The Dellies - 2012 Best Actress

With my first award, I merely confirmed the Academy's choice for Daniel Day-Lewis as Best Actor. I assure you that won't be the case with all of the awards.

Before moving on, I have to get into semantics. The lines between an actor in a leading role and one in a supporting role is blurred by the Academy. My first instinct is to say that anyone who is not the protagonist is in a supporting role. However, that isn't quite right. For instance, Jennifer Lawrence received a nod for, and won, Best Actress for her work in Silver Linings Playbook though she doesn't play the main character. That leads me to my prevailing notion which is that the words "lead" and "supporting" are gender specific. In other words, Lawrence is the lead female in SLP. However, that doesn't really hold water since Helen Hunt received a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Sessions even though I would say she is the lead female character in that movie. Still, the latter is the definition I prefer so that's the one I'll go with. In other words, Two of the ladies below were actually nominated for Best Supporting Actress. You should already know who one is, I'll give you one guess as to who the other is. Forget about it, let's just get on with it...

Best Actress

The Real Nominees: Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Emanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wilds), Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

My Nominees:

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

As Maya, Jessica Chastain is nothing, if not fierce. Her ferocity is drawn from unwavering conviction. She is the type of person we viewers might not like if we had to work with/for her, but we’d appreciate her and be glad she’s on our side.

Sally Field, Lincoln

In the role of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln,is nearly her leading man's equal, coming apart at the seams one moment and the very picture of composure the next.

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

The flip side of John Hawkes’ restraint is the unshakable bravery of the work done by Helen Hunt.

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Again proving herself a superior talent, Lawrence’s portrayal is note-perfect all the way through. Always at the appropriate times, she’s stand-offish, emotional, manipulative, confident and never quite stable.

Michelle Williams, Take This Waltz

As has become the norm, Ms. Williams turns in a tremendous performance making us feel every emotion with her.

Honorable Mention:
Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone
Judi Dench, Skyfall
Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wilds
Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Real Winner: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

And My Winner Is...

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Not least of the reasons her performance has to considered courageous is because most of her screen-time is spent naked. Her character’s job description is pretty much being a sex object. The genius of the directing, the writing, and finally, Hunt herself, is they all refuse to let that be all there is to her. She’s a fully formed being grown from the Hollywood archetype of the hooker with a heart of gold, but is so much more.

Click Here to See All of the Dellies!

The Sessions

 

Directed by Ben Lewin.

2012. Rated R, 95 minutes.

Cast:

John Hawkes

Helen Hunt

William H. Macy

Moon Bloodgood

Annika Marks

Adam Arkin

Rhea Perlman

W. Earl Brown

Robin Weigert

Jennifer Kumiyama

Blake Lindsley

Rusty Schwimmer

Numerous movies are made every year about getting laid. Excluding porn, the mechanics of the actual act are often left out or only briefly touched upon with the focus on the romance that will culminate in love-making. In The Sessions, how sex is actually performed is a major plot point. The issue is that our protagonist, Mark (Hawkes), was stricken with polio at a very young age. He cannot move anything except his head and is a virgin. Now, at age 38 and after being contacted for a story about sex and the disabled (he's a writer), he finds himself really wanting to gain some experience in that area. Of course, finding a partner is no small feat. Eventually, he begins seeing Cheryl (Hunt), a sex surrogate who agrees to work with him. Together during their weekly sessions, they try to figure out the physicality of the doing the wild thing when one of the participants is immobile.

Needless to say, Mark, who has only experienced rejection by those he’s interested in, becomes emotionally involved. This is where the movie really grabs hold of you. We wind up badly wanting two things for him. First, he’s so sweet and innocent we wish we could shield him from the seemingly inevitable crushing blow that will come. Second, we want to see him fulfilled. After all, shouldn’t everyone feel the joy of sex at least once in their life? Our two motivations don’t always work with one another. Through an astoundingly charming performance by John Hawkes, Mark is worthy of both our sympathy and empathy. Even though he literally lies still throughout the movie, he still manages an impressive range of emotion. Incidentally, given the graphic nature of the film, I imagine lying still wasn’t such an easy task. He’s becoming one of my favorite actors, having quietly built an impressive resume filled with powerful portrayals.

The flip side of Hawkes’ restraint is the unshakeable bravery of the work done by Helen Hunt. Not least of the reasons it has to considered courageous is because most of her screen-time is spent naked. Lesser movies use nudity as a tool to keep our attention, or to objectify. Even here, her character’s job description is pretty much being a sex object. The genius of the directing, the writing, and finally, Hunt herself, is they all refuse to let that be all there is to her. She’s a fully formed being grown from the Hollywood archetype of the hooker with a heart of gold, but is so much more.

Before sitting down to watch this, I had a vague idea of the subject matter and that Hunt was often in her birthday suit. Only a few days prior, I watched 50/50 so I was somewhat ready for a heavy drama about sex and illness. What I was totally unprepared for was just how funny this movie is. Though I’d not heard that it was a comedy, I laughed as hard at this as any 2012 movie I’ve seen, so far (I know it’s now 2013, but I’m still working on it). The possible exceptions being The Man with the Iron Fists and The Expendables 2. However, I laughed at those for entirely different reasons. Much of the credit for the hilarity goes to two people: William H. Macy and Moon Bloodgood. Macy plays the priest who befriends Mark and listens to his confessions. This has to be done out in the open because the gurney Mark travels on obviously won’t fit in the confessional booth. As you might imagine, there is much talk of sex which leads to some uncomfortable moments for both the priest and parishioners who happen to overhear. Macy’s timing is impeccable and his reactions are priceless. Bloodgood plays one of Mark’s attendants. In contrast to Macy, she performs her role in a perfectly understated manner. Her matter-of-factness about everything is the stuff deadpan comics dream of. All of this fits easily into the narrative. Humor and drama combine to make The Sessions a poignantly human experience.

Soul Surfer

Directed by Sean McNamara.
2011. Rated PG, 106 minutes.
Cast:
AnnaSophia Robb
Dennis Quaid
Helen Hunt
Kevin Sarbo
Lorraine Nicholson
Carrie Underwood
Ross Thomas
Craig T. Nelson
Chris Brocha
Sonya Balmores

Teenager Bethany Hamilton (Robb) is already a championship surfer with a bright future. While taking a break during a training session, she is attacked by a shark and loses her left arm. A few awkward days after leaving the hospital Bethany decides not only does she want to surf again but she wants to do so competitively. She faces plenty of hurdles and of course does lots of soul searching on her journey back into the surfing world. Yes, this is based on a true story in case you somehow missed it when it was a major news story a few years back.

Make no mistake, this is a story of salvation through and through. What sets this apart from any others is the person being redeemed is already a thoroughly good person. What she must overcome are the seeds of doubt that have been sewn by a most unfortunate event. Through her tears, and possibly yours, she wonders aloud how any of this could be part of God’s plan. She has a few temper tantrums and revelations. All the while, we closely follow the template of so many sports movies. The only question is whether or not our heroine will win the big game.

As Bethany, Anna Sophia Robb does a very nice job. This becomes especially clear when you realize that she does indeed have two arms but had to only use one for the majority of the movie. The rest of our cast is adequate. Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Kevin Sorbo and Craig T. Nelson all wear concerned or upset visages whenever appropriate. Even Carrie Underwood is only asked to do just enough to not embarrass herself and she obliges. The one person we could use more of is Malina (Balmores), our makeshift villain. Beating Bethany seems to be her life’s mission. Nothing changes after Bethany has lost a limb. We get a few brief scenes of her with a sour look on her face as she barks at her nemesis. Since this is a wholesome Christian film, you won’t be surprised how this particular subplot ends. Still, it would’ve been nice to get to know her a little more and develop her more as a person with an axe to grind than just a caricature that we’ve seen a thousand times before.

If there is a serious flaw in Soul Surfer it’s that things come too easy. Each obstacle Bethany faces merely seems like a low hurdle we know she’ll clear with ease. Part of this stems from her. Her faith is briefly in doubt, her nobility is not. Don’t get me wrong. It’s wonderful that she’s apparently a terrific person. However, this makes the story we’re told less than compelling. It doesn’t help that the movie quickly sidesteps any weighty issues that pop up such as what happens with the boy that obviously likes her. How does she deal with this? Do the two of them ever talk about what happened to her? How do his friends treat him when they figure out who he’s attracted to? I could go on.

Nevertheless, SS does what it set out to. It’s a full-blown inspirational “triumph of the human spirit” type of flick. The real tale is so ready-made for exactly the treatment it receives here the filmmakers couldn’t mess it up. Some of you will cry. Some of you will cry a lot. The rest of us might find it cliché and predictable. The movie is okay with any of those.

MY SCORE: 6/10