Here at Flavorwire, we’re appalled that Kate Winslet has yet to score an Academy Award, and from the sound of it, so is Noah Forrest of Movie City News — but that doesn’t mean he thinks she should score a Best Actress win for her performance in The Reader.
“I’m confident that she will give us a performance within the next five years that will be worthy of such an award, so there will be plenty of other chances. If she wins, then I’ll definitely be pleased that the best living actress finally has an Oscar, but I’ll be disappointed because I’ll know it’s for the wrong movie.”
Maybe he should watch it a second time. Yes, we’d agree with Forrest that Winslet has done better work in other films, but that shouldn’t take away from what she did do in The Reader — an art house that has been saddled with mainstream expectations because of its two stars. Everyone we know who enjoyed it cited her devastating performance (in a role that most Hollywood actors would shy away from, mind you) as the main reason. That takes some chops.
After the jump the seven reasons we think she deserves to win next Sunday. If you agree (or even if you don’t) feel free to chime in with a comment.
1. Did you see the photo of her in a wife beater in Sunday’s NYT Magazine?
2. Yes, we agree she was better in Revolutionary Road. But this was a much harder character for audiences to connect with.
3. If she hadn’t gotten knocked up, we would have been watching Nicole Kidman.
4. Producers Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella both died before the film was completed. They’d want her to win.
5. The entire shoot had to be paused so that her younger costar could turn 18 and their love scenes would be legal. Imagine how that felt.
6. Winslet had to endure months of Scott Rudin/Harvey Weinstein drama. She deserves two Oscars for that alone.
7. It took the makeup team seven hours to make her look like old Hanna, who is totally haggard.