Is the consensus that Glenn Close is NOW going to win the Oscar this year? — Page 2

east side story said: "Glenn never won because she was never...the best in her categories"

Surely you jest. She should have won for Fatal Attraction over Cher. She also should have won for Dangerous Liaisons.

I'm quite tired by all the folks saying this isn't her best work and she would be getting the Oscar for her body of work. I believe The Wife to be one of her finest performance. Like her recent turn as Norma Desmond in which she approached the performance very differently (less kabuki, less histrionic), its the culmination of her life experiences and her years of acting experience. It all comes together. She is understated in The Wife. Much of her beloved histrionics are gone, save a few moments. She's glorious in what she communicates without words. It was nice to see her not chew the scenery.

Bullock and Roberts got undeserved Oscars for years of entertainment, but hardly their best performances. Close deserves this Oscar. Gaga had way too much money behind her and she became way too cloying during the press and awards season. Gaga can run anything into the ground. Not a subtle bone in her body. Her next film will be the true test. Like Hudson, Gaga had her hand held through that film. It was a great debut but not award worthy imho.

I'll be happy if either Melissa McCarthy or Yalitza Aparicio wins!

I loved The Wife and Close's performance in it. Wouldn't be surprised in the least if she won. It's a subtle, nuanced and highly skilled performance of a lifetime of repressed resentment and rage. The only flaw in the film is Jonathan Pryce, who has been playing the same character for about 30 years.

ChgoTheatreGuy said: "The first time she was nominated of "The World According to Garp", I wanted her to tie at the Oscars with Lesley Ann Warren for "Victor, Victoria"..."



To this day, I think her performance in Garp is one of the greatest female supporting performances ever, along with Lansbury in Manchurian Candidate, Judith Anderson in Rebecca, Juliette Binoche in English Patient, Vanessa Redgrave in Julia, and just maybe M'onique in Precious.

Mister Matt said: "I loved The Wife and Close's performance in it. Wouldn't be surprised in the least if she won. It's a subtle, nuanced and highly skilled performance of a lifetime of repressed resentment and rage. The only flaw in the film is Jonathan Pryce, who has been playing the same character for about 30 years."

I disagree. Her character in The Wife (IMO) is much more akin to Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil in Dangerous Liaisons.

After her encounter with Elaine Mozell, and the advice Elaine gives her regarding being read, it seems implied that Joan Castleman makes a decision to deliberately choose to take the on a life of being the invisible ghost to her husband's name on her work.

She is no saint, or martyr. We see that she, for the sake of her work, puts her children (at least the male child) on a back burner. (It's not clear to me why her daughter is so unscathed, as an adult).

She uses her husband as a superficial tool (in name only) to succeed. She takes claim for her work when she tells him "I won a Pulitzer Prize".

She does not acknowledge the accomplishments of her husband in regards to his role in raising their children and keeping the house, and who, for his own (prideful?) reasons, knowingly allows her to continue the masquerade.

In the end, his dying words to her are, "I never can tell when you're acting". Very telling about her character.

As to whether/not she should win the Oscar, my gut reaction is, "no". Yes, it's true that "acting is reacting", but this is a film where the director has made a decision to keep the camera on Close for most of the picture. I presume for the purpose of capturing her reactions, as so much of her screen time is in silence, and captured in subtle facial expressions.

I don't feel this is her strongest performance only because the script didn't allow her enough opportunity to truly act; only to react in silence. How much can an actress do in that situation without crossing a line into facial melodrama?

Not her fault, but compared to other roles like Dangerous Liaisons and Fatal Attraction - where in that film, she literally created a socially iconic character, and more than one meme: boiling bunnies and "I won't be ignored, Dan!) - this role takes a back seat.

RE: Jonathan Pryce. I think you may be underestimating how well he played the beta, emasculated male, and how important his silence was when dealing with his son, and why he behaved that way.... I think his performance shows ALL of that. And, because of that, the audience is not as sympathetic to his character.

Updated On: 2/23/19 at 05:28 PM

John Adams wrote: "After her encounter with Elaine Mozell, and the advice Elaine gives her regarding being read, it seems implied that Joan Castleman makes a decision to deliberately choose to take the on a life of being the invisible ghost to her husband's name on her work."

I can't respond on Mister Matt's behalf, but will suggest that context is everything. The encounter with Elaine Mozell would not have been her Joan Castleman's first not so friendly reminder to stay in her place. Her husband was an academic and author of note prior to Joan's foray into home-wrecking which in polite society was still verboten.

"She is no saint, or martyr. We see that she, for the sake of her work, puts her children (at least the male child) on a back burner. (It's not clear to me why her daughter is so unscathed, as an adult)."

I couldn't imagine any viewer's take-away being that she's somehow a saint or martyr. Becoming her husband's ghost writer was the price she had to pay for being both a home-wrecker and a woman. In 1958 Joan was enrolled in Smith College when many of elite liberal art colleges were glorified finishing schools to which wealthy families sent their daughters to prospect for husbands first, gain access to a career second. Glenn was boxed in because the character Joan Castleman was boxed in by the strictures of the times and her social class.

I'll have to re-watch the movie. But, as I recall the daughter was her husband's from his previous marriage. If that's the case then Joan was forced to play surrogate grandma to her husband's grandchild while her own man-child son needed more time to grow a pair. The screenwriter could have gotten a bit more mileage out of the dynamic between Joan and the two adult children.

It's not the apex of Glenn Close's stellar acting career. But, her performance in the 'The Wife' is arguably Oscar-worthy on its own merits.

Updated On: 2/23/19 at 06:09 PM

"Still, even if the daughter may not have been her own, why was the son so much more neurotic?..."

I can think of two reasons. First, the son was not as gifted a writer as the dad/Joan duo. And, the dad, who willingly played his part in keeping up the charade, was not about to allow his son to steal any of his thunder. Some form of an oediphus complex is playing out in a family near you and me right now. It's particularly pernicious when sons follow their father's footsteps career-wise. It was the key factor that lead me personally to seek out a line of work different from my father's and his father's.

"...but if the daughter were also present, wasn't she subjected to the same abandoned treatment (although she was in no competition with any of them regarding writing)?

The fact that she opted out of competing with the dynamic duo career-wise makes all the difference, to me at least. Plus, the dynamic between dads and daughters is different. There's a persistent albeit outdated notion that she'll always be her daddy's lil girl, but the son (David) will have to make his own way in the world starting with getting off mommy's tit. Joan seemed to race to comfort her man-child son after his father rebuffed him.

There's a particularly insightful scene that took place in the limousine en route to the awards ceremony. In that scene, the dad reminded the son of the hard life that he experienced while growing up. It was a buckle up buttercup trope that partly sent the son over the edge. You'll probably recall as well the earlier scene in which the dad introduced his son David to their hosts as a writer with promise who hadn't quite discovered his voice. That shaite was WAR!!!

Updated On: 2/23/19 at 07:55 PM

Glenn Close and Annette Bening remain my fave two actresses who've never won a muthafuggin Oscar. Congrats to Olivia Colman who put on a master class in my fave Best Pic nominee that also lost, The Favourite.