Kathy Bates' Academy Award
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SimplemindedSociety — 12 years ago(June 07, 2013 02:36 AM)
'That is the point of my comments; that the performance wasn't played out as though Bates was always acting naturally or being spontaneous and in the moment'
exactly.
People with erratic behavior still have moments of neutrality. I felt a self-consciousness in her acting. The trick to acting is knowing what the lines are ,but acting as if you don't until you speak those lines which you "forgot" -
rascal67 — 12 years ago(June 07, 2013 07:17 PM)
You guys are harsh critics. I just never saw these flaws that you all saw in her performance.
Wasn't my intention to upset you, but you did start the topic and I responded with my comments. Please don't let this diminish your viewing enjoyment of watching Bates act in this film though as this is just my personal opinion. I have other issues with this film adaptation of Stephen King's novel, so I can be quite critical of the film as a whole.
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rascal67 — 12 years ago(July 05, 2013 01:55 AM)
The last time I was really enraptured by a Best Actress win, was for SUSAN SARANDON for DEAD MAN WALKING in 95'. There was some pretty stiff competition that year as well.
Also loved that JODIE FOSTER won for THE ACCUSED-88' and for SILENCE OF THE LAMBS-91' and EMMA THOMPSON for HOWARD'S END-92'. -
Mimapopaluck — 12 years ago(July 11, 2013 08:45 PM)
She absolutely deserved her Oscar. Her win is one of my favourite Best Actress wins, along with Frances McDormand for Fargo and Charlize Theron for Monster.
Agreed.
I am a little perplexed why anyone would think Kathy was undeserving of her win. -
SimplemindedSociety — 12 years ago(July 09, 2013 01:30 AM)
'Deserved. Charming one second, chilling the next.'
Yes, but how is that so extraordinary? She planned that in advance; doesn't take much effort to calculate "I should be charming here, so I'll play it mean instead", and "I normally would be mean here, so I'll be sweet here"
It's ok, nobody gets it. It's not what the actor does, but how they do it. -
rascal67 — 12 years ago(July 09, 2013 05:28 PM)
It's hard for an actor not to plan in advance the script plans in advance.
It can't help that contrivance, as that is part of the process of all aspects of the film making. The devil is in the details though and the manner in which it is delivered.
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InherentlyYours — 9 years ago(August 05, 2016 01:45 AM)
It's hard for an actor not to plan in advance the script plans in advance.
Not that type of "planned". Of course the actor knows their lines, but the excellence is the ability of sounding like you're saying the lines for the first time, as if you don't know ("forgot") what your next lines are. This was mentioned on the Streep board also. There was some legendary actor who phased it well, though I can't remember who. For example, Lucille Ball was a master at it. -
NorthernLad — 12 years ago(November 15, 2013 08:15 PM)
Oh yes, she deserved it. She made me believe she was psychotic and when Paul started beating the sh!t out of her at the end, I was cheering him on the entire time.
If you love someone, set them free. If they come back, nobody else wanted them either. -
Joanna_Movie_Fan — 12 years ago(November 25, 2013 07:21 PM)
Yes I think she deserved it. I read the book earlier in the year, and I really can't picture any one else in the role. Kathy was perfect at going from bubbly and fun #1 fan to obsessed fan. Definitely one of my favorite performances of a psycho ever.
Why, they told me to take a streetcar named Desire -
sgallag-94610 — 10 years ago(March 05, 2016 06:03 AM)
Yes. I'm surprised she won for Misery though, not that it wasn't deserving, but the academy has a tendency to favour boring unmemorable dramas that no one remembers a few years later over more intense roles. I'm surprised they didn't opt for Woodward in that case, especially as, looking over, she won all of the critics awards, but then won no major awards either and Kathy won 2/3. I think Misery is one of those films that wouldn't work well with a lesser actress, especially given how cartoonish the character is, and it is entirely about acting, so if she got it wrong it could have ended her film career. But thankfully she got it right and is a classic villain for the ages and I do feel is a 'one of a kind' type of win. Looking at the nominees, only Annie Wilkes and Julia for Pretty Woman stand the test of time 25 years later and the other three from that year have been long forgotten, so the academy made the right choice in the end. I do feel her Oscar could have come from a number of roles and still been deserved, but I'm glad they went down this route for a change.
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InherentlyYours — 10 years ago(March 10, 2016 11:16 AM)
'I'm surprised she won for Misery though, not that it wasn't deserving'
The best performance is not contingent on standing the test of time, but the best acting for that year. It was one of the weakest years I can recall.
The character was not cartoonish, since people like her really exist, and there were other actresses that could have done an equal, if not better, job. If it was cartoonish, that was due to her dubious acting choices,and Reiner's mediocre direction.
Even a psycho has a middle range. Bates was "showing" us a performance, not "being" the performance. A lack of intimacy with her co-star; not intimacy as in love, but connecting with her acting partner. I didn't feel like I was eavesdropping on real people -
rascal67 — 10 years ago(March 10, 2016 06:05 PM)
Looking at the nominees, only Annie Wilkes and Julia for Pretty Woman stand the test of time 25 years later and the other three from that year have been long forgotten
PRETTY WOMAN is shallow and predictable Hollywood, so that goes without saying why it is popular and panders to deluded and simpleminded women. As for MISERY, I would say it has more of a cult following. I really don't think Bates's performance is as readily remembered or revered, as say someone like Glenn Close in FATAL ATTRACTION-87', who gave the superior performance over Bates, as a mentally unhinged woman. I would opt for Angelica Huston in THE GRIFTERS over Bates, as I find her performance more believable and real. Minority opinion, but I also prefer to watch that film over MISERY, which has too many flaws for my liking.
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