I don't get why Francis McDormand won an Oscar for this.
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GuyOnTheLeft — 11 years ago(November 26, 2014 05:08 AM)
Emily Watson for sure. Brenda Blethyn was awesome too. Actually, almost any of those (I haven't seen
Marvin's Room
).
I love this movie overall, mind you; but Frances McDormand really whiffed in her attempt to do a Minnesota accent. If you have never lived in Minnesota, it may seem like a great performancebut the non-Minnesotan who really did a much better job IMO is William H. Macy.
My top 250:
http://www.flickchart.com/Charts.aspx?user=SlackerInc&perpage=250 -
franzkabuki — 11 years ago(December 12, 2014 03:13 AM)
Acting performances don't necessarily live and die by the proficiency with accents (and McDormand's way of speaking here was most likely a deliberate exaggeration for effect).
"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan -
scottsteaux63-735-780576 — 11 years ago(May 12, 2014 08:40 AM)
I remember rooting for Brenda Blethyn myself, but I was not unhappy with McDormand's win since it is so rare for a performance that is mostly comic to win an Oscar.
And you can add to this the fact that, like Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, we don't see Marge until about half an hour into the film; in fact we don't even know she exists until the telephone wakes her up. But after that she is really the center of everything that unfolds, and McDormand is brilliant at playing a woman who is at one and the same time the nice lady next door who is expecting a baby and an intelligent and competent police officer who gradually figures out what is going on through her interactions with the other characters.
This one was a tough call for me because I loved Brenda Blethyn in Secrets and Lies but Fargo and McDormand were easily equal to it.
Never mess with a middle-aged, Bipolar queen with AIDS and an attitude problem!
roflol (><) -
armanmarok — 11 years ago(July 27, 2014 03:47 AM)
Simple: Frances' performance was subtle and funny as hell. I believe it is THE female comic performance of the 1990's. No one was better than Frances that year.
Hell, I was pleasantly surprised to know she had won. Oscar liked heavy dramatic acting so I thought either Emily Watson or Brenda Blethyn was going to be given the award, but thankfully for once Oscar got it right.I saw it. A thing that was cold and dry. It was me. - La Belle Noiseuse
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armanmarok — 11 years ago(January 03, 2015 08:25 PM)
I don't know if it were done to make up for The English Patient sweep, but just like many Oscar awards, does anyone even remember The English Patient anymore these days? That is one mediocre film whereas Fargo is still frequently mentioned amongst the best black comedies ever made.
But Oscars & Cannes tend to award mediocrity more than excellence, so I don't really put much weight on film awards anymore these days unless the winners are REALLY deserving (like Frances for Fargo).My Top 100 Favorite Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls071561044/ -
brockmeeks — 11 years ago(January 03, 2015 10:17 PM)
No, The English Patient is good for what it is, Love Story/Epic, but this was the beginning of Wienstiens approaching the campaign with both barrels. It worked again with Shakespeare in Love two years later. Poor Blanchett. And SIL is a a BP winner.
In a perfect word Fargo would have won BP. Thankfully the Coens are consistent and did take home the big Oscars eventually.
I don't know who the front runner was, since the nominees are very strong. I could start a thread over on the Awards board and see. The way everyone stood up you would have thought an old veteran of acting had one. They must have had a lot of respect for Mcdormand's performance.
It also picked up screenplay so it was likely (not definite) the runner-up for BP. It's just speculation, but that's not bad company to be in.
Saving Private Ryan
Brokeback Mountain
The Social Network
Fargo
Gravity
Goodfellas
The Right Stuff
Raging Bull
A Place in the Sun
or
A Streetcar Named Desire. Who can say?! Both are so good. I'd give the edge to Streetcar because of the 3 acting wins, however Mr. Stevens won director.
All great movies that could have won BP in a different year. -
armanmarok — 11 years ago(January 05, 2015 01:30 AM)
No, The English Patient is good for what it is, Love Story/Epic, but this was the beginning of Wienstiens approaching the campaign with both barrels.
Well, if I ever make a top 10 films of 1996, The English Patient would be anywhere near number 10. I really don't think it's a good film at all.
P.S: Ah, Harvey Weinstein, the embodiment of everything wrong with overpowered producers.
It worked again with Shakespeare in Love two years later. Poor Blanchett. And SIL is a a BP winner.
Yeah, that was hard to take. The 1999 Oscars, IMO, was the worst Oscar of the 1990s on so many levels.
BTW, though I know this isn't a popular opinion, I think the one actually robbed wasn't KB, but Fernanda Montenegro.
In a perfect word Fargo would have won BP. Thankfully the Coens are consistent and did take home the big Oscars eventually.
Yeah, sadly in a year where I thought Paul Thomas Anderson should have taken the prize, LOL.
I don't know who the front runner was, since the nominees are very strong. I could start a thread over on the Awards board and see. The way everyone stood up you would have thought an old veteran of acting had one. They must have had a lot of respect for Mcdormand's performance.
Well, if I'm not mistaken, the last comic performance to win a Best Leading Actress Oscar was almost 20 years earlier when Diane Keaton won for Annie Hall, so that might play a part.
And not to mention, again, that Frances did THE female comic performance of the 1990s.My Top 100 Favorite Films:
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls071561044/ -
jones7418 — 9 years ago(May 17, 2016 04:47 PM)
McDormand didn't just out-act the other nominees, she got the Oscar because "Fargo" was one of the most popular of movies of the year. Blethyn was good but her film didn't do well at the box office. Emily Watson's role was little more than porn and Keaton already had her Oscar. Much as I loved Scott-Thomas in "The English Patient", her nomination should've been for supporting actress, just like Juliet Binoche.
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FearlessOneDay — 9 years ago(December 26, 2016 11:28 AM)
I wondered about this, too, when she won. Oscars usually go to the actors that suffer the most (like Leo in The Revanant) and this role doesn't really push McDormand's acting chops. I mean, she doesn't even hurl the "F" word. On the other hand, Margie is a character for the ages. If a list is compiled of the greatest, most memorable female characters in the history of cinema, Margie will be on it.
And if Diane Keaton can win an Oscar for Annie Hall.