In celebration of Kate Hudson’s nomination for Song Sung Blue, here’s a look back at some missed Best Actress opportunities ahead of tonight’s Oscars.
It’s the day of the Oscars, and I still can’t believe Kate Hudson is a Best Actress nominee this year. Watching the film she’s nominated for, Song Sung Blue, for a third time, I still find myself transfixed by her performance. It remains such a revelation thanks to the different emotional places the actress was called to venture to. It was quite unlike anything we’d seen her do before.
As good as she was, the space seemed too crowded for a more “traditional,” yet acclaimed performance such as this one. However, with voters cold on the Wicked sequel and possibly turned off by Die My Love, it seemed that there was room for Hudson’s work in Song Sung Blue. No one was surprised when she garnered nominations at either the Golden Globes or even the newly-branded Actors’ Awards. Both citations make sense, especially the latter, where Hudson seemed to occupy the random wild card slot that’s always fun to see show up. She’s also been busy collecting shared prizes with co-star Hugh Jackman, most notably from the Gotham Awards, and career tribute prizes from bodies such as the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
When the nominations for the Oscars were announced, Hudson was one of the top surprises of the day as she’d managed to secure a much-coveted slot over Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Lawrence, Chase Infiniti, and Amanda Seyfried. What made the nomination all the more surprising was that Hudson hadn’t been in the awards conversation for many years. The actress’s time in the rom-com world had quickly made people forget about the promise brought on by her whimsical and poignant turn in Almost Famous. The Music debacle aside, Hudson has spent plenty of time reestablishing her relationship with the craft after shedding the star vehicles that largely limited her. Subsequent non-star turns in Deepwater Horizon, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, Glass Onion, and A Little White Lie showed Hudson finding her true self as an actress.
It’s been a long climb back to this place, but not only has Hudson done the work to prove she’s more serious and curious as an actor in general, but there’s no denying that the performance she gives in Song Sung Blue is deserving of one of the five top slots. Jessie Buckley is the odds-on favorite to take the prize, but Hudson’s presence is a victory nonetheless, especially since no one could have predicted this marvel of a performance would make it this far.
In honor of Hudon’s work and her big night tonight, here are five other leading ladies with similarly stellar performances that should have taken them further than they did.
1. Marion Cotillard- Nine
This 2009 adaptation of the acclaimed stage musical did not have many fans. Although people were certainly (and rightfully) taken by Penelope Cruz showstopping turn to the point that they gave her a Supporting Actress nod, there were certainly some who were hoping Cotillard would find her way into the lead actress category. As the wife of a revered Italian movie director (Daniel Day-Lewis), Cotillard is heartbreaking playing Luisa, a former actress who must contend with her husband’s lying and cheating. Her greatest moment comes in the stunning ballad “My Husband Makes Movies,” which sees her impressively holding a note for what seems like six months as she poetically contemplates what she’s let her life become.
2. Halle Berry- Frankie & Alice
This one is a funny case. Not many people saw Frankie & Alice upon its awards-qualifying release in 2010, which successfully netted Berry a Golden Globe nomination. But last-minute distribution issues caused the film to be delayed for a number of years until early 2014, at which point any awards potential for its leading lady had long since fizzled. Still, those who did see the film (a pet project of Berry’s) could not deny the power and brilliance behind the performance. Berry’s turn in this 70s-set true-life tale of a woman plagued by multiple personalities is a tour de force. It’s unreal the amount of dark places the actress is asked to go by the film’s script, and even more unreal what she does when she gets there, especially when playing the personality in Frankie’s head that sees herself as a Southern white woman.
3. Charlize Theron- Young Adult
The unlikable female protagonist has always been a tricky proposition when it comes to the Oscars. So few times has an acclaimed performance of an “unlikable” woman ever earned the actress portraying her the acclaim she’s deserved. No one knows that better than Charlize Theron, whose 2011 turn in the Jason Reitman comedy Young Adult should have marked a return to the Oscars as a nominee. As a young adult author Mavis, Theron nails the hardness of the character as well as the script’s specific brand of humor. But beyond that, the actress keys in on her damaged past and the experiences that stunted her, forever stuck in the same mental space for longer than anyone should. The result is one of the most humanized turns of Theron’s impressive career.
4. Amy Adams- Arrival
While all of the other performances on this list are a mix of genuine buzz for the performance and wishful thinking on my part, this one is the lone exception. Many people were counting on dependable Oscar bridesmaid Adams to score another nomination (and her first potential win) for 2016’s Arrival, given how much of a presence she’d been all season. The actress never had a better role than Louise, a noted linguist who is recruited by the military to establish communication when aliens land on Earth. The way Louise’s work blends into her psyche and the whirlwind journey it sends her on, both mentally and emotionally, is spellbinding, with Adams giving what remains the best performance of her career. Some were angry with Arrival’s ending and the choices made, but no one could forget what Adams was able to accomplish.
5. Michelle Pfeiffer- French Exit
Many people were perplexed when Pfeiffer’s acclaimed turn in this post-modern screwball comedy didn’t result in a long-awaited fourth Oscar nomination. The actress scored a Golden Globe nomination as Frances Price, a woman who moves herself, her misfit son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges), and the family cat (who just so happens to possess the soul of her dead husband) to Paris once their money runs out. The film’s unconventional tone and narrative are hard to pin down, which may have been a factor for some voters, as well as the fact that Sony Pictures Classics didn’t know how to market a movie like this one. However, Frances is the character Pfeiffer was born to play: caustic, witty, damaged, and vulnerable. The actress nails every monologue, playful piece of dialogue, and subtle emotional beat. For an actress who had seemingly done it all, French Exit showed that not only was Pfeiffer not done, she was actually nowhere near finished.
Song Sung Blue is now available on Blu-Ray and digital from Focus Features.
