When Oscar nominations were announced nearly two weeks ago, it was noted that for the first time since 2002 there were no African-American or foreign actors of African descent nominated.
The lack of minority representation was also noted in the directing category in light of Lee Daniels’ nomination just last year for Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” By Sapphire which made him only the second African-American director thus far nominated; Boyz ‘N The Hood’s writer-director John Singleton was the first so honored back in 1992.
And in light of Kathryn Bigelow’s Directorial win for her work on The Hurt Locker, which was also won the Oscar for Best Picture, some controversy arose over the lack of female nominees considering 2 of the ten films nominated for Best Picture (The Kids Are All Right and Winter’s Bone) were co-written and directed by women.
I didn’t think much of the rumblings regarding the lack of representation in the acting categories because I personally don’t think there was a performance from a African-American actor – male or female – last year that merited serious Oscar consideration (and I say this without having seen Oscar winner Halle Berry’s Golden Globe and NAACP Image Award-nominated turn in Frankie and Alice or the film festival favorite Night Catches Us).
But it did get me to thinking about all the great performances from black actresses I’ve seen over the years: Angela Bassett in What’s Love Got To Do With It?, Whoopi Goldberg & Oprah Winfrey in The Color Purple, Diana Ross in Lady Sings The Blues, Cicely Tyson in Sounder, Dorothy Dandridge in Carmen Jones, Claudia McNeil in A Raisin in the Sun, Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique in Precious.
I know, those are all the obvious choices. What about all those great big screen performances from black actresses that were unfairly overlooked in hindsight?
So with no further ado, here are my Top 10 picks for great, unsung big screen performances delivered by talented black actresses (in alphabetical order).
Angela Bassett in Sunshine State (2002)
In her third collaboration with celebrated independent filmmaker John Sayles (they also worked together on 1991’s City of Hope and 1992’s Passion Fish), Bassett, in the best role she’s had on the big screen to date, stars as a recently married actress returning home to the northern Florida coastal community where she grew up – and fled in disgrace as a teenager. She returns to find the community under siege by a group of unscrupulous corporate land developers eager to snap up all the local prime real estate, including her childhood beachfront home. Bassett and Edie Falco headline a sprawling ensemble cast that includes Jane Alexander, Mary Alice, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen, James McDaniel, Ralph Waite, and Gordon Clapp among others.
Halle Berry in Losing Isaiah (1995)
She broke through the glass ceiling with her historic best actress Oscar win for 2001’s Monster’s Ball, but for my money her best big screen work can be found in this film where she plays a crack addict and prostitute who abandons her infant son. Years later, now clean and sober, she fights to regain custody of him after discovering he’s very much alive and living with the the married, white social worker (Jessica Lange) who’s adopted him. Fun fact: The film was directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal and written by Naomi Foner, the parents of Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Loretta Devine in Waiting To Exhale (1995)
Angela Bassett’s searing performance and the phenomenal soundtrack written and produced by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds may have gotten the lion’s share of attention, but one would be remiss not to give props to Devine’s superb supporting turn as Gloria. As the unlucky in love hair salon owner who meets the man of her dreams in Marvin (the late Gregory Hines) – who gives her a reason to finally exhale – Devine gave the film its heart.
Kimberly Elise in Beloved (1998)
It took Oprah Winfrey a decade to bring Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to the big screen, which was loosely inspired by the life of Margaret Garner, a black woman who had escaped slavery with her husband and children. When slave catchers finally caught up to them, she murdered her oldest infant daughter before their eyes rather than have her returned to slavery. Former Fugees front woman Lauryn Hill was originally cast to play Denver, the extremely shy and friendless younger daughter of Margaret’s fictional doppelgänger Sethe (Winfrey), but dropped out due to pregnancy. Elise was then cast and delivered an utterly brilliant performance as a life-long recluse who finds her voice despite the odds staked against her. The film received mixed reviews and flopped in theaters but is much better than its street rep would have you believe.
Whoopi Goldberg in The Long Walk Home (1990)
1990 was a banner year for the Whoop-ster. She co-starred in the year’s biggest box office hit (Ghost) and won the best supporting actress Oscar, among other prizes, for her non-iconic performance in that film. As great as that was, it’s a real shame that Whoopi was overlooked in the best actress race for her quiet, yet imposing turn in Home as Odessa Cotter, a maid in 1950s Montgomery, Alabama who participates in the historic bus boycott and is joined by the empathetic wife (Sissy Spacek) of her separatist-minded employer (Dwight Schultz). The scene where Odessa is given a Christmas present by her husband (Ving Rhames) and their children is beautifully played by Whoopi and is arguably her finest onscreen moment.
Pam Grier in Jackie Brown (1997)
As the tagline for Grier’s 1972 blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown goes, “Have no fear, Pam Grier is here!” Longtime fan Quentin Tarantino wrote this adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s novel “Rum Punch” as a starring vehicle for Grier and she makes the most of the opportunity playing a middle-aged flight attendant who finds herself at the center of a sting involving the police and an arms dealer. Surrounded by an ensemble of fine actors (Samuel L. Jackson, Robert DeNiro, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton and Robert Forster), Grier more than proved why she’s an endearing big screen icon. Beneath that gorgeous exterior is one damn fine actress.
Debbi Morgan in Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Speaking of damn fine actresses, add daytime diva Debbi Morgan to that list. She’s best known for her Daytime Emmy-winning role as Dr. Angela Hubbard (nee Baxter) on the popular ABC Daytime drama series “All My Children,” a role she originated nearly 30 years ago. But she’s played a variety of other roles over the years including that of Mozelle, the title character’s paternal aunt who knows a thing or two about mysticism and tragedy. The scene where Mozelle re-accounts the murder of one of her husbands is absolutely spellbinding. It rates as one of filmdom‘s all-time great sequences. In my humble opinion, Morgan delivered the definitive supporting performance of the ‘90s in Eve‘s Bayou and was robbed of the supporting actress Oscar. Nothing, and I mean nothing, that year’s winner Kim Basinger did in LA Confidential even comes close to matching Morgan’s triumph. Nothing. And we all know Confidential is Basinger’s finest hour as an actress.
CCH Pounder in Bagdad Café (1988)
This wonderful character actress hit the jackpot back in the late-1980s when she winningly collaborated with German writer-director Percy Adlon on this quirky, experimental indie film. In it, Pounder is cast as the overwhelmed proprietress of a dilapidated lodge and restaurant who strikes up an unexpected friendship with an odd female boarder (Marianne Sägebrecht). The evolving relationship between these two disparate women is at the heart of the film.
Jurnee Smollett in Eve’s Bayou (1997)
Roger Ebert named this the best film of 1997, and I’d be hard-pressed to disagree with him, Boogie Nights notwithstanding. The writing and directorial debut of actress Kasi Lemmons (who played Ardelia Mapp, Jodie Foster’s FBI trainee friend in The Silence of the Lambs) is a profound examination of how the indiscretions of a few can lead to the destruction of many…especially within the framework of a family. The performances are magnificent, especially Smollett’s turn as Eve, the youngest daughter of a rich, philandering doctor (Samuel L. Jackson) who’s untimely death – and the hazy circumstances surrounding it – are recounted from her viewpoint. Plus, any child who can hold her own against the formidable quartet of Jackson, Morgan, Lynn Whitfield (as her mother) and Diahann Carroll (as a local voodoo priestess) is one bad sistah-in-the-making! Her work is every bit as revelatory as True Grit’s breakout star Hailee Steinfeld, who, unlike Smollett, is getting her due.
Alfre Woodard in Passion Fish (1992)
In this Oscar-nominated dramedy from indie writer-director John Sayles, a well-known soap opera actress (Mary McDonnell) is paralyzed from the waist down after being sideswiped by a NYC taxi. She returns home to small-town Louisiana to continue rehab away from prying eyes and runs through a series of nurses until she meets her match in Chantelle (Woodard), a no-nonsense personal care worker who, like her stubborn new client, is seeking a fresh start. This marked the second of four films in which McDonnell and Woodard co-starred (the others being 1991’s Grand Canyon, 1994’s Blue Chips and 1999’s Mumford) and Sayles initially pits them against one another and the end result is a fascinating character study about two strong-willed women who find an unlikely ally in each another. This is also the only film to date that features Woodard acting one-on-one opposite Angela Bassett (as a co-worker of McDonnell’s) in a memorable scene that begs the question, why haven’t these two dynamic actors been reunited onscreen?
