2014 Calvin Awards: Best Actress
By David Mumpower
February 13, 2014
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Yes, Sandra Bullock is our choice as the Best Actress of the year. Bullock’s portrayal of Dr. Ryan Stone provided the emotional core for one of the best movies ever made. With only two actors in the film, one of whom disappears for long stretches, every aspect of the success of Gravity hinges upon Bullock’s portrayal. The fact that the movie has been lavishly praised and heavily frequented by consumers speaks volumes about how brilliant Bullock is.
In Gravity, Stone is a doctor who is trained for space travel specifically because of her expertise on Earth. Once she reaches the outer limits of civilization, Stone is forced to reconsider all of the physical laws she has taken for granted throughout her life. As the doctor struggles to persevere during an unprecedented catastrophe, the story of her personal history is revealed. Stone has good reason to isolate herself from others. She also may not have the requisite desire to save herself. Personal misfortune has scarred her that much.
The genius of Gravity is that America’s Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock, is put through Hell. Somehow, Bullock finds her dignity in the experience. In the process, she becomes the easiest protagonist to root for in recent memory. Gravity is an instant classic, and its lead actress is the primary cause of all of its storytelling triumphs. Bullock is the easy choice as the Best Actress of 2014, an improvement from 2010 when she finished in second place for her performance in The Blind Side.
Woody Allen asked a great deal of Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. In order for the movie to succeed, he needed the Academy Award winning actress to portray a wildly dislikable character in an engaging manner. To Blanchett’s credit, she somehow evolved the shallow, self-centered Jasmine Francis into a gripping storyteller. Yes, her stories are all innately duplicitous and yes, they reveal the negative impact Jasmine has on all the people around her. Still, we are hypnotized by them in spite of the heinous nature of Jasmine as a character. That statement alone justifies Blanchett’s presence near the top of the category. Her novel brand of damaged and insecure entices our staff to ignore her gaping character flaws. That accomplishment is why we celebrate Blanchett as the second Best Actress of the year.
Two years ago, we celebrated the movie debut of Shailene Woodley by nominating her as the seventh Best Supporting Actress of the year for her role as a rebellious teenager in The Descendants. This year, she worked her way into the lead actress category with a stunning turn in The Spectacular Now. Woodley demonstrated her easygoing brand of girl next door verve in The Spectacular Now. We celebrate her performance by naming her the third Best Actress of the year. The 22-year-old has performed in two movies and we have nominated her twice. She may need to get a restraining order against the BOP staff.
A pair of critical darlings rounds out the top five this year. Dame Judi Dench is someone for whom the maxim “better than ever” seems unlikely yet that statement is decidedly accurate with Philomena. As the titular lead, Dench demonstrated a rare vulnerability that cleverly played against her onscreen persona over the past decade, particularly in the role of M in the James Bond franchise. Dench’s subservience as Philomena Lee was every bit as engaging, though. For Julie Delpy, she also changed gears a bit in Before Midnight. After being a romantic fantasy since the release of Before Sunrise in 1995, she added depth to her character, Celine. In the process, she exemplified the manner in which real life romance is much trickier than a whirlwind fling. In creating a version of Celine that was less lovable, Delpy exhibited a wide range of emotions that reinforced exactly how and why we fell in love with her the first time in the mid-90s.
Our sixth and tenth place selections have something in common. Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux are the lead actresses in Blue Is the Warmest Color, one of our favorite films of the year. Even during our voting for Best Actress, we experienced difficulty in determining which performance was better. As a group, we were more inclined to like Seydoux more since she received a few votes in the category 2012 for her performance in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. While Seydoux was even better in an extended role as un-tortured artist Emma in Blue Is the Warmest Color, we as a group preferred Exarchopoulos. The Parisian native is a revelation as a sexually curious woman named Adèle who knows she is gay yet sleeps with a couple of guys anyway. Adèle constantly frustrates and disappoints her lover, Emma, creating heartbreak in the process. Both women are amazing actresses who should find a lot of work in Hollywood (if they are so inclined) over the next few years. We simply preferred Exarchopoulos a bit more in Blue Is the Warmest Color. The fact that each woman received a nomination speaks volumes about their onscreen chemistry as well as the overall quality of the movie.
The final three nominees this year are Amy Adams, Emma Thompson and Brie Larson. Adams’ portrayal of Lady Edith Greensly, a persona within a persona, left our staff in stitches throughout American Hustle. Thompson was fantastic in Beautiful Creatures. No wait, that doesn’t sound right. I apologize. I meant to say that Thompson’s portrayal of vaunted author P.L. Travers was pitch-perfect. The character was persnickety throughout the movie yet somehow evolved from annoying to endearing as her backstory was slowly revealed. Thompson’s subtly nuanced acting resonated with our staff once we appreciated the childhood psychological damage that was being unearthed. Larson, our ninth place nominee, was the face of Short Term 12, an honest evaluation of the generosity required to mentor at-risk youths. As Grace, Larson carried the project with her genteel but forceful nature and her innate goodwill. Larson has been a voting staple in Best Supporting Actress yet now has earned a selection in Best Actress in her first real attempt in the category. This is where she belongs in the future.
Other actresses who barely missed a nomination this year were Julia Louis-Dreyfus for Enough Said, Amy Seimetz for Upstream Color, Jennifer Lawrence for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Greta Gerwig for Frances Ha, Lake Bell for In a World… and Jessica Chastain for Mama.
2014 Calvin Awards
Calvins Intro
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Album
Best Cast
Best Character
Best Director
Best Overlooked Film
Best Picture
Best Scene
Best Screenplay
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best TV Show
Best Use of Music
Best Videogame
Breakthrough Performance
Worst Performance
Worst Picture