domenica 2 ottobre 2016

Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1976: Piper Laurie in Carrie

Piper Laurie received her second Oscar nomination for her performance as Margaret White in Carrie.


Carrie is a terrific horror about a shy, bullied girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers. I've always liked this movie a lot and it's easily one of my favorite movies of this genre as it blends so wonderfully the horror elements with the more human ones: the movie's climax is indeed scary but it also carries a great amount of emotional weight. I have to admit I didn't care for Brian De Palma's other two films I've seen (Scarface and The Black Dahlia) I really think he should have gotten a Best Director nod for his work here. Also, I absolutely loved the score and I thought it really should have received an Oscar nod (although the Oscars really got it right that year by awarding The Omen's chilling score). 

Piper Laurie plays Margaret White, the mother of the leading character Carrie White. It's probably one of the most difficult characters I can think of: Margaret is a fantically religious person whose devotion towards her faith often verges on insanity; it's a role that requires a loud approach which can very easily result into an unbearably over-the-top, hammy performance and it also requires an actress who can pull off lines like "I can see your dirty pillows" convincingly. I can perfectly understand why some people would dislike this performance, but in my opinion Piper Laurie delivers an outstanding performance that is absolutely riveting in every single moment: she gives a performance that is completely unexpected, original and unique in a role that is technically a cliché making Margaret White one of the most unforgettable characters to ever appear on screen. 

It's a well-known fact that Piper Laurie thought that her role was so absurd and ridiculous that she supposed Carrie was going to be a dark comedy instead of a horror. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why her performance is so brilliant: in every scene she manages to be incredibly funny in a very dark, weird and twisted way while still being a genuinely terrifying presence. It's an interesting, unique approach that makes Margaret a compelling and captivating character: in the 2013 remake, I think Julianne Moore actually gives a fine performance as Margaret and she is scary enough in the role but her performance lacks the utter brilliance and originality of Laurie's work. It's that odd touch of comedy that makes Laurie's performance so magnificent, and it's even more amazing how she manages to be funny without being ridiculous or compromising the horror of the story. In her first scene in the movie, in which she visits a neighbour's house, Laurie is quite entertaining at portraying her character's fanatical view on life and religion and her insistent behavior, but in the moment in which she realizes she is not a welcome presence in the house she turns cold and chilling, suggesting that the character can be quite dangerous when she wants to. The following scene, in which Mrs. White comes home and locks Carrie in "her closet" for having her first period (which she considers a proof of sin), could have been so easily ridiculous and unbelievable yet thanks to Laurie and Spacek it's not: Laurie again manages to be strangely entertaining in this scene as she is purposefully and delightfully over-the-top but at the same time I thought she was absolutely terrifying because she gives such a powerful depiction of Mrs. White's both psychological and physical cruelty - the same scene in the 2013 version isn't even half as scary.

Another thing I love about her performance is the fantastic chemistry she shares with Sissy Spacek and both actresses make their relationship surprisingly complex: on her part, Laurie is fantastic at showing Mrs. White's overbearing and domineering attitude towards her daughter but she is particularly interesting at portraying the reasons behind her behavior. Does Mrs. White, in her own, deranged way, love Carrie? Laurie doesn't answer this question for most of the movie which makes Mrs. White's behavior all the more interesting. The chemistry between the two actresses is at its best in the confrontational scenes between the two later on in the movie as their performances work so beautifully together: Laurie is excellent at portraying the same fanatical passion in her speeches but also adding a certain fear as Mrs. White starts to realize that she is gradually losing her grip over her daughter. I also love the small nuances she puts in her performance, such as when she says that Satan "took her husband and carried him off" and Carrie says that he just left with another woman: Laurie's reaction is perfect as it suggests that in a way Mrs. White's fanatical devotion might be a result of her incapability to accept reality. She also shines in a scene a little later in which Mrs. White tries to dissuade Carrie from going to the prom - she is just so excellent at portraying Mrs. White's growing distress and paranoia over the whole situation and makes even the most tricky line work. And also, I don't think anyone could have been more disturbing as she is when she utters "Witch!" or "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live".

But, of course, Piper Laurie's performance reaches its highest point with her big final scene that takes place after the plom, when Carrie comes back home looking for safety and warmth and instead finds her mother completely unhinged in her madness. Her monologue about the night Carrie was conceived is absolutely outstanding and Laurie is just phenomenal at portraying Margaret as fully overcome by her insanity while she reveals that Carrie's father raped her. Her delivery of "And I liked it... I liked it!" is absolutely shocking and disturbing because she fills it with both guilt and pleasure. And could she be more terrifying while she corners Carrie with a knife in her hand and a creepily warm and inviting smile on her face? And her death is one of the most remarkable death scenes I've ever seen thanks to her brilliant acting in it, which is over-the-topness at its pure best. That orgasm as she dies is quite a brilliant, unexpected touch to it.

Overall I think that this is a truly magnificent performance by Piper Laurie. She is twistedly funny and downright terrifying in a very complex role and she shares a pitch-perfect chemistry with her on-screen daughter. She is just captivating and unforgettable in every second she is on-screen and makes Margaret White one of the most powerful and memorable characters I've ever seen. Quite simply a brilliant performance. 

5/5

9 commenti:

  1. Truly amazing, one of my favorites supporting nominees.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. She is one of my favorite nominees as well. I just love her performance.

      Elimina
  2. Hands down one of the greatest supporting performances ever! After 40 years, it is still a very powerful, both funny and terrifying. Carrie is my favourite film of all times(i dont say its the best, but it is my favourite). Sissy Spacek gave one of the greatest performances of all times and she should have won, although Dunaway is also outstanding in Network and her win is very deserved, but if i have to choose i would have chosen Spacek who gave the greatest performance ever seen on horror film. Again both Laurie and Spacek are unforgettable and should have been prized to heaven for their work here. I dont know your opinion yet on Straight(i thought she was ok-good), but i think its silly to even compare Laurie with Straighi think she is ok winner but the fact that she won over Piper is crazy in my opinion and makes her undeserving.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Maybe I don't love the movie quite as much as you do, but it's definitely a great horror. I've watched it multiple times and it never failed to impress me. I can't say anything Straight yet, but you'll just have to wait a couple of days :)

      Elimina
  3. A great off the wall performance to be sure.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. It's actually very rare for the Academy to nominate a performance like this, but it's great they did for once!

      Elimina
    2. I think the late 60s and the whole 70s were the best if we were talking about great choices that Academy had made. I mean Midnight Cowboy won best picture, Glenda Jackson won for an experimental art film-Women in Love and not to mention her nomination for another art drama that nowdoays wouldnt stand a chance-Sunday Bloody Sunday. Ingrid Bergman and Liv Ullman were nominated for two Ingmar Bergmans films and Ullman also almost won for another foreign film in 1973. Same with Isabelle Adjani in 1976. Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn got nominations for being in horror classics...The list goes on and on. One more interesting thing is that in those days category fraud(what i mean is when leading performances being dropped to supporting so they can win or have better chances for winning), at least in female categories didnt really excist, instead we had bordeline or really supporting perofrmances being nominated in lead category(Geraldine Page-Interiors, Velerie Perrine-Lenny, Louise Fletcher-One flew..., Cicely Tyson-Sounder, Anne Bancroft-The Turning Point, Talia Shire Rocky) which i must say i like since it kinda shows more respect to those actors/performances, but on the other hand i still dont agree that its 100% right thing to do. Also in those years they were more focused on rewarding veteran actresses in supporting with true supporting perofrmnaces(except Tatum O Neal)-Helen Hayes, Eileen Heckart, Ingrid Bergman, Lee Grant, Beatrice Straight, Maureen Stapleton.

      Elimina