I’m actually really glad that Heath didn’t win Best Actor for the Golden Globes. There’s been a trend for a while of awarding women for roles where they have to be ugly. For example, Hillary Swank for Boys Don’t Cry (having to butch up), Charlize Theron for Monster (having to put on weight, oh the horror) and Nicole Kidman for Virginia Woolf (first award ever for a prosthetic nose). It’s not that these weren’t good performances; they were. It’s just that I seem to recall there being better acting from others up for the same award, but the one forced to be ugly got it.
So, if Heath had got Best Actor, I would have been worried it was for Having to Play a Gay Man. I haven’t seen Brokeback Montain or Capote so I can’t say whether Phillip Seymour Hoffman acted better than Heath Ledger, but I really like Seymour-Hoffman’s style and am very pleased for him. EDIT: In light of _ariadne_ pointing out that Seymour Hoffman is also playing a gay man, I think my point may be moot. Um. For those who don’t know me, by the way, I think it’s awesome that so many films are being made that have queer themes and they’re mainstream. I’m very much looking forward to Brokeback Mountain and I want the two cowboys to end up together in the end. I’m also thrilled it won Best Drama.
I’m very disappointed, though, that Good Night and Good Luck got none of the awards it was nominated for. I wonder whether that is politics and a fear of endorsing the message of the film.
This has been another Bread and Circuses announcement.