Monday, June 21, 2010

A Tale of Two Movies

In the last couple of weeks Ben and I have seen two excellent movies:
I thought both of these movies were excellent, though I did find The Blind Side more compelling. Whereas Julie and Julia had great stories, The Blind Side had a great message. So, I guess I liked The Blind Side better.
-
But that is not really what I want to write about.
-
What I want to write about is this: Sandra vs. Meryl.
-
First off, I LOVE Sandra Bullock. I think she is as cute as can be, she has a fantastic public image of simply being a nice, good person. I also like almost all of her movies (minus Forces of Nature- that was awful).
-
I am not, in general, a Meryl Streep fan. It's not that I don't like her, it's just that I haven't seen a lot of movies that she has done, and I don't have a sense of her personality at all because I don't think I have ever seen an interview of her. So I wouldn't call me a fan, but I don't not like her either.
-
But- in comparing the acting of these two women in these two movies, I am amazed that it was Sandra that walked away with the Oscar and not Meryl.
-
Not that Sandra wasn't great, because she was. I just think Meryl (I am on a first name basis with both these actresses) was SO MUCH BETTER.
-
The reason, for me, is simple: the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy was, for me, a much easier role than Julia Child. While both were/are real people, nobody outside of Tennessee had ever heard of Leigh Anne Tuohy, whereas EVERYBODY knows who Julia Child was. Meryl Streep had to get her exactly right- and she did! She was a PERFECT Julia Child- which could not have been a small feat due to Child's eccentric but loving personality.
-
Also, there was one scene in Juie and Julia that truly convinced me it was Meryl, not Sandra, who deserved the Oscar. Julia and her husband Paul were walking through a park in Paris when a woman pushing a baby carriage walks by. By one look- in 5 seconds- we see a look from Julia that reveals all the tears, all the turmoil, all the heartache she has felt in her life by not being able to have children. Then in that same 5 seconds, we see how she was able to keep going: her husband Paul- who is her true companion- giving her a sympathetic and loving kiss on the foreheard, and Julia turns to him, accepts the kiss, gives a smile and continues on.
-
The scene was one of the most beautiful and telling scenes I have ever seen. How all of that can happen in 5 seconds is pure art, and put me in Meryl's corner.
-
I am not upset that Meryl did not win, and I am genuinely very happy for Sandra- especially because of all the other drama Sandra has had to deal with, I am glad she got the Oscar. I just think Meryl deserved it more.

3 comments:

  1. You really should investigate Meryl Streep more if you haven't seen many of her movies. She is an unbelievable actress who, as you saw in Julia & Julie, can really get lost in a role. I love her lots and lots (although Mama Mia gives me chills of the nauseous kind). Watch the Devil Wears Prada and you'll see what I mean. You won't believe the completely different character that she plays. It's an amazing contrast (and a good movie, although I liked the book better).
    I've seen interviews with her and she is a very down-to-earth person who's got 4 kids, I think, and she is a true mom-kind-of-person. She just shrugs off the fact she's never won an oscar.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's really funny because I have actually seen both those movies:) I wasn't even thinking that it was Meryl Streep who played that role, but yes, thinking back, she was brilliant. And I agree with you about Mama Mia...it's not worth remembering.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Meryl Streep's body of work is amazingly diverse and quite often stellar, although I haven't seen much of it. Sandra Bullock hasn't had the time or roles to really compare yet. And some of the things she has been in I just HATE, like Hope Floats. I thought that was the worst movie ever made, well not really, but I really disliked it. I haven't seen the Blind Side, but plan on seeing it soon.

    ReplyDelete