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Mully Over Meryl
When a respected veteran actress faces a talented newcomer in the Best Actress race, nine times out of ten the newcomer wins. So concluded And The Winner Is columnist Scott Feinberg in a piece that went up yesterday. This means that -- historically and prematurely speaking, of course -- An Education's Carey Mulligan is well positioned to snag more votes than Julie & Julia's Meryl Streep in this year's Oscar race.
Scott asked a few columnists to chime in on the subject. Here's what I sent him last night:
"Meryl Streep gives an expert performance as Julia Child in Julie & Julia. She always gives expert performances. She always gets everything right. But this time around she isn't half as spirited or soulful as Carey Mulligan in An Education. Seriously, not by half. Streep is doing a bit. She's the master of this kind of acting. But Mulligan is turning on the current, acting her butt off and pouring her heart out. She's fresh and alive and expert as well. She's got the moves and the chops.
"The industry worships Streep but I know more than a few people who are sorta kinda sick of her being so good all the time. Always the grand dame, always being nominated, etc. As she deserves to be -- don't get me wrong. But the bottom line reality is that her performance in Nora Ephron's decently made film is nowhere near as good as Mulligan's in Lone Scherfig's superb one. That's a fact."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on October 28, 2009 at 4:39 AM
comment #1
Lehigh
says ...
Stop that Tucci!
Posted by Lehigh
at October 28, 2009 5:32 AM
comment #2
Masheen
says ...
wow. just wow. totally effed up my G1
Posted by Masheen
at October 28, 2009 5:39 AM
comment #3
Cde.
says ...
Meryl looms large over this race.
Posted by Cde.
at October 28, 2009 5:40 AM
comment #4
Cde.
says ...
I was hoping you wouldn't fix this, Jeff. It helped offset the massive Mulligan dominance in the site background category.
Posted by Cde.
at October 28, 2009 5:42 AM
comment #5
erniesouchak
says ...
Am I the only one who thinks Streep was lousy in "The Hours"?
Posted by erniesouchak
at October 28, 2009 5:57 AM
comment #6
btwnproductions
says ...
Good as they are, it's an unexciting year when these are the only two performances being talked about.
Posted by btwnproductions
at October 28, 2009 7:11 AM
comment #7
qwiggles
says ...
I'm having a hard time being excited about either performance Mulligan has the starmaking role built for Oscar, and...she doesn't blow it. She's funny and sharp and has a nice, low, sexy drawl. But I left the film wondering what precisely her education *was* -- not a good question to be left with in a bildungsroman, where a character's formation is all.
Obviously, I wasn't alone, as we get that shockingly obtuse/banal "AND MY EDUCATION WAS ___" monologue in the final scene, which breaks our no-voiceovers rule and is set to a montage of Jenny on a bike with a boy in a respectable place. (Let's also not forget that the previous sequence is a montage of Jenny studying very, very hard, complete with heavy books, after the equally banal and obtuse moment that sees her former teacher saying "Jenny, that's exactly what I hoped you'd ask!" in response to her request for help.)
Of course, she would've got where she ends up anyway with or without her little interruption, and she also would've learned all about lying and frescoes and indulgent jaunts to Paris before her first year was up, if she hadn't already. But nevermind all that: what bothers me most is that Jenny is thin enough a protagonist that she needs a closing voiceover to explain why her life is now different. Julia Child, bless her, does not, and in a way that's what makes THAT movie's entire half with Julie feel so unnecessary.
Posted by qwiggles
at October 28, 2009 7:27 AM
comment #8
BurmaShave
says ...
souchak, no you're not, but then I thought everyone in that and everything about that movie was lousy.
Posted by BurmaShave
at October 28, 2009 7:58 AM
comment #9
Tom Reagan
says ...
I can totally see this being a Michelle Pfieffer/Jessica Tandy matchup again, with Mulligan winning every critics award and yet losing the Oscar, because Streep is the biggest female star in the world giving one of the most acclaimed performances of her career. It also doesn't hurt that she hasn't won in twenty-seven years and it's time to give it to her again.
Posted by Tom Reagan
at October 28, 2009 8:00 AM
comment #10
markus
says ...
Streep has all the momentum - her performance is brillant and the academy will give her the gold this year. Refer to Nathaniel Rogers at the Film Experience who know the actress category better than anyone - he goes with Streep for the win. Get it Jeff?
Posted by markus
at October 28, 2009 8:34 AM
comment #11
George Prager
says ...
Streep getting the Oscar for a good performance in a fair to mediocre Nora Ephron movie about a woman that Dan Aykroyd parodied over 30 years ago? I'm so pumped!
Posted by George Prager
at October 28, 2009 8:47 AM
comment #12
markus
says ...
Who will all you Streep haters have to knock when she no longer is around to make brillant movies? Your loss and mine.
Posted by markus
at October 28, 2009 8:52 AM
comment #13
SmilingPolitely
says ...
Yeah, I'm getting sick of Streep at the Oscars at this point. Just give her a trunk load of honorary Oscars for her past, present, and future performances, and be done with it
Maybe there should be a sixth slot for Best Actress which is reserved just for Streep, so she can be nominated every year and always take home an Oscar designated just for her.
If this had been Julia Child of the OSS., then Meryl Streep would surely deserve an Oscar. But it's not, so she doesn't...
Posted by SmilingPolitely
at October 28, 2009 9:17 AM
comment #14
slithis
says ...
There is no contest here.
Mulligan is terrific in An Education but the character is light and undergoes a simple teenaged heartrbeak -- big deal. Alfred Molina is just as worthy, if not more. I'm not taking anything away from Mulligan, but she doesn't exactly move mountains in this role.
Streep made Child so funny, ribald, smart and even sexy at times, that it was downright unexpected and very fresh. She has never been funnier, ever. SmilingPolitely either hasn't seen Julie & Julia or otherwise doesn't get it.
Streep's work is far above Mulligan's, and it remains to be seen how versatile Mulligan really is and if any of her future roles feel much the same.
Posted by slithis
at October 28, 2009 9:30 AM
comment #15
corey3rd
says ...
yet the Academy loves impersonations - this will be a toughie. Key will be the guilt of pointing out how long it has been since Streep has won so it doesn't look like she's got a pile of them in the basement
Posted by corey3rd
at October 28, 2009 9:33 AM
comment #16
Jack South P.I.
says ...
"people who are sorta kinda sick of (Streep) being so good all the time"
Who are these people? Give me a break. That's like saying I hate it when my dinner is ALWAYS perfectly cooked at French Laundry or David Wright player ALWAYS gets a hit in he big spot.
These people are morons. Meryl Streep is the best actor alive, man or woman, and anyone that that is rooting for her to fail is pathetic. We should all consider ourselves lucky there are artists like her working today.
(This is to take nothing away from Mulligan. I look forward to seeing her in action.)
Posted by Jack South P.I.
at October 28, 2009 9:35 AM
comment #17
Guy Lodge
says ...
Am I the only starting to think thatl they'll both lose to Gabourey Sidibe?
Still, between those two, Mulligan's performance is light years ahead of Streep's.
Posted by Guy Lodge
at October 28, 2009 9:36 AM
comment #18
markus
says ...
Guy has it backwards as usual.
Posted by markus
at October 28, 2009 9:51 AM
comment #19
nola
says ...
I thought Streep was fantastic.
People are sick of her her being good all the time? Wow. So only people who can't act should be in movies now? Someone needs to call the Balloon Boy's dad and get him an agent!
Posted by nola
at October 28, 2009 9:54 AM
comment #20
markus
says ...
WInslet won for a lesser performance. At least Streep will win for a solid, excellent biopic portrayal. Plus, she has lost how many times in a row? Well, too many, the odds are in her favor to finally win.
Posted by markus
at October 28, 2009 9:58 AM
comment #21
markus
says ...
Feinberg & Wells need a new line of work. Predictions are not their strong suit...
Posted by markus
at October 28, 2009 9:59 AM
comment #22
Guy Lodge
says ...
Markus: Backwards about predicting Sidibe, about preferring Mulligan's performance to Streep's, or about both? I'd just like to be certain how much of a cretin I am.
Oh, and my earlier, typo-plagued comment should obviously have read: "Am I the only one starting to think that they'll both lose..."
Posted by Guy Lodge
at October 28, 2009 10:14 AM
comment #23
SmilingPolitely
says ...
Meryl Streep should play Balloon Boy. She'll absolutely kill in the vomit scene. And when she says, "Daddy, you told me we did for the show," the audience will have their brains blown out their assholes! Mark her down for an Oscar nod in 2011.
Posted by SmilingPolitely
at October 28, 2009 10:14 AM
comment #24
Floyd Thursby
says ...
Love Streep. Hate everything about Hours and Doubt. Would vote for Cornish at this point.
Posted by Floyd Thursby
at October 28, 2009 10:23 AM
comment #25
jbf81
says ...
I dont think people are tired of Meryl being awesome, I think maybe tired of her getting Oscar noms for performcances that didnt deserve, but since she is Meryl she gets anyway. I mean Doubt, Music of the Heart?
Posted by jbf81
at October 28, 2009 10:47 AM
comment #26
Rich S.
says ...
Surprised to see all this vocal support in the talkbacks for Streep over Mulligan. We may see a mass banning that makes the "Stalinist Purge" look like child's play.
Posted by Rich S.
at October 28, 2009 10:48 AM
comment #27
scottfeinberg
says ...
Just a heads-up to Guy, Jeff, and anyone else who this guy "markus" decides to dump on: He is a deranged Streep fanatic who has been constantly berating me via blog comments, email, and Twitter ever since I first indicated that Mulligan was ahead of Streep a few weeks ago. According to him, anyone who feels that way is a stupid hack who "needs a new line of work," and anyone who feels the reverse (he cites Nat Rogers frequently) is the world's most accurate Oscar prognosticator (I have all the respect in the world for Nat, but even he knows that's not the case). I tried the polite route with this guy, but at this point I'm sick of his crap. FYI, his name is apparently Mark DePew, his email address is utahprime@hotmail.com, and he tweets as @utahprime.
Posted by scottfeinberg
at October 28, 2009 10:57 AM
comment #28
jbf81
says ...
LMFAO, some fans are soooo insane.
Posted by jbf81
at October 28, 2009 11:05 AM
comment #29
Movie Watcher
says ...
Good thing for Streep that Hillary Swank won't get nominated for that awful Amelia.
Posted by Movie Watcher
at October 28, 2009 11:12 AM
comment #30
markus
says ...
I apologize to Jeff, Scott & Guy and anyone else who I may have offended with my comments. I will refrain from making further comments of any kind. Again, my sincerest apologies...
Posted by markus
at October 28, 2009 11:21 AM
comment #31
great scott
says ...
I hope that chick (Gabby something) who plays Precious wins. It would make Jeff's head explode and things will be very entertaining around here.
Posted by great scott
at October 28, 2009 12:51 PM
comment #32
the400blows
says ...
Streep should've won the Oscar last year for Doubt. She turned in a much better performance than Kate Winslet in The Reader. It was a joke that Winslet won for--of all films--The Reader. I would've been happy with Revolutionary Road. But if she was going to win an Oscar for something--it should've been for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Anyway, since Streep lost last year, I wouldn't be surprised if she wins this year even though her performance in Doubt was a lot better.
Posted by the400blows
at October 28, 2009 2:51 PM
comment #33
Floyd Thursby
says ...
I find The Reader compelling from beginning to end, and while Kate is good in Revolutionary Road, the film is tedious from beginning to end, strained and pompous in a way Mad Men completely avoids.
Doubt is even worse, a pain to sit through, completely lacking in anything cinematic. Streep's performance is one-note until that awful ending that might work on stage but doesn't on film. Doubt is a 21st century version of those boring, self-important 1950s TV dramas on Playhouse 90, etc.
I wanted to strangle every single character in Doubt, Revolutionary Road, Happy Go Lucky, Rachel Getting Married, Little Miss Sunshine Cleaning, Cheri, Summer Hours. As Charles Dillon Stengel once said, can't anybody here make movies anymore?
Posted by Floyd Thursby
at October 29, 2009 4:55 AM
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