The Final Conclusion - Best Actress 1974

About the field: I don't mind telling you that I was a bit disappointed by this field. Of course it's very strong, but I wouldn't say that this is the stongest one ever. Nevertheless, it was again very versatile and I saw five great performances. Nobody got under 4 Meryls (though I was tempted to go lower with my last one and go higher with my #4), so that makes it the strongest year in terms of Meryls so far (though I prefer 1959 to it). My #1 was not as easy as I thought since sometimes I thought that my #2 could be #1 too (it should have been released a year later). OK, so now it's high time to see the ranking:

5. Faye Dunaway in Chinatown
Her whole performance was not substantial enough to completely grab me and sometimes she paled a bit.Nevertheless, Faye was able to put on a very memorable and mysterious performance, which can certainly impress everyoneand totally fits her brilliant-brilliant movie.

4. Valerie Perrine in Lenny
I can say that I saw a very-very good performance, which might be more of supporting, but has such a huge effect on you with it's emotional honesty and naturality that you are certainly amazed. Memorable work, worthy of a nomination and deserving of a good rating.

3. Diahann Carroll in Claudine
Although the heavy drama was missing and her material was not the best one ever, Diahann was fantastically real as a struggling woman in Harlem. This nomination was richly deserved and in a weaker year, it could have earned Carroll an Oscar win.


2. Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence
Gena Rowlands gave a breathtaking, gutwrenching performance, which is not for entertainment purpuses, but it's thought-provoking, stunning and sometimes unbearable to watch. Rowland's courage and talent really payed off here as she was able to give one of the greatest performances ever put on film. Haunting and terrifying job.

 
1. Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
She totally grew on me in these few days. I can honestly say that I saw a very-very fantastic performance by an actress I love and I was quite impressed by her. It's not her greatest performance, but it's still an unforgettable and excellent portrayal of an ordinary woman.


So I can proudly announce
that my winner is...  
Ellen Burstyn in 
Alice doesn't Live Here Anymore

You got this one, Ellen

So the ranking of the already reviewed years:

1. 1974
2. 1959
3. 2009
4. 1963
5. 1948
6. 1940
7. 1998

So, I've already planned my next 2 years. But since you know my next one, this time there are no clues (I may only start it next Tuesday)! But I can take suggestions for my 3rd one.

Valerie Perrine in Lenny

Valerie Perrine received her only Best Actress nomination for playing Honey Bruce, the wife of the tragic comedian Lenny Bruce in the movie Lenny. Perrine also won many critics' awards that year, but she got them for her supporting work. I'm quite certain that had she been nominated in the supporting category, she would have won as it was a lousy year there. This is again a good example of bad campaigning, which probably made her the fourth runner-up.

Lenny is a very great, but depressing movie about the scandalous and tragic life of the outspoken comedian Lenny Bruce. I certainly got a lot out of it and enjoyed it (as much as you can enjoy a depressing movie. All the nominations are justified in my humble opinion. Bob Fosse was a great filmmaker and even though this movie is not even close to Cabaret or All that Jazz, it's still a work of great quality with exceptional performances. Especially Dustin Hoffman, whom I consider the greatest actor of his generation. He plays Lenny with such passion. Many people think that he did not identify with Lenny enough, but I thought that he was fascinatingly disappeared in his role.



And yes, there's Valerie Perrine. There's a very tricky question about her which is very-very arguable: is she leading or supporting? At the beginning of the movie, she totally controls it and has even more to do than Dustin Hoffman, however towards the end she totally disappears and after she's out of jail, she's there for about 10 minutes. I still believe that the supporting campaign would have made more sense (I definitely would have voted for her there). In a way she's the definition of the supporting role of the wife of a genious. I loved that unlike, say, Jennifer Connelly in A Beautiful Mind, Perrine gave a very layered and complex performance of such a character. These wife roles are always very tricky (they work very well with the Academy either way), but Perrine was able to avoid all the traps.



First of all, I loved the kind of emotional honesty with which she approached this character. Many say it and it's certainly true: she's the heart of the movie. Personally, I preferred Hoffman to her, however I could never really deny her emotional impact on me. She's not using many tools, she never goes technical, she always relies strictly on the emotions. I certainly appreciated her rawness and remarkable naturality. She totally became this woman without seeming forced and unreal.



She's unbelievably credible in the interview scenes, showing how simple this woman really is. I loved when she was talking about I'll Cry Tomorrow and corrects the interviewer that it's Susan Hayward while breaking down on-screen. That's one of the most unforgettable moments that I've ever seen.



However, I also must say that sometimes she paled a bit as the movie really put her into the background. This is definitely not her fault and yet it affected the whole of her performance and that's probably why most people feel that it's a supporting performance. She has the heart and impact of a supporting player and she does that quite beautifully.



Probably her greatest scene is a long and desperate telephone call when she's arrested while on drugs. She shows so many emotions with her face and is totally hearbreaking to watch. There's a woman humiliating herself to another person while showing desperation, anger, fear and devastation. As I said Perrine masterfully deals with the emotions of this character.



So to sum up, I can say that I saw a very-very good performance, which might be more of supporting, but has such a huge effect on you with it's emotional honesty and naturality that you are certainly amazed. Memorable work, worthy of a nomination, and deserving of a good rating.

So what do you think? What place do you think she will have in my ranking?

The next year...

Until I'm able to start 2002 (which will be next week and thanks for offering help, it's a bit of scheduling problem I have) I do a very much talked about and strong year, whose line-up includes five very famous and loved performances, two of them might be even legendary. This time I did not give you clues, but I hope this year will be as exciting as people say. So right now you might have found out that it's 1974.

The nominees were:

• Ellen Burstyn in Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
• Diahann Carroll in Claudine
• Faye Dunaway in Chinatown
• Valerie Perrine in Lenny
• Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence

So what do you predict for my ranking? What's yours and who's your pick? The predicting contest is on.