Oscarwatch: The Help
Jan. 28th, 2012 11:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
apocalypsosSo here's what happens when you put Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain, and Sissy Spacek in the same movie. The acting is ridiculously good. Those are six women who could act the pants off of a stoner comedy written by a high schooler on the back of a bar napkin, so they elevate the movie based solely on the fact that the casting director made good choices. The set designer, the costume designer, etc. ... lots of people made good choices in the making of this movie.
Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that it's still Thank You, White Lady, For This Civil Rights Movement.
Acting-wise, though, if you ignore the incredibly uncomfortable fact that Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are the only two acting nominees of color this year and both of them play maids in the same movie (apparently, there were no other good acting roles for actors of color, or at least none outside of The Help), I'm unsurprised they were both nominated for Oscars. And my bet is that Octavia Spencer will take Best Supporting Actress. Jessica Chastain was also nominated, and she's very charming in this, but I think hers is more of a nice-to-be-nominated role. (I'm a bit surprised Sissy Spacek wasn't nominated, but they can't swallow up the entire category, I suppose.) Really, uniformly fantastic acting across the board.
STILL.
Holy hopscotching Christ, is this movie irritating as fuck. I don't need to explain why, right?
... also, it would have been a much better ending if Bryce Dallas Howard's character had been hit by a truck at the end. Unrealistic, sure, but immensely satisfying.
Fifteen more movies to go, I guess.
Unfortunately, that doesn't change the fact that it's still Thank You, White Lady, For This Civil Rights Movement.
Acting-wise, though, if you ignore the incredibly uncomfortable fact that Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are the only two acting nominees of color this year and both of them play maids in the same movie (apparently, there were no other good acting roles for actors of color, or at least none outside of The Help), I'm unsurprised they were both nominated for Oscars. And my bet is that Octavia Spencer will take Best Supporting Actress. Jessica Chastain was also nominated, and she's very charming in this, but I think hers is more of a nice-to-be-nominated role. (I'm a bit surprised Sissy Spacek wasn't nominated, but they can't swallow up the entire category, I suppose.) Really, uniformly fantastic acting across the board.
STILL.
Holy hopscotching Christ, is this movie irritating as fuck. I don't need to explain why, right?
... also, it would have been a much better ending if Bryce Dallas Howard's character had been hit by a truck at the end. Unrealistic, sure, but immensely satisfying.
Fifteen more movies to go, I guess.
