Heather deserved an Oscar nomination for this role

Come to think of it, yeah, you're right. Why on earth didn't she get one? The kid pulled off an amazingly accurate portrayal.

I agree, she was fantastic! There was not a single false note in her performance.

She didn't deserve a nomination because she was essentially playing herself.

---
Emojis=💩 Emoticons=

It was a VERY strong year for best actress (whether you count it as a 1995 or '96 film, when it got a theatrical release), so there's no way she could've been nominated. She was fantastic, though, and I'm glad she won an Independent Spirit Award. My all-time favorite performance by a child actor was also from 1996: Victoire Thivisol in "Ponette."

Without you, today's emotions would be the scurf of yesterday's.

I don't know or care about the politics of oscar nominations, but she was fantastic. Only 12 when she did the role, right? I've seen this a few times, just re-watched yesterday and she's very impressive. I like that they found an actual girl the right age to play the part rather than just putting goofy glasses on an older kid.