We Can Only Hope
We
can also hope that the handful of other independent players will be duly recognized.
Kimberly Pierce's first feature Boys
Don't Cry received nomination for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.
I know that I will be holding my breath during the categories and hoping that
both Hilary Swank and Chloe
Sevigny will walk away with trophies. Last year, Gyneth Paltrow, clad in
a pink Audrey Hepburn dress, won for her portrayal as a cross dressing thespian,
but not for one minute did the audience believe her to be male. We waited for
Shakespeare to undress her. In marked contrast, Swank plays a young woman who
wants so be a man, and therefore, is a man. I cannot recall another recent performance
that matches the intensity of Hilary Swank as transexual Brandon Treena. Swank
won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Dramatic
Role for her performance. If she does not win Oscar, I suggest we picket the
event.
As Swank's girlfriend, Chloe Sevingy is trapped in a world of drugs, alcohol and the spinach factory; she exudes hope and hopelessness as she plans her escape with Swank. Chloe Sevigny has given marvelous performances in numerous independent films (Kids, The Last Days of the Disco) but this is the first time she has been recognized by the Academy.
Actually, in the category of Best Supporting Actress, I am torn. There is another indie actress that pulls at my heart. Samantha Morton plays Hattie, a mute washer woman, in Woody Allen's The Sweet and Lowdown. I have never seen an actress convey so much with a look or a smile. It is plain to understand why Sean Penn's womanizer Emmet Ray (also fantastic) falls for her. Hooray for the Oscars for noting this understated performance.
Other nominees that are pleasing to indie fans are Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) and Lasse Hallstrom (Cider House Rules) for Best Director; Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds), Julianne Moore (The End of the Affair) and Sigourney Weaver (Map of the World) for Best Actress; Sean Penn (The Sweet and Lowdown) and Richard Farnsworth (The Straight Story) for Best Actor; Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich), and Toni Colette (The Sixth Sense) for Best Supporting Actress; Michael Caine (The Cider House Rules) and Tom Cruise (Magnolia) for Best Supporting Actor; Topsy-Turvy for Art Direction; Titus for Costume Design; Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor for Best Screenplay Adaptation; and Charlie Kaufman, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Mike Leigh for Best Original Screenplay.
So go ahead and ignore the glitzy and empty side of Hollywood: the stupid jokes, the designer gowns, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Be thankful there will be no dance production this year. Watch the Oscars and root your favorite indie film star onto victory!
Beck Finley is a freelance writer and critic. She lives on the Missouri side of Kansas City with her husband, Ryan Kegley, and dog, Tummy.
picture courtesy of Fox Searchlight
More about the Oscars
Documentary & Foreign Films at the Oscars
The categories that actually matter.How to Watch the Oscars, Indie Style
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