Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2005: Amy Adams in Junebug

Amy Adams received her first Oscar nomination for her performance as Ashley Johnsten in Junebug.

Junebug is a very good movie about a newlywed art dealer from Chicago who goes to North Carolina both to pursue a local painter and to meet her husband's family. It's an entertaining movie that features a great screenplay that nicely blends comedy and drama and a very strong cast: Embeth Davidtz is effective in her portrayal of a woman who doesn't understand her husband's family's old-fashioned values and Benjamin McKenzie's display of unsatisfaction and unfulfillment is very moving. Alessandro Nivola is the weak link of the cast (I actually think his best performances are his small but vivid supporting turns in The Neon Demon and A Most Violent Year) but he's still completely fine. 

Amy Adams plays the role of Ashley, George's (Nivola) pregnant sister-in-law. Ashely is a role to die for: it gets a lot of screen-time and it's a complex, scene-stealing role that allows an actress to be both hilarious and heartbreaking. At the same time though it's also a very tricky role that can be very easily annoying, unrealistic and cartoonish if done wrong. Adams is thankfully completely up to the ask and she gives what is in my opinion the best performance from her rich and versatile career. Right from her first scene, in which Ashley is impatiently waiting for George and Madeleine (Davidtz) to arrive, Adams is absolutely wonderful establishing Ashley as the most interesting and vivid character of the movie; again, the beginning of her performance could have been all wrong and it would have been easy to simply portray Ashley as a bit dumb but Adams is too smart of an actress to do so. She imbues Ashley with a childlike innocence that is irresistible and endearing but she never turns her into a joke or a caricature either - her impatience to see Madeleine is just beautifully portrayed by Adams with a mix of curiosity and playful jealousy: her delivery of "I bet she's thin, I bet she's prettier than I am too, so I'm gonna hate her. I can't wait!" is just lovely because of how natural it comes off. I particularly love her first scene with Madeleine: Adams is hilariously chatty and nervous in it and every single line that she utters is pure gold ("My favorite animal is the meerkat", "Did you have a lot of boyfriends? I bet you did" and her "You were not" after Madeleine tells her she was born in Japan are just priceless). What I like the most about her acting in her scenes with Madeleine is how Adams portrays Ashley as if she was studying Madeleine and tried to act a bit like her - Adams perfectly shows how Ashley looks up to Madeleine which makes Ashley an even more endearing and touching character. One of my favorite moments in her performance is when Madeleine casually curses and Ashley, after a small surprised silence, does it too - it's such a nice, little moment in which Adams beautifully expresses Ashley's insecurity and admiration towards Madeleine. 

But Adams' performance is much more than cute and sweet and behind Ashley's warmth and simplicity Adams shows a much greater intelligence than expected, particularly in the scenes she shares with Benjamin McKenzie, who plays Johnny, Ashley's frustrated husband. Both actors are excellent as they convey the history between the two characters, who got married before they got to finish high school and whose relationship is now strained due to Johnny's sense of unfullfilment, especially as he sees how successful his brother has become. Adams is heartbreaking as she shows that despite her sunny and cheerful personality Ashley is very much aware of the problems in her marriage, although her optimistic nature makes her hope that the baby will eventually fix their issues; Adams subtly portrays all of these feelings mostly without uttering a word. A great moment in her performance comes when Johnny tries to record a documentary about meerkats but is unable to tape it: his shouting interrupts the baby shower and when Ashley tries to nicely advise him he lashes out at her. Adams' delivery of the line "God loves you just the way you are, but he loves you too much to let you stay that way" is heartbreaking because of how simple and spontaneous it sounds. 

But of course the strongest moment of her performance is her final scene at the hospital, after *Spoiler* her baby is stillborn *Spoiler*. It's a devastating moment that is all the more impressive thanks to Adams' range. I love how even in such a dark scene Adams does not fail to portray her affection towards Madeleine ("Did she ask about me?) and I find particularly impressive how she manages to shift from quietness to despair so easily - she is heartbreaking as she conveys Ashley's desperation over Johnny's behavior and her fear that her marriage might end. I've rarely felt so moved by a character and this is all thanks to Adams' sincere performance. And her final, lovely moment as she finds again a little bit of her optimism thanks to George is excellently acted by Adams who just couldn't be warmer and sweeter. 

This is a magnificent performance by Amy Adams who is extremely funny at portraying Ashley's cheerful personality while always making her a person instead of a one-note joke. She turns Ashley into the movie's most tragic character and gives a performance that makes you both laugh and cry because of its sincerity and simplicity. She's pure gold in every scene she's in and ultimately gives a very complex and three-dimensional portrayal that never fails to break my heart. 

5/5