martedì 22 marzo 2016

Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2015: Rachel McAdams in Spotlight

Rachel McAdams received her first Oscar nomination for her performance as Sacha Pfeiffer in Spotlight.


Spotlight is a rather effective movie about the team of journalists from the Boston Globe who uncovered the massive sex scandal of child molestation and cover-up within the local Catholic Archdiocese. It's a compelling movie whose biggest strengths are its terrific screenplay and its pitch-perfect editing; Thomas McCarthy's directing is technically rather standard but it completely makes sense as, in a movie whose goal is to be as realistic as possible, a more peculiar or stylish direction would have felt out of the place. Although there is an exception, almost every single member of the cast gives a good performance (with Michael Keaton being probably the standout), but what makes the ensemble so great is that they all work together exceptionally well. 


Sacha Pfeiffer, like most of the other characters of Spotlight, isn't a particularly complex character on paper: we only get a few glimpses of her life outside of the investigation and those moments are mostly rather brief. It's written as a very simple and straight-forward role and it doesn't even benefit from a “big” scene like Mark Ruffalo does or an interesting character arc like Michael Keaton does. It's the kind of role in which few actresses could have given a bad performance as it doesn't require great acting skills, but it's also the kind of role that, while easy to get right, is hard to make truly memorable. McAdams is an actress who I often find good but not particularly remarkable, so before seeing the movie I had some doubts about her performance, especially considering how thankless the role might sound on paper. Yet, surprisingly, McAdams gives a very strong performance that may not defy the limitations of the script but manages to leave a lasting impression within them. What I particularly appreciate about her performance is that she acknowledges the limitations of the role and never tries to compensate for them by overacting or trying to upstage the other cast members: instead, she gives a performance that is very fitting to the movie itself – subtle, natural and realistic. She works wonderfully with the rest of the cast and she truly feels like part of the team. 

In every scene that focuses on Sacha's interactions with the victims of abuse McAdams does a terrific job in just bringing such a great deal of warmth and empathy as well as an underlying determination to bring the truth to light: she makes the most out of every moment and each of her small reactions manages to be surprisingly poignant. The scene where she speaks with a priest who nonchalantly admits to have abused of some boys as if it was no big deal is particularly excellent: her shocked and confused reaction is just perfect and completely believable (it actually mirrored my exact same reaction to the scene). Also her "I am here because I care" mini-speech is a beautifully acted moment because she delivers it in a completely honest and genuine way that fits perfectly the rest of her performances. She could have gone for much louder acting yet she decided to play it in a much more restrained, quieter fashion and I admire her a lot for that. 

I previously said that Sacha only has a few scenes involving her personal life which is true, but McAdams nails each of them perfectly. One of my favorite moments of her whole performance is the brief scene in which she watches her devout grandmother reading the article: she is terrific in showing the growing unease and worry of Sacha as she realizes that what she has written is going to cause her dear grandmother a lot of pain. And she also finds some nice, poignant moments in a later, quiet scene with Ruffalo as their characters both reflect about the whole situation. 

It's not one of the best performances ever nominated but it is a performance I greatly admire and appreciate. McAdams takes a limited role and manages to give a performance that lasts in the viewer's mind: she never tries to steal the scene from any of the other actors but she works wonderfully with each of them without ever failing to leave her own mark. Her subtle performance is one of the ingredients that make Spotlight such a compelling movie, and I'm glad that the Academy, for once, decided to single out a performance that relies on subtlety and not showboating. 

4/5

12 commenti:

  1. Very nice review, I agree with your thoughts on those scenes. Still, I'm sure the Academy nominated her because Spotlight was one of the front-runners for best picture.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. I actually agree that if Spotlight hadn't been one of the front-runners for Best Picture her performance wouldn't have been nominated because the Academy rarely nominates a performance this subtle. But even if that's the reason why the Academy nominated her, I'm still glad they did because, as you can read, I appreciate her performance quite a lot.

      Elimina
    2. Oh, and thanks a lot, you're kind!

      Elimina
  2. Good to see a new blog.

    I have yet to see Spotlight.

    Question: Do you give half stars?

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Yes I do give half stars.
      As for Spotlight, it's a very good movie and I suggest you to see it even if I wouldn't say it's truly amazing, and not a particularly inspired Best Picture choice in my opinion.

      Elimina
  3. Great review, she was good and i loved how her character interacted with the victims; for me she is a 3,5/4 just beacuse i think there were other actors who gave better performances, first of all Schreiber, Keaton and then Tucci.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Thanks a lot! On my first viewing I admit I was tempted to give her a 3,5 but on a rewatch I was much more impressed with her performance. Keaton and Tucci are my favorite of the cast, and Schreiber is very good as well.

      Elimina
  4. She was actually my second favourite of the cast behind Schrieber. I don't love the film as much as many seem to but definitely found it very engaging and an glad it won.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. She would be my third favorite of the cast just behind Keaton and Tucci (I probably don't quite love Schrieber as some do as I found him a bit underused but he was very good). Completely agree on the movie itself, I'd say it's a very strong movie and an extremely engaging one but it wouldn't be one of my favorite of the year.

      Elimina
  5. I thought she was great. Also, great review Giuseppe! Look forward to reading more of your work.

    A year that I would like to suggest for your next set of reviews would be 1939 Leading Actress.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Thanks a lot! I don't know about Leading Actress 1939 because I don't know if I'll manage to see Goodbye Mr. Chips soon (I've seen Gone with the Wind and I have Dark Victory, Ninotchka and Love Affair) but I'll certainly do it as soon as I can!

      Elimina
  6. Oh, and I forgot to give my predictions earlier:
    1) Mara
    2) Leigh
    3) Winslet
    4) McAdams
    5) Vikander

    RispondiElimina