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Chance of gaining nomination for best actress improves in care of widely acclaimed director
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal popular culture writer
Published on Thursday, Oct 30, 2008
When Clint Eastwood's considerable success as a director is assessed, it has to include admiration for his work with actors.
Much has been written about Eastwood's financial caution and his brisk efficiency when making films, as well as a visual style that is effective without being showy.
But that approach has also proven very good for the people who perform in his films. Even well-liked actors can look more formidable in an Eastwood film.
And that, as much as anything, may explain why Angelina Jolie is starring in Eastwood's latest project, Changeling.
While Jolie won a best supporting actress Oscar eight years ago for Girl, Interrupted, she has had an erratic movie career since, as well as a lot of tabloid attention for her personal life. Nor has her stardom gotten her close to an Oscar for lead actress; in fact, Girl, Interrupted, is her only nomination.
A Mighty Heart, which starred Jolie as journalist Daniel Pearl's widow Mariane, was considered a major Oscar contender a year ago, and Jolie was on a lot of short lists of Oscar favorites. But neither she nor the film was nominated.
While it's possible that Jolie's at times eccentric public behavior has hurt her with Oscar voters, it is also likely that many simply did not find her performance Oscar-worthy.
We could argue at length about the justice of that assessment, or of the many times Oscar has slighted this actor while overly honoring that one. Still, in putting herself in Eastwood's hands, Jolie has connected with a director who has a solid record at the Academy Awards in recent years.
Eastwood broke through more than 15 years ago when his Unforgiven won him best director and best picture honors. Even more significant was Gene Hackman's performance, winning for best supporting actor; in spite of a long and distinguished career, that was Hackman's first Oscar win since The French Connection more than 20 years earlier.
After a stretch of interesting but not entirely successful movies, Eastwood hit his stride about five years ago, reeling off, in chronological order, Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima.
Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby and Letters From Iwo Jima were all nominated for best picture in their respective years, with Million Dollar Baby winning — and Eastwood getting his second directing Oscar.
But look, too, at what he did for other actors in two of those films.
Mystic River boasted two Oscar-winning performances, by Sean Penn as best actor and Tim Robbins as best supporting actor. (Marcia Gay Harden was nominated for supporting actress, but lost to Renee Zellweger.)
Penn in particular had long been acclaimed as an actor, with three Oscar nominations before Mystic River. Robbins at the time was well regarded as an actor and as a director, but not an Oscar winner before working with Eastwood.
With Million Dollar Baby, Eastwood had a serious contender in Hilary Swank, who had won an Oscar five years before for her performance in Boys Don't Cry. But she did not get another nomination until Million Dollar Baby, which also resulted in her second win.
But let's talk about Morgan Freeman. Great actor (Unforgiven, The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en, among other films). Long career. And what did it take to finally get him an Oscar? Eastwood and Million Dollar Baby.
Now, when considering Eastwood and actors, it has to be admitted that he hires top-shelf people like Freeman, Hackman, Penn, Robbins and Swank. But fine actors don't always give great performances (look at Robert DeNiro's resume), or they do so in movies that are otherwise undistinguished.
So there's something to be said for working with a director who has both a knack for getting acclaimed performances and a record of being taken seriously at awards time.
Not a perfect record, of course. While it had some excellent performances, Flags of Our Fathers did not resonate with Oscar voters, and Letters From Iwo Jima's four nominations did not include any for acting.
Still, Clint Eastwood's name on a movie is a pretty big seal of approval these days. Just the kind that Jolie could use.
Rich Heldenfels writes about popular culture for the Beacon Journal and in the HeldenFiles Online blog at http://heldenfels.ohio.com. He can be reached at 330-996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com.
When Clint Eastwood's considerable success as a director is assessed, it has to include admiration for his work with actors.
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