Bérénice Bejo
Age: 35
Film: The Artist
Role: Peppy Miller, an up-and-coming star of talkies who has an early, career-making brush with silent star George Valentin and carries a torch for him even after his rapid fall into obscurity.
Nomination History:
This is Bejo’s first nomination.
Why She Should Win
Bejo is charming as Peppy Miller. Valentin is initially captivated by her dancing when he can’t see her face, and the audience quickly gets attached, too, though we can’t hear her voice.
Bejo has a tricky part. She plays a character whose star rises along with the popularity of talkies. When Valentin watches Peppy’s films, we see that without sound, one movie blends very much into the others. So Bejo has to act as if the sounds she is making make a tremendous difference to her performances, even though we don’t ever get to hear any of those sounds. But Bejo does some of her finest acting when Peppy is not acting, but reacting to the final silent film of George Valentin as she watches in a nearly-empty theater.
Bejo has an expressive face and makes the most of it. She’s winningly energetic when trying to be noticed—who can forget that wink?—but even better when she’s trying to escape the attention of crowds and focus on something deeply personal instead.
Plus she can canoodle with a coat rack like nobody’s business, seemingly a favorite pastime of every young starlet back in the day. Bejo makes her coat rack seem far sexier than the one Fred Astaire dances with in Royal Wedding. Had the scene gone on any longer, The Artist probably would have gotten an R rating for a disturbing image, a rude gesture, and a suggestive embrace with a coat rack.
Why She Might Not Win
While I enjoyed Bejo’s performance, I wasn’t quite as into her as that coat rack was. I see why she is nominated, of course. The Artist is an entertaining, genuinely enjoyable film with an interesting concept and execution that doesn’t stumble. Between the two of them, Bejo and Dujardin carry most of the movie.
But Dujardin gives a far stronger performance than Bejo, and, in my opinion, James Cromwell also gives a slightly stronger performance. It’s not that Bejo isn’t good, but does she really do anything that remarkable?
Because she’s basically unknown in the United States, Bejo seems fresh, exciting, beautiful, exotic (qualities that have provoked past upsets in this category more than once). And certainly, she knows how to dance and appears to be able to sing and talk. She’s got a lot of pizzazz, but that only carries you so far. Honestly, I think that any reasonably talented young(ish) actress with training in dance could have played this part. While I agree that Bejo deserves the nomination (though I would have liked to see Shailene Woodley from The Descendants among the nominees), I don’t think she should win. More importantly, I don’t think she will win.
Octavia Spencer has won just about everything else so far, and I see no reason why she shouldn’t continue winning. She was conspicuously fabulous in The Help, and, as I understand it, the part of Minny was written with her in mind. Another great thing about Spencer—her acceptance speeches may not be fantastically entertaining, but she consistently mentions Civil Rights superstars like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Medgar Evers, probably to allay the concerns of those who think that The Help is actually (perhaps unintentionally) racist.
There’s a lot of love out there for The Artist, but there are plenty of ways to honor the film without rewarding Bejo with Best Supporting Actress. That said, I think that any of these nominees has the potential to win. Upsets in this category happen all the time.
Jessica Chastain
Age: 30
Film: The Help
Role: Celia Foote, the bubbling bride of Hilly Holbrook’s ex-boyfriend who gets treated as a “white trash” outcast by Hilly’s circle and finds herself friendless and in desperate need of a maid to help her care for her vast estate and teach her basic cooking skills. Besides not fitting in, Celia has some even more painful issues that she keeps secret from everyone until forging a special friendship with Hilly’s former maid Minny.
Nomination History:
This is Chastain’s first nomination.
Why She Should Win
The relationship between Celia and Minny is one of the emotional highlights of The Help. Celia’s character serves as a reminder that Hilly and her snobby circle don’t discriminate exclusively based on race. Their appalling behavior toward the well-meaning but socially out-of-her-depth Celia is almost as nasty as their treatment of their maids. In some ways, their behavior is worse (or at least more transparent) because it’s deliberately malicious with no kind of rationalized pretext. Hilly won’t let Minny use her bathroom, but she won’t even let Celia in her house!
Hilly’s racism is politely couched in terms of medical concern. (“They carry different diseases.”) But when it comes to Celia Foote, Hilly is pretty up front about the fact that she’s just being a catty bitch, and her devoted cohort seems okay with that. Of course, Hilly can’t actively harm Celia in the way that she can Minny. But don’t be fooled. If she could, she would.
For that reason, it’s incredibly easy to sympathize with Celia Foote simply because of her circumstances. Chastain’s gift is turning our sympathy into empathy with a graceful, seemingly effortless performance that quickly warms and wins our hearts. As played by Chastain, Celia is obviously less refined than Hilly and her crowd, but that just means that she’s more genuine. Plus (with a type of charisma rarely seen on screen since the death of Marilyn Monroe) Chastain makes Celia’s wide-eyed innocence a kind of strength. And when we learn just how difficult life has been for Celia recently and what a burden she’s been carrying around in secret, we see that though she may appear flaky and non-discriminating at first glance, in fact, she’s strong, compassionate, and accepting.
True, she doesn’t have the social status or privileged background of Hilly Holbrook, but Celia has a husband with money now, and she could be a catty bitch, too, if she wanted to. But that’s not what Celia chooses. She doesn’t want Minny around so she can feel superior to someone. She just wants help so that she’ll quit burning dinner every night. She also needs a friend.
Chastain’s performance is perfect and seems far more exceptional when you watch her other performances this year and realize that she’s not just well cast, she’s exceptionally sensitive and versatile with an astute grasp of the character and a gift for portraying her.
Why She Might Not Win
Unless she retires as suddenly as she appeared, Jessica Chastain will win an Oscar. I won’t even call that a prediction. It’s going to happen one day.
But that day won’t be February 26, 2012. Nominated for The Help, Chastain has too much competition from her co-star, front-runner Octavia Spencer. Plus despite her undeniable charm as Celia Foote, whom she plays like Marilyn Monroe’s Southern cousin, Chastain doesn’t necessarily give her strongest performance this year in The Help. I, personally, was blown away by her work in The Debt (which, I believe, was a prestige picture intended for last season whose release was delayed). Though the movie is far from perfect, Chastain plays young Rachel even more compellingly than Helen Mirren plays her older counterpart. (And that’s saying something because Mirren is always fantastic.) Chastain is also wonderful in Take Shelter and The Tree of Life (and, oddly enough, on nomination day, they showed a still from The Tree of Life when Jennifer Lawrence announced her nomination for The Help). Typically, when awarding Chastain supporting actress this year, critics circles cited multiple performances.
Some people even speculated that Chastain would not get an Oscar nod because of competition with herself. I’m pleased that she did pull off a much deserved nomination, but I’d be shocked if she won. People are calling her the next Meryl Streep. If that’s the legacy she has to live up to, then she should expect to lose this year, win Best Supporting Actress next year, win Best Actress a few years from now, and then have a ridiculously long spell of nominations with no wins. Sounds good to me. I look forward to her future nominated performances.
Melissa McCarthy
Age: 41
Film: Bridesmaids
Role: Megan, the unabashedly outspoken, eccentric sister of the groom, and the one member of the wedding party who seems sympathetic to Kristen Wiig’s Annie from beginning to end.
Nomination History:
This is McCarthy’s first nomination.
Why She Should Win
For some reason, the phrase “pooping in a sink” is all we ever seem to hear about Melissa McCarthy’s performance, which is becoming annoying. People (particularly critics) have been saying all along that Melissa McCarthy is the standout among the Bridesmaids. I think this is largely because she has the best part, so I’m very happy to see that Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig are also nominated for writing the screenplay. But I’m not knocking McCarthy’s performance. She’s fantastic and definitely memorable as Megan.
Her unexpected call on Annie is the strongest scene (and most rewarding surprise) in the entire movie. As she delivers her alarmingly hands-on pep talk to Annie, McCarthy reveals a depth and strength to Megan that the audience may not have seen coming. The revelations in this scene caused me to reevaluate Megan’s earlier behavior. (For example, when she suggests a female Fight Club theme for the bridal shower, her motivations may be more complex than they initially appear. Maybe she’s not clueless at all. Maybe she’s got more of a clue than the rest of the bridal party. She certainly seems to be the only one perceptive enough to notice the way Helen is treating Annie.)
It’s a plum role, well-written and juicy, and McCarthy embodies the character perfectly, without vanity and without fear. It takes guts to rely on essence instead of appearance to create a character who is almost always absurd but never laughably ridiculous.
Why She Might Not Win
Octavia Spencer probably will win, but of anybody, Melissa McCarthy probably has the best chance to upset simply because she seems to have such a vocal cheering section. (I personally, wouldn’t rule out Bérénice Bejo, either, since she’s exactly the type who usually upsets.)
Bridesmaids is not the kind of film that ordinarily gets the Academy’s attention, but that almost works to McCarthy’s advantage. She really does make the role her own. As I said before, a number of people could play Peppy Miller in The Artist, but it takes someone special to play Megan in Bridesmaids. Even another actress of the same physical type couldn’t necessarily pull off the same kind of kooky charm. And the genuine, soul-bearing monologue during her surprise visit to Annie takes real acting talent. Success in broad comedy and realistic drama in a single role rarely happens this effectively. So if McCarthy doesn’t win, it will be simply because momentum favors Spencer, who pulls off the same kind of perfect pairing of comedy and drama as Minny in The Help.
Janet McTeer
Age: 50
Film: Albert Nobbs
Role: Hubert Page, another woman living as a man in nineteenth century Dublin who opens Albert’s eyes to a world of possibilities, like getting married—to a woman.
Nomination History:
Previously nominated for Best Actress for Tumbleweeds (1999).
Why She Should Win
Just two characters in Albert Nobbs didn’t make me so frustrated that I actually had to fight to suppress the urge to yell things at the screen in the movie theater—Brendan Gleeson’s Dr. Holloran and McTeer’s Hubert Page. Of the two, Page is the more important character and, by far, the more difficult role.
McTeer’s performance is fantastic. I knew the basic plot of the movie going in, so the scene in which she reveals herself (literally) to Albert didn’t take me surprise, but I heard lots of gasps from the audience. Although McTeer’s breasts are quite impressive (particularly in size), I’m positive that it was their existence and not their quality that was provoking all the dramatic gasping I heard around me. She’s quite convincing as Hubert Page. Clearly the actress is comfortable with the character, and the character is comfortable with himself.
Hubert knows who he is. (Perhaps in another era, he’d call himself “she” rather than “he,” but I doubt his dress or manner would change too much.) He’s happy with who he is. He’s basically the only major character in Albert Nobbs who knows and likes himself.
McTeer gives a great performance. Glenn Close’s showiest moment comes when Albert reveals her painful past to Hubert, but even though Close is the one speaking, McTeer gives an equally impressive performance in this particular scene. She’s also fantastic at the very end of the movie as she talks with first Mrs. Baker and then Helen. It’s hard to forget her brusque, broad mannerisms when she speaks as Hubert Page, but, honestly, I think her facial reactions to other people’s speech are often even better.
Why She Might Not Win
I will go out on a limb and say that McTeer’s performance is emphatically the best part of Albert Nobbs. Unfortunately, that’s not saying much. I don’t mean that Albert Nobbs is bad. In fact, I marvel at the persistence and dedication of Glenn Close in getting this passion project made. But I have the same complaint with Albert Nobbs that I do with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. The project has tons of potential and some amazing moments, but the final product is less successful than it ought to be as a film. To succeed, a movie should either be enjoyable to watch or so meaningful to reflect upon that a painful viewing experience is justified. That’s not the case here.
None of this diminishes McTeer’s performance. (She’s much stronger and more memorable as Hubert Page than Max von Sydow is as the Renter in Extremely Loud.) She deserves the nomination, and she deserves to win (just as much as her deserving competition). The shortcomings of the movie don’t detract from McTeer’s performance, but they do hurt her chances. Trying to think like Academy voters, I’d imagine that Bérénice Bejo has a better chance of winning than McTeer, entirely because of the popularity of The Artist.
Recently, I’ve heard people crying left and right that Glenn Close might win the Oscar because of, basically, sympathy votes. (She’s never won, they say. She’s due.) I don’t think the momentum so far remotely suggests an upset by Close, but even if she did win (which she won’t), it would be because people feel she’s due, not because most voters really love and connect with Albert Nobbs.
McTeer is marvelous as Hubert Page, but she won’t win.
Octavia Spencer
Age: 39
Film: The Help
Role: Minny Jackson, a maid in Jackson, Mississippi, in the early 1960s, and the outspoken best friend of the more reserved Aibileen Clark. After being unfairly dismissed and slandered by her former employer Hilly Holbrook, Minny’s employment options become dramatically limited, leading her to an unexpected career opportunity.
Nomination History:
This is Spencer’s first nomination.
Why She Should Win
Spencer gives an unforgettable performance in The Help. Not only does her character manage to get the most laughs, but Minny’s also integral to some of the most dramatic and suspenseful moments in the film.
Though we often see Aibileen’s thoughts clearly enough in her eyes, Aibileen doesn’t usually say what she’s thinking. Minny does, and her expressive eyes provide the punctuation. She’s entertaining initially, then increasingly easy to empathize with, so that by the end of the movie, she’s probably almost everyone’s favorite character.
The first time I watched The Help (without having read the book), I was on the edge of my seat, terribly, terribly worried about Minny the entire time. After all, Aibileen and Skeeter were playing with fire, and Minny seemed the most likely character to get burned.
The funny thing is, even before collaborating with Skeeter, Minny is already at risk from a number of unrelated dangers, but she’s so confident and resilient that none of these sources of imminent peril makes her seem like a woman in jeopardy. (I thought, Don’t tell that stupid guy what you’re doing, Skeeter. I don’t want anything to happen to Minny, when, ironically, quite a lot was happening to Minny already.) She’s such a strong character that we don’t think of her as a victim (though she must contend with abuse from all sides).
Her many varied and various recollections of “the terrible awful” are particularly gripping because each time she recounts the story, she does so with slightly different motivations. The “terrible awful” moment itself is equal parts mysterious, suspenseful, hilarious, alarming, gratifying, memorable (and, chiefly from a culinary viewpoint, terrible and awful).
Why She Might Not Win
Spencer has already won at the Critics’ Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, the SAGs, and the BAFTAs. If she didn’t win at the Oscars, it would be a major upset. That said, upsets occur in Best Supporting Actress more often than in any other category. (I don’t have data on hand to back that up, but I’ve been watching the Oscars for years, and I promise you, in any given year, any nominee for Best Supporting Actress has a chance to walk away with the award.)
Personally, I think Supporting Actor is the weakest of the major categories this year while Supporting Actress is one of the strongest with five fantastic performances. None of these actresses is undeserving of the Oscar.
But odds are, Spencer will walk away with it this year, and, as someone who loved her in The Help, I’ll be happy to see her give yet another acceptance speech.