Here are the five nominees: (Winner in Bold)
Biggest Snub:
Pat Heywood – Romeo and Juliet
My Overall Thoughts:
This is a somewhat lackluster year of nominated performances despite having some very talented actresses among them, but one of these nominees is so much better than the rest.
My Rankings:
Supporting Actress
5. Lynn Carlin
4. Sondra Locke
3. Estelle Parsons
2. Kay Medford
1. Ruth Gordon
Movies
5. Faces – Interesting premise that just isn’t presented well enough. The characters are not sympathetic at all and in some ways feel way too superficial which makes it so hard to care about what will happen to any of them. Yes, this film was probably quite groundbreaking when it came out, but now, it just doesn’t work at all. Cast is quite good and they give somewhat realistic performances, but its too difficult to care about any of them by the way they are presented. Cassel and Carlin were both nominated for Oscar for their supporting roles, but neither was able to win.
4. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter – Arkin does a wonderful job as a deaf mute, but the story itself isn’t captivating enough. Perhaps the novel this is based on was much better at describing the feelings of the characters who must deal with the changing circumstances around them whether they be racial charged or just dealing with overcoming loneliness and boredom.
3. Rachel, Rachel – Woodward is great here, but the story gets a bit to weird for my taste along the way. Liked the way they explored a woman’s awakening from a closed off individual without any prospects or desires for the future into a dreamer. Overall, this film feels quite average and doesn’t evoke enough enthusiasm as I had hoped from Woodward and Newman (who directed it).
2. Funny Girl – Has some really funny scenes that are weighed equally with some touching and even dramatic scenes, but goes on a bit too long and drags a bit towards the end. Streisand is truly great in this film, but I didn’t think she and Sharif had enough chemistry to be paired together. Has some great songs that help it along the way. Streisand definitely deserved her Oscar for this role.
1. Rosemary’s Baby – I actually must admit that after seeing it, I’m not sure that this can be considered an outright horror movie, but rather more of a thriller with a supernatural slant to it. I knew the basic premise and therefore wasn’t too shocked when certain events happened. It’s quite possible that back in the late 60’s, these kind of scenes and themes were considered much more taboo or shocking than they are nowadays. I liked the way that Polanski shot the most famous scene where both we and the main character are not 100% sure what is real and what is not. As a parent, certain aspects of the movie bothered me much more than they would have years ago. The whole process of deciding to have and carrying a child for nine months is really felt here because of the anxiety of the characters and their wishes and hopes for everything to be alright especially during difficult stages of the pregnancy. I liked the way that the ending is left a bit ambiguous leaving the moviegoer to decide certain things for themselves.
Do I agree with the Oscar winner? – Yep! RG was clearly the best of this crop and was quite deserving of this award.
Let me know what you think about these films and my rankings!
MovieRob 