domenica 28 agosto 2016

Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2005: Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain

Michelle Williams received her first Oscar nomination for her performance as Alma Beers Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain


Brokeback Mountain is an outstanding movie about the stormy, passionate, twenty-years long love story between two men in American West. It's one of my favorite movies of all time: Ang Lee sets the perfect melanchonic tone for this movie - even in the warmest scenes between the two main characters, there is an underlying sadness in every single frame that makes the movie extremely haunting and moving. Lee makes the love story between Ennis and Jack one for the ages without making it too sentimental, and gives a realistic depiction of the society of that time that is never heavy-heanded or overbearing. With its beautiful, tender and sad score and its excellent cinematography, the movie doesn't even make my cry, it achieves something more: it stays with me for days after I've watched it.

Michelle Williams plays the role of Alma, Ennis' (Heath Ledger) wife. In her first scenes, that depict Ennis's and Alma's life through their first years of marriage, Williams portrays Alma exactly as what she is supposed to be: a completely ordinary woman. She is very realistic as she portrays Alma going through her everyday life and even if the movie doesn't actually devote much time to her character she manages to establish her as a three-dimensional, believable character and gives the viewer the perfect idea of what her life is like. The strongest aspect of her work early on in the movie is her chemistry with Heath Ledger, as both actors give an intentional awkwardness to their moments alone together. Ledger is excellent because he shows that, even if he cares about Alma in a certain way, he does not love her, while Williams on the other hand does a great job at portraying her love towards her husband as well as her inability to fully understand him and to know him intimately. Williams is very moving in those scenes, such as the scene in which she witnesses Ennis beating up two men who insulted him, as she portrays wonderfully Alma's incapability to connect with him and understand his actions, even if she herself is unaware of her husband's secrets. 

But not for long: one day, Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to visit Ennis and Alma accidentally sees them kissing passionately. Michelle Williams is amazing as she portrays Alma's silent reaction, beautifully conveying first the shock and then the heartbreak. The brief moments in which we see Alma's trying to cope with her discovery are some of the highest points of her performance - she is absolutely devastating and nails every single emotion: the first few seconds in which she just doesn't seem to able to understand what's happening, as if she was in a bad dream, then her attempts to act normal when Ennis comes back in and then her final breakdown as soon as she leaves are perfectly acted by Williams. In the later scenes, both actors are very good at portraying the decay of Alma's and Ennis' marriage. Williams does a fantastic job in such a short span of time to shift from heartbreak to an eventual bitterness and the scene in which Alma tells Ennis she doesn't want his kids anymore because he isn't able to afford them is chilling in its quiet brutality. 

Michelle Williams' best (and most famous as well) scene is her final scene in which Alma, now remarried, confronts Ennis about his affair with Jack. It's a truly terrific scene thanks to Williams' excellent acting as she builds-up the tense of the scene until she finally unleashes her anger towards Ennis. The scene is great because it feels completely earned by Williams, who did a very strong job at keeping Alma's resentment bottled up during the rest of the movie in order to let it all come out in this key scene. I guess why some people might not like her work in this scene as she might overdo her facial expressions in a couple of moments but I think that those few moments are completely forgivable considering the emotional weight she brings ("Jack Twist... Jack Nasty!" is brilliant because the unexpected venom conveyed by Williams' voice). 

This is not a truly amazing performance as the role of Alma is limited by her rather short amount of screen-time but within it Williams manages to leave a remarkable impression. She delivers a realistic and at times moving portrayal of her character's transition from loving to embittered and her final scene is a true knockout. She is not the best part of Brokeback Mountain, but she is part what makes it such a compelling, unforgettable experience. 

4/5

17 commenti:

  1. I totally agree with you, rating and thoughts on Hathaway?
    And have you seen Take This Waltz? Williams and Seth Rogen were very good in it

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    1. I haven't seen Take This Waltz but you made me interested in it. I'm definitely going to check it out.

      Hathaway - 3.5 (I think she is kind of shaky in her first scenes as if she weren't completely comfortable with her character and I thought she was a bit miscast actually. As the movie progresses she improves a lot though and she is effective at portraying Laureen's developement through the years, as she becomes gradually more refined but also more distant towards Jack. Basically what makes her performance for me is her amazing final scene in which she absolutely delivers suggesting that Laureen knew about Jack and Ennis)

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  2. I still haven't seen this but I love this actress. Can't wait to see Manchester by the Sea. Have you seen "Wendy and Lucy"?

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    1. I suggest you to see this, I loved it very much. And I can't wait to see Manchester by the Sea as well, it looks so promising!

      I have not seen Wendy and Lucy, but I've only heard great things about her performance in it so I'll watch it for sure.

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    2. I also like her supporting role in The Station Agent and Synecdoche New York, and I think she's even better than Gosling (who is fantastic) in Blue Valentine.

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    3. I haven't seen either of these three movies, but I really want to see all of them (particularly Blue Valentine as I really like both leading actors).

      Elimina
  3. Love this movie, but I think I don't care this much about her performance. Excited to read your thoughts on Gylenhaal and especially Ledger.

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    1. Glad you love this movie! I can't wait to review them both.

      As for Williams, I was tempted to give her a 3.5 but ultimately I think she's impressive enough to deserve a 4.

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  4. A decent performance but certainly not where the strength of the film lies. I'd say part of my reservation to her and Hathaway's performances are that they're simply the least interesting parts of the film.

    Alex is right about her being wonderful in Synedoche New York and Blue Valentine. She's fine in The Station Agent for me but frankly, her co-stars especially Dinklage, overshadow her.

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    1. I agree in a way that Williams' and Hathaway's characters are not the most interesting parts of the movie, but they still add to it, Williams in particular.

      Can't wait to see Synechdoche New York, Blue Valentine and The Station Agent, the latter more for Dinklage and Clarkson rather than Williams though.

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    2. Clarkson makes my Supporting Actress ballot 3 times for 2003; she's my win for Pieces of April, and I nom her for The Station Agent and Dogville too. It's really quite an impressive feat, I always try to avoid double nominating if I can but I can't deny great performances, of which she have three that year.

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    3. Haven't seen The Station Agent and Pieces of April, but she's pretty great in Dogville. Anyway, I don't see anything wrong in double nominating, if an actor/actress gives more than one great performance in a year it's right to reward all of those performances.

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  5. Still hoping to see this movie. I just never found the time.

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    1. I'm a big fan of Brokeback Mountain, so I really suggest you to see it as soon as you can.

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  6. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, but your and Louis's reviews have definitely piqued my interest in doing so.
    I don't know if you've done it before, but can you give your brief ratings and thoughts on Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan in Shame?

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    1. Fassbender - 5 (I have to say that I really love Fassbender in general and I think he might be the best actor working today. I generally find him a rather charismatic and magnetic performer and this performance is no exception as he dominates the screen flawlessly. I thought he gave an uncompromising, raw and realistic depiction of his character's addiction: he is excellent as he shows that sex gives Brandon temporary pleasure but also leaves him with a sense of unsatisfaction and unfulfillment. Without even having that much dialogue, Fassbender is absolutely phenomenal at portraying Brandon's slow decay as he becomes progressively more desperate and addicted and he manages to genuinely make us care for Brandon without ever seeming to ask for the audience's sympathy or make him any more likeable. I particularly love his dinner scene with Nicole Beharie midway through the picture in which he does a terrific job as he just finds a lovely moment of warmth and happiness within the darkness of the movie. Then he's also great in the scenes with Mulligan as he shows that there is a certain degree of love in Brandon towards his sister but also a dark history in both characters' background that is never told but always implied. His breakdown towards the end feels completely earned and his final reaction is one for the ages. It's in my opinion one of the best performances ever)

      Mulligan - 4.5 (I loved her performance as well and I thought she did a great job at realizing her character's intense desperation. She is consistently heartbreaking in her portrayal of Sissy's neediness and even if her actions are sometimes questionable Mulligan always manages to make us understand her character's point of view thanks to her completely honest portrayal of Sissy's fragile emotional state. Her chemistry with Fassbender is excellent and on her part Mulligan is very moving at portraying Sissy's vain attempts to reach out for her brother and get close to him. I particularly love her quietly devastating rendition of "New York, New York", which is probably my favorite scene of the movie)

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