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?

Pauline Collins in Shirley Valentine

Pauline Collins received her only Oscar nomination to date for playing Shirley, a lonely housewife in Lewis Gilbert's movie, Shirley Valentine. Pauline Collins recreated her Tony-winning role as Shirley to big success. I think that she may even have been third in the race which was stirctly between Michelle Pfeiffer and Jessica Tandy. Nevertheless, she never turned out to be a huge star despite this nomination, which I felt was certainly well-deserved.

Shirley Valentine is a very entertaining and lovely movie despite the fact that it has no real story, but it is sure much fun and I enjoyed every single minute of it. There are such witty lines, situations and scenes in it that you're just feel good about the whole thing. It's not high art, but it is certainly well-worth watching it at least once. I mean, you see ordinary people with ordinary problems and the whole thing is so incredibly relaxing.

Just like the movie, Pauline Collins' performance consists of two very different parts: the old Shirley in the unhappy, rainy England and the new, happy Shirley in the sunny, beautiful and romantic Greece. If you're worried that this is just like a Julia Roberts-like romantic Eat, Pray, Love thing about an depressed woman resting at the sea. No, it's a very ordinary story and Pauline Collins gives a terrific and very natural performance, which charmes you instantly.

Although Shirley is an unhappy character with whom you can quite easily sympathize, Collins never lets you pity her. She shows that Shirley is actually a very nice and strong person, who just wants to enjoy her life little bit. That's all she needs, but sometimes she just lacks courage to do so. It's so amazing to see her backing when she has to do something for a change. Collins never uses very heavy drama with Shirley, actually, she's extremely hilarious somtimes, like in her brilliant Oscar clip with "sex for breakfast, sex for dinner, sex for tea and sex for supper". As I said she's just so damn natural with those lines that it's amazing.

What impresses me most in her performance is the fascinating character development. Pauline had already played Shirley on the stage and I think it was an important factor as I always felt that she knew this character so thrillingly well. Every move, every expression is simply perfect and is excellently solved by Pauline.

The scenes in England sometimes go a bit over-the-top and I felt that Pauline's performance here is much less effective than the second half. There Pauline might have been a bit weaker, but she was excellently showing the emptiness of Shirley. She's so damn real in the scene where her husband throws the dinner away and she decides to tell him that she goes to Greece for a vacation.

However, you can easily spots the changes in Shirley's personality even in the English scenes, where she refuses to be the servant of her daughter and ulitmately decides to travel. We can see: this woman's fed up with the stupid, meaningless days and wants some excitement.

Shirley finds this excitment in Greece (naturally) with a charming local man. The scenes on this man's boat, when Shirley jumps into the sea and then the two have sex, is just adorable. And the funny remarks of Shirley to the audience during the intercourse is so damn out-of-place and yet simply adorable.

As I said this is no heavy drama, but there's one scene which really broke my heart. It's right before this exciting day for her, when she sits on the beach, drinking wine and thinking about her emptiness and her unfulfilled life: we see that she has so much potential and desire to live a great life, but there's always something getting in her way. However, she reaches the state of happiness finally and as she says she falls in love with herself and manages to accept herself.

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. Its strenght might be a bit uneven, but it can be easily forgiven. Excellent work.

A very-very deserving 4.5, an almost 5.

So what do you think? Do you agree or do you want to scratch my eyes out? Tell me! :-) And also if you have any requests for the next years, please, don't be shy!

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! :)