Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2001: Helen Mirren in Gosford Park

Helen Mirren received her second Oscar nomination for her performance as Jane Wilson in Gosford Park.

Mrs. Wilson is the head housekeeper: she appears as an efficient, strict and emotionless woman; to the other characters, she does not seem to exist outside of her job, which she does with the utmost dedication and precision. Mirren establishes her character perfectly: she does not have much screen-time nor much focus, she is often just part of the scene, but she doesn't need that to give the viewer the perfect impression of what her character is supposed to be. She never steals the scene, she perfectly works as a part of the ensemble and only stands out when she knows it's her time to shine: those few moments in which she gets to be in the spotlight are made all the more resonant due to her dedication in the remaining scenes, in which she perfectly builds up to her final scene (the one for which her performance is mostly remembered). 

With her body language alone, Mirren tells everything there is to be known about her character: each of her movements is made with pitch-perfect precision and careful attention, there is not a single gesture that feels even remotely inattentive. Through this, Mirren makes the audience immediately aware of Mrs. Wilson's position among the servants - as she herself later puts it, Mrs. Wilson is "the perfect servant" and Mirren's performance makes you see why as there is not a single moment in her whole performance that would make you doubt of Mrs. Wilson's efficiency. She also holds a strong screen-presence different from the kind displayed by Maggie Smith and Kristin Scott Thomas - there is no glamour in her presence, but rather a sense of autority and it's immediately clear why all of the other servants both fear and respect her. 

It's impossible to analyze this performance without mentioning some pretty important plot twists, so the rest of this review will contain some heavy spoilers about her performance. It is revealed by the end of the movie that Mrs. Wilson used to work in Sir William's factory, was seduced by him and became pregnant: forced to choose between her job and her baby, she gave the latter up for adoption, thinking Sir William would assure he was adopted by a wealthy family while in fact he left him at an orphanage; at the beginning, the now grown up son, Robert Parks (Clive Owen), turns up at the house as Lord Stockbridge's valet. Mirren has the extremely difficult task of not giving away the twist of the movie while making it believable and she absolutely delivers - her reaction at the beginning when she realizes there is her son (who doesn't know she is his mother as he had been told she died when he was little) in front of her is extremely subtle so that it's almost impossible to notice it on a first viewing but on a rewatch you realize how perfectly built her work is. She is also outstanding in a later scene when she briefly talks to Robert in his room to assure he is comfortable - again, Mirren does some very subtle facial acting in which she conveys her character's conflicted emotions without even remotely giving the twist away. 

Mrs. Wilson suspects Robert intends to kill Sir William, so she poisons the latter in order to avoid him prison and maybe death sentence. Mirren absolutely delivers in her confrontation with Mary (Kelly MacDonald) who, unlike the detective, has figured out the truth - her monologue about being the perfect servant is a chilling, phenomenal moment that is both shocking and quite moving ("Didn't you hear me? I'm the perfect servant. I have no life") and it's an emotionally powerful moment especially because she finally drops her character's façade showing her rawest and deepest emotions. She is also amazing in her very last scene in which she breakdowns due to the fact that her son will never know she is his mother and the head cook Mrs. Croft (Aileen Atkins) comforts her: it's an absolutely devastating moment especially after finding out of the history between Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Croft (who is in fact Mrs. Wilson's sister who got pregnant by Sir William as well, but decided to lose her job in order to keep the baby who later died of scarlet fever). It's probably my favorite scene of the whole movie and Mirren is simply incredible in it. 

I actually did not care much for her performance the first time I saw the movie, but a rewatch made me realize how perfect her characterization is: Mirren gives an absolutely outstanding performance that is remarkably subdued until the phenomenal final scenes that are absolutely heartbreaking. She is the strongest member of the movie's ensemble and gives a wonderfully layered portrayal that needs multiple views to be truly appreciated.

5/5