Word: blethyn
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Exhibit B--The Supporting Actress Nightmare: The list: Kathy Bates, Brenda Blethyn, Judi Dench, Rachel Griffiths and Lynn Redgrave. What were they thinking? Judi Dench was her usual curmudgeon self as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love, but blink and you miss her. Brenda Blethyn ruined Little Voice, and Bates overplayed Libby in Primary Colors. (And where's Lisa Kudrow for The Opposite of Sex?) But look at the nominees again for this category--you'll notice something very interesting...
Little Voice (Jane Horrocks), a withdrawn young woman who is constantly hectored by her blowsy mom (Brenda Blethyn) and courted by a drab-as-drywall repairman (Ewan McGregor), lives only for the pop standards her dear dead dad loved. Turns out she has an eerie gift for mimicking Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe and other ghosts of chanteuses past. So a local talent scout (Michael Caine) thrusts the kid onstage for her, and the film's, moment of magic. Horrocks' metamorphosis from starling to star is worth cherishing. But stay around for Caine's bilious rendition of Roy Orbison...
Nominees: Brenda Blethyn, Secrets & Lies; Diane Keaton, Marvin's Room; Frances McDormand, Fargo; Kristin Scott Thomas, The English Patient; Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves...
...been seen by so few people that her chances are slim. Watson was the critics' darling of the year, but it's hard to imagine, say, Lauren Bacall voting for a character who gives hand jobs to strangers on a bus. That leaves Cannes and Golden Globe winner Blethyn, and Screen Actors Guild champ McDormand, both in Best Picture nominees, both highly deserving...
...Will Win: McDormand plays the more likable character, and her work in Lone Star and Primal Fear cemented a solid year. Still, don't count Blethyn...