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The nominees were:
Jodie Foster, The Accused – Winner
Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
Melanie Griffith, Working Girl
Meryl Streep, A Cry In The Dark
Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas In The Mist
My personal vote: Glenn Close or Meryl Streep.
What a strong year, (except for that horrendous Griffith, one of the worst Oscar nominated performance I’ve ever seen. So stiff and emotionless) who do you think deserved to win?
Reply1) Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons
2) Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas in the Mist
3) Jodie Foster in The Accused
4) Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark
5) Melanie Griffith in Working GirlI’m not very much fond of Griifith’s work in Working Girl, she was fine. The other four, on the other hand, were all incredible. I have Streep last and Close first, but honestly there may a day where I think the exact opposite.
Also, I think all of these 5 films are good or great movies, so that’s a plus!
ReplyCopy URLIt's about the chaotic editing in Moulin Rouge!
It’s Glenn Close by a mile in this category. Controlled, tragic, even hysterical in parts, it’s an amazingly layered study of women in the 18th century – repressed, smart, ambitious, mind-numbingly bored with their place in life and doing anything they can to have some semblance of control in their lives and destinies. If Marquise were a man doing what she did, she’d have been celebrated in society. And that is the point of the film and of her performance.
Glenn lost because her screen time was significantly more limited than the other nominees, and until the very end, it’s a very controlled performance, not loud or over the top and certainly not as emotionally exposed – but in many ways, more technically difficult. The power of the performance only grew more potent with time. And even more relevant in this age of female power, female choices and subjugation. This is Glenn’s loss and I think the one that hurt the most.
1988 was also one of the best years in Best Actress nominations history, where any of the 4 actresses can plausibly win in any other year and it’d have been well-deserved. The only exception being Melanie Griffith, who was very charming and likable and a big shining star in the making in 1988 – but her career trajectory since then really demonstrated her limitations and mediocrity as an actress. In no way did she rise up to the power of the other 4 performances. I’d argue that Susan Sarandon, Judy Davis, Christine Lahti, Shirley MacLaine (in that order), even Carmen Maura, would have made better nominees in 1988 in place of Griffith.
And for people who kept saying that Geena Davis was lead in The Accidental Tourist, she wasn’t. She wasn’t in the film very much and the entire film centered on William Hurt’s inner turmoil and grief. It is possible for a film not to have a leading actress or actor. Both GEENA Davis and Kathleen Turner’s characters were supporting performances, and neither deserved to be nominated. (Michelle Pfeiffer should have won for Dangerous Liaisons.)
Jodie gave a raw and authentic performance that did not whitewash the character or made it more sentimental than it needed to be. The strength of her performance is that she was determined not to make the character into a typical movie victim with a capital V. She was v good even though the film surrounding her was very weak, especially in the second half when it turned into a typical TV-movie-of-the-week courtroom drama which really diluted the power of her work. It’s a film that not too many people cared to remember 30 years on.
Meryl was excellent in A Cry in the Dark. Again totally discontent in making Lindy Chamberlain into a victim. She was as unlikable as they come, and as a result, made it such a complex and multi-dimensional portrayal that’s a constant dilemma for the audience picking a side to lean on (is she villain or victim?). The film made its choice pretty clear that it believed Lindy Chamberlain to be innocent. Meryl made it infinitely more interesting and challenging for the viewer. And you completely understand why the character was so vilified in Australia at the time.
Finally, this was supposed to be Sigourney Weaver’s year with 2 high-profile roles in prestige films. And in any other year, she might actually have won them both like she did at the Globes. Her work in Gorillas in the Mist dripped with such passion and love and anger bordering on madness and hysteria, and you understand why her character evolved the way it did. Some people complained that she overdid it in some of the more over-the-top scenes that made Dian Fossey seem crazy but I think it’s entirely intended in keeping with the character arc. For Fossey to inspire such love among animal activists and fear and threat among the locals and commercial hunters in 2 extremes require a provocative reading that captures the obsession that defined her life but also destroyed her in the end.
In an ideal world, Glenn Close should have won for Dangerous Liaisons as the best performance she has ever given in her entire legendary career, Jodie Foster for the one she won for The Silence of the Lambs, Meryl had Oscars for Kramer vs Kramer and Sophie’s Choice (and she certainly deserved 2 more supporting Oscars for Adaptation and her “supporting” work in A Devil Wears Prada), and Sigourney Weaver for Aliens was eons more deserving than Marlee Marlin in 1986 (and still the BEST female action hero EVER committed on film 35 years later) – In Weaver’s hands, this was not a genre film about a woman battling Aliens, this was a film about the formidable, affirming and destructive force of motherhood. For Matlin to top that is one of Oscar’s more embarrassing choices.
ReplyCopy URL1. Close
2. Streep
3. Foster
4. Griffith
Not seen WeaverGlenn and Meryl are at the top of their games in their respective movies and are above the rest by miles. In the end, Glenn had a bigger impact on me, not to mention, it’s her best performance to date. The final minutes alone, should’ve locked her for the Oscar.
ReplyCopy URLI’m inclined to say Streep but I feel like I should revisit Close’s work. I have Close winning the year before for FATAL ATTRACTION and I also strongly consider giving it to her for GARP.
Griffith is an easy fifth place selection.
1. Streep
2. Close
3. Weaver
4. Foster
5. GriffithReplyCopy URL“The art of making art is putting it together...”
One of the best years in terms of competition. Jodie Foster is very good in The Accused but I would have awarded Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas In The Mist or Glenn Close in Dangerous Liasons. Another thing: I would have replaced Melanie Griffith (quite good but not excellent in Working Girls) with Christine Lahti in Running On Empty.
ReplyCopy URL1) Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons
Looking back Glenn Close.
Glenn’s 2 wins should have been for this and Garp.
It’s Glenn Close by a mile in this category. Controlled, tragic, even hysterical in parts, it’s an amazingly layered study of women in the 18th century – repressed, smart, ambitious, mind-numbingly bored with their place in life and doing anything they can to have some semblance of control in their lives and destinies. If Marquise were a man doing what she did, she’d have been celebrated in society. And that is the point of the film and of her performance.
Definitely Glenn Close.
1. Close 2. Streep 3. Foster 4. Griffith Not seen Weaver Glenn and Meryl are at the top of their games in their respective movies and are above the rest by miles. In the end, Glenn had a bigger impact on me, not to mention, it’s her best performance to date. The final minutes alone, should’ve locked her for the Oscar.
ReplyCopy URLSolidarity with the striking writers. Pay them the wages they are owed for bringing us the content we are all on here because of!
1. Meryl Streep, A Cry In The Dark
2. Sigourney Weaver, Gorillas In The Mist
3. Jodie Foster, The Accused
4. Glenn Close, Dangerous Liaisons
5. Melanie Griffith, Working GirlSorry guys, I’m not a fan of Close in general. I am a fan of Weaver and Foster, but they both trail far behind Streep here in one of her absolute best performances.
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