Amy Adams: An Oscar Journey In Six Chapters
Amy Adams, who celebrated her 47th birthday yesterday, is undoubtedly one of the most acclaimed actresses working today, having garnered six Academy Award nominations. Because she has yet to win a trophy, that inevitably has admirers of her work shouting, “Give her an Oscar already!”
It’s unfortunate that despite having such a varied resume, Adams has yet to take home the gold. However, her losses can be attributed to reasons like being up against flashier competition or actresses in films with broader support. As a way of possibly easing the pain of Adams being Oscarless, let’s go through her six losses.
Junebug (2005)
Her first bid came in 2005 for Junebug as Ashley Johnsten, an infectiously chipper and optimistic Southerner who believes her pregnancy will solve her struggling marriage. Adams was a critical darling that year as she won Best Supporting Actress at the Critics’ Choice Awards, tying with Michelle Williams in Brokeback Mountain. Given how she was the only Oscar nomination for the tiny indie, her inclusion became a case where the nomination itself was the win. Plus, Adams was a relatively new face in the Hollywood circle as opposed to Oscar victor Rachel Weisz who was already an established name thanks to the Mummy movies and was a way for the Academy to reward The Constant Gardener which, given its nominations for acting, writing, and editing, was a likely 6th or 7th in Best Picture.
Doubt (2008)
Having become a member of the Oscar club, Adams’ second nomination in Best Supporting Actress would come three years later for Doubt, a film adaptation of the 2004 stage play where she plays Sister James, a demure Bronx nun who becomes a key witness in a sexual abuse case. Her astute, low-key performance is a stark contrast to the grand theatrics shown by co-stars Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman as well as a slight deviation from the more talkative Ashley Johnsten. But between co-star and fellow nominee Viola Davis getting more buzz for her monumentally brief scene with Meryl Streep, the whole category fiasco involving Kate Winslet in The Reader, and Penelope Cruz eventually emerging victorious for Vicky Cristina Barcelona, it simply wasn’t her year.
The Fighter (2010)
Another Best Supporting Actress bid would follow a few years after for The Fighter. A shattering departure from Adams’ previous string of good girl roles, including Junebug and her Golden Globe-nominated performance as Giselle in Enchanted, Charlene Fleming is a hard-nosed Boston bartender who’ll easily throw a good punch. Especially if you call her an “MTV girl.” Yet, her bullish exterior masks an indignant regret over past poor decisions that becomes revealed during a pivotal confrontation with Dickie (Christian Bale).
Adams did have a potent “breaking typecasting” narrative and unlike Junebug and Doubt, The Fighter was a Best Picture nominee with broader support. Plus, Adams had a flashy Boston accent like co-star and Oscar victor Melissa Leo. However, on top of the accent, Leo also had the wig, the chain-smoking, and the scene-chewing monster mom role. Basically, Leo was the “Allison Janney in I, Tonya” of 2010 only without the bird as her scene partner.
The Master (2012)
While The Fighter showed us that Adams can play more than just Disney princesses and perky Southern women, The Master proved how capable she is of playing women who are downright evil. Despite her sitting in the background for most of the movie, scenes like her big “We must attack!” monologue probably have viewers wondering if her duplicitous, Lady Macbeth-esque Peggy Dodd is the true titular master.
Despite being on her fourth try, Adams happened to be up against Anne Hathaway….’s rendition of “I Dreamed A Dream” in Les Miserables. While Hathaway’s overall performance is effective, her show-stopping rendition of the musical’s marquee song along with her physical transformation, the “I did this live and in one take” narrative, and her banner year with The Dark Knight Rises ultimately made her unstoppable throughout the season.
American Hustle (2013)
Then came American Hustle, her fifth overall bid and thus far only nomination in Lead Actress. In this crime caper, Adams serves as the female center as Sydney Prosser, a seductive con artist who dresses in feminine attire while still being “one of the guys.” Once Sydney poses as a British aristocrat named “Lady Edith Greensly,” Adams’ fluctuating accent reflects Sydney’s debacle over perpetuating her masquerade.
In addition to being on her first Lead nomination, Adams had the benefit of being the only person in her field without an Oscar and in a film that earned 10 nominations. However, there was one big hurdle in five words: Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine. While Adams is the female lead of her film’s acting ensemble, Blue Jasmine rests entirely on Blanchett’s shoulders. It’s the kind of film where, without its leading performance, the film falls apart entirely. Plus, Blanchett’s performance as an alcoholic socialite having a nervous breakdown was simply too titanic to be ignored.
Vice (2018)
After earning her first lead acting nod, and coming painfully close to another for her arguably career-best performance in Arrival, Adams’ latest bid became another Best Supporting Actress nomination. This time, it was for Vice where she plays Lynne Cheney. While her portrayal of the former Second Lady who became instrumental to her husband’s political ascent provides shades of her worthier work as Peggy Dodd from The Master, Adams still does well enough with the limited material she’s given.
In what was a very hectic Best Supporting Actress race with no clear front runner, Adams managed to land every precursor (CC, GG, SAG, and BAFTA) and benefited from being in a film that performed well nomination-wise. Yet, there was clearly more passion for Regina King’s performance in If Beale Street Could Talk even with particular hurdles against her; Screen time, Missing at SAG and BAFTA, only actress in the category not in a Best Picture nominee, etc.. Adams had been around the Hollywood scene for a while at that point, but King is someone who’s been in the acting scene since 1985. As names like Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons may tell you, the Supporting Acting categories can be quite kind to supporting character actors getting their due after decades of solid work and industry goodwill.
What Now?
As of now, with her 0–6 record, she is now tied with Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter as the actress with the second most nominations and no wins with her Hillbilly Elegy co-star Glenn Close, who’s 0–8, having the higher record. Thankfully, because she has plenty of acting years left, there might be a world where she takes home the elusive trophy. But it would have to take the right vehicle as well as the right year like when Julianne Moore won for Still Alice. Because it was the right role in a less competitive year, Moore was able to finally get her due.
With all that being said, when looking at the performances she’s nominated for rather than the amount of nominations she has, you still see an actress of impeccable range. Someone who’s proven she can play women who are good, bad, and somewhere in between. Women who are either perky, shy, sensual, duplicitous, neurotic, or tough-as-nails. As far as this writer is concerned, there’s no role she can’t play or emotion she can’t pull off.
Would it still be nice to see her win an Oscar? Absolutely. Who wouldn’t want to see one of the best actresses of her generation finally get rewarded? But even if she’s in the same company as other unrewarded names like Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter, Peter O’Toole, and Richard Burton, it’s still good company to be in.
In the end, the Oscars need her more than she needs them.
What do you think? Which of her nominated performances do you think she deserved to win for? Also, why do you think she remains unrewarded? Please share your thoughts in the comments section!
