Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2016: Nicole Kidman in Lion

Nicole Kidman received her fourth Oscar nomination for her performance as Sue Brierley in Lion.

Nicole Kidman is an actress I actually find to be pretty underrated. I know it's odd adjective to associate with a four-time Oscar nominee but still I think she does not always get the credit she deserves: she is a risky, brave actress with a very wide range who has given many terrific performances over the course of her career, even when her movies are not very good (The Paperboy would be a recent example of it). She can excel as an air-headed yet cunning news anchor in To Die For, a stern mother living in a potentially haunted mansion in The Others, a woman struggling with her marriage and desires in Eyes Wide Shut, a grieving widow unable to recover from her husband's death in Birth, an embittered, self-absorbed writer in Margot at the Wedding, a trashy but deep down desperate woman involved with a man on death row in The Paperboy and a naive woman who is physically and psychologically tortured by the whole population of a small town in Dogville. What all these extremely different characters have in common is that they all go into rather dark territories at some point: the character of Sue Brierley, instead, is extremely different from those she usually plays as she is a warm, loving mother that in spite of her suffering never loses her tenderness and endless support towards the people around her. And here Kidman proves that, unlike some of her detractors say, she is also able to play characters that are not cold - in fact, her performance in this movie couldn't be more gentle and sweet.

Kidman first appears in the movie when her character Sue and her husband John (a very endearing David Wenham) adopt the little Saroo. In those early scenes Kidman is simply wonderful at making Sue a very calm, comforting and reassuring presence: with just a few shots of her glancing lovingly at Saroo, Kidman becomes the movie's bright spot, exuding such a great amount of warmth with just a few smiles and a bunch of tiny reactions. She has a brilliant, deep understanding of her character and she portrays it with such delicacy it's astonishing: even when she is apparently not doing anything too special, Kidman leaves an unforgettable impression by portraying Sue's tender and kind demeanor towards Saroo as she quietly observes him and slowly bonds with him. Take the moment in which Saroo is at the dinner table and utters "Pepper!": Kidman's overjoyed and amused reaction is simply pitch-perfect because it feels so real and natural. The acting in her performance looks truly effortless: she completely disappears into the role of an ordinary person, denying her usual glamour and star power. The scene in the bathroom where Sue tells Saroo she is always going to listen to him is one of the movie's most tender moments and you never doubt her words because Kidman's portrayal couldn't be more truthful and sincere. Some time later John and Sue adopt another boy, Mantosh, who immediately exhibits a very severe emotional unsability. Kidman is heartbreaking at portraying her character's shock and confusion as Sue attempts to calm him down and prevent him from hurting himself: her depiction of her character's plight could not be more realistic and believable, but most importantly Kidman shows that the suffering caused to her by Mantosh does not diminish her will to help him and love him. There is a beautiful shot of Sue and John embracing Mantosh while crying: it's a beautiful moment because Kidman shows so well her emotional strain but also tenderness and care in equal parts. And then she is truly heartbreaking in the next scene in which Saroo finds her crying in the kitchen in the middle of the night and silently cheers her up: it's a beautiful moment thanks to the excellent chemistry that Kidman and Sunny Pawar managed to develop in their brief time together and Kidman is fantastic at showing both the pain and joy that co-exist in Sue. 

Kidman does not get a huge amount of screen-time after the movie's time jump, but she makes the absolute most out of every single scene. Kidman's biggest strength is, again, the realism and sincerity that she projects in her performance, and there are so many moments in her performance that feel so close to real life, such as the one in which she tells Saroo how proud she is of him in spite of his embarrassment: it really feels like something a real mother would do, and in those moments Kidman is at her most endearing and sweet. But again her portrayal is not all warmth, as Mantosh' erratic behavior and Saroo's distant demeanor as he becomes more and more focused on his search cause Sue a great deal of pain. I particularly love the scene in which Saroo and his girlfriend Lucy go to dinner to his family's house and a fight between Saroo and Mantosh ensues: Kidman gives a masterclass of subtlety in this scene as she is just heartbreaking in each of her small reactions, portraying Sue as a woman who tries to mantain a cheerful façade and keep the family together while she herself is falling apart. Her reaction when Saroo tells her that he hates Mantosh for the suffering he has caused her is pitch-perfect: in a couple of seconds, Kidman conveys more than a lot of actors do in a whole movie. And I haven't talked yet about her chemistry with Dev Patel and Divian Ladwa: in her interactions with the former, Kidman beautifully portrays her character's motherly love and pride and each of their moments together is truly poignant and heartfelt; but she also shares a very good chemistry with the latter in spite of the fact that they share very little screen-time together. Kidman is great at portraying her love and support for Mantosh in spite of his mistakes, and I particularly love the scene in which Sue talks to Lucy about Mantosh: in her delivery you can truly feel the affection Sue feels for her son and when she says that she feels blessed you truly believe her.

My favorite scene of her whole performance is towards the end of her performance, when she reveals Saroo that she was not infertile but actively decided to adopt children after having a vision years before that inspired her to help others through adoption. It's an extremely tricky scene: the camera rarely leaves her face and the monologue could have easily felt cheesy. Kidman though makes this moment the most powerful of the movie: she gives an incredibly moving depiction of her character's very fragile emotional state but at the same time she is completely believable at showing how the suffering caused by her two sons does not at all affect her nature or make her even remotely regret her decision. Thanks to Kidman's heartfelt, sincere delivery when Sue talks about her vision, I literally felt chills down my spine: Kidman does not just say those words, she feels them and makes you feel them too. She downplays the monologue and the fact that it's so low-key is probably the reason why it is so moving and by the end of the scene I was in tears. Her final scene with Dev Patel is very brief, but it's also very moving: Kidman does a fantastic job at portraying her character's unconditional support towards her son as she finds out of his intention of finding his biological mother and when she tells him that she sincerely hopes he will find her you never doubt her words. Kidman and Patel give this small moment the emotional power it needs and in this moment in particular they do such a fantastic job at portraying Sue's and Saroo's very special bond.

In the end I think this is a truly amazing performance from Nicole Kidman: she never turns Sue into a saint, she just realistically portrays her as a truly good-hearted human being conveying all of the different emotions inside of her. She gives a powerful depiction of her character's plight while  also portraying so well her motherly love that never weakens or falters no matter what. It's a truly heartwarming portrayal that has never left me since I've seen the movie from the first time: it's just one of those performances that get to your heart and leave a special impression that is impossible to forget. 

5/5