Golden Cornea Awards 2011: The Supporting Actresses

Hm, this is perhaps my most "alternative" category, as almost none of my top five received as much mainstream praise as they perhaps deserved. I do think it was a very strong year though, with a really fantastic variety of performances from a whole group of fantastic ladies. So, my personal favorites!

5. Amy Adams - "The Fighter"

I honestly think Amy Adams can do no wrong, though playing against type seemed like a risky gamble for her. However, she totally pulls it off and then some. Charlene is such an interesting character, thanks heavily to Adams's complex and multilayered performance. She never takes the easy way out and even through her thick accent she has an irresistible heart and moxie that transcends the typical "supportive girlfriend" role that she was given.

4. Dale Dickey - "Winter's Bone"

Dickey's performance is simply frightening as Merab. She's a conflicted character - it's obvious that she cares about Ree, but her loyalty to her family comes first. Just watch as Dickey changes from protective matron to helpful friend from beginning to the end of the movie, it's a fantastic arc. Her haunting and expressive eyes seal the deal.

3. Naomi Watts - "Mother and Child"

"Mother and Child" is, as I mentioned before, full of fantastic performances. But Naomi Watts is particularly notable because of how much her performance simply should not have worked. On paper, her arc is borderline ridiculous. However, Watts makes her character powerfully real, human and believable. Her change from beginning to end is simply beautiful to watch and that elevator scene...perfection.

2. Ellen Wong - "Scott Pilgrim VS the World"

You can read my full thoughts on her here. Simply, Wong steals the movie from the rest of the uber-talented cast and creates an unbelievably loveable, beautifully sensitive and perfectly funny. I just can't get enough!

1. Jacki Weaver - "Animal Kingdom"

Oh my goodness, I can't even begin to describe this performance in words. Weaver is always in the background, always watching over her children, always an ever present force that drives the rest of her family. She's not perfect - she's manipulative, she's definitely a criminal, but she's no villain. Above all she loves her sons and will do anything for them. Weaver's Smurf is so effortlessly complex that her motives and actions can simply not be shaken from your mind. Weaver is truly a force of nature.

Honorable Mentions:

Okay, there will be a lot, so prepare yourselves. In "Black Swan", Mila Kunis slides effortlessly in and out of each of her scenes, with a natural ease that is unmatchable, while Barbara Hershey is a frighteningly powerful and even sympathetic force onscreen; Rebecca Hall is just the right amount of pathetic and loveable in "Please Give"; Kirsten Dunst single handedly saves "All Good Things" with a devastating and truly emotive performance (cast her NOW!). Dianne Wiest is fantastic as embodied grief in "Rabbit Hole"; Kerry Washington gives a wonderful, and perhaps the most interesting, performance in "Mother and Child", even when her character's being a total bitch; Marion Cotillard provides the complete heart and soul of "Inception" and her Mal is a fascinating force of primal emotion; Melanie Laurent's role in "The Concert" may be small but she does so much with it; I wasn't much a fan of "City Island" but Emily Mortimer is joyously cute and yet perfectly complicated; I thought Melissa Leo's performance in "The Fighter" was kind of all surface no substance but my oh my, what a surface it was.

Almost Made It:

Kristen Stewart in "The Runaways", Lucy Punch in "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger", Tammy Blanchard in "Rabbit Hole", Helena Bonham Carter in "Alice in Wonderland", Anna Kendrick in "Scott Pilgrim VS The World", Ann Guilbert in "Please Give"

Wow, so many ladies to mention I just couldn't stop myself. In case I haven't covered someone, who were your favorites? You know the drill, comments below! :)

Supporting Actress Blogathon 2010: Ellen Wong in "Scott Pilgrim VS The World"

It's nearly impossible to single anyone out from the stellar ensemble in "Scott Pilgrim VS The World", especially when it comes to supporting actresses. Every single member of the cast adds so much to the overall movie that when thinking back on who shined the most, there's no real correct answer. Mary Elizabeth Winstead was the perfect fantasy girlfriend and allowed her shady past to shine through her indie exterior; Anna Kendrick was a bundle of adorableness as Scott's sister; Allison Pill delivered her lines with masterfully deadpan sardonicism, and when the true emotion breaks through it's utterly affecting; and Brie Larson, Aubrey Plaza and Mae Whitman have some of the greatest moments in the film.

However, there is one actress in "Scott Pilgrim" who, in my opinion, does shine just a little bit brighter than the others, and that is Ellen Wong as the seventeen-year-old Knives Chau.

Knives is a student at a private, Catholic high school that the 23 year old title character Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) began dating some time after a messy breakup, much to the dismay of his friends, who want him to ditch what they call his "fake high school girlfriend" and move on. However, Scott dreads the thought of ditching the sweet and innocent little Knives and even

when he meets his dream girl Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) he can't break it off.

We first meet Knives at the very beginning of the movie, where she comes to one of Scott's band practices. From the get go, she completely geeks out about the band and her absolutely unflinching adoration of Scott is made perfectly clear. Throughout the first part of the film, we get an overview of her and Scott's relationship, which consists of dishing about high school drama and playing arcade games. In these scenes, Wong gives Knives an appropriate level of over-the-top immaturity and bubbliness without being annoying - making the audience instantly fall in love with her.

And that's why what I consider her best scene is so heartbreaking. Knives and Scott are doing their regular platonic activites - but this time, we know that Scott plans to break up with her. Knives begins to invite him over to dinner at her house, saying that she wants him to meet her parents. As he continually makes excuses, she keeps affirming her love for him, Wong making each line transform gradually from having a childlike infatuation to being more and more completely sincere. When she finally confesses that she is "in LOOOOOVE" we all feel terrible inside, knowing what is to come - and when Scott does finally deliver the news, Wong's reaction is so perfectly poignant.

However! All is not lost - Wong returns in later scenes as an embittered (but still totally lovable) Knives who wants revenge on Scott. She flirts with Scott's friend Neil, and dyes half of her hair blue in an attempt to counteract Ramona's dyed hair. However, behind this facade lies the Knives we all know and love. Her completely genuine reading of the line "I read your blog" to Brie Larson's character gives me chills.

Of course, it's that very last line that seals the deal. "Go ahead, I'm too cool for you anyway." Wong's delivery is absolutely pitch-perfect. The tiny tinge of sadness in her eyes, the reconciliation in her voice, and that absolutely irresistible smile all work together to make Knives's last words some of the most memorable in the film.

Though it may not seem like much, Knives is absolutely in no way an easy character to play. The energetic naivetee at the beginning of the movie could have totally come off clingy and annoying, and the character arc that she experiences throughout the film (from sweet high school girl, to vengeful ex, to total badass ninja girl, to an even more lovable and more mature young woman) could have completely fallen apart.

But, thanks to Ellen Wong's, it's impossible to see this movie and not feel love and sympathy for Knives, and for many people I know (including myself) she ends up leaving the biggest impression on the movie. She's endearing, funny, naive, and perfect - a fully fledged character out of what could have been a comic-book caricature. Wong's work may not get her anywhere remotely close to an Oscar nomination, but it's still an absolutely fantastic display of supporting actressing - and I sincerely hope that post "Scott Pilgrim", Ellen Wong gets some more opportunities to show the world what she's capable of.

This post is for StinkyLulu's awesome annual Supporting Actress Blogathon. Go check it out and see what other bloggers thought of the wealth of amazing supporting actresses this year!