either. That's it. One of my (actually two) favorite things about this movie is the brilliant music. First of all, the great songs, second the actual score by Dave Grusin. I could listen it on and on.

And the other thing is Michelle Pfeiffer, who's quite simply irresistable here, giving probably her best and most famous performance. It's no wonder that people think that she should have won: her performance is a true standout of her pretty average movie. The whole screenplay is a bit flawed and not very accurate, but the part of Susie is brilliantly written. I felt that the film was just a reason to show Pfeiffer and let her shine, which is quite great.

Her first scene itself makes quite an impression and really sets the tone of her whole performance: Susie is yelling and swearing because of her heels. Susie is quite weary, sarcastic, extremely impolite and a bit full of herself. But when she begins singing, my goodness, I don't think that there's anyone who's not charmed by her instantly. The funny thing is that she doesn't do that much, she simply relies on her presence and singing voice (both brilliant and extremely strong).

Michelle mixes the comedy and the drama quite well. Actually, I don't think that I could call it comedy, as her remarks are rather sarcastic and you can feel how weary and bitter this woman really is. Her experiences as an "escort" really made her tough and therefore wants to keep the distance. Her cold irony toward Beau Bridges' character is quite hilarious and I love the way she delivers those lines ("It's got more hair than you" and things like that). Susie is extremely outspoken, she doesn't like beating around the bush and this just makes the audience love her more. She just says what everyone feels, but do not dare to say. She's really the "what can I lose?" type.

As I have already said, her singing is just magical. I've heard that Madonna was supposed to play Susie, but I don't think that she could've made her as vibrant and brilliant as Michelle did. I mean it's so natural and very lifelike when she lies down on the piano in a flaming red dress, which you really want to rip off her. There's so much sexuality and attractiveness coming from her that it almost makes you speechless. She never shows anything, but lets you visualize everything perfectly. In short: who could resist her in the scene when she's on the stage with Jeff Bridges (and there's brilliant chemistry between the two)?

The highlight of Michelle's whole performance was a long monologue after the New Year's Eve party at the hotel. She's a bit drunk and opens up to Jack about her previous "escorting" experiences at other hotels. It was one of the most heartbreaking moments I have ever seen on-screen. I loved that Michelle did not work for the effect of it and rather held herself back and by this she created an incredibly realistic scene. She shows an unbelievable amount of emotions: bitterness, sadness, hope, passion, disappointment and after that the atmosphere is so damn sexual that it almost sets the screen on fire. And their kissing is so dazzling that you can feel that you're a part of their "act".

But Michelle also showed how cheeky Susie becomes after success and wants to have much more part in picking places. She leaves the band eventually and leaves Jack. People love to praise her big monologue about emptiness and there's a reason: she could have made it really theatrical and over-the-top to win the sympathy of the viewers, but she made a wisest decision to make it much more believable. She was really upsetting and devastating.

Her strength in this movie becomes really obvious when she's not there toward the end: I just missed her presence so much. Thankfully, she returns in the end and that short scene is just excellent: she acts embarrased and she so brilliantly breaks the tension when starts to sing that funny little jingle. It's so funny and sad at the same time.

So after all I can say that I can understand what people see in this performance: it's brilliant, strong, powerful, sexy, charming, vibrant, sad and loveable. She shows so many emotions and faces of this exciting character and created something very memorable, which continues to impress the viewers. She could have done it more easily, but it was brilliant the way it was. Easy rating.

So what do you think? Any predictions now?

The Next Year

After a little bit of tedious drama with the movies, I can finally start this very exciting and interesting year, to which I am really looking forward to. There will be one decisive Michelle vs. Jessica battle? Which one of them will emerge victorious? Or will it be another person? Let's see!

1989

So the nominees were:

• Isabelle Adjani in Camille Claudel
• Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine
• Jessica Lange in Music Box
• Michelle Pfeiffer in The Fabulous Baker Boys
• Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy*

So what's your prediction for my ranking? I really cannot wait, I hope you feel the same. The predicting contest is on. So let's have fun! :)