Did They Get it Right? – Best Supporting Actress – Oscars 1994

Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)

Rosemary Harris (Tom & Viv)

Helen Mirren (The Madness of King George)

Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction)

Jennifer Tilly (Bullets Over Broadway)

Dianne Wiest (Bullets Over Broadway)

Biggest Snub:

Robin Wright – Forrest Gump

My Overall Thoughts:

This isn’t the most competitive year of nominees and one of them dominated the awards season. Two of the other nominees still had a chance to overtake her in the final stretch.

My Rankings:

Supporting Actress

5. Rosemary Harris
4. Jennifer Tilly
3. Helen Mirren
2. Dianne Wiest
1. Uma Thurman

Movies

4. Tom & Viv – Another really boring period drama that I had trouble getting into. Dafoe and Richardson are both excellent actors yet they feel wasted in this really boring and slow moving film. They fail to present things in an interesting way which hurts things so much. The supporting cast is likewise wasted here since none of them manage to help make things more interesting to watch unfold. Harris received an Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress for her work here but didn’t win.
3. The Madness of King George – Interesting film that gives us a rare view of what possibly happened when the Monarchy of England lost his mind not long after they lost the Revolutionary War. Hawthorne is quite memorable in the lead role and does a wonderful job keeping things seem realistic. Parts of the film move along a bit too slowly, but it still is put together so well that it remains both interesting and entertaining. Hawthorne definitely deserved his Best Actor nomination for this role. Love the way that they portray the internal politics of the day.
2. Bullets Over Broadway – Typical Allen fare that works more than not. The dialogue is superbly written and the rapid-fire way that the film moves along is great. The cast is perfect here and it’s no surprise that 3 cast members got Oscar nominations for this film. Allen does a wonderful job keeping the characters interesting the entire time. The film drags a bit in the middle, but manages to recover nicely by the end.
1. Pulp Fiction – Superb anthology of modern gangster stories. Tarantino does an amazing job putting it all together. The non-linear aspects of this film are done amazingly and if one pays close attention you can find multiple connections between the various stories being told. The cast is perfectly chosen with Jackson and Travolta as the stand outs.  The dialogue is such a pleasure to listen to and its clear that Tarantino knows how to keep things interesting and realistic throughout.  Who else would think of having two hitmen discuss McDonald’s.  This is Tarantino’s best film in scope even if Reservoir Dogs (1992) is also superb due to its simplicity.  This is the film that propelled Tarantino to the very top and made him one of the elite’s in Hollywood because his style is so very different from everyone else.

Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Yes and No!  DW does a great job in another Woody Allen created role and was a deserving winner, but UT gave a much more powerful performance in PF and HM is also great in TMoKG.

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