Golden Cornea Awards 2011: The Actresses

Coming up with a top five for this category was a surprisingly simple task, since there were exactly five performances that really, really stood out to me this year. Of course, there were several women who didn't quite make the top five but would have been totally deserving - it was such a strong year. Anyway, the top five!

5. Kim Hye-Ja - "Mother"

When I first saw this film, the only adjective I could use to describe Kim's performance was operatic. The range of emotions she goes through to portray her character are so expansive and thus so marvelous to watch unfold. Her final shot is simply haunting - the entire performance is a magnificent piece of work.

4. Nicole Kidman - "Rabbit Hole"

Almost the polar opposite of Kim Hye-Ja, Kidman plays Becca with such a quiet force of emotion. Her cold exterior is never alienating and Kidman's handling of the long grief period her character experienced before the start of the movie is masterful. Kidman gives a simply beauiful performance - those park scenes are perfection.

3. Emma Stone - "Easy A"

Compared to the other women on this list, and many of the other fantastic performances that didn't make the top five, Stone's performance may seem a bit lightweight. Take a second look though, and you'll see that in "Easy A" Emma Stone delivers an absolutely brilliant, radiant comedic performance. She elevates every single aspect of the movie, and every single line from her mouth, every single facial expression, and every little twitch or bodily reaction is perfectly timed to achieve the ultimate comedic affect. A star-making turn that leaves you wanting more.

2. Annette Bening - "Mother and Child"

It's Bening's performance in "The Kids are All Right" that's been getting the most praise (and it is a fantastic performance) but it's her work in "Mother and Child" that I remember, and will remember, the most. Bening is perfect at being cold, even mean, but she knows Karen so, so well that it's impossible for us not to connect. The way she paces her performance is also great, so that the big emotional moment in her performance is truly heart wrenching. Limited screentime does not hinder this magnificent work.

1. Natalie Portman - "Black Swan"

It's hard to really formulate thoughts around this epic performance. Portman gives the performance of a lifetime as the mentally deteriorating Nina, balancing her innocent persona in the first act marvelously with her unraveling character in the second act. Even disregarding the physical effort that this performance required, Natalie Portman's complete immersion in her character hasn't got a single gap and is horrifying, beautiful, and awesome all at once. And that scene in the bathroom stall? Best acting all year.

Honorable Mentions:

It was difficult to not mention Michelle Williams who does beautiful, multilayered and age-spanning work in "Blue Valentine"; Greta Gerwig's quiet, non-actressy performance is so marvelously simple in "Greenberg" as she becomes the film's unlikely hero; Jennifer Lawrence carries "Winter's Bone" so well with a raw naturalism that is rarely seen done so well; Hailee Steinfeld shows acting skills beyond her years as she gives her character remarkable candor and yet, perfect subtlety.

Just Missed It:

Catherine Keener in "Please Give", Julianne Moore in "The Kids Are All Right", Rachel McAdams in "Morning Glory", Mary Elizabeth Winstead in "Scott Pilgrim Vs the World"

I Am Love, and a Perspective on Perspective

I think it'd be fair to call Luca Guadagnino's film "I Am Love" one of the most critically hypeds of the year. On the internet at the very least, it seems as though everybody who watches it falls head-over-heels with it. So, by the time I finally got around to watching it, I already had this expectation - this idea in my mind that I was going to be simply blown away. As a consequence of this expectation, I also developed a tinge of unwarranted bitterness towards the film. Quite simply, though I was expecting to be blown away, I think a subconscious part of me wanted to dislike the movie, so I could emerge as one of its few detractors.

This is, probably, why it took me so long to really develop an opinion on the film. Immediately after watching, though I was enthralled by the closing scene, I was already formulating what I believed to be the negatives in my head. Of course, it wasn't very easy to think of negatives, but I managed to scrounge a few up - "the story was cliche," I thought, cynically. "Too much melodrama - it's a boring premise cloaked in pretty cinematography and acting." I further went on to think, "if it wasn't Italian, and if Tilda Swinton wasn't the lead, nobody would care."

But, something felt false about these assertions. Namely, the fact that in reality, I didn't actually believe my own "opinions". Instead of officially denouncing the film with a review, I decided to let it simmer, and like the food in the film, the more it did so, the tastier it seemed. The things I liked about the film began to emerge. Tilda Swinton was, as usual, fabulous, in a language that wasn't even her own. Her conflicted and complicated Emma was a brilliant creation.

Besides Tilda, there were other fantastic things about the film that kept nagging away at my more bitter side. That cinematography, that art direction, that score, that Alba Rohrwacher, that final scene - especially that final scene. I began to realize that perhaps, I loved the movie more than I initially allowed myself. The "cliche" story and the melodrama began to seem less and less like issues, and instead, things that allowed the romance to blossom from the film's own cinematic beauty. Even the particular plot point near the end that I once considered ridiculous seemed like a non-issue.

So here I am now, proclaiming that in fact, I find "I Am Love" to be a gorgeously crafted piece of cinema, a romance whose surface simplicity is in no way a hindrance. The characters are complicated, and interesting - the fact that the movie is able to feel so minimal is a testament to how masterfully it was directed. As I said above, Tilda Swinton, who gave my favorite female performance last year, does marvelous work which is to be expected. Alba Rohrwacher's

absolutely devastating final glance at the camera is probably one of the best shots of the year. It's a gorgeous film.

All that aside though - how much can reviews and, perhaps even a little bit of blogging-peer-pressure, affect our perspective of a film? I had to cross this wall that I'd built for myself in order to truly discover how I felt about "I Am Love" and I find it strange that I couldn't respond to my feelings directly. How do you cope with pre-watching buzz and expectations? Respond below, I find this to be a rather interesting and relevant topic for all of us who want to intelligently and personally watch and experience cinema.

Mother (2009)

Joon-ho Bong's "Mother" is a film that intrigued me ever since it became Korea's submission to the Oscars last year and its exciting trailer started circulating the blogosphere. Then, I watched (and heartily enjoyed) Bong's prior, more famous film "The Host". Enjoying that film so much made me extremely interested in seeing what he would do with such an interesting and actressy concept. Being matched up with it for the Film Community Potluck at Anomalous Material finally gave me the incentive to watch it and I was not disappointed.

Hye-ja Kim plays the titular character, an elderly woman who loves and lives alone with her son, Do-joon (Bin Won). She is completely devoted to Do-joon, and her entire world (which is pretty much solely based on her role as his mother) is completely torn apart when he is convicted of the murder of a young girl in their small village. Convinced of his innocence, she begins her own rogue investigation of the crime. But not everything is as it seems and soon the story grows more and more twisted.

"Mother" is really a masterfully written spin on the age old plot device that is being wrongly accused of a crime. As each layer of the story stacks up perfectly the audience is left in awe and suspense, all with beautifully rounded characters. Bong avoids the problems that I feel he encountered in "The Host" - "Mother" is much more focused (though it does admittedly drag a bit in the second act) and the humor is executed flawlessly, not awkwardly.

Speaking of execution, "Mother" is a stylistic masterwork. Bong's direction is sharp and tense, and with very little score he is able to make single shots excruciatingly suspenseful. The film is also beautifully shot - the cinematography is often breathtaking. The opening and closing shots in are particularly memorable in their beauty and motivic significance.

Of course, the most stunning achievement of this film is Hye-ja Kim's performance. She truly is a tour-de-force. Her love for her son is unbelievably strong, almost to an unhealthy level that Kim is absolutely not afraid to explore. One word that kept coming to mind in regards to her work is "operatic". The fearless, unhinged and raw emotion so often seen in opera is rarely found in film (simply due to the differences in the mediums), yet Kim's work is nothing short of operatic, and it's breathtaking to watch her.

Joon-ho bong has truly created a classic to be in the crime genre. Though it may not be a perfect film, it is crafted so skillfully that it is impossible to ignore. Hye-ja Kim's performance alone can simply not be praised enough - it is unique and brilliant. I absolutely recommend "Mother"...don't wait like I did, watch it ASAP!

9/10

The Official Story (1985)

Politically charged films are often fascinating, especially if you live or lived during the time period in which the film takes place. However, if you have absolutely no knowledge of the event(s) that serve as the basis of the story, you're more than a little bit at a loss. Such was the way I felt while watching the Argentinian Oscar-winner "The Official Story", which takes place in the 1980's in Argentina.

So, a brief history lesson! After Juan Peron's widow (not Eva, but Isabel Martinez) was ousted from Argentina, a military rule led by Jorge Rafael Videla took over in about 1976 or so. When he and his junta took control, their goal was to eliminate any dissenters to their rule, thus marking the beginning of what was called the "Dirty War".

Videla himself. He's so creepy looking.

The following years were full of "forced disappearances" of people who the government thought were activists. Really, anyone who even looked like a government dissenter was kidnapped discreetly and taken away, many of whom were never seen again. Most of these victims were tortured, many often being killed in concentration camps. Babies born by mothers who were kidnapped during this time were abducted and given to government families.

And that, my dear readers, is where "The Official Story" begins! The film starts 5 years after the protagonist Alicia (Norma Aleandro) and her government-official husband adopted a baby girl named Gaby. Alicia is visited by an old activist friend, Ana, who was one of the disappeared and reveals the terrible injustices suffered at the camps, including the kidnapping of the newborns. Alicia begins to wonder if Gaby's mother could have been tortured at the hands of the government, and sets off to find out the truth about her daughter.

The film is very human, but the political context serves as the foundation of the plot. It's just extremely important to know the background information, because when I watched the film I had absolutely no knowledge of the Dirty War and knowing about it completely changed my outlook on it.

"The Official Story" is a very slow moving film, but not to the point of being boring. In fact, the slow pace allows each character and performer to thrive, making the viewer question everyone's true motives. And, the buildup to the last scene is just superb, even if that final scene, while fiery, is a tad bit over the top. Only a little bit though.

Norma Aleandro's performance is absolutely marvelous. She portrays the political and ethical awakening of her character brilliantly, and she dominates the screen. Alicia's character arc is basically the entire plot of the movie, so it's extremely important for Aleandro to make it work, and she does it brilliantly.

Even with all the movie does right, I didn't fall in love with it, in large part due to my ignorance of the historical context. After watching the movie and doing research, it makes me appreciate the film much more and I really thank the film for giving me the motive to discover this fascinating and disturbing chapter in history. I do apologize for doing more history teaching than reviewing, but Alicia was a history teacher. She would have wanted it this way. :)

8/10