Oscar Watch: Best Actress
So Charlize Theron turned herself into a white trash woman for Monster. The press makes it sound like an amazing transformation, but it is just the reality of living for a lot of people. I'm not quite sure why I should be impressed that a pretty girl stopped trying to be pretty for a role. Yes, she's unrecognizable but, frankly, that should be part of the job of being a performer in a film. You should vanish into the role. If that means covering yourself with dirt and going on a steady diet of potato chips for several weeks, so be it. It's kind of part of the job. Know what I mean?
I saw an article in the New York Times a few weeks ago which, instead of being a review of Something's Gotta Give, was a lengthy piece extolling Diane Keaton's work in that film. The writer gushed on about Ms. Keaton's emotional fortitude and courage to do such a role and I realized that, if nominated for an Oscar (which was pretty much a certainty at that point), she would probably win. Hollywood enjoys rewarding its old guard royalty (which would explain Jack Nicolson's win for As Good As It Gets a few years ago).
That's my cynicism bleeding through. I really want Keisha Castle-Hughes to win for Whale Rider. We've been plowing through videos around here the last few weeks since the 70,000 channels available on cable serve up not much more than warm manure at any given hour of the day and night. Whale Rider was one of the films I got for Melissa to watch and found myself completely sucked in to as it unspooled. Keisha does an amazing job as Paikea, and the scene where she sings at the school performance is devastating.