MovieChat Forums > The Grifters (1991) Discussion > anjelica, kathy or joanne

anjelica, kathy or joanne

posted 18 years ago by isidro_garcia_15
6 replies | jump to latest

I was really impressed with that line-up(Best actress 1990)the Oscars were wonderful nominating Anjelica Houston in her best role in an indie movie, kathy bates was exactly as annie wilkes and joanne woodward was totally emotional in her role. I prefered to leave out meryl streep who was great but not as the others and of course julia roberts the weakest performance of the 5.
I would have ranked it like this:
1.KATHY BATES-MISERY
2.ANJELICA HOUSTON-THE GRIFTERS
3.JOANNE WOODWARD-MR AND MRS. BRIDGE
4.MERYL STREEP-POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE
5.JULIA ROBERTS-PRETTY WOMAN

MY VOTE WOULD HAVE GONE TO KATHY BUT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A REALLY DIFFICULT CHOICE. WAS KATHY THE FAVOURITE THAT YEAR?
GIVE YOUR OPINIONS HERE.

[–] westieangeljill 18 years ago

I LOVED anjelica in the Grifters. That last scene with her weeping...that was real, raw acting. Very splended film! ^^

[–] porridge_car 18 years ago

[–] onepotato2 15 years ago

I don't know how Anjelica lost the Oscar. Kathy was great but Anjelica's performance is my mind the greatest performance ever given by an actress...it is absolutely flawless, heart wrenching, real, raw. I guess the Academy felt that since she had won for Prizzi's Honor she did not deserve another so soon or at all.
by - nuweepos on Fri Feb 2 2007 07:40:52
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Maybe not the greatest ever but... vivid, memorable, horrifying and desperate. Huston is amazing in this.

[–] rascal67 11 years ago

Anjelica Huston, hands down for me. Each time I watch this film, I get more impressed and see nuances in her performance that I may not have noticed before. She turns Lilly into an alive and interesting character, even though she is the kind of person you probably wouldn't want to cross paths with in real life.

The way she walks; the subtle character reveals on her face; her skilled line delivery; her quiet cheeky confidence, which also gives off a subtle air of desperation. She makes you feel afraid and care for her predicament....yet you may not really like her that much. She also makes you want to continue on with her journey, as she drives off at the end.

Woodward, gets 2nd place.
Bates 3rd
Streep 4th
Roberts 5th

Pity, that they had to cast John Cusack as the male lead though. Not enough charisma or presence. Tom Cruise would have hit the ball out of the park with this role,(even though he may have been a tad older looking than the character was supposed to be).

[–] freakaman24 17 years ago

After Kathy Bates won the Golden Globe award for Best Drama Actress, she became the dark horse in the race. The critics awards were divided between Angelica Huston and Joanne Woodward that year and Angelica was the favorite but Kathy Bates pulled it off - very deserving- I would have picked Angelica, but I am happy Kathy won- since Joanne and Angelica split the vote , Kathy pulled off the upset!

[–] blackvenom-1 11 years ago

Woodward would be my pick. She was excellent. Huston would be my runner-up choice. Her best lead turn to date. Bates and Streep are my #3 and #4 respectively (although I haven't seen Meryl's film for years, and I need to watch it again sometime), and Roberts is quite obviously the distant 5th spot.