Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1967: Mildred Natwick in Barefoot in the Park

Mildred Natwick received her only Oscar nomination for her performance as Edith Banks in Barefoot in the Park. 

Barefoot in the Park is an enjoyable comedy about the recently married Paul, a quiet, nice lawyer, and Corie, a vivacious and lively young woman, who are forced to face their differences when they move together in their new five-flight walk-up apartment. It's a rather entertaining movie with a very well-written screenplay (written by Neil Simon who also wrote the play on which the movie is based). As the two leads, Robert Redford and Jane Fonda give good performances, particularly Fonda who I thought was rather funny in her role. Charles Boyer might be a bit too broad at times but he's still fine. 

Mildred Natwick plays the role of Ethel, Corie's mother, and I have to admit that the first time I saw the movie I was completely unimpressed by her performance. I thought she had a moment or two but overall was just okay. This is a performance that benefited greatly from a rewatch, and this time around I actually thought she was the best part of the movie. Natwick's first scene shows Edith coming to visit Paul and Corie in their new apartment and to my surprise, considering the first time I thought she was pretty dull, I found her absolutely hilarious: clearly Natwick has a very good screenplay on her side but what makes her performance so funny are her terrific line-delivery and her pitch-perfect facial expressions. As Edith sees Corie's apartment for the first time and pretends to be impressed despite clearly hating it, Natwick is just incredibly entertaining and each of her fake smiles and reactions are just excellently done. She has an excellent comedic timing and delivery and I was surprised by how much she actually steals the scene from the two leads. As charming as they are, they actually kind of disappear when they're next to her. Also, what I loved best is that she never makes Edith a caricature and she never goes too broad with her acting style - she underplays the role and delivers every line naturally and nonchalantly. This approach makes her performance actually all the more funny (while a louder approach could have made Edith dreadfully unbearable). She is also very funny in later scenes, particularly when Corie decides to set up a date between Edith and her neighbor Victor, so the two ladies, Victor and Paul go to an exotic restaurant (to Corie's and Victor's delight and to Edith's and Paul's horror). Natwick is hilarious in each of her confused, shocked, exhausted reactions and she has an engaging, terrific chemistry with all of the other cast members - it's a very entertaining scene and all of the actors work together exceptionally well. Particularly she shares a wonderful, playful chemistry with Charles Boyer - his exuberance matches perfectly her more reserved style and they are just a lot of fun to watch. And, again, her line-delivery couldn't be more priceless ("I feel like we've died and went to heaven. Only we had to climb up"). 

Her performance is definitely comedic and she's indeed very funny, but in the space between words she manages to ground her character quite a bit. In the beginning, she shows how happy Edith is about her daughter's marriage but she also manages to portray her character's loneliness now that her husband is dead and her daughter is married. During the evening with Victor, Caurie and Paul, Natwick not only is hilarious but she also is very human and spontaneous in her portrayal of Edith's nervousness, and then she is actually quite moving in showing how, thanks to that evening, she feels young and alive again. Her final, more serious scene with Jane Fonda is beautifully played by Natwick and she shows a more tender and wise side of Edith and in that moment the two actresses create a believable and honest mother-daughter relationship. 

This is not an amazing performance and it's not a masterpiece of comedy, but it's a nice, funny, enjoyable performance. She is a joy to watch whenever she is on screen and downplays the more stereotypical side of her character - instead she manages to create a believable character arc making Edith a human and touching presence. A very good performance, and I'm glad this talented actress received at least one nomination.  

4/5