The Women of 1975: Commencement

In 1975 there were many talking points in the world of film: Susan Hayward and Fredric March both passed away; Charlie Chaplin was knighted by the Queen, and Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws” became the highest-grossing film of all time. In terms of Oscar, commentators were enamoured with the Academy’s Best Picture lineup, which, as well as encompassing Spielberg’s film, comprised of “Barry Lyndon,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Nashville,” and eventual winner “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

While many regard this lineup as a benchmark for the category, few people seem to feel that way about the five women nominated for Best Actress. A New York Times article from February 1976 perhaps best articulates the discontent felt in quarters, highlighting the dearth of Best Actress contenders from the previous year and listing their many detractors. Titled “Do any of these Best Actress contenders rate an Academy Award?” Judy Klemesrud’s article names twenty women in with a shot of a nomination, ten of whom eventually won a Best Actress Oscar at one time or another.

As most of you have probably gathered, for the past year my quest to see every Oscar nominee in the major six categories has seen the focus shift primarily onto the Best Actress category, and last May I crossed the threshold of one hundred performances left to see. Ten months later, and that figure is now fifty. As part of a celebration of crossing the milestone of fifty Best Actress Nominees left unseen, I’m going to write a profile on each 1975 Best Actress contender recognised by the Times, culminating in a review of the eventual nominees, two of which – Glenda Jackson and Ann-Margret – I have yet to encounter. The other contenders for the Oscar were Isabelle Adjani, Carol Kane, and the anointed Louise Fletcher.

If you haven’t seen the article (as far as I know, it's only available through subscribing to the New York Times website) then I’m going to keep the contenders a surprise until the profiles are posted. Get ready for the women of 1975!

If you’re interested, these are the remaining Best Actress nominees I have left to see: 

1. Ruth Chatterton, “Madame X” (1928-29)
2. Betty Compson, “The Barker” (1928-29)
3. Corinne Griffith, “The Divine Lady” (1928-29)
4. Greta Garbo, Romance” (1929-30)
5. Norma Shearer, “Their Own Desire” (1929-30)
6. *Helen Hayes, “The Sin of Madelon Claudet” (1931-32)
7. Marie Dressler, “Emma” (1931-32)
8. Lynn Fontanne, “The Guardsman” (1931-32)
9. Elisabeth Bergner, “Escape Me Never” (1935)
10. Irene Dunne, “Theodora Goes Wild” (1936)
11. *Luise Rainer, “The Good Earth” (1937)
12. Barbara Stanwyck, “Stella Dallas” (1937)
13. Margaret Sullavan, “Three Comrades” (1938)
14. Olivia De Havilland, “Hold Back the Dawn” (1941)
15. Katharine Hepburn, “Woman of the Year” (1942)
16. Joan Fontaine, “The Constant Nymph” (1943)
17. Greer Garson, “The Valley of Decision” (1945)
18. Rosalind Russell, “Mourning Becomes Electra” (1947)
19. Ingrid Bergman, “Joan of Arc” (1948)
20. Deborah Kerr, “Edward, My Son” (1949)
21. Jane Wyman, “The Blue Veil” (1951)
22. Julie Harris, “The Member of the Wedding” (1952)
23. Leslie Caron, “Lili” (1953)
24. *Anna Magnani, “The Rose Tattoo” (1955)
25. Carroll Baker, “Baby Doll” (1956)
26. Elizabeth Taylor, “Raintree County” (1957)
27. Rachel Roberts, “This Sporting Life” (1963)
28. Sophia Loren, “Marriage, Italian Style” (1964)
29. Elizabeth Hartman, “A Patch of Blue” (1965)
30. Anouk Aimee, “A Man and a Woman” (1966)
31. Patricia Neal, “The Subject Was Roses” (1968)
32. Vanessa Redgrave, “Isadora” (1968)
33. Genevieve Bujold, “Anne of the Thousand Days” (1969)
34. Diana Ross, “Lady Sings the Blues” (1972)
35. Marsha Mason, “Cinderella Liberty” (1973)
36. Ann-Margret, “Tommy” (1975)
37. Glenda Jackson, “Hedda” (1975)
38. Liv Ullmann, “Face to Face” (1976)
39. Geraldine Page, “Interiors” (1978)
40. Ellen Burstyn, “Resurrection” (1980)
41. Jane Fonda, “The Morning After” (1986)
42. Meryl Streep, “Ironweed” (1987)
43. Isabelle Adjani, “Camille Claudel” (1989)
44. Joanne Woodward, “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge” (1990)
45. Bette Midler, “For the Boys” (1991)
46. *Emma Thompson, “Howard’s End” (1992)
47. Mary McDonnell, “Passion Fish” (1992)
48. Miranda Richardson, “Tom and Viv” (1994)
49. Emily Watson, “Breaking the Waves” (1996)
50. Julie Christie, “Afterglow” (1997)

Addicts 2007: Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Julie Christie
Away From Her

Alzheimers is a terribly sad fate for a person, and watching the breakdown of Grant and Fiona's relationship in the touching but undeniably troubled Away From Her, is itself fairly devastating. It's interesting though that, for me, the entirety of the film's engulfing sense of loss is instigated (without ever appearing so) from the incredible Julie Christie. We are often encouraged to walk in the shoes of the weary, and annoyingly overwrought Gordon Pinsent. A man who has lost something. But Christie makes Fiona much more accessible as a victim, her mental deterioration mirroring Pinsent's physical longing, and thus her punishment seems much more ingrained and natural. She doesn't seem affected, losing none of the grace, humour, charm; yet appears so irredeemably distant. Without context. Without recognition. A rich and painful portrayal.

Marion Cotillard
La Vie En Rose

In more than one way Cotillard's performance is not of the ilk that I tend to admire. Incredibly theatrical (especially in terms of her gestures and mannerisms) one can be tempted to believe that she lacks depth, restraint, understanding of what is needed to make Piaf a genuine character. But for what Olivier Dahan's La Vie En Rose so baldly displays as a fast-paced sporadic tribute to the legendary powerhouse (not dissimilar to the pace and style of All That Jazz by the way), Marion Cotillard can read everything the film wants to achieve and more. I had difficulty separating whether it's more her triumph than Dahan's that together, her performance and the film seem so synchronised. It's a success for both, but the editing -- a major feature of the film -- has to have festered gladly on Cotillard's showy snippets of Piaf. Almost Minelli-like, she wades in and out of every scene just as La Vie En Rose meanders so adventurously and recklessly in and out of Piaf's life. Amazing.

Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart

As a woman chasing any trace of her kidnapped husband it isn't a feat that Jolie has us on Marianne's side. When we think of grieving widows, or housewives waiting, hoping, for their husbands to come home from war, it's easy to expect and see the desperate wreck. But we don't often see them as an active force in proceedings, and that might be why Jolie is so surprisingly effective as the core of A Mighty Heart. She is by no means better than the film, but without a shadow of a doubt understands every bit of the episode, carrying off her role with the passion of a heroine. And when I say 'heroine', I don't mean someone who's content to put a brave face on things, but someone keen to understand as much of the political situation as she can in order to bring her fella home. She wants it more than we do, and it shows. Jolie has so much impact as a personality than she ever has as a figure of pity; despite pregnancy, false hope, loss, the raw power she evokes is that of our superwoman beaten. Beaten admirably, but heartbreakingly beaten nonetheless.



Sienna Miller
Interview

I actually have trouble acknowledging that I value Sienna Miller's dogged, neurotic performance in Interview, a film I didn't care for, above Laura Linney, Anamaria Marinca, and the tireless Ellen Page. But this is the girl I wanted here most, and in all honesty, it's because I saw more of myself in her than I did the others. Judging and interpreting films is ultimately an altogether personal experience, and consequently Miller, whose Katya is restricted despite her power and independence; naive, shallow, but capable of duping even the most psychologically-apt of counterparts, feels more close-to-home and complex than the others. Outwardly confident and superior, inwardly self-conscious and needy, she teases, provokes, and ends up feeling like the real throwaway victim of a piece that doesn't know enough about what it wants to say, but crafts two characters that has enough to keep you entertained for the vast majority of its modest running time. Sienna can hack it with the best of them.

Tang Wei
Lust, Caution

Like Lust, Caution itself Tang Wei's role is a concealing contradiction. Complete with all the makings of the schoolgirl who has an affair with a high-school professor, she is a foxy female that veers far from the standard path through adolescence, and her double-role in this luscious sex-fest skates the boundary between girl and woman extremely finely. A wannabe-rebel and seductive spy she undergoes a transformation but retains that naive, ingestant childishness that feeds her need to mean something to someone. To matter. And when imposed upon by everybody Wei is able to let the resillience and individuality of Mai Tai Tai shine through. Her performance is assured, magnetic, mature, and often reminded me of Greer Garson, whose modesty was surely unrivalled, but given a run for its money by Wei, who like Garson, never really gives any indication that she knows how beautiful, clever, and charismatic she is, although there's an inkling that amidst it all the girl probably does.

Winner: Tang Wei, Lust Caution
Runner Up: Julie Christie, Away From Her

Sad To Exclude: The aforementioned ladies: Anamaria Marinca, Ellen Page, and the excellent Laura Linney, who I'd say is probably 6th, as she has a much weaker written character than the others.