Did They Get it Right? – Best Supporting Actress – Oscars 2000

Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)

Judi Dench (Chocolat)

Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock)

Kate Hudson (Almost Famous)

Frances McDormand (Almost Famous)

Julie Walters (Billy Elliot)

Biggest Snub:

Ziyi Zhang – Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

My Overall Thoughts:

This is a year with 5 really good performances, but two of them really stand out among the rest as being the most powerful.

My Rankings:

Supporting Actress

5. Judi Dench
4. Kate Hudson
3. Frances McDormand
2. Marcia Gay Harden
1. Julie Walters

Movies

4. Chocolat – Interesting idea that just doesn’t work through most of the film. Great performances by Binoche, Molina and Dench can’t help make this story more enjoyable. The chemistry between Binoche and Depp is non-existent which makes the love story moot. The atmosphere is done well but the way that it is presented as a fable takes away from what is meant as a morality play. Still not sure how this film got nominated for Best Picture.
3. Pollock – They do a nice job of showing the life and work of this famous abstract painter. We get to see the process that he needs in order to get his work done even if it takes much time. The film develops that main characters well, but we still feel as if things should have delves even deeper into the personality of Pollock in order to get an even better understanding of the his life and work. Harris is superb in the title role and really does an amazing job giving us an idea of the hardships he faced throughout his life. Harden is also great as his devout manager and wife who does the best she can o try and keep him on the right path that could eventually lead to success. Both Harris and Harden were nominated for Oscars for their respective roles and Harden was able to squeak out a win with her performance.
2. Billy Elliot – Interesting idea that tells a great tale of someone trying to follow his dream even if those around him are against it. Bell is superb in the title role and you really can tell how much his character is torn by his own ambitions and what is expected from him by those close to him. The idea of basing this in the 80’s amid the mining strike helps make this story feel even more poignant and important.
1. Almost Famous – Very interesting story. Hard to believe tho that this seemingly happened to Crowe himself. Very good coming of age film with an unbelievable soundtrack.

Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Yes and No!  Both MGH and JW are the best of the crop here and either could have won even though I think JW played her role slightly better.

Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!