1988 

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO ...

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Melanie Griffith in WORKING GIRL

" She’s pretty, she’s funny, she’s great to look at, but that's all."

★★★★★

Jodie Foster in THE ACCUSED

"Jodie Foster is a very versatile actress, with a lot of range and talent. She deserved a better screenplay."

★★★★★

Sigourney Weaver in GORILLAS IN THE MIST

"[the film] is a real showcase for Sigourney. It’s not really a showy performance, but certainly a TERRIFIC one."

★★★★★

Glenn Close in DANGEROUS LIAISONS

"What a joy seeing such a performance on screen. Glenn Close gives a tour de force, and I imagine it was a thrill for her to play it."

★★★★★

Meryl Streep in A CRY IN THE DARK

"Streep is a chameleon, behind the physical transformation and the perfect Australian accent, she vanishes and gives life to Lindy."

★★★★★

                                             THE CONCLUSION                                                

1988 is really a great year with outstanding performances. The ranking was difficult to make, and I’m still torn between Glenn Close and Meryl Streep, but I pick Meryl Streep, her performance is more challenging and more effective. This is the reason why I give to Glenn Close a Special Award (I think it’s something I will do once in a while when the ranking will be difficult to make), it’s my way to honor her tremendous work in “Dangerous Liaisons”. Sigourney Weaver would have been also a terrific winner, but her film is too weak in its first hour and I can’t give her more than 4 stars, but she is truly superb. I am not really familiar with Sigourney's work, but "Gorillas in the Mist" makes me want to see a lot more of her craft which I did by coincidence thanks to “Working Girl”. The real disappointment for me is Jodie, she is just fine, but really not enough fantastic compared to the other three. Melanie Griffith’s performance is really not award worthy, I mean she is well cast and she is lovely and cute, and her film is very enjoyable but that's all.

                                   THE ACADEMY AWARDS and ME                                      

    NEXT YEAR: 1944

JODIE FOSTER 

as Sarah Tobias in THE ACCUSED (1988)
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Sarah Tobias goes to her local bar and is gang-raped by three men. The district attorney on the case is Katheryn Murphy who wants to prove that although Sarah had taken drugs that night and was acting provocatively while in the bar, this is no reason for her to be so brutally attacked and the men responsible should be brought to justice. Not only does Katherine Murphy want to go after the men who commited the rape, she wants to go after the men in the bar who cheered it on. But Katherine has her work cut out for her... 

"You don't understand how I feel! I'm standing there with my pants down and my crotch hung out for the world to see and three guys are sticking it to me, a bunch of other guys are yelling and clapping and you're standing there telling me that that's the best you can do. Well, if that's the best you could do, then your best sucks! Now, I don't know what you got for selling me out, but I sure as shit hope it was worth it!"

                                         - Sarah Tobias

Jodie Foster received her second Oscar Nomination and first win, portraying Sarah Tobias, a reckless waitress with a troubled past, who goes into a bar one night and winds up being gang raped by three guys. I remembered being a great fan of the movie and Jodie’s performance in the past, but this time I didn’t find her performance as effective as I used
to think it was. At first, I think her performance was too forced, and I wanted to see more subtlety and softness to really enjoy her performance. She’s always in fierce, and over the top, and portrays Sarah with such ferocity but also with a lot of dignity. She creates a complex character but we can’t relate to her. She doesn’t show rightly her different sides. Then, I realize, it’s the way Sarah Tobias chose to protect herself. In the courtroom scenes, she reveals herself a lot more damaged and terrorized than we thought. She is nervous, she can’t stop shaking. Jodie Foster has great scenes to express her range, but nothing really outstanding. The character reveals itself to be very layered, but Jodie Foster chose to portray the victim, the raped and angry girl, and put aside the drunken girl, the not recommended girl, the not reliable girl. The flashback scene is really terrific, and allows Jodie other things to do. In this scene, she is able to show a bit of her other side, but it's not enough. The relationship between Katheryn Murphy, played wonderfully by Kelly McGillis, and Sarah Tobias is very interesting. We realize right away the differences, Katheryn, the smart and cultured woman, and Sarah, the lost and troubled girl. Despite their differences, a beautiful relation is created between the two, and Sarah's case became more personal for Katheryn. 


[Kelly McGillis as the district attorney Katheryn Murphy, gives a great performance, and portray a very moral and very engaged woman in her job.]

"In her first Oscar-winning role, Jodie Foster plays Sarah Tobias, a fast-food waitress who's gang-raped ina roadside table. In the course of the film, she transforms from a good-time hard-drinking girl to a woman fighting for the self-esteem she never had."

                                                                                               - Emmanuel Levy

Jodie Foster is a very versatile actress, with a lot of range and talent. She shows us a woman with a lot of contradictions, determined and frightened, full of dignity and not so  reliable. Jodie Foster deserved a better screenplay. 

★★★★★

1988

AND THE NOMINEES FOR THE BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE ARE ...

• Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons
• Jodie Foster in The Accused
• Melanie Griffith in Working Girl
• Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark
• Sigourney Weaver in Gorillas in the Mist

I choose to do this year, because I want to re-watch Streep's performance in A cry in the Dark, plus it's an Iconic Year, it was the last real shot for Glenn to Win, and I want to review Melanie Griffith's Performance which did not seem a baity role on paper. 

What do you think  ?  Your Prediction  ?  Your Ranking  ?