edited by Jonathan Doyle

Mafioso (The Criterion Collection, 3.18.2008) Nino Badalamenti is a supervisor in a car manufacturing plant who hasn't taken a vacation in over two years. On his way out the door to visit his beloved childhood hometown of Sicily -- with his blonde wife and daughters -- Nino is handed a package by his boss and asked to deliver it to a powerful and influential Sicilian gangster named Don Vincenzo. Once in Sicily, Nino has a hoot seeing friends and family, but his wife has trouble fitting in and is unfairly dismissed as a snob by Nino's family. Even more worrisome, Nino finds himself entangled in an intricate web of secret mafioso dealings and is eventually sent on an unexpectedly... elaborate errand. (continued)

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Best Actresses in "Elah"

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Timothy Gray's potential-Oscar-nomination piece for Variety (dated 6.28) starts off by naming three Best Actress favorites -- Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose, Julie Christie in Away From Her and Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart.

I fear that number is going to be narrowed down to two. We all know when a picture dies a quick box-office death the high-calibre performances in it tend to droop in estimation, so as unfair as it may sound I wouldn't be surprised if Jolie (who gives her best performance ever as Heart's Marianne Pearl) falls off the list by Labor Day.

I'm not getting any kind of reading about how the other Iraq-Afghanistan movies are going to play, but if "quality of performance" were the only criteria (it never is, of course) Charlize Theron will be right in there for her single-mother/hardnose cop role in Paul Haggis's In The Valley of Elah. It's not her film -- the deed of possession belongs to Tommy Lee Jones -- but she delivers a good deal more in the way of believable bite and conviction in Elah than she did in North Country.

I don't know if things will also fall into place for Susan Sarandon as a Best Supporting Actress contender for her Elah peformance as Jones' wife. But they could. Sarandon has three or four scenes, at most, but in one she lets go with a blast of radiant anger that takes your breath away. Such that it's hard not to think of her in this light.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on June 29, 2007 at 04:29 PM

comment #1

berkguru says ...

They will nominate Jolie just so she shows up. Her glamour will boost ratings.

Posted by berkguru at June 29, 2007 05:13 PM

comment #2

actionman says ...

So Wells has seen In the Valley of Elah apparently...

Posted by actionman at June 29, 2007 05:17 PM

comment #3

BurmaShave says ...

actionman have you ever read this site before?

So Charlize Theron will be averaging an Oscar nomination every two years? When will those who cry out "Terrible actress" finally be silenced?

I don't see it happening for Jolie. She was superb though. I'd really love to see some notice for Irfan Khan as well.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 29, 2007 05:29 PM

comment #4

Rod32303 says ...

It'll happen for her (Jolie). She is excellent in the film, and box office means nothing. If it did, then how does one justify Annette Bening's last nomination?

Posted by Rod32303 at June 29, 2007 05:43 PM

comment #5

BurmaShave says ...

BEING JULIA didn't fail so publicly though, and it was released at the end of the year. I almost agree with you though. Someone in a highly anticipated role will have to falter though.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 29, 2007 05:48 PM

comment #6

Rob says ...

I've never heard anyone call Charlize Theron a terrible actress.

Posted by Rob at June 29, 2007 05:53 PM

comment #7

James Leer says ...

Irfan Khan REALLY deserves it for "The Namesake." If he keeps doing such top-flight work, he's bound to get noticed someday.

Posted by James Leer at June 29, 2007 06:20 PM

comment #8

BurmaShave says ...

I totally forgot that was even him in THE NAMESAKE. Fuck. He'd better clean up with critics awards.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 29, 2007 06:30 PM

comment #9

drbob says ...

Box office performance means absolutely nothing in terms of best actress nominations.

Posted by drbob at June 29, 2007 06:43 PM

comment #10

BurmaShave says ...

Of course it doesn't, which is why Vera Farmiga is now an Oscar nominee for DOWN TO THE BONE. It certainly makes an impact. They should have held A MIGHTY HEART for late Summer of Fall. Huge mistake. Vantage continues to fuck things up.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 29, 2007 07:42 PM

comment #11

Noah says ...

Vera Farmiga won the LA Film Critics Award, she was never nominated for an Oscar, for Down to the Bone.

Posted by Noah at June 29, 2007 08:34 PM

comment #12

William Goss says ...

Noah, I'm pretty sure that Burma was being sarcastic. He's saying she wasn't nominated because no one saw the flick.

At least, that's what I got out of it.

Posted by William Goss at June 29, 2007 08:49 PM

comment #13

Noah says ...

Ahh, perhaps you're right William. Sarcasm can be tough to read on the internet.

Posted by Noah at June 29, 2007 08:59 PM

comment #14

cjKennedy says ...

It's been almost 5 hours, where's DZ with some retarded Angelina bashing?

Posted by cjKennedy at June 29, 2007 09:02 PM

comment #15

Esme says ...

Well if the number's going to be narrowed to two, I think Julie Christie's the one who's going to be left out. Her film and performance didn't get much buzz. Certainly not half the hype Cotillard or Jolie got. Christie may have the industry respect but her role wasn't all that great or award worthy anyways. Besides A Mighty Heart will gets its DVD release in the fall and Jolie will be back in the public spotlight promoting Beowulf in November so Paramount will form a campaign for her around that time. I wouldn't count her out yet.

Posted by Esme at June 29, 2007 09:14 PM

comment #16

Jeff says ...

Looks like the oscar race got two newcomers today. I didn't think Crossing Over or The Return would be finished in time. Also, it looks like stop-loss got pushed to spring.

Posted by Jeff at June 29, 2007 09:56 PM

comment #17

William Goss says ...

Anyone else feel like Christie'll be this year's O'Toole? Sort of an honorary nod just to say, at the very least, we haven't forgotten ya? (Not that either didn't or won't deserve another, I mean.)

Posted by William Goss at June 29, 2007 10:00 PM

comment #18

cjKennedy says ...

I can see her being nominated but not winning for that reason.

It's too bad actually Gordon Pinsent will be overlooked. Same with Olympia Dukakis. Much as I like Christie, Pinsent and Dukakis made a bigger impression on me.

Posted by cjKennedy at June 29, 2007 10:22 PM

comment #19

BurmaShave says ...

Agreed CJ. Christie was almost a secondary character, as good as she was. They were all superb. Not to mention Polley's screenplay. There was some film-school gimmicks with her direction, but her script was really excellent.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 29, 2007 11:08 PM

comment #20

EDouglas says ...

I think of those three, CHristie will be more likely to be forgotten than the other two. It's a movie about Alzheimer's that's doing okay, but not great...definitely not as high profile as the other two films and that's important when you need to remember this performance in six months or more. It's odd that no men have been mentioned as of yet... I'm thinking it'll either be Russell Crowe or Denzel for American Gangster, though I can also see that being a Departed situation.

Posted by EDouglas at June 30, 2007 06:30 AM

comment #21

erniesouchak says ...

Whether Jolie drops from the pack will depend on how hard Paramount promotes her -- it's that rather than merit that always makes the difference -- and I'm sure Brad will see to it that Paramount pushes very hard.

Posted by erniesouchak at June 30, 2007 07:16 AM

comment #22

Reint says ...

Pfff, bull on the Jolie not being nominated. Remember Marcia Gay Harden WINNING for 'Pollock', a film almost no-one saw? Yeah.

Posted by Reint at June 30, 2007 08:22 AM

comment #23

George Prager says ...

Megan Fox gets my vote. In fact, I think in addition to Best and Best Supporting Actress, they should have hottest actress. That way everyone gets an award, like in summer camp.

Posted by George Prager at June 30, 2007 08:47 AM

comment #24

truefaith says ...

I'll be surprised too if Angelina Jolie gets an Oscar nomination for her performance in "A Mighty Heart." Hollywood--and I--are tired of hearing about Jolie and the whole Islamic conflict in the media. That's probably why "Heart" is tanking at the box office. Who wants to spend $10 to see terrorists on the big screen when you can see them for free on the small screen?!

Posted by truefaith at June 30, 2007 09:17 AM

comment #25

actionman says ...

burma--yeah, i read the site...but i dont actually hang on every fucking word/post that wells puts up. i have a job...and a life.

Posted by actionman at June 30, 2007 09:29 AM

comment #26

BurmaShave says ...

Yikes.

Posted by BurmaShave at June 30, 2007 10:34 AM

comment #27

Hallick says ...

"Who wants to spend $10 to see terrorists on the big screen when you can see them for free on the small screen?!"

...???...

It'll be worse that Gordon Pinsett will probably be overlooked/forgotten than Angelina Jolie will go unnominated, which I think will happen to her since the month her movie didn't catch on in was June instead of December or whenever "Being Julia" came out, as BurmaShave already noted.

Sure, Marcia Gay Harden won for "Pollack" when it didn't do all that well, but she won in the Best Supporting Actress category for a film that didn't go wide until December, and she also got some carry along from Ed Harris' acclaim. If a movie doesn't click with audiences, unless your performance becomes a cause celebre somehow, you're still in deep shit if that non-click happens any time other than the last couple of months of the year. Jolie's ad nauseum tabloid presence doesn't help enthusiasm much either.

Posted by Hallick at June 30, 2007 09:42 PM

comment #28