Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential - What's the big deal?!

[The Other]

I was reminded of this because of the post Antonio started about the "Best of 1997".

Anyway, I FINALLY saw L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (8/10) recently for the first time and I must say that Kim Basinger gave the least impressive performance out of the film. She didn't stand out, she didn't have any big scenes. She was pretty much the same through out -- her tone of voice, her posture, were all the same and fairly boring. And to top it all off, she was the ONLY cast member nominated for an Oscar too, when I feel she gave the least substantial performance from the entire film. Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce were the best and stood out to me. They helped make the film so much better.

I just don't get how she swept all those awards -- the Golden Globe, the SAG and then onto the Oscar. Julianne Moore was straight-up robbed. Watch the scene after she loses custody of her son -- despite you knowing she's a druggie and shit -- you can't help but feel sorry for her.

Anyway, maybe some of you Basinger supporters can inform me of what I'm missing about this fairly mediocre performance?

[EBastard]

Dude,that's exactly how I felt about her performance myself when I saw L.A. C for the first time-and I was 12 years old.

Ok,maybe the Golden Globe.But not the SAG and the Oscar.No way.

[The Rainbow in the Dark]

She was just along for the ride of a much-nominated movie. She also got the sympathy vote from the sissies at the Academy. That's all it is. Not to mention that Kim has done some horrid acting in her time so an average performance from her may surprise people and seem better than it really is.

[CheekyShepherd]

They didn't realise they'd awarded Kim Basinger, they thought they were giving the award to Veronica Lake.

[Favourite end]

My answer to this:
I really, really don`t have any idea.
Maybe the logical explanation for that is that the movie had to take at least two Oscars (it was too good), but it was sabotaged by Titanic, so...they decided it would be perfect case for awarding a big star like her (although she wasn`t already such a big star then).I guess they knew she would have never made another almost Oscar-worthy role.

[Arlius]

I saw it as a major sympathy vote for her at the time and just a token nod for the film in general which was dwarfed by Titanic. If the part were played by a lesser known, or a newcomer giving the exact same level of a performance, talentwise, there would not have even been a nomination for that part.

[urbanlegend23]

Yeah, I've always wondered the same thing. It wasn't a BAD performance, just not Oscar-worthy. But the Academy sucks, so who really gives a shit.

[Terror Australis]

I think Gloria Stuart should had won for Titanic....Her performance was better than Kim's.

[LAW]

This is just another example of how arbitrary these awards are and how they cater to the beautiful people in hopes of making us torture ourselves into actually spending our valuable life watching TV for 5 hours on a Monday night.
Ms. Basinger's award is a good example of a double insult. Not only was the acting mediocre, the part was not written very well either. Remember that "I see Bud because.." monologue she says to Guy Pearce that just goes on forever? "I see Bud because bla bla bla, I see Bud because bla bla bla", and so on and so on. People do not talk like that, ever.

[CrowTRobot]

I dont remember being blown away by basinger in LA Confidential, either, but I was intriqued, and I wouldnt take award-praise away from her.

I think it's important to remember that just because a character is more "cool" or makes more noise or is generally charismatic, doesn't mean the actor is neccisarily better than everyone else in the film.

Every story needs different kinds of characters, and they all need to be played well.

[CrowTRobot]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by LAW:
This is just another example of how arbitrary these awards are and how they cater to the beautiful people in hopes of making us torture ourselves into actually spending our valuable life watching TV for 5 hours on a Monday night.
Ms. Basinger's award is a good example of a double insult. Not only was the acting mediocre, the part was not written very well either. Remember that "I see Bud because.." monologue she says to Guy Pearce that just goes on forever? "I see Bud because bla bla bla, I see Bud because bla bla bla", and so on and so on. People do not talk like that, ever.</font>

Yeah, but remember not every film is meant as realism. I doubt anyone could have the lighting wit of bogart's Phil Marlowe or bacall's Vivian Regan in The Big Sleep(of course, basinger and crow come no where close),but that's because they had a ray chandler book to base it on and william fucking faulkner co-penning the screenplay.



[This message has been edited by CrowTRobot (edited 07-08-2002).]

[Fergus]

Out of these nominees, I think Kim deserved her oscar.

KIM BASINGER in "L.A. Confidential"
Joan Cusack in "In and Out"
Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting"
Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights"
Gloria Stuart in "Titanic"

But none of these performances were particularly memorable.

[This message has been edited by Fergus (edited 07-08-2002).]

[CrowTRobot]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fergus:
Out of these nominees, I think Kim deserved her oscar.

KIM BASINGER in "L.A. Confidential"
Joan Cusack in "In and Out"
Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting"
Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights"
Gloria Stuart in "Titanic"

But none of these performances were particularly memorable.

[This message has been edited by Fergus (edited 07-08-2002).]</font>

Excellent point, I concur.

Had basinger competed in last year's pool of best actresses, she'd be WAY out of her league.

[The Other]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Fergus:
Out of these nominees, I think Kim deserved her oscar.

KIM BASINGER in "L.A. Confidential"
Joan Cusack in "In and Out"
Minnie Driver in "Good Will Hunting"
Julianne Moore in "Boogie Nights"
Gloria Stuart in "Titanic"</font>

No way, Julianne Moore deserved to win.

[Hannibal21]

I was satisfied with Kim's performance in L.A. Confidential, she did a good job. But Julianne Moore gave the best performance of the year! She blew me away in Boogie Nights.

[FeydRautha]

As mediocre as Kim's performance was, I have to admit it's the best performance I've ever seen her give in a film. It's a credit to the director he was able to take her that far.

As far as the Oscar goes, there are many reasons a person or film will or will not win an Oscar, some of them political and/or strategic. I seem to recall at the time hearing that Minnie Driver wouldn't have won because there had been two wins in that category by British actresses in the previous two years.

Remember when Dame Judy Dench won for "Shakespeare in Love"? That was the Academy honouring her body of work rather than her stint as Queen Elizabeth. Considering she's only in one scene and onscreen for a total of 12 minutes, that strikes me as a long cameo rather than a supporting role.

[Memento8291]

I love L.A. Confidential and had no problem with Kim Basinger's performance. But, seriously, I do agree I found nothing Oscar-worthy about it. The entire cast was great, but she added nothing spectacular. She acted very sexy, she sounded very sexy, and she looked pretty damn sexy! Other than that, she turned in a solid performance, nothing more. In my opinion, Julianne Moore deserved the Oscar for her ugly portrayl in the second best movie of 97, Boogie Nights.

[flowrchild]

I totally think that Julianne Moore deserved to win in Boogie Nights over Kim Bassinger. Her performance was outstanding. Remember the scene with no dialogue, of her crying reaction after she loses her court trial? Priceless.

[Memento8291]

Originally posted by flowrchild
I totally think that Julianne Moore deserved to win in Boogie Nights over Kim Bassinger. Her performance was outstanding. Remember the scene with no dialogue, of her crying reaction after she loses her court trial? Priceless.

Always gald to see someone who shares my opinion :)

[malcolm1980]

Kim Basinger's win is a win for the entire cast. She was the sole acting representative for L.A. Confidential since she had the only major female role in the film, the rest of the cast probably cancelled each other out for a spot in the Best Supporting Actor race.

I've seen all five nominated performances and I do agree that Julianne Moore was the most deserving candidate. She should've won that Oscar.

[Tommy Doyle]

I guess I'm alone on this, but I think Kim Basinger's performance in L.A. Confidential was one of the best performances of the year, and definitely deserved the Oscar. This is not to say that Julianne Moore wasn't incredible (she's probably outranks Kim Basinger in a list of my favorite actresses), but I thought Basinger's performance was just so much more.

She was so in the mind of the character. She portrayed everything the character was meant to represent in perfect form. The repressed woman with big dreams who know caters to the dreams of others. The woman who no matter what, is always going to be seen as a second rate Veronica Lake. The woman crying and screaming to get out of where she is and just find one thing that makes her happy, yet she's unable to express this because of the situation she's in.

When she's talking with Russell Crowe about the blood on his shirt and asking if the guy deserved it, you can't help but know there's something beneath the surface that screams at her that what he's done is wrong, but that is overpowered by the positive nature of what she thinks she sees. She portrays all of this in a split second with her walk, her facial expression and her eyes... it's not something that I think alot of actresses could have pulled off.

When she breaks down on the step after being hit, my heart cracked into thousands of pieces. The life she finally had in her grasp had just been destroyed in a split second... it was heartbreaking...

Like I said, I know I'm in the minority, but I watch Basinger's performance and my mouth is left hanging open at how wonderous it was.

Sorry to babble... hehe... but I thought someone had to give a reason why they loved her in this movie! :o

[Dude]

Kim Basinger is SO VANILLA of an actress. she makes Julia Roberts ALMOST seem worthy to carry Namoi Watts & Julienne Moores discarded tampax.:eek:

[Asokan]

Sure, it wasn't a GREAT performance, but if Oscar history teaches us something, it's that GREAT performances seldom are recognized:

Jack Nicholson in "The Pledge" and Naomi Watts in "Mulholland Drive" as of last year's Oscar run.

Kim Basinger was simply effective in the role, even though all the other players were far more impressive and really deserved their Oscar nods. Since then she only made crap movies, so be nice to her.

[movielover-9]

I agree with everyone here. Basinger was good in the movie[her best performnace to date] but was nothing Oscar-worthy. I think they just awarded her the oscar because they knew that she could never be able to make as good of a performance as she did.