Best and Worst Wins of the 10s – Supporting Actress

With no movies coming out in the near future, all we can do is look back to the past. The past decade was a great one for movies, but was it a great one for Oscars? I dive in here to give what I, and twitter via poll, think what was the best and the worst wins of the 10s.

Check out my twitter @Tberry57 to see the latest poll. Next up, Director!

Best Win

My Pick: Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables

• This is going to be an unpopular pick, I get it. But there was something about Hathaway’s performance that was just enthralling to me. Within the character, there was a need in her to be able to support her child any way she could. In the performance, there was a raw emotion that was beautifully portrayed through not only impeccable acting but live singing as well. It is one thing to be able to lip sing through the performance when you know the notes you sang will be hit, it is another to put yourself in an emotionally vulnerable place… and still, be asked to hit every note of an extremely difficult song in the short amount of screen time she was given. Incredible. Let’s not forget in the context of this scene she had already sold her teeth, hair, and her body in order to feed her child. If that isn’t “best mother of the all-time” worthy, I don’t know what is.

Twitter’s Pick: Lupita Nyong’o – 12 Years a Slave

What was the Best Best Supporting Actress win? (Like lead actress, incredible decade. So hard to pick)

— Jacob Throneberry (@Tberry57) August 12, 2020

• I love, love, love this pick, and I am so happy that twitter went with it. This is my number two of the year, and it might be just as powerful as Hathaways, maybe even a bit more poignant. I love what Lupita was able to bring to one of the absolute best films of the entire decade and similar to Hathaway she did it in such a short amount of time. One of the hardest performances of the decade to watch, but also easily one of the best.

Worst Win

My Pick: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

• I think she was the one iffy spot on a nearly perfect decade. I cannot speak for Octavia Spencer and Alicia Vikander’s wins as I have not seen either performance, but for the rest of the field, the person won who probably should have. However, when it comes to Melissa Leo’s win, it wasn’t just that there was another actress who should have won it, it was that the other actress was in the same movie. This should have been Amy Adams’ year, and sadly she was beaten out, as usual. Surprisingly enough this SIX-time academy award nominee has yet to win, but you don’t see people calling for her to get an”overdue” win like they did Leo… just a thought.

Twitter’s Pick: Laura Dern – Marriage Story

What was the worst Best supporting actress win (please bear with me I don’t think these are bad, just lower of a great decade)

— Jacob Throneberry (@Tberry57) August 13, 2020

• It seemed the sentiment floating around her win was the fact she gave a much better performance in Little Women than she did in Marriage Story. I don’t agree with that, but I do understand her win being on the lower end of the spectrum for the decade. It was a legacy win for sure, but I actually enjoyed what she brought to the table in Marriage Story, even though there might not have been all that much. However, Zhao Shuzhen should’ve won for this year and was robbed of even a nomination… sad.

Jacob is a film critic and co-founder of the Music City Drive-In. He is a member of the Music City Film Critics’ Association and specializes in the awards season. You can find him on Twitter @Tberry57.