2002 Best Supporting Actress

http://feelthefilms.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/2002-landmark-year-for-su pporting-actress/

2002 was a rare year in supporting actress where all three of these ladies are all-time top 30 worthy. The fact puzzles me that Queen Latifa and Kathy Bates got in over some of the women I nominate. Latifa was fine and produced a good number in Chicago, but Kathy Bates didn't do anything to make me take notice in About Schmidt. And others such as Cameron Diaz in Gangs of New York does some decent work, but nothing that anyone else couldn't have done just as well or better. She was nominated, but winner wasn't? Reasons that pile up like that are why the Golden Globes have a reputation of a stooge. The Hours women (Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep, and Julianne Moore) are not supporting roles, they are each the lead of their own story and Moore's nomination shouldn't have happened. She should've gotten in Lead for The Hours and left out for Far from Heaven, if they wouldn't take both.

5th Runner-Up: Toni Collette in About a Boy- a tender depiction of a mother, and Collette's best work for my money.

4th Runner-Up: Renee Zellweger in White Oleander- the most heartwarming performance of the 2002 that masks the tragedy behind the warmth. I prefer Zellweger's portrayal here to Roxie Hart, by far and that's coming from a Chicago fan.

3rd Runner-Up: Sarah Michelle Gellar in Harvard Man- similar to, but trashier than, her work in Cruel Intentions, Gellar knows exactly how to play the pampered bitch. She owns this role, maybe even more than Kathryn because for the character to work that is required of her. She's the best thing about her film and is ends up with a sympathetic character.

2nd Runner-Up: Catherine Zeta-Jones in Chicago- though I still love her accomplishments here, it's gone down on my radar. Her theatrical skills in singing and dancing are undeniably impeccable, but her acting isn't what guides the performance and sometimes is less than inspired. However, what she does, she does extremely well.

1st Runner-Up: Meryl Streep in Adaptation - Streep's Orlean is surprisingly deep, sensitive, and thought-provoking. Watching Streep's performance her makes me very calm. Streep gets to explore different parts of a character that's tricky to make come together. She has so many subtleties in the first half that ignite the fire of dark comedy in the second.

WINNER: Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander- to me, she's in a whole other league than everyone present. Her character though offers her some material to work with isn't the best written role, but Pfeiffer makes Ingrid my favorite female movie villain ever. Pfeiffer's entire performance is grounded in darkness, control, and power and every time I watch her I feel like my body temperature drops 10 degrees. Her scenes with Renee Zellweger and the climax "truth" scene soar because of her work. How did she miss again? It's her career best performance and no other work she's done ever comes close to it.



Feel the Films: A Blog by R.C.S. -> http://feelthefilms.wordpress.com/