Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1983: Amy Irving in Yentl

Amy Irving received her only Oscar nomination to date for her performance as Hadass in Yentl.

Yentl is overall a pretty strong movie about a Jewish girl, Yentl, who decides to disguise herself as a man with the false name of Anshel in order to enter religious training, but is stuck into a complicated situation when she is set to marry Hadass, a beautiful girl that was previously engaged to Avigdor, a man that Yentl, as Anshel, befriends but secretly loves. I wouldn't say that Barbra Streisand deserved her Golden Globe win for Best Director but her direction in this movie is not without merit either: the middle section of the movie is excellent because Streisand prevents the story from becoming ridiculous, which could have easily been the case, by choosing a certain tone that is neither too dark nor too light and adds a very strong sense of place to the movie thanks to her admirable attention to the details (the set decoration is very remarkable I think). Most of all, it's clear that she clearly cares a lot about the movie and its story, even if her direction is not without faults: the beginning in particular is extremely heavy-handed in its depiction of women's condition in the Jewish society back then, and the end is also very disappointing since it feels rather rushed and the final scene is somehow poorly done, with a weird-looking final shot and a pretty terrible song. As for the songs - except for "Papa can you hear me?", they are pretty much forgettable at best. As for the acting: Streisand is clearly too old for playing the character and she does not really look or sound like a man so it's hard to believe that Yentl would fool everyone so easily, but she is very effective in portraying Yentl's determination to have an education. As Avigdor, Mandy Patinkin delivers a charming and captivating performance while still portraying well his limited views towards women.

Amy Irving's performance in this movie tends to have a pretty negative reputation for being one of the only two performances that have been nominated both at the Oscars and the Razzies. Honestly, I don't think that either award is necessarily an indicator of quality, the Razzies even less so as sometimes they award performances just because of the quality of the movie they are in even if the performance itself is far from being bad (like Dakota Johnson in 50 Shades of Grey). So what about Amy Irving's performance in this? Did she deserve the Oscar nomination, the Razzie nomination or neither of them? To be completely honest, I went into the movie expecting to dislike it and ready to dismiss Irving's performance - so I was completely surprised to find out not only that the movie is a fairly remarkable experience but that Amy Irving's performance is a surprisingly interesting and poignant piece of work that stands as the movie's biggest asset. To be completely fair I can sort of understand the Razzie nomination actually, as it's easy to deem her first scenes as stiff and bland, but in my opinion her approach works perfectly with the character she's playing: in the beginning, Hadass is supposed to be the complete opposite of Yentl - a timid, obedient girl that lives to please the men in her family and nothing else. Irving is excellent in my opinion in portraying a lack of personality and character in Hadass while still making her a surprisingly intriguing and mysterious presence suggesting a brain and intelligence in her that could shine if only she was allowed to by the environment around her: this way, we understand both Avigdor's dismissive opinion of her personality (he asks Anshel "What could she be thinking?" as if the only obvious answer was "Nothing interesting") and Yentl/Anshel's growing respect towards her as she gradually realizes that Hadass has a lot of potential. 

Amy Irving's best moments come in the second half of the movie, when she marries Anshel while still being in love with Avigdor. Irving is extremely touching in portraying Hadass' attempts to please her husband as she firmly believes it is her only duty to do so, when Anshel tells her that she can take all the time she wants Irving is amazing in portraying Hadass' surprised, shocked but happy reaction: for the first time, she gets to have her say and her actions are not imposed by anyone else. In the following scenes that depicts Anshel's and Hadass' marriage, Irving does a wonderful job in showing how Hadass blossoms under Anshel's teaching: in the beginning she was nothing more than a pretty face, now she is radiant and charming; in the beginning she existed to obey, now she is truly full of life. She portrays her transition with brilliant subtlety and in every scene they share she effortlessly overshadows Streisand. Over the course of the movie, Hadass falls in love with Anshel and Irving is absolutely terrific in showing how Hadass gradually changes her opinion on her husband and starts to appreciate more and more his gentleness and sensitivity: I really love the scene in which Anshel invites Avigdor over at their house and Hadass doesn't even look at him as she has only eyes for Anshel. My favorite scene of the whole movie is the scene in which Hadass decides that she wants to finally have sex with Anshel, unknowing that her husband is a woman: it's in this very moment that we come to realize how much Hadass has changed since the beginning of the movie - she plays the scene not only with the right amount of sensuality and desire but also with a lot of maturity and determination that she gained during her marriage. Her reaction over Anshel's rejection of her is a poignant and heartbreaking moment, and their final scene together is also a nice, moving moment in which you can really see the affections on both ends. 

Unfortunately, the performance isn't quite perfect but the reason for this isn't Amy Irving - but Barbra Streisand. She is so focused on making her own character shine that she sacrifices the other characters instead - I really think there should have been a scene in which Anshel revealed the truth about herself to Hadass but Streisand seems to care for Hadass only if she is an instrument to her own character. I think both Hadass and Irving's performance deserved to have a proper closure, especially considering that Yentl/Anshel's and Hadass' relationship is by far the most interesting aspect of the movie. Also, Streisand is literally in every scene of the movie and she never shows Hadass and Avigdor together alone: it's a true testament to their talents with Patinkin and Irving manages to make you believe in their character's love for each other but I think that both actors deserved more time to develop their relationship together. 

Nonetheless, this is a great performance by Amy Irving that is completely undeserving of its reputation. She delivers a wonderfully subtle performance that is full of nuances and surprises and that ends up stealing the movie away from the lead actress. It's a moving, rich turn that grounds the whole movie and I'm glad that the Academy decided to reward this remarkable piece of work. 

4/5